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How Good Are US Drivers

　　The CBS - TV “National Drivers’ Test”, showed that many US drivers have a lot to learn．Here’s why．

　　CBS picked 1,799 sample drivers to take the test in TV studios in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles．More than two out of five of the drivers failed the test．And the average score was the lowest passing mark － 51 points out of a possible 80．

　　Chicago drivers did best with an average of 53 points．Los Angeles drivers came next with 52 points．New York and Philadelphia drivers got 50 points－a failing score．Drivers with 50 scores or less were rated “poorly informed” by the judges．

　　Here are some of the test results:

　　1．Are men drivers better than women ones?

　　Yes．Men averaged 52．Women got an average of 49．

　　2．Are older drivers better informed than younger drivers?

　　No．Drivers under 26 averaged 52 points．Drivers from 7 to 45 averaged 51．Drivers over 45 failed with a 48 point average．

　　3．Does Education matter?

　　Yes．College graduates averaged 52 points．High school graduates averaged 50．Those without high school diplomas got 48．And people who had taken driver education courses scored an average of 53 points － three more than those who hadn’t．

　　4．Does driving experience make a difference?

　　Yes．Drivers with three or more years of experience averaged 51 points．Drivers with less experience averaged 49．

　　Here are surprising facts brought out by the test．

　　1．More than one out of three drivers did not know that a blinking red light means a full stop．

　　2．Three in ten drivers did not know that an octagonal (eight - sided) sign means stop．

　　3．More than two in three drivers did not know what to do when being “tail - gated (追尾)”．

　　The answer: slow down, drive to the right, and let the drivers behind pass．

　　The results of the test were turned over to the National Safety Council．They will help future safety planning．

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　　(1) America started the Internet Revolution, but it is my belief that it cannot finish it．Instead China will finish it．America is a very old country, over 200 years old, and so it has many prejudices and habits that defy logic (不合逻辑)．For example, America is the only country that still does not use the metric system．Because of such prejudices and habits, America cannot finish the Internet Revolution．

　　(2)…

　　(3) Today, America is like the Britain of the 19^th century and China is like America of that time．The symbol of success for today’s America is Silicon Valley．There, computer entrepreneurs (企业家) can become billionaires before they turn 30．However, American society does not accept these newly rich, preferring to them “computer geeks (艺人)”．Besides, American companies do not respect their employees - Chinese graduate students．They think of these workers only as tools．

　　(4) Although Chinese students still desire to go to the United States, one day, as their home country becomes richer, they will want respect more than money．

　　(5) China is the world’s youngest economic power, filled with great hope about the future, which means that it lacks prejudices and is able to adapt to new technology quickly．A Chinese company can install the latest computer much more cheaply than American company．

　　(6) Chinese also respect entrepreneurs and computer engineers, but Americans think it is “uncool” to know how to work the computer．Every Chinese student loves the computer．Zhongguancun, China’s Silicon Valley, is quickly becoming another heart and center of Chinese company．

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　　BEIJING (Associated Press)! China has a growing middle class, a tradition of expecting education and 21 million new babies every year．Selling educational toys should be easy．

　　While China may be the world’s biggest toy - maker, much of the best is expected．Department stores here do not have enough high - quality toys．It is said the demand for educational toys is low．

　　A US company, BabyCare, is trying to change that with a new way to sell toys in China．

　　BabyCare works basically together with doctors in Beijing hospital．People who join the company’s “mother’s club” get lectures and newsletters on baby and child development at no extra cost－if they agree to spend 18 dollars a month on the company’s educational toys and children books．

　　“We want to build a seven - year relationship with those people”, said Mattew J．Estes, BabyCare’s president, “It starts during pregnancy, when the anxiety and needs are highest．” BabyCare works on a one - to - one basis．Doctors, nurses, and teachers － paid by BabyCare － advise parents, explaining toys that are designed for children at each stage of development to age six．

　　BabyCare opened its store in China last June in a shopping center in center Beijing and another near Beijing Zoo．It plans to have 80 stores in China within six years．

　　It is a new model for China and develops a market in young children’s education and health that no other companies are in．

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　　I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a bookshop hired me for six hours a week to help her in the shop．I was very proud to earn my own pocket money and my parents never interfered with how I spent it, even when I was spending it foolishly．They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from my mistakes, I would become more mature and responsible about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money．

　　Like many American parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they worried a great deal．When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around Europe．My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great experience for me．In the end, my father won the argument on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had my uncles, aunts and cousins spread out through the country who could provide shelter and help if I needed it．

　　Three years later, when he was eighteen, my younger brother decided to take a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean．Again my mother was very worried and not eager to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a fascinating year working his way on trains and ships to earn passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people．

　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare for children in many countries, but in the US they are fairly common．Most parents start pushing their children at young age to do small things by themselves．By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part - time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, selected the university they plan to attend and maybe even decided on their future career, and so on．

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　　One of the strongest arguments for the raising of the school leaving age (ROSLA) has been that it will bring us some way nearer to “equality of opportunity”．

　　Many people like to think of our present system of schooling as providing plenty of steps up the ladder of success for clever children．It would be good to think that no one who is really bright can be missed out when the state system is obviously so complete．It is obvious, for instance, that many children from less wealthy homes reach university or do well in other ways．

　　Unfortunately we now have plenty of proofs that many children of every level of ability do much less well than they could．For instance, during the years of national military service it was possible to test the intelligence of all male 18 - to - 20 - ear - olds．Half of those soldiers who were placed in the two highest ability groups had left school at 15．

　　It has also been shown that the percentage of working class children going to university is almost the same now as it was in 1939．One study of 5,000 children from birth to 21 years old shows that up to half the bright pupils from working class homes left school when they reached 16 years old．Moreover, there is no difference in intelligence between the sexes, but far more boys than girls stay in education after 16．

　　It is clear from this and many other proofs that many children are still leaving school too early to benefit from the prizes - money, social respectability, and interesting jobs - which higher education gives．It is clear too that the reasons why such children leave have much to do with their social background．Their parents often need the extra money another money - earner would bring in; they don’t value education for itself because their own was probably dull and unhappy．It is not so much that they force their sons and daughters to leave school, rather that they tend to say, “it’s up to you”．

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　　Animation means making things which are lifeless come alive and move．

　　Since earliest times, people have always been astonished by movement．But not until this century have we managed to take control of movement, to record it , and in the case of animation, to retranslate it and recreate it．To do all this, we use a movie camera and a projector (放映机)．

　　In the world of cartoon animation, nothing is impossible．You can make the characters do exactly what you want them to do．

　　A famous early cartoon character was Felix the Cat, created by Pat Sullivan in America in the early nineteen twenties．Felix was wonderful cat．He could do all sorts of things no natural cat could do like taking off his tail, using it as handle and then putting it back．

　　Most of the great early animators lived and worked in America, the home of the moving picture industry．The famous Walt Disney cartoon characters came to life after 1928．Popeye the Sailor and his girl friend Olive Oyo were born at Max Ficischer in 1933．

　　But to be an animator, you don’t have to be a professional．It is possible for anyone to make a simple animated film without using a camera at all．All you have to do is to draw directly on to an empty film and then run the film through a projector．

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　　Thirty - two people watched Kitty Genovese being killed right below their windows．She was their neighbor．Yet none of the 32 helped her．Not one even called the police．Was this in gunman cruelty? Was it lack of feeling about one’s fellowman?

　　“Not so, ”say scientists John Barley and Bib Fatane．These men went beyond the headlines to research into the reasons why people didn’t act．They found that a person has to go through two steps before he can help．First he has to notice that is an emergency．Suppose you see a middle aged man fall to the side - walk．Is he having a heart attack? Is he in a coma (昏迷) from a headache? Or is he about to sleep off a drunk?

　　Is the smoke coming into the room from a leak (漏洞) in the air conditioning? Is it “steam pipes”? Or is it really smoke from a fire? It’s not always easy to tell if you are faced with a real emergency．Second, and more important, the person faced with an emergency must feel personally responsible．He must feel that he must help, or the person won’t get the help he needs．

　　The researchers found that a lot depends on how many people are around．They had college students in to be “tested．” Some came alone．Some came with one or two others．And some came in large groups．The researchers started them off on the “tests．” Then they went into the next room．A curtain divided the “testing room” and the room into which they went．Soon the students heard a scream, the noise of book shelves falling and a cry for help．All of this had been prerecorded on a tape recorder．

　　Eight out of ten of the students taking the test alone acted to help．Of the students in pairs, only two out of ten helped．Of the students in groups, none helped．

　　In other words, in a group, Americans often fail to act．They feel that others will act．They, themselves, needn’t．They do not feel any direct responsibility．

　　Are people bothered by situations where people are in trouble? Yes．Scientists found that the people were shocked, they sweated, and they had trembling hands．They felt the other person’s trouble．But they did not act．They were in a group．Their actions were shaped by the actions of those they were with．

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　　We are all called upon to make a speech at some point in life, but most of us don’t do a very good job．This article gives some suggestions on how to give an effective speech．

　　So, you have to give a speech - and you’re terrified．You get nervous, you forget what you want to say, you stumble over words, you talk too long, and you bore your audience．Later you think, “Thank goodness, it’s over, I’m just no good at public speaking．I hope I never have to do that again．”

　　Cheer up! It doesn’t have to be that bad．Here are some simple steps to take the pain out of speech making．Ask yourself the purpose of your speech．What is the occasion? Why are you speaking? Then, gather as many facts as you can on your subject．Spend plenty of time doing your research．Then spend plenty of time organizing your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow use as many examples as possible, and use pictures, charts, and graphs if they will help you make your points more clearly．Never forget your audience．Don’t talk over their heads, and don’t talk down to them．Treat your audience with respect．They will appreciate your thoughtfulness．

　　Just remember; be prepared．Know your subject, your audience, and the occasion．Be brief．Say what you have to say and then stop．And be yourself．Let your personality come through so that you make person - to - person contact with your audience．

　　If you follow these simple steps, you’ll see that you don’t have to be afraid of public speaking．In fact, you may find the experience so enjoyable that you volunteer to make more speeches! You’re not convinced yet? Give it a try and see what happens．

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　　Tom Brennan was working in a Philadelphia office building when he noticed a black bag．The bag contained a book．

　　This chance discovery ended a 12 - day search by the Library Company of Philadelphia for a historical treasure － a 120 - page diary kept 190 years ago by Deborah Logan, “a woman who knew everybody in her day”, James Green, the Librarian told the magazine American Libraries．

　　Most of the diary is a record of big events in Philadelphia．It also includes a description of British soldiers burning Washington, D．C．in the war of 1812．She describes President James Madison on horseback as “Perfectly shaking with fear” during the troubled days．George Washington, she writes, mistook her for the wife of a French man, and praised her excellent English．

　　The adventure of the lost book began September 4 when Cory Luxmoore arrived from England to deliver the diary of his ancestor to the Library Company, which he and his wife considered to be the best home for the diary．

　　Green told American Libraries he had the diary in his possession “about five minutes” when Luxmoore took it back because he had promised to show it to one other person．On returning to his hotel after showing the precious book to Green, Luxmoore was shocked to realize that he had left it in the taxi．

　　Without any delay, Green began calling every taxi company in the city, with no luck．“I’ve felt sick since then, Luxmoore told reporters．

　　According to Green, no one has yet learned how the diary came to the office building．Tom Breman received a reward of $1,000, Philadelphia gained another treasure for his history, and Luxmoore told reporters, “It’s wonderful news, I’m on high．”

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　　SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND－A British teaching union famous for strange ideas has supported proposal to employ dogs as classroom assistants．

　　At the annual conference of the Professional Association of Teachers in Southport, northwest of England, one person suggested properly trained dogs be able to keep order in primary schools．They can round up lost children and protect those who experience unfortunate “accidents”．Wendy Dyble, a Sheetland Islands woman who teaches children up to age seven, made it clear to her fellow friends that she was not “barking mad”．They obviously believed her, supporting her idea by 16 votes to 13, with a total of 63 abstentions．

　　She said big dogs could help round up children, keep them in line, lick up the milk they spill on the floor and provide the extra eyes that a teacher needs to keep order．“A big dog would also be helpful for breaking up fights and look for lost property, like gym shoes or dolls,” Dyble said at the conference．“The dog will also be useful in sniffing out smells that children do not own up to, ”she added．“It would be nice for the teacher not to have to go round sniffing each child to find the culprit．”

　　The idea was greeted by the Dog Defense League but less so by bigger teaching unions．A spokesman for Education Secretary David Blunkett, who is blind, said his guide dog was always popular with pupils when he visited schools．The Professional Association of Teachers, with around 35,000 members, is the smallest teaching union in Britain．It has an honour for occasional strange ideas．

　　Earlier this week, its annual conference here suggested stopping exams because they lead to stress and introducing selection at the age of 12 based on physical coordination and manual skill in the use of hand．

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