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　　Bend over, take a deep breath and drink some water for 15 seconds!This is just one of hundreds of tips you might get if you have the hiccups(打嗝)．Hiccups are so mysterious．We really don’t know why they start and why they stop．

　　Everyone has a favorite cure for a case of the hiccups．Some people think that a good scare is necessary to get well．Others eat a teaspoon of sugar．Still others drink a glass of water with a knife in it．

　　An American man named Jack O’Leary claimed to have hiccupped 160 million times over a period of eight years．He tried 60,000 cures, but none of them worked．Finally he prayed to Saint Jude, the saint of hopeless cases, and his hiccupping stopped immediately．

　　It took a British plumber eight months to cure his hiccups．People from all over the world wrote him letters with suggestions for getting well．He tried them all, but the hiccups continued．Finally, he drank a“secret”mixture someone had sent him．By that evening his hiccups were gone．

　　Why did these cures work for these two men?No one really knows．But people who have studied many cases of hiccups have an idea．Hiccups usually go away if you believe in the cure．

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　　By May, after three months, I had lost 22 pounds and reached my goal of 115 pounds．My friends would say“Alice, you look great!”or“How did you lose so much weight?”Those compliments made me feel good and confident．

　　Soon I dropped to 110 pounds．A few of my friends told me that I needed to stop dieting, because I was starting to look sick．They brought me a present－a bag of chocolates, which I later gave to my sister．My mom would come to my room, with tears in her eyes, and have long chats about how harmful this diet was and begged me to stop．My dad would leave worried messages on my cell phone at school, telling me that it would do serious harm to my body．

　　By mid-June, when school was coming to an end, I was down to an only alive state of 95 pounds．All of a sudden, I knew I had to do something．I guessed the number itself scared me．I recalled my doctor．He told me about a girl who was 95 pounds and was at the risk of dying．I knew I was putting my life at risk, but for what?To make those who love me worried?Was it worthwhile to be thin?

　　Now I realize that models in magazines, TV and movies are not realistic．The price to pay for the“perfect body”is living with a dangerous and sometimes deadly eating disorder．And there are more important things to think about than how thin you are．

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　　Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends．They believe that their family members, especially their parents, don’t know them as well as their friends do．In large families, it is often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for advice．It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or many friends．Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone．This communication is very important in children’s growing up, because friend can discuss something difficult to say to their family members．

　　However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them．Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends．The question of “choice”is an interesting one．Have you ever thought of the following questions?

　　Who choose your friends?

　　Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?

　　Have you got good friends your parents don’t like?

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　　“I find myself glancing at my watch to see how long I’ve been standing in line,”she said．“Everywhere I go, I notice if the dumpster(垃圾罐)gates are open or if there’s trash in the parking lot．”Ms．Clark is a“mystery shopper”, one of thousands of contract workers that companies hire to pretend as regular customers in order to judge customer service, cleanliness and whether a store is selling a product that meets company specifications(规格)．

　　Mystery shoppers can be found or, rather, not found, everywhere from restaurants and automotive shops to convenience stores and department stores．They play a constant cat-and-mouse game with store and restaurant employees and managers．However it’s not all fun and games．Once in the field, a mystery shopper will typically visit several stores or restaurants per hour, taking mental notes while inside, then jotting down physical notes after they leave．

　　It’s important for mystery shoppers to be as exact as possible, because the client companies are looking for data they can use to improve their service．The questionnaire won’t say,“Does the trash can need to be emptied?”What an educated shopper will say is,“The trash can to the left of the front door was overflowing with 10 pieces of trash on the ground．”Companies don’t need opinion but facts．

　　Nowadays mystery shoppers are armed with a number of high-tech devices, such as a digital scale and a digital thermometer, as well as a handheld PC for recording the entire experience．It’s a challenging job but a rewarding one．Mystery shoppers can be full time or part time, but the full-time workers tend to stick to standard mystery shopping while part-timers often choose the less complex reward-based programs．In those , the shoppers stay disguised(装扮的)only until the“shop”is finished, and then reveal(透漏)themselves to the store management and award prizes to employees who provided excellent service．

　　To be a mystery shopper, it’s important to be a good observer, but sometimes it’s important to have the right profile(外表), too．Companies often hire shoppers from particular backgrounds to better blend in with clients’ regular customers．If a secret shopper will be sent in, for example, to do a high-end automotive shop, the candidate must have a particular profile that meets a high-end, luxury car-type buyer profile．“It’s a challenge to perform your shop without being discovered,”Ms．Clark said,“because most of the people that we work for are very aware of the mystery shopping program．”

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　　Just as mankind has always had a desire to fly, the human race has wanted to swim under the water since prehistoric times．Pictures of primitive devices to enable people to breathe underwater have been found dating from 3000 years ago, but our dream of moving freely beneath the ocean waves for long periods of time was only realized about 60 years ago, when French diving legend Jacques Cousteau developed the first practical Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus(SCUBA)．Since then the sport of SCUBA diving has gone from strength to strength．

　　Lovers of SCUBA diving like the feeling of weightlessness, the peace and quiet under the water, the ability to move in three dimensions and the sense of adventure they get while on a dive．SCUBA divers often travel to some of the most beautiful and remote places in the world in the search for rare underwater flora and fauna(动、植物)．Palau, The Red Sea, The Maldives and Hawaii have many of the most popular diving sites, but recreational divers often have to make do with less exotic local destinations, like the North Sea in Britain．

　　SCUBA diving is not without its dangers, however．The mixture of nitrogen and oxygen divers breathe underwater, combined with the pressure under the water can be deadly if a diver rises too quickly to the surface, causing a condition called ‘the bends’．Divers can also get lost or trapped when diving on wrecks, and fatalities(死亡)are particularly common in cave diving, where divers add to the dangers of diving by swimming through underground caves filled with water．Diving can also be harmful to the underwater environment．However with proper precautions diving can open up a whole new world, far from the stresses of daily life．

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　　Bicycles for rent could become as common as newspaper stands and mail boxes on Germany’s street corners if a scheme launched by Deutsche Bahn is successful．

　　The German rail operator has launched a bicycle-hire scheme designed for simple one-way trips．

　　“It’s a new concept,”said Andreas Knie, head of the project．

　　Users must first register with Call-A-Bike at a cost of 15 euros(US＄14.7)．With a simple phone call, they can hire one of the many bikes parked outside stations, at a cost of 3 to 5 cents per minute．At the end of their journey, they ring a computer and tell it where the bike is parked．

　　The bikes are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week．

　　No one will be breaking speed records with Call-A-Bike bicycles．They weigh in at 25 kilograms, at least double the weight of a normal bicycle, though they do have eight gears(齿轮)．

　　“They are pretty heavy, but we don’t want people taking them on the train or into the subway,”Knie said．

　　They are also designed with parts that do not fit a normal bicycle．Even the screws are irregular and the bike looks so odd that thieves would stand out．

　　Vandalism and theft have led to the downfall of previous schemes which date back to Amsterdam’s 1966“White Bike”scheme．

　　In that short-lived experiment, anti-establishment groups painted bikes white and left them around the Dutch capital．

　　However, many were taken permanently and repainted, while the police took away others on the basis that ownerless bikes were street rubbish．

　　Copenhagen, Vienna and Helsinki also have free bike schemes, in which users deposit a coin in Copenhagen’s case 20 crowns(US＄2.50)－to free a bike from a rack．

　　“The advantage these schemes have is ease of use．But because they’re so cheap, people tend to hold on to the bikes and then there are none on the streets,”the person in charge said．

　　Oslo is also planning a bike-hire system where users will pay a symbolic fee of 50 Norwegian crowns(US＄6.50)for unlimited use in the city for a year．

　　Users will buy an electronic identity card as a key that will register when the bike is parked or taken from a rack．

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　　The New York Times is now better than ever－All the more reasons to order home delivery now．

　　NEW－Separate sections(版面)for the Arts, Monday through Thursday, and Sports 7 days a week that you can pull out, take with you or pass along．

　　NEW－The Dinning In, Dinning Out section, Wednesday, a banquet(宴会)of great meals you can make yourself order up or eat out．

　　NEW－The House & Home section, Thursday, filled with useful, interesting features(特别报道)and articles about making the most of all sorts of living spaces．

　　NEW－An Enlarged, two-part Weekend section, Friday with more ideas about movies, shows, art exhibitions, outdoor and indoor recreation．

　　Latest news and sports results daily．And of course, daily world and national news, Sunday’s special sections and all the other great features you’ll continue to find in the Times．

　　Find out just how much you can obtain from the Times every day．

　　Call 1－800－311－1969 or use the postage-paid order card to order convenient home delivery at 50％OFF our regular price．

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Letter One

21 July, 2008

Dear Sirs,

　　Our foreman, Mr．Li Ming, had an accident on July 6, 2008．He crushed his forefinger when operating a machine．At that time, we didn’t think the accident was serious enough to report, but Mr．Li has returned to his work after an absence of two weeks and is still unable to carry on his normal duties．We therefore wish to make a claim(索赔)under the above policy(保险单)and shall appreciate your sending us the necessary claim form．

Yours faithfully,

(Signature)

Letter Two

27 July, 2008

Dear Sirs,

　　We have received your letter of July 21 and noted that you made a claim for the accident of Mr．Li Ming．We would, however, remind you of the terms of the policy that this claim should have been submitted within three days after the accident．More than two weeks have now passed．Consequently, your claim to compensation(赔偿)under the policy has been forfeited(放弃、没收)．

　　Nevertheless, as an exceptional measure, we have decided to overlook its late submission, though we are bound to say that it should have been clear from Mr．Li’s absence from work that this accident was more serious than you had supposed and that there seems to be no good reason why this claim should not have been made earlier．

　　We are enclosing(附上)a claim form as requested, but must emphasize that future claims cannot be entertained if you cannot comply with the terms of the policy．

Yours faithfully,

(Signature)

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　　Early one morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep．He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem：It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle．

　　Though he was tired, Howe slept badly．He turned and turned．Then he had a dream．He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine．When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before．The thread kept getting caught around the needle．The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe．They came up towards him with their spears raised．But suddenly the inventor noticed something．There was a hole in the tip of each spear．The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem．Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle．This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practised sewing machine．

　　Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way．

　　Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams．So did the great physicist Albert Einstein．Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre．

　　To know the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep．Even then, a part of your mind is still working．This unconscious(无意识的), but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day．It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed．It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake．However, the unconscious part acts in a special way．It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first．This is why dreams are sometimes called“secret messages to ourselves”．

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　　Handsome Safin is loved by many women fans and he is called“the most attractive man”．His strength and forehand and backhand skills are the best in the world, which are in fact unbeatable while he is at his best．

　　Marat Safin was born in Moscow on 27th January, 1980, and was introduced to the game at a very early age．His mother Rausa, one of the former top 10 Russian women tennis players, used to take baby Marat with her when she practiced at the local Spartak club．This is where Marat also learned to play．

　　Marat had picked up his racket(球拍)almost as soon as he could walk and at five was hitting balls with a little child until 1992．

　　When Marat was 13, his parents decided to send him abroad for further practice, so in that year Marat and his mother visited a tennis school in Valencia where Maria Pasqual, former director of Spanish women’s tennis, was asked to judge his potential．Pasqual liked what she saw and managed to persuade a Swiss client into keeping him at the school．

　　In the following four years Marat lived in Valencia employing Pasqual as his career advisor, working on his great clay court skills and learning the Spanish language．

　　Marat’s first title came in 1997 at a Challenger in Espinho and soon afterwards he turned professional．He won his first title on the ATP Tour in August, 1999 when he beat Greg Rusedski in the final of the MFS Professional Championships in Boston．In 2000, Safin won his first Grand Slam(大满贯)title－US Open．He also reached the final of the Australian Open in 2002 and 2004．On November 7, 2004, Marat Safin beat Czech qualifier’ Stepanek to win his third Paris Masters title．He also won the Paris Masters in 2000 and 2002．

　　“I really enjoy tennis because it brings about extreme emotions and allows me to live my dreams,”said Safin．Yes, the future certainly looks rosy for him．Just like what his former adviser, Maria Pasqual said,“He will be a champion one day”－surely he already is!

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