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　　The thing is, my luck’s always been ruined．Just look at my name：Jean．Not Jean Marie, or Jeanine, or Jeanette, or even Jeanne．Just Jean．Did you know in France, they name boys Jean?It’s French for John．And okay, I don’t live in France．But still, I’m basically a girl named John．If I lived in France, anyway．

　　This is the kind of luck I’ve had since before Mom even filled out my birth certificate．So it wasn’t any big surprise to me when the cab driver didn’t help me with my suitcase．I’d already had to tolerate arriving at the airport to find no one there to greet me, and then got no answer to my many phone calls, asking where my aunt and uncle were．Did they not want me after all?Had they changed their minds?Had they heard about my bad luck－all the way from Iowa－and decided they didn’t want any of it to rub off on them?

　　So when the cab driver, instead of getting out and helping me with my bags, just pushed a little button so that the trunk(汽车后备箱)popped open a few inches, it wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to me．It wasn’t even the worst thing that had happened to me that day．

　　According to my mom, most brownstones in New York City were originally single-family homes when they were built way back in the 1800s．But now they’ve been divided up into apartments, so that there’s one－or sometimes even two or more families－per floor．

　　Not Mom’s sister Evelyn’s brownstone, though．Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted Gardiner own all four floors of their brownstone．That’s practically one floor per person, since Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted only have three kids, my cousins Tory, Teddy, and Alice．

　　Back home, we just have two floors, but there are seven people living on them．And only one bathroom．Not that I’m complaining．Still, ever since my sister Courtney discovered blow-outs, it’s been pretty frightful at home．

　　But as tall as my aunt and uncle’s house was, it was really narrow－just three windows across．Still, it was a very pretty townhouse, painted gray．The door was a bright, cheerful yellow．There were yellow flower boxes along the base of each window, flower boxes from which bright red－and obviously newly planted, since it was only the middle of April, and not quite warm enough for them．

　　It was nice to know that, even in a sophisticated(世故的)city like New York, people still realized how homey and welcoming a box of flowers could be．The sight of those flowers cheered me up a little．

　　Like maybe Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted just forgot I was arriving today, and hadn’t deliberately failed to meet me at the airport because they’d changed their minds about letting me come to stay．

　　Like everything was going to be all right, after all．

　　Yeah．With my luck, probably not．

　　I started up the steps to the front door of 326 East Sixty-Ninth Street, then realized I couldn’t make it with both bags and my violin．Leaving one bag on the sidewalk, I dragged the other up the steps with me．Maybe I took the steps a little too fast, since I nearly tripped and fell flat on my face on the sidewalk．I managed to catch myself at the last moment by grabbing some of the fence the gardeners had put up…

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　　Patients and doctors alike have long believed in the healing(治疗)power of humor．It is claimed that humor not only affects patients’ moods, but can actually help them recover faster．

　　Several studies seem to support this．Patients in better spirits are known to have higher immune cell counts．Some have even claimed to have healed themselves of serious illnesses by reading comics and watching comedies．

　　Despite all this, many researchers are not convinced．They point out the fact that many sufferings have been known to disappear naturally, with or without a daily dose of laughter．They also say that while optimism in general does seem to be related to better health, it is hard to tell which comes first．

　　Humor in times of stress, however, clearly makes us feel better．On one level, it takes our minds off our troubles and relaxes us．On another, it releases powerful endorphins, a chemical produced by your body that reduces pain．

　　There are cases where the appreciation of a good joke is indeed directly related to a person’s health．It can show, for example, whether a person has suffered damage to one particular area of the brain：the right frontal lobe(额叶)．

　　Scientists confirmed this by having people read jokes and asking them to choose the funniest endings from a list．Subjects with normal brains usually chose endings that were based on a relatively complex synthesis(综合)of ideas．Subjects with specifically located brain damage, however, responded only to slapstick(闹剧)endings, which did not depend on a particular context．When pressed, the brain-damaged subjects saw the logic in the correct endings．They simply did not find them funny．

　　Of course, humor is largely an individual matter．Next time your friend does not get one of your jokes, there is no need to accuse him of being a lamebrain．However, you might suggest that he lighten up－for the health of it．

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　　Natural Medicine is to use the natural environment, the nature of the material itself to cure diseases and restore the health．It involves bettering one’s breathing way, sunbathing, improving one’s diets and so on, which play an important part in our healthcare．

　　The Australian Institute of Applied Sciences College of Natural Medicine provides you with Nationally Recognized natural medicine courses that can be studied in the comfort of your own home, or at our Brisbane campus in the heart of Stones Corner．AIAS College of Natural Medicine has been providing accredited(官方认可的)natural health courses for more than 20 years, and offers accredited certificate, diploma and advanced diploma level natural medicine, beauty and massage(按摩)courses．

　　With over 36 years of specialized training and 120 courses, our Natural Medicine College is Australia’s longest running and most sought after training provider for Natural Medicine Education．Our state of the art facilities, highly experienced instructors and friendly support staff make us the first choice for Distance Education and On-campus study．

　　All of our courses are available to study at home．We provide all the material and support you will need to successfully complete your course．

　　●Work at your own pace．

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　　●No interruption to your existing commitments．

　　●You are still in full contact with the college via Telephone, Email and Post, so you won’t be out of touch with the latest training techniques．

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　　It was graduation day at Etihad Training Academy, where the national airline of the United Arab Emirates holds a seven-week training course for new flight attendants．

　　Despite her obvious pride, Ms．Fathi, a 22-year-old from Egypt, was amazed to find herself here．“I never in my life thought I’d work abroad,”said Ms．Fathi, who was a university student in Cairo when she began noticing newspaper advertisements employing young Egyptians to work at airlines based in the Persian Gulf．

　　A decade ago, unmarried Arab women like Ms．Fathi, working outside their home countries, were rare．But just as young men from poor Arab nations poured into the oil-rich Persian Gulf states for jobs, more young women are doing so．

　　Flight attendants have become the public face of the new mobility for some young Arab women, just as they were the face of new freedoms for women in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s．They have become a subject of social anxiety and fascination in much the same way．

　　For many families, allowing a daughter to work may call her virtue into question．Yet this culture is changing, said Musa Shteiwi, a sociologist at Jordan University in Amman．“We’re noticing more and more single women going to the gulf these days,”he said．“It’s still not exactly common, but over the last four or five years it’s become quite an observable phenomenon．”

　　Many of the young Arab women working in the Persian Gulf take delight in their status as pioneers, role models for their friends and younger female relatives．Young women brought up in a culture that highly values community, have learned to see themselves as individuals．The experience of living independently and working hard for high salaries has forever changed their beliefs about themselves, though it can also lead to a painful sense of separation from their home countries and their families．

－From New York Times(December 22, 2008)

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　　I’m probably too late to jump on this“real tiger, fake tiger”train．I guess many people are now as fed up as I am with the debate and“discoveries”surrounding the tiger picture．But the story just won’t go away：You open a newspaper, and a headline says“New evidence found to prove tiger photo fake!”You open a Web page, and the top story quotes(引用)the farmer who shot the photo angrily denied he had doctored it．

　　So, at the risk of being annoyingly repetitive, here’s the latest：Some concerned citizens 1ast week found a 5-year-old Spring Festival poster with a tiger on it．The picture on the poster looks identical to the tiger in a photo shot by Shanxi hunter Zhou Zhenglong．

　　Zhou claimed that he took the photos of a real South China tiger in the mountains near his village in early October．The poster seems to be the latest evidence that Zhou’s photos are fake．

　　Now, the national Ministry of Forest has sent the nation’s top“tiger experts”to Zhenping, Shanxi, to search the mountains for the hidden-and-appearing tiger．A1ready, hundreds of reporters from all over the country have wandered around the area．Meanwhile, hunter Zhou swears on heaven and earth that the photos are real．

　　OK．If the photo was real, it means the South China tiger isn’t extinct(灭绝的)in the wild, as many scientists have declared．But has anybody actually considered what the photo would do to the poor tiger(s), if there were any at all?The forests are now overrun with scientists, officials, journalists and treasure hunters．Why do people have to fulfill their curiosity at the cost of further endangering the tiger?Even if a tiger exists, it would be scared and driven away, if not trapped or killed．In other words, the tiger is the ultimate lose．

　　If there isn’t a tiger and Zhou has been lying all long, so what?People can question the authenticity of the photo and the honesty of the hunter．They can criticize the local government for being so easily cheated as to pay Zhou for those questionable photos．Either way, nobody really cares about the tiger．

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　　Well before the 15th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belongings．Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom．A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver．

　　The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband．Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth．

　　For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent(结婚意向), as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A．D．．The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice．

　　Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring．The diamond’s fire is also associated with“love’s clear flame,”given by Medieval Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love．

　　The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substances in nature, and fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance．Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation(急增)throughout Europe but their intrinsic(内在的)appeal guaranteed them a future．By the 17th century, the diamond ring had become the most sought after statement of European engagement．

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　　Longman Dictionary with CD-ROM

　　The dictionary is unique because it has been written using the Longman Defining Vocabulary．Only this dictionary uses a defining vocabulary comprised of the 2,000 words that make up the intermediate-level student’s most frequent vocabulary．This new edition has been completely updated using Longmans unique, comprehensive database of spoken and written American English．A must for all ESL classrooms．

　　Pronunciation Power

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　　The Talk Now!CD-ROM Course for ESL

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　　I was now in my twenty third year of residence in this island and was so naturalized to the place and to the manner of living that could I have but enjoyed the certainty that no savages(野人)would come to the place to disturb me, I could have been content to spend the rest of my time there, even to the last moment, till I had laid me down and died, like the old goat in the cave．

　　I had also arrived to some little recreations and amusements, which made the time pass more pleasantly with me a great deal than it did before．

　　At first, I had taught my Poll to speak．And he did it so familiarly and talked so clearly and plain that it was very pleasant to me．And he lived with me no less than six and twenty years．How long he might live afterwards, I know not; though I know they have an idea in Brazil that they live a hundred years．Perhaps poor Poll may be alive there still, calling Poor Robin Crusoe to this day．I wish no other English man the ill luck to come there and hear him．But if he did, he would certainly believe it was the devil．

　　My dog was a very pleasant and loving companion to me for no less than sixteen years of my time, and then died of mere old age．

　　As for my cats, they multiplied to that degree that I had to shoot several of them at first to keep them from eating up all I had．

　　Besides these, I had two more parrots which talked pretty well and would all call Robin Crusoe, but none like my first．Nor indeed did I take the pains with any of them that I had done with him．

　　I had also several tame sea-fowls, whose names I know not, who I caught upon the shore and cut their wings．And the little stakes which I had planted before my castle wall being now grown up to a good thick bush, these fowls all lived among these low trees and bred there, which was very agreeable to me; so that as I said above, I began to be very well contented with the life I led, if it might but have been secured from the threat of the savages．

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　　Pop idols are those stars who burn even brighter than regular stars．If a star is someone you can recognize on the street, an idol is someone who will cause an excitement at a public appearance．

　　Without fans, an idol is just an ordinary person, like you and me．As Reese Witherspoon once said while announcing the Oscar for best make-up, movie stars look just like ordinary people if you see them without make-up．

　　I was once invited to a private party where about half of the guests were stars and the other half entertainment reporters．Guess what?The good-looking ones were the reports because they tend to be young, and they shine without make-up．

　　Some idols are born; some are made．Most idols are created by a machine called the entertainment industry．They may have some charms and talent, but not enough to become famous．They are the raw material out of which a star, or even an idol is made．An army of behind-the-scenes assistants will hype(使……在媒体上出现)or even make up their virtues(美德)and hide their shortcomings．

　　Paris Hilton is the kind of star who possesses no real talent but yet is quite well-known．This is the result of endless hype．If you are pushed into the public eye often enough, you can become an idol without having any talent．

　　Television contest shows create a much fairer and more see-through platform where young people can compete and show their talent．The soap opera is another platform for idol making．These drama series are long, giving an actor great opportunities to be known．The actors and actresses are always made up and beautifully dressed．Now all they need is some good dialogues from the screenwriter．

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　　Throughout history people have used public speaking as an important means of communication．What the Greek leader Pericles said more than 2,500 years ago is still true today：“One who forms a judgement on any point but cannot explain it clearly might as well never have thought at all on the subject．”It is not difficult to understand that public speaking, as its name implies, is a way of making your ideas public．

　　“But what does public speaking have to do with me if I do not want to be a professional public speaker?”you may think to yourself．However, the need for public speaking will almost certainly touch you sometime in your life－maybe tomorrow, maybe not for five years．Can you imagine how you would talk about some problems in front of a lot of people?The point is that public speaking is sure to be needed when some situations occur in your life．

　　Can you be good at public speaking the moment you realize that it is important?The problem is that many people who express themselves easily in all kinds of everyday situations become frightened at the idea of standing up before a group to make a speech．If you are worried about“stage fright”, you may feel better knowing that you are not alone．A survey made recently asked more than 2,500 Americans to list their greatest fears．The researchers were very surprised to learn that the largest number of people－41 percent－listed speaking before a group among their greatest fears．

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