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　　This report presents details of home computer used by a sample group of young people．It is a common belief that teenagers today know about computers and are familiar with using them in all aspects of their lives．We decided to try to find out if this was true．

　　We questioned thirty young people between 14 and 18．All the teenagers we chose said they had computers at home．We asked them how much time they spent on their computer in an average week, but we were most interested in what they used their computers for．

　　The average time spent on a computer in a week was about 12 hours, with the highest user averaging 32 hours and the lowest user only 5 hours．There was no significant difference between boys and girls．

　　All of the people(questioned)said they regularly used the computer to play games．Fourteen told us they did some word-processing at home, but not very much．Only 2 of the respondents said that computers helped them with their studies, while 8 people told us they kept addresses and telephone numbers on their computers or used them as diaries．Only 3 people said they were learning to program computers, and nobody consulted(查阅)databases(other than their address lists)．None of the people used their computer for any other purpose．The chart gives the overall results in detail．

　　The results indicate that average computer use is quite high amongst 14-18-year-old．They also show quite clearly that computers are seen by most young people as no more than game machines．The only other significant uses are for word processing and organizing address lists．It seems to us that, although computers are common in the homes of British young people, they have not yet become useful tools in the routine of everyday life．

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　　A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin(顽童)was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?” he asked．Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas．” The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything?Boy, I wish－．” He hesitated．

　　Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He was going to wish he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly．

　　“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that．” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”　“Oh yes, I'd love that．”

　　After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

　　Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again．“Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked．He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled(残疾)brother．He seated him down on the step and pointed to the car．

　　“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent．And some day I'm going to give you one just like it－then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about．”

　　Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride．

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　　Every year students flock to the college bookstore to purchase the different textbooks that they need for their classes．Little do these students realize that, in doing so, they are throwing good money away．It may sound unbelievable but textbooks, in some cases, actually cost as much as, if not more, than college fees．

　　Many people think that college bookstore are the most convenient source for textbooks．Titles are usually in-stock and students may purchase new textbooks or choose to buy second-hand books and save money．But the money saved by purchasing second-hand textbooks from college bookstores is small compared to the amount they could save by shopping online．

　　More and more online booksellers have begun selling textbooks at heavily discounted prices．Online second-hand bookstores are another source for college books as they stock a large number of textbooks, which means sizable savings for students．Students should avoid purchasing their textbooks at the first store that they browse online since there are so many ‘virtual' booksellers on the Net．Price isn't the only factor to consider when making an online purchase．Students should also consider shipping costs and delivery time when making their decision．

　　Online auctions(拍卖)are another option for students seeking a bargain．This option, however, has its pros and cons．A plus is that students can get incredibly cheap books．One problem is that while online bookstores have a system in place that ensure you receive your order within a reasonable amount of time, with an auction purchase, however, you must depend on the auction seller's timetable．

　　One way that students can really save is by getting books for free．Project Gutenberg is one resource that English majors will find invaluable．Here students can legally download a huge collection of classic novels．In the past students needing help with their studies would often have to spend a lot of money buying expensive study guides．Today that is no longer the case．Cash-strapped students can now visit the website SparkNotes for free downloadable study guides as well as classics．

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　　Three Mexican fishermen have been rescued after drifting for about nine months across thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean in a small boat, a hard experience they survived by eating raw birds and fish and drinking rain water．

　　The shark fishermen said on Wednesday they left their home town of San Blas on Mexico's Pacific coast in November and were blown 5,000 miles off course after their 25-foot fiberglass boat ran out of gas and they were left to the mercy of the winds and the tides．Their families had given them up for dead．

　　“We ate raw fish, ducks, sea gulls．We took down any bird that landed on our boat and we ate it like that, raw,”said Jesus Vidana, one of the three survivors．

　　The odyssey finally ended when Vidana and the other two men, Salvador Ordonez and Lucio Rendon, were rescued a week ago by a Taiwanese fishing boat in waters between the Marshall Islands and Kiribati．

　　The three men were sunburned but otherwise in good health．Vidana said they always believed they would be found．

　　“We never lost hope because we were always seeing boats．They passed us by, but we kept on seeing them．Every week or so, sometimes we'd go a month without seeing one, but we always saw them so we never lost hope,”he said．

　　They were lucky to be picked up in the end because they were fast asleep and only noticed the rescue boat was coming for them when they heard its engine．

　　“There are no words to express it．The emotion here is very strong because we thought they were dead,”said Efrain Partida, a fellow fisherman in San Blas, which was once a Spanish port and is known for its bird life, tropical jungle and mosquitoes and sand flies．

　　San Blas is home to thousands of fishermen and many have old boats without radios or life-saving device．

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　　Living in the wild can be hard．Finding food and staying safe aren't easy．Each day, animals struggle to survive in their habitats．Not all animals get by on their own．Some animals form a close partnership with other kinds of animals．These pairings are called symbiotic(共生的)relationships．

　　In a symbiotic relationship, the animals depend on each other．One animal helps the other meet its needs．Sounds good, right?Not always．Some animals are not very kind to their partners．In some cases, one animal meets its needs but hurts its partner．Take ticks, for example．These insects suck blood to live．To get blood, they attach themselves to other kinds of animals．Ticks can pass germs that cause disease instead of helping their hosts．

　　In other relationships, animals don't treat their partners so poorly．Both animals benefit from living with the other animal．

　　Small animals called cleaner shrimps have found a way of helping fish at coral reefs．As their name suggests, the shrimps clean the fish．They hang out at what scientists call a cleaning station．A fish stops by．Then a shrimp climbs onto the fish and even steps into the fish's mouth．The shrimp uses its tiny claws to pick stuff off the fish's body．That can include dead skin, tiny pieces of food, and wee creatures that can hurt the fish．The fish gets a nice cleaning．The shrimp enjoys a tasty meal of fish trash．

　　Small birds called plovers are also in the cleaning business．They have big customers－crocodiles．Crocs have long snouts(鼻子)filled with sharp teeth．Cleaning them is tricky．When a croc opens its mouth, the plover hops right in．The croc does not snap its snout shut．Instead, it lets the plover eat small, harmful animals attached to the crocodile's teeth．The plover gets an easy meal while the croc gets clean teeth．

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　　New York Time－A gunman killed eight people at a mall in Omaha this afternoon and then killed himself, setting off panic among holiday shoppers, the police said．

　　“The person who we believe to be the shooter has died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds,”Sgt．Teresa Negron of the Omaha Police Department said at televised news．“We have been able to clear the mall,”she said．“We don't believe we have any other shooters．”The police said that at least five other people had been injured in the shootings．

　　She did not give the shooter's identity．“We are still conducting the investigation,”Sergeant Negron said, adding that the city's mayor, who was out of town, was on his way back to Omaha．

　　She said the police received a 911 call from someone inside the Westroads Mall on the west side of Omaha, and shots could be heard in the background．The first police officers arrived at the mall six minutes after the first call, she said, but by then the shootings were over．

　　It is reported that the gunman left a suicide note that was found at his home by relatives．A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity(匿名)said the note indicated that the gunman wanted to“go out in style．”

　　The shootings broke the usually banal routine of holiday shopping．The gunman was said by some witnesses to have fired about 20 shots into a crowd．Some customers and workers ran screaming from the mall, while others dived into dressing rooms to hide from the shooter．

　　Shoppers and store workers were trapped inside the mall, which has roughly 135 stores．Others streamed out of mall exits with their hands raised．President Bush was in Omaha this morning to deliver a speech, but he had left the city by the time the shootings took place．

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　　Most Americans who earned money last year are expected to pay the I．R．S．part of what they earned．

　　Only those who earned very little are not required to make such a payment．They still must send a tax report to the government．

　　Most American workers have already paid all or most of their federal income taxes．This is because part of the tax goes to the I．R．S．each time a worker is paid．

　　The government returns some of the money if too much was withheld．

　　People who work for themselves usually send a tax payment to the I．R．S．every three months．

　　The federal tax rate is not the same for everyone．People who earn a lot of money pay taxes at a higher rate than those who earn less．But even people who earn the same amount do not always pay the same amount of tax．That is because of the many tax laws written by Congress．These laws were created for social or economic purposes．

　　For example, people who borrow money to buy a house may pay less in taxes than people who rent a home．Homeowners can subtract(减掉)the interest on the loan from their taxable income．Americans also can help reduce their taxable income by subtracting the value of money given to organizations that help the needy．

　　Personal income tax is not the only tax that the federal government collects．It taxes property or money left when someone dies．And it taxes earnings from the sale of some investments, such as a house．Americans also pay a federal social security tax that is used to pay retired workers．

　　Americans pay many other taxes, too．Most pay taxes to the state in which they live．Most states also collect sales tax．That is an amount added to the cost of goods bought in stores．

　　And local city and county governments collect tax on property its citizens own．Many Americans say they pay too many taxes and their taxes are too high．Others say they are willing to pay taxes to receive services from their local state and federal governments．

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　　Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet…We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen．We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us．We are paying for products that harm us psychologically(心理上)and physically．

　　Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically．On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods．Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale(秤)instead．

　　All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels．

　　On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects．Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don't have to work to get results．Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle．

　　The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause．Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients(营养成分)．Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products．Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous．

　　Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them．Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals．Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological and physical harm that comes from using them．

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　　One morning a few years ago, Harvard President Neil Rudenstine overslept．For this busy man, it was a sort of alarm：after years of non-stop hard work, he might wear himself out and die an early death．

　　Only after a week's leave-during which he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach-was Rudenstine able to return to work．

　　In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest．Amazingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying：“I am so busy．”

　　We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress．The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others．To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax-this has become the model of a successful life．

　　Because we do not rest, we lose our way．We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing us with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom．

　　How have we allowed this to happen?I believe it is this：we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week-for followers of some religions-for rest and praying．It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful．It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals, walk and sleep．It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world．

　　Rest is a spiritual and biological need; however, in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities, we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest．The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work．In fact, “Remember the Sabbath” is more than simply permission to rest; it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow．

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　　For years we have been told that encouraging a child's self-respect is important to his or her success in life．But child experts are now learning that too much praise can lead to the opposite effect．Praise-aholic kids who expect it at every turn may become teens who seek the same kind of approval from their friends when asked if they want to go in the backseat of the car．

　　The implication(含义)of saying “You are the prettiest girl in class,” or talking about the goals she scored but not her overall effort, is that you love her only when she looks the best, scores the highest, achieves the most．And this carries over to the classroom．

　　Social psychologist Carrol Dweck, PhD, tested the effects of overpraise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University．She found that kids praised for “trying hard” did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being “smart”．

　　“Praising attributes(品质)or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality, and it devalues effort, so children are afraid to take on challenges,” says Dweck, now at Stanford University, “They figure they'd better quit while they're ahead．”

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