Feb 28, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

　　It is no secret that we are in the midst of one of the worst economic times in recent state history．Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed＄14 billion in cuts, which means cuts to parks, prisons, and yes, education．For our school district that figure translates to＄12 million．We must have planned cuts in place before June 30．

　　We have been meeting with representatives of all the unions and management staff and a community-based budget(预算)committee to talk about ways of making budget cuts．We created a special link on the district website to provide information on budget cuts across the county．I’ve produced two videos, also placed on the special“Budget Update”link on the website．These videos have outlined what we’re doing to look at all programs across the district in our efforts to save money．We’re beginning a campaign where we’re going to encourage all of our employees and parents to write, call, and email their legislators(立法委员)to spare education from big cuts．

　　Despite the efforts we made to keep the cuts as far away from classroom as possible, we know we will have some serious decisions to make．With 87% of our budget going to employee salaries and benefits, we know these cuts may affect people．We’re hoping that those thinking of retiring will tell us soon so that we can also place people in those positions, if possible．We’re hoping that we can place people into open positions．

　　These conversations are not easy．I promise you, however, that we will be honest and open with you-that we will share with you all the information that was considered in making decisions．

　　Thank you for all you do for the students of our school district．

Sincerely,

Superintendent

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阅读理解

　　OBERLIN, Kansas(AP)-A postcard featuring a color drawing of Santa Claus and a young girl was mailed in 1914, but its journey was much slower than Christmas．It has just arrived in northwest Kansas recently．

　　The Christmas card was dated December 23, 1914, and mailed to Ethel Martin of Oberlin, apparently from her cousins in Alma, Nebraska．

　　“It’s a mystery where it spent most of the last century,”Oberlin Postmaster Steve Schultz said．

　　“It’s surprising that it never got thrown away,”he said．“How someone has found it, I don’t know．”

　　Ethel Martin has passed away, but Schultz said the post office wanted to get the card to a relative．That’s how the 94-year-old relic ended up with Bernice Martin, Ethel’s, sister-in-law．She said she believed the card had been found somewhere in Illinois．

　　“That’s all we know,”she said．“But it is kind of curious．We’d like to know how it got down there．”

　　“The card was placed inside another envelope with a modern postage stamp for the trip to Oberlin-the one cent postage of the early 20th century wouldn’t have covered it,”Martin said．

　　“We don’t know much about it,”she said．“But wherever they kept it, it was in perfect shape．”

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　　I am a good mother to three children．I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent．

　　I no longer consider myself the center of the universe．I show up．I listen．I try to laugh．I am a good friend to my husband．I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say．I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me．Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today．

　　So here’s what I wanted to tell you today：Get a life．A real life, not a desire of the next promotion, the bigger pay-check…．

　　Get a life in which you are not alone．Find people you love, and who love you．And remember that love is not leisure, it is work．Pick up the phone．Send an e-mail．Write a letter．And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted．

　　It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes．It is so easy to exist instead of to live．I learned to live many years ago．Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my choice, it would never have been changed at all．And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all．

　　I learned to love the journey, not the destination．I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and totally．And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned．

　　By telling them this：Read in the backyard with the sun on your face．Learn to be happy．And think of life as a deadly illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived．

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　　Do you want to live another 100 years or more?Some experts say that scientific advances willone day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span．

　　“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生),”said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future．“I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate．”

　　At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术)make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past．“There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,”he said．“Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years．”

　　However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last about 120 years．Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death．

　　Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live．“It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know;could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?”said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Center．“At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all．”

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　　If women are mercilessly exploited year after year, they have only themselves to blame, because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion．They are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores．Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion．When you come to think of it, only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear．

　　Changing fashion is nothing more than the intentional creation of waste．Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn．Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have．Skirts are lengthened or shortened;necklines are lowered or raised, and so on．

　　No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society．Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability(耐用)．They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right．There can hardly be a man who hasn’t sometimes in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes．

　　When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious．Does the constantly changing fashion of women’s clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of instability?Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers．Do their unchanged styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability?That is for you to decide．

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　　The university is in Princeton, New Jersey．It is an hour’s train ride south of New York City and an hour’s train north of Philadelphia．

　　There are 4,600 undergraduates(本科生)．There are also 1,900 graduate students, but Princeton is unusual among some universities in having a student body made up largely of undergraduates．

　　Princeton has about 700 full-time faculty members(教员)．There are another 300 or so part-time and visiting faculty．All faculty members at Princeton are expected to teach and research．

　　Princeton offers two undergraduate degrees：the bachelor of arts((A．B．)degree and the bachelor of science in engineering(B．S．E．)degree．

　　An academic year runs from September to late May and lasts two terms(fall and spring)．A normal course load is four or five courses per term, although many students take extra courses．

　　Princeton provides housing for all undergraduate students．Freshman and second-year students are required to spend their first two years in one of five colleges．Each college has its own dining hall, common rooms and computer centers．

　　Fees and Expenses(Academic Year 2004-2005)

　　Tuition(学费)：＄29,910

　　Room and board：＄8,387

　　Other expenses(books, telephones, etc．)：＄3,083

　　Total：＄41,380

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阅读理解

　　Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made．Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon abandoned their pressed flowers and insects．Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages．I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic．

　　Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary．I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys．Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door．But I do have a clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects．

　　I am a naturalist, not a scientist．I have a strong love of the natural world and my enthusiasm had led me into varied investigations．I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other people’s observations and discoveries．Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind．Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit together．This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might honor with the title of scientific research．

　　But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist：one of the outstanding and essential qualities required is self-discipline, a quality I lack．A scientist, up to a certain point, can be made．A naturalist is born．If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds．

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　　TWENTY－FIVE years ago director Stephen Spielberg captured the hearts of Western audiences with his family classic, E．T．Now his Hong Kong director Stephen Chow is trying to do the same trick in China．

　　Chow's latest movie CJ7(《长江七号》)，in cinemas now, is a heart-warming story about a poor migrant worker(外来务工者)and his son．When a strange alien enters their lives, father and son learn a lesson about the value of family．

　　Chow hopes his movie will help to make family films more popular in China．

　　Family films have been the main part of the Hollywood market for the last 40 years．They have given audiences movies like E．T．, Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park．However, there are few of these movies in China, where expensive history films are more popular．

　　A family film is not simply a children's movie．It is a film that is not only appropriate for children, but appeals to the whole family．

　　According to Raymound Zhou, a famous film critic, these films are rare in China because "very few families go to the cinema together"．Because of this, there is little demand for movies that appeal to the whole family．

　　However, in the West, it is common for the family to sit down and watch a movie together．Tim Bridges, from London, says："I love it at Christmas when I sit down and watch a movie with my family．"

　　All family films contain similar messages about being honest; remaining positive and learning there is more to life than money．According to the American movie reviewer, Dave Johnson, this is because "When parents watch a movie, they want their children to be learning good values"．

　　Just like when the alien in Spielberg's E．T．phones home to makes contact with his family, Chow will hope Chinese audiences are tuned in and ready to receive his family movie message．

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Pocket Money

　　Most British parents give their teenagers pocket money．Teenagers get between ＆7 and ＆20a week．They spend it on fast food, designer clothes, the cinema, concert, magazines and mobile phones．

　　1．Lazy parents?

　　37％ of parents pay teenagers to clean the lounge, 66％ of parents pay teenagers to take the rubbish out．

　　2．Lazy teens?

　　51％ of teenagers don't make their beds before they leave home．Only 13％ of teenagers wash the car for money．Some parents even pay their teenagers to do their homework．

　　3．Equality? Not yet!

　　Boys get more money than girls for most odd jobs．For washing the dishes, boys get about ＆4 and girls get about ＆1．

　　4．And if you need some more money?

　　Teens get an extra ＆250 a year out of their parents on top of pocket money!About 50％ of teens get gifts of money from their grandparents．Go to Mum if you need extra money!She gives more than Dad．

　　5．Where you live makes a difference!

　　Parents in Scotland and the North of England give most pocket money．

　　6．Spending

　　51％spend their money on clothes．39％buy cosmetics, jewellery and toiletries．Less than 50％ of teenagers save any money．

　　Here are some children who tell us about their pocket money：

　　I get ＆30 a month, I have to take the rubbish out and tidy my room．Emma, 15, Edinburgh．

　　I get ＆10 a week．But I have to clean the car, hoover(用真空洗尘器清洗)the house and load and unload the dishwasher．I usually save the money．James, 12, sheffield．

　　I get ＆7.50 a week．I have to be "good" but I don't have to do any jobs for the money．

　　Lain, 13, Gardiff．

　　I get ＆5 a week．But our neighbors go away a lot and they give me ＆25 a week for looking after their cats．Richard, 13, Belfast．

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　　The age of wealthy youth is over．Today's under-thirties are the first generation for a century who can expect a lower living standard than their parents．

　　Research into the lifestyle and prospects of people born since 1970 shows that they arelikely to face a lifetime of longer working hours, lower job security and higher taxes than the previous generation．

　　When they leave work late in the evening they will be more likely to return to a smallrented flat than to a house of their own．When, eventually, they retire it will be on pensions(养老金)far lower in real terms than those of their immediate ancestors．

　　The findings are revealed in a study of the way the ageing of Britain's population isaffecting different generations．

　　Anthea Tinker, professor of social gerontology at King's College London, who carried out much of the work, said the growth of the proportion(比例)of people over 50 had reversed the traditional flow of wealth from older to younger generations．

　　“Today's older middle-aged and elderly are becoming the new winners,” she said．“Theymade relatively small contributions in tax but now makerelativelybigclaimsonthe welfare system．Generations born in the last three to four decades face the prospect of handing over more than a third of their lifetime's earnings to care for them”．

　　The growing number of older people, many living alone, has also increased demand forproperty and pushed up house prices．While previous generations found it easy to raise a mortgage(抵押), today's under-thirties have to live with their parents or rent．If they can afford to buy a home it is more likely to be a flat than a house．

　　Laura Lenox-Conyngham, 28, grew up in a large house and her mother did not need to work．Unlike her wealthy parents, she graduated with student and postgraduate loan debts of ￡13, 000．She now earns about ￡20,000 a year, preparing food to be photographed for magazines．Her home is a one-bedroom flat in central London and she rents the lounge sofa-bed to her brother．

　　“My father took pity and paid off my student debts,” she said．“But I still have no pensionand no chance of buying a property for at least a couple of years－and then it will be some-thing small in a bad area．My only hope is the traditional one of meeting a rich man．”

　　Tinkers research shows Lenox-Conyngham is representative of many young professionals, especially in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol．

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