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　　CBC is a famous air company which has over twenty planes carrying passengers and goods, flying along 12 fixed lines all over the world．Its service is very good but some passengers are still not satisfied with it and that is why in 2006 and 2007 the company received letters of complaints from consumers or passengers who pointed out over a dozen kinds of problems which are divided in groups in the following table．Those about passengers’ things carried by the plane are Baggage problems．Customer service which refers to service work with passengers are not satisfactory．Oversales of seats are about the fact that more seats are sold and as a result the plane is too crowded to be safe．Refund problems appear when passengers fail to receive the money paid back to them because of what they have lost．Fares are problems about the price of tickets．

　　Consumer Complaints Received By the CBC

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　　Although man has known asbestos(石棉)for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent．H．W．Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for(对…负责)the opening of that first mine．

　　Mr．Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy．He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers．After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands．How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all．You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials．However, because it was very expensive to transport(carry)them from Italy to the United States, Mr．Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home．This young man found great vein(岩脉), in the province of Quebec in Canada．

　　Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen．When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be．When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres(纤维)．

　　Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads(线), but they have found thousands of users of this fireproof material, of the so-called“cloth of stone”．

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“Go for it!”

　　The expression“Go for it!”is a way of encouraging someone to try something．“Go for it!”means you should not worry about failure or be to careful．You should take a chance, be brave, and act firmly．“Go for it!”gets name from football．Not footballs it is played in most countries such as England, Egypt or Japan,but the kind of football played in the United States and CanadA．One of the most exciting times in football comes when a team has failed, after three attempts, to move the ball forward ten yards．The team must make a critical decision．

　　The conservative(保守)choice is to kick the ball and accept temporary defeat in order to gain a good position for your team the next time it gets the ball．The more exciting choice, however, is to try a fourth and final time to gain the remaining yards needed．

　　People present are certain to shout their advice．Some will shout：“Kick the ball!”But others will encourage the team to take a chance．“Go for it!”they will scream．

　　In the nineteen eighties, people began using this expression in many kinds of situations to encourage someone to act bravely．

　　There is no guarantee that the action you“go for it”will succeed．

　　But that is the chance you take when you decide to go for it．You put your fears behind．You choose courage over safety．You hold your breath and go for it．

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　　The drop in temperature in the middle of December is a sure sign that winter is finally here．The cold weather causes people to easily get sick．To avoid this, it’s a good idea to adjust your eating habits and put more nourishing foods on your daily menu．

　　Each area has different recipes(食谱)．Take a look at the following list for more ideas．

　　Mention Beijing recipe, and the first thing people think of is“hot pot”．Hot pot has been a long–time winter tradition in Beijing, as a way to beat the cold and nourish the body with mutton, beef and other side dishes．

　　Where to go for hot pot

　　Laowu Siji Shuanrou

　　A traditional hotpot restaurant with a long history．It is well–known for selected mutton from Inner MongoliA．The old–style copper pot and tasty sauces add more flavors to the broth(肉汤)to entertain your taste．

　　Address：No．17, Baizhifang E．Avenue

　　Tel：010–63516164

　　Suantiankula Restaurant

　　This place is famous for its healthy tomato hotpot broth．The sour broth is delicious but not oily．The secret–recipe red bean soup makes a great accompaniment．For alcohol–lovers, try the Shaoxing wine, which is made from rice and warms you up．

　　Address：No．8, Xinyuanxili M．Avenue

　　Tel ：010–64612345

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　　Do you have bright ideas for inventions that change society or at least, make life easier for somebody?Perhaps we all do sometimes, but we don’t often turn the idea into reality．Recently, in Britain, there was a competition called British Designers for Tomorrow．The competition encouraged young people to carry out their bright ideas．There were two groups in the contest．Group One was for school children under 16; Group Two was for school children over 16．And there were eleven prize winners altogether．

　　Neil Hunt, one of the prize winners, was called“Sunshine Superman”．It’s important when people study the weather to be able to record sunshine accurately．We need to know how many hours of sunshine we have and how strong it is．Most sunshine recorders only record direct sunlight．Neil’s is more accurate and this is very important for research into the way of using solar heat．

　　You can do much with animated cartoon．Look at Simon West’s idea for animated road signs．He uses pictures which appear to move as you go near to or farther from them．This isn’t a new idea．But it is new to use these pictures on road signs．“we found that people were more likely to see moving signs,”said Simon．So now, you can really see rocks falling, trains moving, horses running or a car falling over the edge of cliff．“Quite a warning!”

　　The ideas in the competition were so inventive that we are surprised that British industry doesn’t ask more school children for suggestions．Perhaps this will be the start of“pupil power”!

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　　From Stanford we turned our attention north and slightly west to San Francisco．We left at a quarter past eleven in the morning and before long a car traveling the 35 miles between the two places brought us the terrible news of a city in ruins, with fires beginning at various points, and the water supply interrupted．I was fortunate enough to board the only train that got up to the city; fortunate enough also to escape in the evening by the only train that left it．This gave me and my brave female companion four hours of observation．

　　By midday, when we reached the city, the smoke was heavier and the explosion had begun, but the troops, the police, and the firemen seemed to have set up order, dangerous neighborhoods were roped off everywhere and stationed with policemen, bars were closed, trucks or cars were forced into service, and everyone was at work who could work．

　　It was indeed a strange sight to see an entire population in the streets busy as ants in an uncovered ant hill hurrying to save their eggs．The sidewalks were covered with well–dressed men and women, carrying precious things, or dragging big boxes to spots of greater temporary(暂时)safety, soon to be dragged farther, as the fire kept spreading!

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　　“I never expected that I would be so busy．Why can’t there be 25 hours in a day?”complained Liu Ran in Hong Kong as mid–term exams were going on．

　　The 18–year–old girl was Shandong Province’s top scorer in this year’s college entrance examination．After graduating from Tai’ an No．1 High School, she chose the Chinese University of Hong Kong, although two famous universities in mainland promised her a place．

　　“I want to experience a more international school and social life in Hong Kong．I’m majoring in(主修)journalism, so Hong Kong will surly help widen my horizons,”Liu said．

　　It is two months since Liu first set foot on Hong Kong．She missed home a lot at the beginning, because of the food and language problems．

　　“The canteen offers mostly Western or Guangdong food, but it’s convenient to cook for ourselves in our dormitory if we like．People speak Cantonese and almost all classes are in English,”Liu explanined．

　　Her English and Cantonese are now both improving, but she still needs more time to adapt to the new environment．

　　“I’m happy that I made the right decision to study here．With a mix of the Eastern and Western cultures, there is so much to discover and learn,”she said．

　　Liu has 18 credit hours of classes every week and 23 non–credit hours every other week．She has signed up for four associations including the Chinese Language Debating Team and the drama club．Essays, book reports and presentations also take plenty of time to prepare．

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　　Farmers could grow more rice and shaky Internet communications could work better someday, thanks to prize-winning discoveries by teenage scientists showed at a national science fair on Monday．

　　High school scientists from across the United States showed off work in genetics, molecular(分子的)biology, mathematics and other fields that judges said rose to the professional level．

　　“It just blows me away．They’re all just unimaginable,”said Joel Spencer, a New York University professor who served as judge at the Sidemen’s Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology．

　　Research done by finalists in the nationwide competition could lead to faster Internet speeds, more effective antibacterial drugs and better energy conservation．One team researched black holes in outer space, while another examined more than 700 fossils to better understand why dinosaurs died out．

　　Juliet Girard and Roshan Prabhu won ＄ 100,000 scholarship for their work proving genes that help some kinds of wild rice flower earlier than others．

　　Drawing on a database that described the genetic makeup of rice, the two students, from Jersey City, New Jersey, identified two genetic sections that directed wild rice to blossom an average of 10 days earlier than the ordinary short-grain rice that feeds much of the world．

　　Their discovery could allow genetic engineers to develop a new strain that would take less time to reach maturity, allowing farmers to produce more and extending the growing region into colder climates．

　　Steven Byrnes of Lexington, Massachusetts, took the top individual prize for his theory describing outcomes in a two-player game called Chomp．

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　　In many societies, there is often greater acceptance of light skin than dark skin．Light skin may be seen as a mark of beauty, intelligence and success．These beliefs can lead to social pressures even within the same racial or ethnic group, if some members are darker skinned than others．

　　The result is that skin lightening has become a common activity across Africa, Asia and other areas of the world．More and more people with dark skin are using skin-lightening products, even if it means they may face health risks．

　　They believe that having whiter skin will improve their lives．Many people think they will have a better chance of getting a job or marrying into a better family．Or they want to look like what their society generally considers beautiful．

　　Some beauty care products and soaps contain chemicals that make skin lighter．This process is also called bleaching．But some of the chemicals are extremely dangerous．One of the most dangerous is hydroquinone．

　　Hydroquinone has been banned in several countries．This chemical has been linked to kidney damage and some kinds of cancer．It also causes low birth weight in babies when mothers use it during pregnancy．

　　At first, bleaching products make the skin color lighter．But after long-term use they can cause problems．They could even make some skin darker．

　　The chemicals in the products block and break down the natural process that gives color to skin．The skin loses its natural barrier to protect against sunlight．Then the skin can become thick and discolored．Usually the person will use more of the product in an effort to correct the problem, but this only makes it worse．

　　And these are not the only risks．Experts say some people who change their skin color suffer emotional damage．They feel regret and sadness．They feel that instead of risking their health, they should have learned to love and accept their skin color as it was．

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　　Beldon and Canfield are two seashore towns, not far apart．Both towns have many hotels, and in summer the hotels are full of holiday-makers and other tourists．

　　Last August there was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel in Beldon．The next day, this news appeared on Page Two of the town’s newspaper．The Beldon Post：

FIRE AT SEABREEZE

　　Late last night firemen hurried to the Seabreeze Hotel and quickly put out a small fire in a bedroom．The hotel manager said that a cigarette started the fire．We say again to all our visitors：“Please don’t smoke cigarettes in bed．”This was Beldon’s first hotel fire for five years．

　　The Canfield Times gave the news in these words on Page One：

ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE

　　Last night Beldon firemen arrived just too late to save clothing, bedclothes and some furniture at the Seabreeze Hotel．An angry holiday-maker said,“An electric lamp probably started the fire．The bedroom lamps are very old at some of these hotels．When I put my bedside light on, I heard a funny noise from the lamp．”We are glad to tell our readers that this sort of adventure does not happen in Canfield．

　　What are the facts, then?It is never easy to find out the exact truth about an accident．There was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel last August：that is one fact．Do we know anything else?Yes, we know that firemen went to the hotel．

　　Now what do you think of the rest of the“news”?

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