In ancient Egypt,the pharaoh(法老)trented the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace ,if he broubht good news ,However ,if the exharsted runner had the misrlrtune to buing the pharaoh unhappy news ,his head was cut off

　　Shades of that lpirit priad ovie today’s cknversntions,Once a friend and Ipack up some peanut butter ane sandwiches for an outing As we walked light-heartedly out the door ,pienie basket in hand ,a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and saie ,Oh boy ,bad dny for a picnic the weatherman says it’s going tl raim I wanted to strike him on the race with the peanut butter and sandwiches not for his stupid weather report for his wsile

　　Several months ago Iwas racing to fcatcb angty A’s I breathlessly put my handfrul of cash acrlss the Greyhound ckunths the sales ager said with a brond smile．Oh that bus lsft rive minrtes ago Dreams of head cutting

　　It’s not the news thst makes ,someone angry It’s the unsympathetic attitrde with which it’s delivered Everyone must give bad mews from time to time ,and winning professilnalas di it ‘swith the prope attitude A doctor advising a paticnt she needs an operation dose it in a caring way Aboss infonning an employee he didn’t get job takes on a sympathetic tone Big winners know ,when delivering ang ban news they should share th feeling of the receiver．

　　Unfortumately, many peple are not aware of this?you re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready ye?When you had your heart set on the toast beef ,has your waiter mimily told you that he just seuved the last piece?It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist fight on their unsympathetic faces．

　　Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warning．Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically infored me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, “Oh ,that ‘s all right．I’ll catch the next one．” Big winners, when they bear bear new ,deliver bombs with the emxtion the bombarded(被轰炸的)person is sure to have．

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　　Plants can’t communicate by moving or making sounds,as most animals do．Instead,plants produce volatile compounds,chernicals that easily chasse trom a liquid to a gas．A flower’s sweet smell,for example,comes from volatile compounas that the plant produces to attract insects such as bugs and bees．

　　Plants can also detect volatile compounds produced by other plants,A tree under attack by hungre insects ,for instance, may give off volatile compounds that let other trees know about the attack,In response,the other trees may send off chemicals to keep the bugs away- or even chemicals that attract the bugs'natural enemies．

　　Now scientists have created a quick way to understand what plants are saying：a chemical sensor(传感器)called an electronise nose,The “e-nose” can tell compounds that crop plants make when they’re attacked．Seientists say the e-nose could help quickly detest whether plants are being eaten by insects,But today the only way to detect such insects is to visually inspect individual plants this is a challenging task for managers of greenhouses,enclosed gardens that can house thousands of plants．

　　The research team worked with an e-nose that recognizes volatile compounds．Inside the device,13 sensors chemically react with volatile compounds,Based on these interactions ,the e-nose gives off electronie signals that the scentists analyze using computer software．

　　To test the nose,the team presented it with healthy leaves from cueumber,pepper and tomato plants, all common greenhouse crops．Then the scientists colleced samples of air around damaged leaves from each type of crop．These plants had been chaged by insects, or by scientists who made holes in the leaves with a hole punch(打孔器)．

　　The e-nose,it turns out,could identify healthy cucumber,pepper and tomato plants based on the volatile compounds they produce,It could also identify tomato leaves that had been damaged．But even more impressive,the device could tell which type of damage－by insects or with a hole punch – had been done to the tomato leaves．

　　With some fine tuning,a device like the e-nose could one day be used in greehouses to quickly spot harmful bugs,the researchers say,A device like this could also be used to identify fruits thet are perfectly ripe and ready to pick and eat,says Natalia Dudareve,a biochemist at Purdue University in West lafayette,Ind,who studies smells of flowers and plants．Hopefully,scientists believe,the device could bring large benefits to greenhouse managers in the near future．

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Below are some classified ads from an English newspaper．

Classified ads

FOR DIRECT CLASSIFIED SERVICE CALL 800－0557　10A.M.-4P.M

MONDAY-FRIDAY

FOR SALE

　　COME to moving sale－Plarts, pottery, books, clothes, etc, Sat, Dec．14―9a.m.－5p.m.1612 Femdale, Apt．I.800-4696．

　　USED FUT COATS amd JACKETS．GOOD comdition．＄30-＄50．Call 800-0436 after 12 noon．

　　MOVING：Must sell．TV21”, ＄50; AM/FM radio A/C OR BATTERY, ＄15; cassette tape recorder, ＄10．Call Jon or weekends．

　　SHEEPSKIN COAT：man’s, size 42, I year old．＄85．After 6 p.m.,800-5224．

　　LOST AND FOUND

　　FOUND：Cat, 6 months old, black and white markings．Found near Linden and South U．Steve．800-4661．

　　LOST：Gold wire rim glasses in brown case．Campus area．Reward, Call Gregg 800-2896．

　　FOUND：Set of keys on

　　Tappan rear Hill interseetion．Identify key chain．Call800-9662．

　　FOUND：Nov．＆－A black and white puppy in Packard-Jewett area．800-5770．

　　PERSONAL

　　OVERSEAS JOBS－Austrslia, Europe, S．Ameriea, Africa．Students all professions ard occupations, ＄700 to ＄3000 monthly．Expenses paid, overtime．Sightseeing, Free information at STUDENTS’UNION．

　　THE INTERNATIONAL CEMTER plans to publish a booklet of student travel adventures．If you like to write shoud your foreign experiences, unusual or just plain interesting．Call us(800-9310)and ask for Mike or Janet．

　　UNSURE WHAT TO DO?

　　Life-Planning Workshop, Dec．13#－15#Bob and Margaret Atwood, 800-0046．

　　ROOMMATES

　　FEMALE ROOMMATE

　　WAMTED：Owm room near campus．Available December 1#．Rent ＄300 per month until March 1#．＄450 thereafter．Call jill for detalls, 800-7839．

　　MEED PERSON to assume lease for owm bed com in apt．near?,S’380/mo．Starting Jan?, Call 800-6157 after 5p.m．

　　DOMESTIC SERVICE

　　EARLY HOUR WAKE-UP SERVICE：For prompt, courteous wake-up service, call 800-0760．

　　HELP WANTED

　　BABYSLTTER－MY HOME If you are available a few hours during the day, and some evenings to care for 2 school-age children, please call Gayle Mooee, days 800-1111, evenings and weekends 800-4964．

　　PERSONS WANTED for delivery work, Own transportation．Good pay．Apply 2311 E．Stadium．Office 101, after 9 a.m．

　　TELEPHONE RECEPTION-IST WAMTED．NO experience necessary．Good pay．Apply 2311 E.Stadium．Office 101,after 9 a.m．

　　WAITRESS WANTED：10a.m.-2 p.m．or 10∶30 a.m.-5 p.m．Apply in person．207 S．Main, Curtis Restaurant．

　　HELP WANTED for house cleaning1/2 day on weekends．When－to be discussed for mutual comvenience．Good wages．Sylvan Street．Call 800-2817．

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　　I was in arush as always, but this time it was for an?date I just corldn’t be late for!I found myself at a checkout counter behind ar?woman seeingly in no nuny as she paid for her groceries．A PhD student with not a lot of money, I had humied into the store to pick up some flowers．I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upconing evening．I did not want to be Late for this date．

　　We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversation bitween strangers．The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me．She smiled．It was a nice smile-warm and reasuring-and I retuned her gift by smiling back．

　　“Must be a special lady,” wboever it is that will be getting \those beautiful flowers．”she said．

　　“Yes, she’s speciao,” I said ,and then to my cnbarrassment ,the words kept coming out．“It‘s only our second dute, but somchow I am just having the feeling she’s‘the one，’”jokingly, I addcd,“The only problem is that I can’t figure out why she’d want to date a guy like me．”

　　“Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who buings her such lovely slowers and who is obviorsly in love with her,” the woman said．”My husband rscd to bring me flowers every week-even when tines were tough and we didn’t have much money．Those were incredible days; be was very romantic and-lf course- I miss him since he’s passed away．”

　　I paid for my flowers as se was gathering up her groceries．There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her．I touched her on the shoulder and said“You were right, you know．These flowers are indeed for a very special lady．”I hand??the fowes and thanked her tor such a mice conversation．

　　It took her a moment to realize htat I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased．“You have a wonderful evening ,”I said．I left het with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers．

　　I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story．A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this stoty had hdlped to seal it for ber-that was the nigtht than I won her heart．

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　　Successful people in international business understand the cultures of other countries and learn to change their practices in different cultures．They understand the importance of avoiding business decisions based on misconceptions–mistaken ideas．

　　One cause of misconceptions is ethnocentrism,the belief that one’s own culture’s way of doing things is better than the way of other cultures．It’s ethnocentrism that leads to failure in international business．To avoid ethnocentrism, it’s necessary to study the different elements(组成部分)of culture：language,values and attitudes, and customs and mammers．

　　A knowledge of the local language can help international business people in four ways．First, people can communicate directly．Second, people are usually more open in their communication with someone who speaks their language．Third, an understanding of the language allows people to infer meanings that are not said directly．Finally, konwing the language helps people to understand the culture better．

　　Values are people’s basic beliefs about the difference between right and wrong, good and bad．An attitude is a way of thinking or acting．Values and attitudes influence international business．For example, many people in the United States believe that chocolate lrom Switzerland is better than chocolate from other countrics, and they buy a lot of ot．

　　Customs are common social practices．Manners are ways of acting that the society believes are polite．For example, in the United States, it is the custom to have salad(色拉)before the main course at dinner, not after．It’s not acceptable to talk with food in mouth at table．Gailure to understand the customs and menners of other countries will bring difficulty selling their products．Orange juice as a breakfast drink of an American company in France doesn’t sell well because the French don’t usually drink juice with breakfast．

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　　Brian arrived at the San Francisco airport two hours before the fligt to Paris．He was Wearing three shirts,a jackt,two pairs of socks,a pair of shorts,and two pairs of jeans．He wascarrying one．small backpack,which was very full,but he didn`t have any other luggage．Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight．He found Tony near the Air France counter．Tony gave him a round-trip tockct and a smaii package．

　　“Give tis package to Jean-Paul at the airport in Paris．He will have a sign with your name on it．I tjink you can find him easily,”Tony said．“You don’t have any luggage,right?”

　　“Only tjis backpack,”Brian answered．“You said I could bring one carry-on bag．”

　　“That’s right,One carry-on bag is fine, Have a good trip．”

　　Thanks．”

　　Is Brian a criminal(犯罪)?Not at all．He is an air courier．And he paid only ＄110 for the round-trip ticket to Paris．Air couries get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers tio foreign countries．Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day．Often,the only way they can do this is to use an air-courier company．It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick．

　　Every year about 80,000 people worldside travel as air couriers．The number of tickets for courier travel is growing bu about 10 percent a year．However,air-courier travel isn’t for everyone,But if you have very little money,can be flexible(灵活的)about your travel plans,and don’t mind wearing the same clothes for a week,it can be a great way to take a vacation!

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　　“Old wives tales”are beliefs passed down from one generation to another, For example, most of us remember our patents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things．Is there any truth in these teachings?Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time

　　Did your mother ever tell you to eat yout carrots because they are good for yout eyes?

　　Scientists now report that eating carrots can help ptevent a serious eye disease called Macular degeneration Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this Disease by 40％ Garlic(蒜)is good for you, too．It can kill the type of virus that causes Colds

　　Unfortunately, not all of Mom's advice passed the test of medical studies．For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating．But research suggests that there if no danger in doing so．Do sweets cause tooth problems?Well, yes and no．Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars．

　　Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales, After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated(积累)from thousands of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water should respect this body of kowledge even as wesearch for clear scientific support to proven it true or false

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　　When people hear a president speak, they seldom think about others heoping to shape the presentation(报告)．Today, however, presidents depend on writers such as J．Terry Edmonds to help them communicate(交流)effectively．Edmonds is the first African American ever to work as a full-time speechwriter for a U．S．president; he is so the first African American to serve as director of speechwriting for White House．His is an all-American story of success．

　　Edmonds grew up in Baltimore, Maryland; his father drove a truck, and his mother worked as a waitress．A great reader, Edmonds showed a gift for writing at his high School, BaItimore City College After graduating in 1967 Edmonds went on to Morgan Statc Universit

　　Edmonds began his career in busincss, with jobs in public relations and communications．

　　Hw joinde the world of politics as news secretary fot his congressman (国会议员)from Baltimore During Bill Clinton’s presidency, he wrote speeches for Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and worked in a number of job in the White House and in governmental departments President Clinton then appointed(任命)him to the office of directory of speechwriting Follpwing the 2000 elections Edmonds returned to Morgan State University as the school’s special assistant to the president for 2001-2002

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　　Tt was the finst snow of winer－an esciting day for every child but not for most teachers．Up uatil now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today would need some heop．Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, had been through brst snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one．

　　I managed to get into my wool snow trousers．But I struggled won my jacket because it didn’t fit well．It was a hand-mc-down from my brother, and if made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes, At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty．Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots(靴子)．

　　In her calm, motherly voice she said,“By the end of winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots．”I didn’t realize at the at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence(信心)．

　　I handed her my boots and sturk out my foot．Like most children, I expcted grown-ups to do all the work．After much pushing, she managed to get first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too．

　　I announced,“They ’re on the wrong feet．”

　　She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again．

　　“They’re my brother ’s boots, you know,”I said．“I hate them”．

　　Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying(烦人的)little girl, She strugglc with me, she asked,“Now, where are your mittens(连指手套)?”

　　I looked into her eyes and said,“I didn’t want to lose them, so I hid them in the tocs of my boots．

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　　An increase in students applying to study?at university is being attributed to(归因于)the global cconornic crisis awakening a publlc thirst for knowledge about how the financial system works．

　　Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15％this janury, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service．A spokesman for the Royal Economoc Society said applications to do economics at A?were also up．

　　Professor john Beath, the president of the society and a leading lecturet at St Andrews University, said his first-year lectures-which are open to students from all departments-were drawing crowds of 400, rather than the usual 250．

　　“There are a large number of students who are not economics majors, who would like to learn something about it．One of the things I have donc this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary events in a way that one hasn’t traditionally done．”He said．

　　University applications rose 7％last year．But there were rises above average in several subjects．Nursing saw a 15％jump, with people’s renewed interest in cateers in the pubbic scctor(部门), which are seen as more secure in economic erisis．

　　A recent study showed almost two thirds of parents believed schools should do more to teach pupils about financial matters, and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on, although a minority of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to esplain．

　　Zack Hocking, the head of child trust funds, said：”it’s possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation that’s financially wiser and better equipped to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty．”

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