Ray Martin yesterday confirmed he would leave Channel Nine．

　　After 30 years of cooperation, Martin will not renew his contract at he end of the year with the network that made him a star．

　　“I thought the end of the year would be a good time to pull up stamps, ”Martin said from South Australia, where he is filming for 60 Minutes．

　　He said television now had become a business run by bankers, with no thought for creativity．

　　“the golden days of television have gone．It's not as fun as it used to be,” he said．

　　“I understand the bankers but I'm not a banker．”

　　Martin said his depression had increased during the past 6 to 12 month, as there were no new projects to inspire him．

　　As host of Midday and A Current Affair, which drew 3 million viewers at its peak, his influence was huge．He reported on Princess Diana's death, the September 11 attacks, the Bali bombing and Steve Irwin's death．

　　If an event affected Australians, Martin was there, on Channel Nine, to inform them．He is reported to earn more than ＄2million a year as a reporter．

　　But rumors have spread about his future since 2000．martin．62, stressed that although he intended to leave Channel Nine at the end of the year, he was not retiring and was open to offers

　　He remained loyal to the network－“We are number 2．Channel Seven is the most popular right now, but we are doing better every day, ” said Martin

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The following are some important sights in New York．

　　Four floors of exhibition halls here include the world-famous fossil halls with their skeletons of enormous dinosaurs and other creatures; the culture halls, representing a variety of indigenous peoples; and mammal, bird and reptile halls．The renovated Milstein hall of Ocean Life showcases the profusion of life in Earth's“last frontier”．Also here：Rose Center for Earth and space, with Hayden Planetarium and exhibits on Earth and our universe．

　　Open：Sunday-Thursday, 10∶00-17∶45; Friday-Saturday：10∶00-20∶45

　　At 102 stories tall, the Empire State Building commands an inspiring view of Manhattan．Each year, over 3.5 million people come here for the view from the 86^th-floor observatory, where they can take in the sights of the city from a glass-enclosed pavilion or the encircling open-air promenade．

　　Observatory Hours：8∶00am to midnight daily．Last elevators go up at 11∶15pm．Open daily 365 days a year．

　　It is impossible to“do”the entire museum in one day or describe everything you can see here．Go to the museum & spend some time in the Great Hall where you will find all types of help in many languages for planning your visit．If you can, get a guide before your visit or look at their website where you can plan well & learn about their many special exhibitions & programs．

　　Fee：＄12 adults, ＄7 students & seniors, under 12 with adult free．

　　Open：Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday．9∶30-17∶15; Friday-Saturday, 9∶30-20∶45．

　　MoMA houses an outstanding collection of American & European paintings & sculptures from late 19^th C．to present．Innovative in its definition of“art”, it was a pioneer in exhibiting film, photography, and industrial design．Its retrospectives can draw record-breaking attendance．A happy place to take small children, as strollers are allowed．

　　Open：Sunday-Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10∶30-17∶45; Friday, 10∶30-20∶15．

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　　BEIJING－The rescue operations at a coal mine accident have ended with 105 miners dead．The State Council has organized an investigation team to probe(调查)into what caused the disaster in the city of Linfen, North China's Shanxi Province．Preliminary(初步的)investigations show the illegal mining of an unauthorized seam(未经授权的煤层), and the number of miners who had been sent down the shaft far exceeded its capacity．

　　This mine was found to have long ignored the rules to steal state coal, and did not have a list of miners employed to check the number of miners missing after the accident．

　　How did such a coal mine get all the necessary licenses for production?How did it pass the three safety inspections the local government organized last month?

　　In response to this disaster, the Shanxi governor promised to set up hotlines for people to report illegal coal mines and rewards as high as 100,000 yuan for tip-offs．

　　We appreciate the action this governor has taken to solving the coal mining problems, and we believe that the reporting scheme will help to stop the existence of illegal coal mines．

　　But at the same time we have reason to question how governments at various levels supervise these mines．

　　The sad fact that such a mine with serious safety problems could pass three consecutive(连续的)local government safety inspections in a month is enough to tell us how ineffective the safety inspections were．

　　What if these inspections were just a formality(形式)?What if the inspectors were bribed by the mine owners to turn a blind eye to the safety dangers?We can well imagine what would happen if reports about mine problems were handled by such officials．

　　So a thorough probe must find out who are responsible for the death of so many miners．A real safety inspection and management system must be established to guarantee that safety dangers will be removed．

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　　Are morning people born or made?In my case it was definitely made．In my early 20s, I rarely went to bed before midnight, and I would almost always get up late the next morning．

　　But after a while I couldn't ignore the high relationship between success and rising early．On those rare occasions where I did get up early, I noticed that my productivity was almost always higher．So I set out to become a habitual early riser．But whenever my alarm went off, my first thought was always to stop that noise and go back to sleep．Eventually some sleep research showed me that I was using the wrong strategy．

　　The most common wrong strategy is this：You assume that if you're going to get up earlier, you'd better go to bed earlier．It sounds very reasonable, but will usually fail．

　　There are two main schools(流派)of thought on sleep patterns．One is that you should go to bed and get up at the same time every day．The second school says you should go to bed when you're tired and get up when you naturally wake up．However, I have found both of them are wrong if you care about productivity．If you sleep at set hours, you'll sometimes go to bed when you aren't sleepy enough．You're wasting time lying in bed awake and not being asleep．

　　If your sleep is based on what your body tells you, you'll probably be sleeping more than you need．Also, your mornings may be less predictable if you're getting up at different times．

　　The solution for me has been to combine both methods．I go to bed when I'm sleepy and get up with an alarm clock at a fixed time．So I always get up at the same time(in my case 5 am), but I go to bed at different times every night－sometimes at 9∶30pm, and other times at midnight．Most of the time I go to bed between 10-11 pm．

　　However, going to bed only when I'm sleepy, and getting up at a fixed time every morning is my way．If you want to become an early riser, you can try your own．

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　　The days of a pain-free visit to the dentist may not be far off．This is thanks to a little Japanese woman in a pink sweater, named Simroid．With a limited vocabulary, Simroid, the 160cm-tall robot is happy to feel your pain．

　　Simroid is designed to be used at medical colleges．She has realistic looking skin, eyes, and a mouth fitted with replica(仿制)teeth．Her chest also rises and falls as if she is breathing．Simroid releases a clear“ouch!”whenever a trainee dentist presses her teeth too hard with a tool．And she gives a reassuring“that's better”when the drill hits the right place．

　　“We want to use the robots to train dentists to worry about whether patients are comfortable, and not just focus on medical techniques,”said Naotake Shubui, a professor at Nippon Dental University in Japan who helped develop Simroid．

　　The robot was one of hundreds of cutting-edge devices on display at the world's biggest robot exhibition last week in Japan．

　　As scientists improve the design of robots, they could soon be serving tea to office workers or directing shoppers．Today's robots look and act much like the humans who invented them．

　　In Japan, robots can already be found working as home helps, office receptionists and security guards, as well as on the factory floor．There were more than 370,000 industrial robots in use in Japan in 2005, according to a report by Macquarie bank,40 percent of the world total, with 32 robots for every 1,000 workers．The economy ministry believes that the Japanese robot market will be worth more than ＄52 billion by 2025．

　　Human work is being helped, and even replaced, by mechanical efficiency in almost every area, from golf-bag carriers to public toilet cleaners．

　　But many scientists believe the age of the service robot is not far off．It will arrive once machines are capable of connecting with humans on an emotional level．Judging by the Tokyo exhibition, that process has already begun．

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　　Madame de Stael says that only the people who can play with children are able to educate them．For success in training children, the first condition is to become a child oneself．It means to treat the child as really one's equal, that is, to show him the same consideration, the same kind of confidence one shows to an adult．It means not to affect the child to be what we ourselves want him to become, but to be affected by the impression of what the child himself is; not to treat the child with cheating, or by force, but with the seriousness and true love suitable to his own character．

　　Not leaving the child in peace is the greatest problem of present methods of training children．Parents do not see that during the whole life, the need of peace is never greater than in the years of childhood, an inner peace under all outside liveliness．

　　But what does a child experience?Corrections, orders, interference(干涉), the whole livelong day．The child is always required to leave something alone, or to do something different, to find something different, or want something different from what he does, or finds, or wants．He is always guided in another direction from the true inner will that is leading him．All of this is caused by our so-called enthusiasm in directing, advising, and helping the child to become the same model produced in one assembly line(流水线)．Understanding, the deepest characteristic of love, is almost always absent．

　　To bring up a child means carrying one's soul in one's hand; it means never placing ourselves in danger of meeting the cold look on the face of the child．It means the truth that the ways of injuring the child are limitless while the ways of being useful to him are few．How seldom does the educator remember that the child, even at four or five years of age, has already had a sharp feeling!The smallest mistrust and unkindness, the least act of injustice, leave wounds that last for life in the heart of the child．While, on the other hand, unexpected friendliness and kindness make quite as deep an impression on those soft senses．

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　　Your safety and the security of your personal property are of the primary concern to those of us who welcome you as our guest．We urge you to take advantage of the following suggestions．

　　Lock your vehicle and do not leave money or valuable items inside．We are not responsible for their loss．

　　Be observant(机警)when sightseeing or traveling．Stay in well-lit and heavily traveled areas．Don't display large amounts of cash．

　　For additional security use the deadbolt(插锁)provided on your door and make sure the windows are locked．As an additional precaution(预防措施), please secure the secondary locks provided．Do not admit anyone to your room without first making identification．A one-way viewer is provided in your door to assist with identification．If there is any doubt about the person's identity, please contact the Front Desk．

　　Do not leave money or valuables in your room or vehicle．We provide free safety boxes for your use．Hotel is not responsible for items left in room valued over ＄200．

　　Safeguard your key．Please do not leave it in the door．Do not give your key to others or leave it unattended．Please leave your key at the Front Desk when you check out．

　　Please report any suspicious activity, or safety concerns to management．

　　Please familiarize yourself with the nearest fire exits．Report fire or smoke to the hotel operator．In the unlikely event of a fire, please move quickly and calmly to the nearest safe exit and leave the building．Avoid the use of elevator．

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　　For the most part, schools are designed to produce people who fit into society, not people who set out to change it．However, schools, particularly universities, may not only spread culture; they may add to the cultural heritage(遗产)．Today American society places a good deal of emphasis on the development of new knowledge, especially in the physical and biological sciences, medicine, and engineering．In recent years, the nation's leading universities have increasingly become research centres．

　　An emphasis on research has led universities to judge professors not by abilities as teachers, but as researchers．Promotions, salary increases, and other benefits have long been dependent on research and publication(出版物)．However, the most important is no longer publishing．To be successful these days, professors have to bring in money provided by government and private industry．Critics claim that academic success is most likely to come to those who have learned to“ignore”their teaching duties to pursue research activities．Defenders say that even when students themselves are not involved in research projects they benefit from such an emphasis on research．

　　Major research universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have also cooperated with industrial companies to develop technology and products with commercial potential．With university-industry ties continuing to grow, debate has increased about the consequences for basic science, academic openness, the control of information, the direction of research, and the influence on students．

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　　If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how“foolish”the Finnish people are．

　　Take the taxi drivers for example．Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer．You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare．The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety．

　　The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners．Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals．The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card to the waiter．With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration(登记)card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge．

　　The Finnish workers are paid by the hour．They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate．From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly．

　　With so many loopholes(漏洞)in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take“petty advantages”．But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms．And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in．As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real“gentleman”．

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　　A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer's hair．The golden red sun was setting．She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery(火红的)ball．She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow．She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky．

　　The atmosphere relaxed her．After all she had been through, this was what she needed．“It's getting late,”she thought,“I must go home．My parents will be wondering where I am．”

　　She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing．She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday．The road was deserted．She walked slowly and silently．Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house．

　　It was really getting dark now．The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too．She wished she had her favorite sweater on：it kept her really warm．She imagined having it with her．This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door．It seemed different．Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days．She was shocked：her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now…It all seemed deserted．She couldn't understand what was going on．

　　She entered the house．First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father．It said：“Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready．I went looking．”Ellen was her mother but－where was she?On the right side of the hallway was her parents'room．She went in．Then she saw her．Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping．Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn't slept for days．She was really pale．Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired．So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her．When Jennifer woke up, something was different．．．she wasn't in her mother's room and she wasn't wearing the old clothes she ran away in．She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas(睡衣)．

　　It felt so good being back home．Suddenly she heard a voice,“Are you feeling better now, dear?You know you got us very, very scared．”

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