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　　Are you worried by the rising crime rate? If you are, you probably know that your house, possessions and person are increasingly in danger of suffering from great rise in the cases of burglary(夜盗；抢劫)and attack．

　　Figures show an ever-increasing crime rate, but it is only too easy to imagine “It will never happen to me”．Unfortunately, statistics show that it really can happen to you and, if you live in a large city, you run twice the risk of being a victim．

　　Fortunately, there is something definite which you can do．Protect Alarms can help to protect your house with a burglar alarm system which is effective, simple to operate and easily affordable．

　　You must remember that owning a burglar alarm is no indication(暗示)that your house is packed with valuable possessions．It quite simply indicates to unwelcome visitors that yours is one house they will not break into easily, so they carry on to an unprotected house where their job is made a lot easier．

　　Send now for our free leaflet telling you how we can Protect Alarm your house quickly, easily and cheaply．Complete and tear off the slip below and post it to us．Postage is free．Also, telephone us on 327 6721 where we have a round-the-clock answering service．It costs nothing to find out about Protect Alarm．

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　　When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power．But what are these really, and how do they operate?

　　Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things．If this is even possible, it is short-term, and tends to backfire．If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they must, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term．They will also experience fear．

　　Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best．If they associate you with this emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively．Fear has no place in leadership．

　　The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion．We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day; or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they became fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation(积极性)．Today’s work place is all about relationships．

　　Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they’re recognized and valued as a human being as well as a worker．Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like．Leaders understand the way things work．They know the pay check is not the single most motivating factor(因素)in the work life of most people．

　　The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence－knowing your own emotions, and how to handle them, and those of others．Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills．

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　　Australia is a nation of pet lovers but maybe it is loving its pets to death, because pet owners are overfeeding their cats, dogs, etc．, the country’s main animals’ welfare body says．Despite its image as a sports-loving country full of fit and bronzed youth, Australia in reality is battling with obesity and challenging the United States as the world’s fattest nation．The problem now extends to household pets．

　　Obesity rate of Australia has doubled over the past 20 years, with 62 percent of men and 45 percent of women overweight．The same trend applies to household pets, with an increase in the number of overweight cats and dogs being dealt with by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals(RSPCA)．‘It’s a big problem, and quite reflective of what’s happening in the human situation,’ says Mark Lawrie, the RSPCA’s chief vet．Australia is a nation of about 20 million people, almost 4 million dogs, 2.5 million cats, 8.7 million pet birds and more than 12 million pet fish．It has one of the world’s highest rates of pet ownership： 64 percent of households own pets, compared to 62 percent in the United States and 44 percent in Britain．

　　Lawrie says that surveys have found that between 40 and 44 percent of dogs and more than one in 3 household cats are now overweight, due to overeating and lack of exercise．Fat cats and dogs are much more likely to suffer from heart problems and liver disease．The RSPCA says low levels of exercise has an impact on pet obesity, but the key problem is overeating．

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　　For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house．Some deal with the situation by watching TV．Some may hide．But all of them have something in common．They spend part of each day alone．They are called latchkey children．They're children who look after themselves while their parents work．And their bad condition has become a subject of concern．

　　Lynette Long was once the headmistress of an elementary school．She said,“We had a school rule against wearing jewelry”．A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys fastened．I was constantly telling them to put them inside their shirts．There were so many keys．It never came to my mind what they meant．Slowly, she learned they were house keys．

　　She and her husband began talking to the children who had them．They learned of the impact working couples and single parents were having on their children．Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone．One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared．Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety．

　　The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding．It might be in a shower stall, under a bed, or in a closet．The second is TV．They'll often play it at high volume．It's hard to get statistics(统计)on latchkey children, the longs learned．Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone．

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　　The days of elderly women doing nothing but cooking huge meals on holidays are gone．Enter the Red Hat Society－a group holding the belief that old ladies should have fun．

　　“My grandmothers didn’t do anything but keep house and serve everybody．They were programmed to do that,” said Emils Comette, head of a chapter of the 7-year-old Red Hat Society．

　　While men have long spent their time fishing and playing golf, women have sometimes seemed to become unnoticed as they age．But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers(生育高峰期出生的人), and the same people who refused their parents’ way of being young are now trying a new way of growing old．

　　If you take into consideration feminism(女权主义), a bit of spare money, and better health for most elderly, the Red Hat Society looks almost inevitable(必然的)．In this society, women over 50 wear red hats and purple(紫色的)clothes, while the women under 50 wear pink hats and light purple clothing．

　　“The organization took the idea from a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins：“When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple．With a red hat which doesn’t go,” said Ellen Cooper, who founded the Red Hat Society in 1998．When the ladies started to wear the red hats, they attracted lots of attention．

　　“The point of this is that we need a rest from always doing something for someone else,” Cooper said．“Women feel so ashamed and sorry when they do something for themselves．”This is why chapters are discouraged from raising money or doing anything useful．“We’re a ladies’ play group．It couldn’t be more simple,” added Cooper’s assistant Joe Heywood．

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　　My house is made out of wood, glass and stone．It is also made out of software．

　　If you come to visit, you’ll probably be surprised when you come in．Someone will give you an electronic PIN(个人身份号码)to wear．This PIN tells the house who and where you are．The house uses this information to give you what you need．When it’s dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them．Music moves with you too．If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it．The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music．If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings．

　　Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something．There is a home control console(控制台), a small machine that turns things on and off around you．

　　The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today．If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket．If I give you my car keys, you can use my car．The car works for you because you have the keys．My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console．

　　I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I’ve put in my house．The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I’ve put in today．

　　I like to try new ideas．I know that some of my ideas will work better than others．But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead,“ How will I live without them?”

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　　I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job．I also think my work is important．There was a time when I thought that I would never have that sort of career．

　　I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork．In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer．I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career．

　　I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls．It wasn’t too hard at first．But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening．We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next．But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out．I was getting extremely tired and fed up because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children．

　　One Sunday, I was in the park with the children and met Megan who used to go to school with me．I told her about my situation．She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children．I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school．She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful．My experience counted for a lot and I got a part-time course．I had to leave my job with the family and got work helping out at a kindergarten．

　　Now I have got a full-time job there．I shall always be thankful to Megan．I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career even if you aren’t top of the class at school．

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　　Green is an important color in nature．It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees．It is also the color of most growing plants．

　　Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing．Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished．For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation．In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns(角)had not yet developed．A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle．By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today－a person who is new in a job．

　　Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb．The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds．A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well．You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died．

　　The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains．The new plants produced much larger crops．The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs．

　　Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling, jealousy(嫉妒)．The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space．It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”．It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants．A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else．Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay rise and she does not．

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