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　　Enough sleep is important to health．The amount o f sleep needed depends on the age of the person and the conditions in which sleep takes place．The young may need more sleep than the old, but usually eight hours are enough for the health of grown-ups．Some can do with less than this amount, but others may need more．Every person knows his own need．It is then a matter of good judgement to satisfy his need．Sleep should always be enough to make one bring back his strength and get ready for a day's work．

　　Fresh air is necessary to sound sleep．It is not without reason for some people to think that it is practicable to sleep in the open air．When one can keep himself warm, out-of-door sleeping probably gives the body its most complete relaxation(松弛)．Ability to sleep is largely a habit．The conditions referred to only lead to sleep．Out-of-door exercises, a good habit of regular hours and the avoidance(避免)of late eating and worry, which are largely within the control of any person, are all helpful to sound sleep．

　　A bath at bedtime, neither hot nor cool but of body temperature, may be helpful to sleep．Sleep-producing drug(药)should never be taken except when suggested by a doctor．

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　　New York Time－A gunman killed eight people at a mall in Omaha this afternoon and then killed himself, setting off panic among holiday shoppers, the police said．

　　“The person who we believe to be the shooter has died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds,”Sgt．Teresa Negron of the Omaha Police Department said at televised news．“We have been able to clear the mall,”she said．“We don't believe we have any other shooters．”The police said that at least five other people had been injured in the shootings．

　　She did not give the shooter's identity．“We are still doing the investigation,”Sergeant Negron said, adding that the city's mayor, who was out of town, was on his way back to Omaha．

　　She said the police received a 911 call from someone inside the Westroads Mall on the west side of Omaha, and shots could be heard in the background．The first police officers arrived at the mall six minutes after the first call, she said, but by then the shootings were over．

　　It is reported that the gunman left a suicide note that was found at his home by relatives．A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity(匿名)said the note indicated that the gunman wanted to“go out in style”．

　　The shootings broke the usually banal routine of holiday shopping．The gunman was said by some witnesses to have fired about 20 shots into a crowd．Some customers and workers ran screaming from the mall, while others dived into dressing rooms to hide from the shooter．

　　Shoppers and store workers were trapped inside the mall, which has roughly 135 stores．Others streamed out of mall exits with their hands raised．President Bush was in Omaha this morning to deliver a speech, but he had left the city by the time the shootings took place．

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　　There's a man in the habit of hitting me on the head with an umbrella．At first I couldn't stand it; now I'm used to it．

　　I don't know his name．I know he's average in appearance, wears a gray suit, and has a common face．One hot morning, when I was sitting on a tree-shaded bench in Palermo Park, reading the paper, suddenly I felt something touch my head．It was the very same man who now, as I'm writing, keeps striking me with an umbrella．

　　On that occasion I turned around filled with anger．He just kept on hitting me．I asked him if he was crazy．He didn't even seem to hear me．Then I threatened to call a policeman．Calmly, cool as a cucumber, he stuck with his task．After a few moments of hesitation, and seeing that he was not about to change his attitude, I stood up and hit him on the nose．The man fell down．But he immediately got back on his feet, obviously with great effort, and without a word again began hitting me on the head with the umbrella．His nose was bleeding and, at that moment, I felt sorry for him．I felt regret for having hit him so hard．After all, the man wasn't exactly hitting me; he was merely tapping me lightly with his umbrella, not causing any pain at all．Of course, those taps were extremely bothersome．As we all know, when a fly lands on your forehead, you don't feel any pain; what you feel is annoyance．Well then, that umbrella was one huge fly that kept landing on my head time after time．

　　Convinced that I was dealing with a madman, I tried to escape．But the man followed me, wordlessly continuing to hit me．So I began to run(I should point out many people run as fast as I do)．He took off after me, trying to land a blow．The man was out of breath so that I thought, if I continued to force him to run at that speed, he would drop dead right then and there．

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　　Le Trung, 33, has spent ￡14,000 creating Aiko, who he describes as“in her 20s”with a 32,23,33 figure, shiny hair and delicate features．

　　She can speak English and Japanese and is so good at mathematics that she can do Mr．Trung's accounts．

　　Mr．Trung, from Brampton in Ontario, Canada, said he has never had time to find a real partner, so he designed and created his ideal woman using the latest technology．

　　The former software programmer has taken out credit cards and loans, sold his car and spent his life savings on perfecting his“fem-bot”．

　　Now he is desperate to find a corporate sponsor(资助者)to help him complete and perfect Aiko．

　　He said,“Aiko is what happens when science meets beauty．”

　　“I want to make her look, feel and act as human as possible so she can be the perfect companion．”

　　“I talk to her a lot, and hope to improve her knowledge．”

　　“So far she can understand and speak 13,000 different sentences in English and Japanese, so she's already fairly intelligent．”

　　“Aiko recognize faces and says hello when any of my family come around to visit．She helps me pick what to have for dinner and knows what drinks I like．”

　　“She even helps me with directions when we're going somewhere．”

　　“When I need to do my accounts, Aiko does all the maths．She is very patient and never complains．”

　　“She doesn't need holidays, food or rest and she will work almost 24-hours a day．She is the perfect woman．”

　　Mr．Trung has designed Aiko with a touch-sensitive face and body so she reacts in a natural way if she is shown affection or hurt．

　　He said,“She has all senses except for smell．”

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　　After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin．These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability．But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part．

　　She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson．Born with spine hifida(脊椎裂)which left her paralysed from the waist, Bown Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7．At first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom．But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously．She tried swimming, basketball and tennis．Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back．

　　Indeed, Tanni's athletic career took off．In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games．

　　In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul．She won bronze in the 400 metres．Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelonn．Paralympics．Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process．In the same year she achieved she first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories．

　　Tanni's enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation,“The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员)enables me to be good at a marathon too．I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to see…．I am still competing at a very high level, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart．”

　　Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007．Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games．

　　In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down．In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics-a top level athletic career covering two decades．She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records．

　　What advice does she have for young athletes?“Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again．”

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　　Why play games?Because they are fun, and a 1ot more besides．Following the rules…planning your next move…acting as a team member…these are all“game”ideas that you will come across throughout your life．

　　Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek．Such games are entertaining and fun．But perhaps more importantly, they translate life into exciting dramas that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating(合作)．

　　Many children's games have a practical side．Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups．For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones, which sharpens the hand-eye coordination(协调)needed in hunting．

　　Many sports encourage national or local pride．The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition．People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it．For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much．

　　Sports are also an event that unites people．Soccer is the most popular sport in the world．People on all continents play it－some for fun and some for a living．Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to spread hope through soccer．He created a foundation to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future．

　　Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life．

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　　The Mother Goose Stories, so well known to children all over the word, are commonly said to have been written by a little old woman for her grandchildren．According to some people, she lived in Boston, and her real name was Elizabeth Vergoose．Her son-in-law, a printer named Thomas Fleet, was supposed to have published the famous stories and poems for small children in 1719．However, no copy of this book has ever been found, and most scholars doubt the truth of this story－and doubt, moreover, that Mother Goose was ever a real person．They point out that the name is a direct translation of the French“Mere I' Oye．”In 1697 the Frenchman Charles Perrault published the first book in which this name was used．The collection contains eight tales, including“Sleeping Beauty,”“Cinderella,”and“Puss in Boots．”But Perrault did not originate these stories; they were already quite popular in his day, and he only collected them．

　　In 1729 there appeared an English translation of Perrault's collection, Robert Samber's Histories or Tales of Past times, Told by MotherGoose(London,1729), which introduced“Sleeping Beauty”,“Little Red-hood”,“Puss in Boots”,“Cinderella”and other Perrault's tales to English-speaking audiences．These were fairy tales(童话)．John Newbery published a book of English rhymes, Mother Goose's Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle(London, undated,1765), which switched the focus from fairy tale to nursery rhymes, and in English this was until recently the primary meaning for Mother Goose．A book of poems for children entitled Mother Goose's Melody was published in England in1781, and the name“Mother Goose”has been associated with children's poetry ever since．

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　　Send us your old jeans and other denim(牛仔布)!

　　What Are We Going to Do with All This Denim?

　　All the denim will be donated to COTTON FROM BLUE TO GREEN．．This denim drive is a call-to-action to donate denim and give it“new life”by changing it into UltraTouchtm Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation(纤维隔热材料), which is used to help build houses in places that have been damaged by hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters．Your jeans will help set a record, keep clothes out of landfills(垃圾场), and build houses for families to live in!UltraTouchtm is made of 85％ recycled fibers and is an environmentally safe, natural cotton fiber insolation(隔离)．

　　It's a Fact

　　It takes about 500 pairs of jeans to recycle enough denim to insulate one average-size U．S．house．So send us lots!

　　Here's How You Can Get Involved!

　　1．Get a parent's permission and select as many denim clothes as you like．(Any denim clothing is OK．)

　　2．The denim must be used．

　　3．The denim can be any brand．

　　4．The denim can be of any color or size but must have been worn by a human(no doll clothes!)．

　　5．Please print out this form and include it with each package!

　　6．Send as many jeans or denim items as you wish to：

　　NG Kids P．O．Box 98001 Washington, D．C．20090-8001

　　Jeans must be received by June 30, 2009!

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Banks are not ordinarily prepared to pay out all accounts(账，账户); they rely on depositors(储户)not to demand payment all at the same time．If depositors should come to fear that a bank is not safe, that it cannot pay off all its depositors, then that fear might cause all the depositors to appear on the same day．If they did, the bank could not pay all accounts．However, if they did not all appear at once, then there would always be enough money to pay those who wanted their money when they wanted it．Mrs．Elsie Vaught has told us of a terrifying bank run that she experienced．One day in December of 1925 several banks failed to open in a city where Mrs．Vaught lived．The other banks expected a run the next day, and so the officers of the bank in which Mrs Vaught worked as a teller had enough money on hand to pay off their depositors．The officers simply told the tellers to pay on demand．The next morning a crowd gathered in the bank and on the sidewalk outside．The length of the line made many think that the bank could not possibly pay off everyone．People began to push and then to fight for places near the tellers' windows．The power of the panic atmosphere was such that two tellers, though they knew that the bank was quite all right and could pay all depositors, drew their own money from the bank．Mrs Vaught says that she had difficulty keeping herself from doing the same．

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　　First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and Turkey．The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something evil(邪恶的)is happening underfoot．It's not．

　　While it may seem as if there are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren't．The problem is what's happening above ground, not underground, experts say．More people are moving into big cities that happen to be built in quake zones, and they're rapidly putting up buildings that can't withstand(经受)earthquakes, scientists believe．And around-the-clock news coverage(报道)and better earthquake monitoring(监测)make it seem as if earthquakes are ever-present．

　　“I can definitely tell you that the world is not coming to an end,”said Bob Holdsworth, an expert in tectonics(筑造学)at Durharn University in the UK．

　　A 7.0 magnitude quake in January killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti．Last month, an 8.8 magnitude quake－the fifth-strongest since 1900－killed more than 900 people in Chile．And two weeks ago, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people．

　　On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9, according to the US Geological Survey．This year is off to a fast start with 40 so far－more than in most years for that time period．

　　But that's because the 8.8 quake in Chile generated a large number of strong aftershocks, and so many quakes early this year skews(扭曲)the picture, said Paul Earle, a US seismologist(地震学家)．

　　Also, it's not the number of quakes, but their devastating impacts(破坏性的影响)that gain attention, with the death tolls(死亡人数)largely due to construction standards(building standard)and crowding, Earle added．“The standard mantra(咒语)is earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do,”he said．

　　There have been more deaths over the past decades from earthquakes, said University of Colorado geologist Roger Bilham．In an opinion column last month in the journal Nature, Bilham called for better construction standards in the world's big cities．

　　Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than 1 million, more than half are prone(倾向于)to earthquakes, Bilham said．

　　Developing nations, where populations are growing, don't pay attention to earthquake preparedness, Bilham said．“If you have a problem feeding yourself, you're not really going to worry about earthquakes．”

　　Another reason quakes seem worse is that we're paying attention more．The Haiti earthquake quickly followed by the 8.8 in Chile made everyone start to think．

　　But it won't last, said US disaster researcher Deniis Mileti．“People are paying attention to the violent planet we've always lived on,”Mileti said．“Come back in another six months if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again．”

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