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　　Watercolour is the oldest paints known．It dates back to the early cave men who discovered they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the walls of caves by mixing the natural colours found in the earth with water．

　　Fresco, one of the greatest of all art forms, is done with watercolour．It is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster．Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelo’s heroic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, very few know that they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolour painting in the world．

　　The invention of oil painting by the Flemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go down-hill, and for the next several centuries watercolour was used mainly for doing sketches or as a tool for study．It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolour as a serious art form．The English have a widely-known love for outdoors and also small private pictures．The softness of watercolour had a remarkably strong attraction for them．

　　The popularity of watercolour continued to grow until the twentieth century．The United States passed England as the center for watercolour, producing such well-known watercolour artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth．

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　　There are many American expressions about insects－like bees, for example．Bees are known as very hard workers．They appear to be busy, moving around their homes, or hives．So you might say you were as busy as a bee if you spent your weekend cleaning your house．In fact, you might say your house was a beehive of activity if your whole family was helping you clean．You also might say you made a beeline for something if you went there right away．When we go to see a movie, my friend always makes a beeline for the place where they sell popcorn．

　　Here is an expression about bees that is not used much any more, but we like it anyway．We think it was first used in the 1920s．If something was the best of its kind, you might say it was the bee’s knees．Now, we admit that we do not know how this expression developed．In fact, we do not even know if bees have knees!

　　If your friend cannot stop talking about something because she thinks it is important, you might say she has a bee in her bonnet．If someone asks you a personal question, you might say “that is none of your beeswax”．This means none of your business．

　　Speaking of personal questions, there is an expression when their children ask, “Where do babies come from?” Parents who discuss sex and reproduction say this is talking about the birds and bees．

　　Butterflies are beautiful insects, but you would not want to have butterflies in your stomach．That means to be nervous about having to do something, like speaking in front of a crowd．You would also not want to have ants in your trousers．That is, to be unable to sit still．

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Friends and Buddies

　　This program is planned for teenagers who have special needs with the goal of meeting within a community with other peers．The purpose of the program is that it will lead to a better understanding of friendships．Gym, Swim, Surprise Guest, and Pizza are included．Ages 12-18, numbers of members are limited．Contact：Gloria Bass．This program is held 2 Fridays per month．Fees：＄65/＄85

　　Club Saturday Swim

　　This program is available to anyone aged 5-14 who is challenged by mental, physical, or emotional trouble．The program will be held each Saturday afternoon, 12∶00-12∶30 pm or 12∶30-1∶00 pm．Fees：＄136/＄260

　　Sibshops(Ages 10-13)

　　Sibshops is a program for siblings of children with challenges．It includes group activities and talk treatment ways with the focus on improving sibling relationships and whole family happiness．Location：Hope Church, Wilton CT．Wednesday：4∶00-5∶00 pm．Fees：＄50/＄65

　　Banana Splits

　　Banana Splits is an educational support group for children in family trouble．Children aged 9-13 will have the opportunity to meet other children whose parents have separated or divorced, learn to recognize feelings, think of healthy coping skills and have a place to share their struggles through verbal, physical, and artistic experiences．Location：Hope Church, Wilton CT．Tuesday：4∶30-5∶30 pm．Fees：＄50/＄65

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　　Jean is a bright young woman who comes from a rich and famous family．She goes to a good university and has everything that money can buy．Well, almost everything．The problem is that Jean’s family are so busy that they can hardly find time to be with her．In fact, Jean is quite lonely．So Jean spends a lot of time on her QQ．She likes being anonymous, talking to people who do not know about her famous family and her rich life．She uses the name Linda on QQ and has made a lot of friends who she keeps in touch with quite often．

　　Last year Jean made a very special friend on QQ．His name was David and lived in San Francisco．David was full of stories and jokes．He and Jean had a common interest in rock music and modern dance．So it always took them hours to talk happily on QQ and sometimes they even forgot their time．Of course, they wanted to know more about each other．David sent a picture of himself：He was a tall, good looking young man with big, happy smile．As time went by, they became good friends and often sent cards and small things to each other．

　　When Jean’s father told her that he was going on a business trip to San Francisco, she asked him to let her go with him so that she could give David a surprise for his birthday．She would take him the latest DVD of their favorite rock singer．But when she knocked on David’s door in San Francisco, she found that her special friend was a twelve-year-old boy named Jim!

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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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A Divine Plan

　　At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one student de-1ivered a speech that would never be forgotten by those who attended．He began with a question．“Every-thing God does is done with Perfection．Yet, my son, Shay, cannot learn and understand things as other children do．Where is God’s plan reflected in my son?”

　　The audience was stilled by the question．The father continued, “I believe that when God brings a child like Shay into the world，an opportunity to realize the Divine Plan presents itself．And it comes in the way people treat that child．”

　　Then he told the following story：

　　Shay and I walked pasta a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball．Shay asked, “Do you think they will let me play?”

　　I knew that most boys would not want him on their team．Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly，much less connect with the ball．So I approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play．The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates．Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, “We are losing by six runs(得分)．The game is in the eighth inning(回合)．He can be on our team and we will try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning．”

　　In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three．At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the outfield．

　　In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored again．They had the potential to win．Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?

　　Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat．At last, understanding what the boy’s intentions had been, the boys from both teams helped Shay win the game for the team and Shay was cheered as the hero．

　　“That day，”said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face “the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine Plan into this world．”

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