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　　Reader Janet Maynard has a lot of young bushes in her garden and is suffering from “watering can elbow”．So for Janet and anyone else who doesn't want to waste time, effort and water, here are my top tips for keeping plants refreshed in thirsty times．

　　Water in the evening if possible, rather than leaving it till you see things suffer．That way the roots can take up the water in cool soil overnight．

　　Violently jetting hoses(皮管)mess up the soil structure and may expose delicate roots．Use a rose(喷头)on a can．Aim low – don't waste water wetting leaves, even though they look pretty and "refreshed"．

　　The most valuable and easily damaged plants need the most attention, such as newly planted trees, bushes and climbers．Remove any water-keeping mulch(护根物)you may have put around the base, then water it thoroughly at least two gallons, slowly．Don't aim your can rose at the stem – which we all usually tend to do．Aim the water in a wide circle so that the whole of the area under the plant is watered．You could even make a channel in the soil right around the plant so that the water is held in place as it soaks(浸透)in．Replace the mulch．Repeat each week even in showery weather for the first summer．

　　How much water for pots? Fill up the gap between the top of the soil and the top of the pot．Let the water soak right in and then fill it again．Do this daily in hot weather for most summer potted plants．

　　Stand pots in saucers(垫盘)– it makes a big difference．But remember to check that the plants are not sitting in water for days on end when the weather turns wet．Roots will rot．

　　If the fertilizer in pots really dries out, the water may get straight out of the pot without being absorbed．Correct this by standing or floating the pot in a bucket of deep water until it sinks and no bubbles rise．

　　A push-button watering can makes for more efficient watering, and recycled water bottles upside down with a needle which has a hole on the end are useful, too, for pots．

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Make me laugh, now!

　　In a room filled with cigarette smoke and the smell of beer, people are laughing as a little man on stage talks．This is stand-up, a major form of live entertainment in the West．

　　It could be held in a theatre or just a bar．The basic idea is that a person, or sometimes two, "stands up" on a stage and makes the audience laugh．

　　The performer could tell a story or lots of little stories．He could just tell jokes or discuss the most serious issues of the day．The point is that the audience expects to be made to laugh．

　　Audiences at stand-up shows are not polite．If they don't find the person funny they will shout out．These people are called "hecklers"(诘难者)．If a comedian

(喜剧演员)is good he will be able to shout back at the heckler with some clever response(应答)．

　　Normally, the comedian has prepared a script, which he has learnt．But often they might think of something different while on stage．This is called improvising

(即兴发挥)．

　　Different stand-up comedians have different styles．Some are called straight men．These will never laugh or smile and will try to appear very serious even though what they are talking about is very funny．Others play the fool．These act and say things that are very stupid so that you can't help laughing at them．Another type is

the person who can copy famous people's voices．They will pretend to be someone famous in a funny situation．

　　Stand-up comedians will talk about anything from sex to polities, from family to animals．To a stand-up comedian everything is funny．

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　　Don't you just love ice skating every winter? I am sure, that since winter is approaching, your skates are set to come out, just waiting to be used．Impress your friends with your new trick on how to ice -skate backwards with the help of these tips．Skating backwards on ice is a bit difficult but once you master the basic, there' s nothing like it．Follow the steps given below and you will be able to skate backwards in no time．

　　The first thing that you need to do is, stand straight．If you feel that you are falling backwards, then just put your chin up and slightly bend your knees．Don't worry; this happens to all．

　　The most important step while learning how to skate backwards, is having enough confidence in yourself and in what you are doing．How can you achieve this? By practice．Just practice rolling backwards down a gentle slop every single day or just by pushing off from a wall or something of that sort．But before you do that, make sure that the place where you are practicing is free from any kind of debris(碎片)because otherwise, you could land up in the hospital due to some accident．While going backwards, just get used to the feeling of moving backwards．One of the important ice skating tips and techniques is that if you feel that you are losing your balance, then scissor(做剪式运动)your skates．Keep practicing this till you are confident about it．

　　Confident now? Great! Now the next step is to maintain your speed．While rolling in a straight line with one skate, with the other try sculling(滑浆), that is, keep pushing yourself backwards with an outwards stroke(滑动)．Now bring the skate which you were using to scull, and then again, repeat the same process．Make sure that you put most of your weight on the skate which is moving straight and not the one with which you are sculling．Now, try the same thing using the other foot．Again keep doing this till you are confident enough．

　　Once you are confident that you can scull with either foot, the next thing that you have to A)is increase your speed．Try some of your own tricks now．Scull with either foot or with both at the same time．

　　While you keep one foot straight, keep sculling with the other．You can do that simultaneously(同时，一起)with both feet．Concentrate on what you are doing but don't get so involved that you don't see where you are going．If you are not watching your back, you might just bang against something or someone．