During the past generation, the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair play to keep itself financially secure had been transformed by economic risk and new realties. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months. In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. Scholars, policymakers, and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes, but few have looked at the side effect: family risk has risen as well. Today"s families have budgeted to the limits of theirs new two-paycheck status. As a result, they have lost the parachuted they once had in times of financial setback—a back-up earner (usually Mom) who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This "added-worker effect" could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner. During the same period, families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers, airline employees, and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates, stock market fluctuation, and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year, President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a saving-account model, with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen—and newly fashionable health-saving plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families" future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family, as the odds of having a weak elderly parent—and all the attendant need for physical and financial assistance—have jumped eightfold in just one generation. From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the whole-sale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun, and the political fallout may not be far behind.

Do we need laws that prevent us from running risks with our lives? If so, then perhaps laws are needed prohibiting the sale of alcoholic drinks. We"ve already tried that. For 13 years, between 1920 and 1933, there were no liquor stores anywhere in the United States. They were shut down--abolished by an amendment(修正案). After January 20, 1920, there was supposed to be no more manufacturing, selling, or transporting of "intoxication liquors." Without any more liquor, people could not drink it. And if they did not drink it, how could they get drunk? There would be no more dangers to the public welfare from drunkenness and alcoholism. It was all very logical. And yet prohibition of liquor, beer, and wine did not work. Why? Because, law or no law, millions of people still liked to drink alcohol. And they were willing to take risks to get it. They were not about to change their tastes and habits just because of a change in the law. And gangs of liquor smugglers made it easy to buy an illegal drink—or two or three. They smuggled millions of gallons of the illegal beverages (饮料) across the Canadian and Mexican Borders. Drinkers were lucky to know of an illegal bar that served Mexican or Canadian liquor. Crime and drunkenness were both supposed to decline as a result of prohibition. Instead people drank more alcohol than ever—often poisoned alcohol. On December 5, 1933, they removed prohibition by approving the 21st Amendment to the Constitution.

Customer: This shirt seems a size too small for me. It"s an L. Saleswoman: I"m really sorry. ______.

Emily: Did anybody sign your petition? Gordon: Yes, we had a hundred signatures, ______.

Airport clerk: Window or isle seat? Traveler:______ Airport clerk: Boarding gate 2 at 11:0Thank you.

Industrial safety does not just happen. Companies【B1】low accident rates plan their safety programs, work hard to organize them, and continue working to keep them【B2】and active. When the work is well done, a【B3】of accident-free operations is established【B4】time lost due to injuries is kept at a minimum. Successful safety programs may【B5】greatly in the emphasis placed on certain aspects of the program. Some place great emphasis on mechanical guarding. Others stress safe work practices by【B6】rules or regulations.【B7】others depend on an emotional appeal to the worker. But, there are certain basic ideas that must be used in every program if maximum results are to be obtained. There can be no question about the value of a safety program. From a financial stand-point alone, safety【B8】. The fewer the injury【B9】, the better the workman"s insurance rate. This may mean the difference between operating at【B10】or at a loss.

Lazy? Shy? Live in a cave? Those might not be positive attributes for the average human, but they sure are good for animals trying to survive in a changing environment. According to a new study, beasts that hibernate(冬眠)or crawl into holes are less likely to be listed as endangered than those that don"t. Following up a previous study on extinct animals, which showed that species exhibiting "sleep or hide"(SLOH)behaviors did better than others, the researchers wanted to see if the same was true of modern creatures like moles and bears. To find out if our more timid animals have a leg up in the survival game, researchers made a master list of 443 sleep-or-hide mammals. With their list in hand, the team compared their 443 to the "red list" of endangered species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. As suspected, a sleepy or hiding animal was less likely to be on the red list than a regular animal, and a red-list animal was also less likely to be a SLOH-er. This makes a lot of sense, as animals that hide away in a cave or a tree hole are protected by their physical shelters from a variable environment outside, while hibernators enjoy a flexible metabolism(新陈代谢)that can help them adapt to a changing climate.

While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states, at least in getting people off welfare. It"s estimated that more than 2 million people have left the rolls since 1994. In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens County have been cut in half. But 70 percent of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour. The result: The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent—twice the national average. For advocates(代言人) for the poor, that"s an indication much more needs to be done. "More people are getting jobs, but it"s not making their lives any better", says Kathy Lairn, a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington. A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female headed households were earning money on their own, but that average income for these households actually went down. But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory. "Welfare was a poison. It was a toxin(毒素) that was poisoning the family", says Robert Rector, a welfare reform policy analyst. "The reform is changing the moral climate in low-income communities. It"s beginning to rebuild the work ethic(道德观), which is much more important". Mr. Rector and others argued that once "the habit of dependency is cracked", then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards.

Kate: Do you mind opening the door for me?Bob: ______.

I"d rather have a room of my own, however small it is, than______ a room with someone else.

Beijing"s top hotels are fielding scores of calls from foreigners and Chinese people eager to book rooms during the 2008 Olympic Games in the Chinese capital. The luxurious and recently-renovated Beijing Hotel said it had received nearly 100 telephone inquiries from people wanting to book rooms during the Games since Beijing won its bid to host the event. "Out of these people, foreigners make up 30 to 40 per cent, including people calling from the United States and Europe", a hotel sales manager surnamed Song said. Minutes before the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was announced in Moscow, the hotel had already received 50 to 60 such phone calls from would be game-goers gambling on the result. Domestic callers have mainly come from the southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. Song said the hotel was not taking reservations, but only noting down names of callers, because seven years was too far in advance. The hotel also may be used by the IOC and would then need to set aside rooms for IOC members, he said. Beijing will have more than 800 hotels with star ratings before the Olympic Games in 2008. The city currently has 20 five-star hotels, 34 four-star hotels and 338 other hotels with lower ratings. About 70 hotels will be designated to accommodate athletes and Olympic officials during the Games.

On a four-day trip to Ethiopia, I had a dream. In my dream, I saw two men, one older and one younger, facing one another against a background of temples and pyramids. The father was speaking as he performed the oil ceremony for his son. I became excited in the possibility of performing a visiting ceremony【B1】my son in Africa. For the next six days I privately wondered what【B2】to use in such a ceremony. Gradually the words【B3】me. By the time we arrived in Cairo, I was ready. I told my son that there was a ceremony I wanted to【B4】him in the tombs in Egypt. His eyes shone with【B5】But I wondered if he would still be receptive after my next statement. In the dream I remembered that the son was oiled, as it【B6】, with a dry substance. I took this to mean that powder【B7】oil was used. But what powder? I ruled out ground grass and flowers, and finally settled on sand. Sand represents the Sahara, and sand also【B8】the remains of the ancient people of Egypt. That made philosophical【B9】to me, but in the real world, young adults or almost anybody for that matter,【B10】disinclined to have sand poured on their hair.

Recently, the American Heart Association surveyed 1, 000 people nationwide about their thoughts on sodium and heart health. 61% said that they believed sea salt was a low-sodium alternative to table salt. They can be forgiven for thinking so. Sea salt is marketed as a healthy food, added to soups, potato chips and a wide variety of packaged snacks labeled " low sodium, " "all natural" and "healthy. " But in reality, sea salt and table salt are not terribly different, at least chemically. The real differences are in how the two are used in cooking. Table salt comes from underground salt deposits. Companies that sell it typically add something to keep it from clumping(结块). During processing, table salt is stripped of many of its natural minerals. Sea salt, on the other hand, is made from evaporated seawater. With little processing, it retains most of its minerals, which some cooks say give it a better flavor. But both contain the same amount of sodium chloride(氯化的)by weight, which means they contribute equally to total sodium consumption and have the same effect on blood pressure. Officials recommend that adults consume no more than 2, 300 milligrams of sodium a day, equivalent to a teaspoon of salt. You should eat less if you are black, hypertensive(患高血压的)or older than 40. Yet most Americans consume more than double the amount they need, mostly from processed foods, so it is best to limit salt—of any kind.

A: I adore your hat. B: ______

Shop assistant: What do you have in mind? Customer: I"m thinking about jewelry or something valuable. Shop assistant: We"ve got beautiful jewelry here. If you"re interested, ______.

In spite of "endless talk of, difference", American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. This is "the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of consumption" launched by the 19th century department stores that offered vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite, "these were stores, anyone could enter, regardless of class or background. This turned shopping into a public and democratic act. The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization. Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today"s immigration is neither at unprecedented level nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent. In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 hnmigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indices of assimilation—language, home ownership and intermarriage. The 1990 Census revealed that a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English "well" or "very well" after ten years of residence. The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English. "By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families". Hence the description of America as a graveyard "for language". By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrive before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native-born Americans. Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics "have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S. born whites and blacks". By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians. Rodriguez not that children in remote villages around world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet "some Americans fear that immigrant living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nation"s assimilative power". Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething in America? Indeed. It is big enough to have a bit of everything. But particularly when viewed against America"s turbulent past, today"s social induces suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment.

Medicine Directions Take two tablets with warm water, followed by one tablet every eight hours, as required. For maximum nighttime and early morning relief, take two tablets at bedtime. Do not exceed six tablets in twenty-four hours. For children six to twelve years old, give half the adult dosage. For children under six years old consult your doctor. Reduce dosage if nervousness, restlessness, or sleeplessness occurs.

Tom: Thank you. Don’t trouble yourself. I’m not thirsty at all. Henry: _________you wouldn’t like a cold beer, or a coke?

These days a green building means more than just the color of the paint. Green building can also refer to environmentally friendly houses, factories, and offices. Buildings account for 65 percent of total U.S. electricity use. But green buildings can reduce energy and water use. Also, the buildings are often located near public transportation such as buses and subways, so that people can drive their cars less. That could be good for the environment, because cars use lots of natural resources such as gasoline, and give off pollution. Green buildings are often built on previously developed land, so that the buildings don"t destroy forests or other wild habitats(栖息地). Malty Dettling is a project manager for a building that puts these ideas into action. The Solaire has been called the country"s first green residential high-rise building. According to Dettling, "We"ve reduced our energy consumption by one-third and our water by 50 percent". Not everyone is leaping to move into a green building, however. Some people think that features such as solar panels cost more money than more traditional energy sources. Despite this, Dettling hopes that green buildings will become common in the future. "It"s going to be big", she said.