Facebook Facebook is the world"s largest social network with 750 million users worldwide as of July 2011. Its policies, more than those of any other company, are helping to define standards for privacy in the Internet age. The company, founded in 2004 by a Harvard sophomore, Mark Zuckerberg, began life catering first to Harvard students and then to all high school and college students. It has since evolved into a broadly popular online destination used by both teenagers and adults of all ages. In country after country, Facebook has cemented(巩固) itself as the leader, often displacing other social networks. But it has also come to be seen as one of the new titans of the Internet, challenging even Google with a vision of a Web tied together through personal relationships and recommendations, rather than by search algorithms(算法). In a major expansion, Facebook has spread itself across other Web sites by offering members the chance to "Like" something—share it with their network—without leaving the Web page they"re on. In July 2011, hoping to give its users a more intimate, real-time way to stay in touch, the company introduced video chat in a partnership with Skype, the Internet calling service. Facebook"s foray(突袭) into video chatting came a week after Google introduced Google +, its latest and most serious challenge yet in social networking. That service includes video chatting for up to 10 people in an area of the site called Hangouts. The alliance with Skype expanded an existing partnership between the two companies. Their cooperation started in 2010 when Skype let its users connect with their Facebook friends from Skype and get news feeds. Facebook is also working on developing features that would make the sharing of users" favorite music, television shows and other media as much a part of its site as playing games or posting vacation photos. An Internet Titan Facebook has increasingly been seen as the only company to pose a threat to Google, which has used its dominant position in search and online ad placement to expand into most comers of the Web. But as a closed network, Facebook"s oceans of content are out of the reach of Google"s search engines, and some analysts think the personal recommendations made through Facebook networks could become a rival to the algorithm-based results pioneered by Google. In one sign of how much Facebook regards Google as a competitor, The Daily Beast reported that in May 2011 Facebook had hired a public relations firm to persuade reporters and privacy advocates to write stories critical of a new Google service, Social Circles. Privacy is a sore subject for Facebook, which has made a series of stumbles on the subject. With the potential for legal and regulatory clashes growing along with its influence, the company has layered its executive, legal, policy and communications ranks with high-powered politicos (整治活动家) from both parties, beefing up (加强) its firepower for future battles in Washington and beyond. Disputed Origins The company"s rise has been marked by strings of controversies. Three other Harvard students maintain that they came up with the original idea and that Mr. Zuckerberg, whom they had hired to write code for the site, stole the idea to create Facebook. The company has denied the allegations. Another Harvard classmate, Aaron Greenspan, claims that he created the underlying architecture for Facebook and ConnectU, but has declined to, enter in a legal battle. "The Social Network," a movie released in 2010 about Facebook"s tumultuous origins, offered up what A. O. Scott called "a creation story for the digital age and something of a morality tale, one driven by desire, marked by triumph, tainted by betrayal(出卖) and inspired by the new gospel(真理): the geek shall inherit the earth." Facebook has strenuously (强烈地), and Mr. Zuckerberg more quietly, asserted that the portrayal of the company"s founding is fiction. And Mr. Zuckerberg disputed the characterization of him in the film, though in a New Yorker magazine profile, he acknowledged having indulged in a bit of sophomoric arrogance. Privacy Concerns Like other social networks, Facebook allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances. It has distinguished itself from rivals, partly by imposing a spartan design ethos (道义，风气) and limiting how users can change the appearance of their profile pages. That has cut down on visual clutter and threats like spam, which plague rivals. It has decisively outstripped other networks that preceded it, like MySpace and Friendster, becoming what many analysts see as the "default platform" of a new age of information organized around personal relationships. The back and forth between Facebook and its users over privacy is gaining importance as the company"s growth continues unabated (不减弱的). Facebook"s policies, more than those of any other company, are helping to define standards for privacy in the Internet age. Bowing to pressure over privacy concerns, the company in May 2010 unveiled a set of controls that he said would help people understand what they were sharing online, and with whom. Facebook"s biggest mistake, Mr. Zuekerman said, had been in failing to notice that as Facebook added new features and its privacy controls grew increasingly complicated, those controls became effectively unusable for many people. In October 2010, Facebook acknowledged that some applications on its site, including the popular game FarmVille, had improperly shared identifying information about users, and in some cases their friends, with advertisers and Web tracking companies. The company said it was talking to application developers about how they handled personal information, and was looking at ways to prevent this from happening again. The Goldman Deal In January 2011, Facebook raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and a Russian investor in a transaction that values the company at $50 billion. As part of the deal with Facebook, the bank could raise as much as $1.5 billion from investors for Facebook. The new money will give the company more firepower to steal away valuable employees, develop new products and possibly pursue acquisitions—all without being a publicly traded company. The investment may also allow earlier shareholders, including Facebook employees, to cash out at least some of their stakes. The new investment came as the Securities and Exchange Commission began an inquiry into the increasingly hot private market for shares in Internet companies, including Facebook, Twitter, the gaming site Zynga and LinkedIn, an online professional networking site. Some experts suggest the inquiry is focused on whether certain companies are improperly using the private market to get around public disclosure requirements. Also in January, catching many off guard, Goldman said that it would limit its Facebook offering to foreign investors, excluding clients in the United States because of worries that the deal could run afoul of (与……冲突) securities. The offering to high-net-worth clients was supposed to have been a triumph for the firm, not the serious embarrassment it became. Goldman has been trying to move past run-ins with regulators, including a $550 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010 over a complex mortgage investment. The Facebook plan will likely raise new questions about whether Goldman tried to push regulatory boundaries once again. Mr. Zuckerberg had sought to keep close control over the company, spurning (拒绝接受) a $1 billion offer from Yahoo in 2006 and playing down the idea of a stock offering. But in the wake of the Goldman investment, Facebook said that it will begin reporting its financial results by April 2012, setting the stage for a likely IPO (initial public offerings).

Acing an Interview Pre-Interview You"ve got a great resume—so why aren"t you getting any interviews? Often we spend so much time on the resume, so we neglect the other important details. As a classic example, if your answering machine has any of the following, change it immediately: ● It sounds like a dating service ● Music to accompany your message ● Multiple voices Another twist on this is email. It is very hard to take someone seriously with an email address of freakyman @ ub. ca. Take out a free email account with a more appropriate address. If you don"t have an answering machine, invest in one. Now let the machine work for you. Have the machine answer the phone. Why? It puts you in more of an advantageous position. You have some time to think of what you are going to say and to ask questions. When you call back, find out who is interviewing you. Depending on the company it may be someone different than the person calling. It may also be a panel (more than one interviewer) and you want to know who they are and their position. Ask if the job you applied for has a job description that you could pick up. Always do your own leg work—don"t ask them to send it to you. If they tell you they don"t mind, don"t argue, thank them and move on. You"ve got an interview The first thing you do is enlist(争取) your friends. Their first job is the handshake. Don"t ask your parents about this one, if you have a weak handshake, chances are they do too. Work on this. It is the only point of contact in an interview and you need to project confidence and enthusiasm. Second, ask them what your pet word is. Mine is "like". Other common ones are "you know", "urn", "well" and the worst "urn, well, like, you know". We all have one, and for 30-45 minutes you need to minimize the use of this word. Have your friends test you for endurance, and see how long you can go without saying the pet word. At the interview When you get to the interview, early, take time to read any brochures they may have in the office on their company. Ensure you are not chewing gum, it sounds stupid, but it happens all the time. If the receptionists asks you if you would like water or coffee decline. You will be nervous enough and shaking hands with a glass in your hand is very difficult. Once you are in the interview room, pay attention to what is going on. Your interviewer will direct you to a seat. If you are given a choice of seating, avoid sitting facing a window. Two reasons, first you will get distracted; second the interviewer will be in shadow if it"s a bright day. Hands down the most common mistake everyone makes is not listening to the question. The easiest way to pay attention is to bring a note pad. The interviewer will be taking notes you should too. Taking notes gives you a moment to reflect on the question and prepare your thoughts. If the question is "Give us a time when...". You answer should not start "If I..." or "I would...", the interviewer is looking for what you have done. Your past behaviour is the best predictors of what you will do in the future. HR is also very fond of situational questions. If you can"t think of what to do in a controlled environment then chances are you won"t be able to respond in the field. After the interviewers ask you their questions, you will have an opportunity to ask them questions. Don"t ask about money! Acceptable questions include shifts, uniforms or dress code, number of co-workers, and when you can expect to hear from them. Follow up It is entirely up to you if you choose to send a note to thank the interviewer. E-mail is great because it is easily read and you know the interviewer got it. The message should be brief and is not an opportunity to provide all those great answers you wish you had said in the interview. Do not call to follow up. The interviewer may have interviewed 20 people in 3 days and will have difficulty placing you. Parting words Be yourself. If you try to be what you think they want, you"ll most likely be miserable at the job. So if they ask if you prefer to work with data or people, and you hate data. Tell them. You might not get the job, but that might be the best thing for you.

Dollars and cents are the basic units of American money. The back of all dollar bills are green (hence "greenbacks"). The commonly used coins are: one cent (penny), five cents (nickel), 10 cents (dime), and 25 cents (quarter). 50 pieces (half dollar) and silver dollars (not really silver anymore) are gaining in usage, while there has been talk of phasing out the penny that"s inflation for you. "Always carry plenty of quarters when travelling. Very useful for phones, soda machines, laundry machines, etc." There is generally no problem in using US dollars in Canada, but this is never possible in reverse. It"s useful always to carry small change for things like exact fare buses, but do not carry large sums of cash. Instead keep the bulk of your money in travellers" cheques which can be purchased both in the US and abroad and should be in dollar denominations. The best known cheques are those of American Express, so you will have the least difficulty cashing these, even in out of the way places. Thomas Cook travellers" cheques are also acceptable, especially as lost ones can be reclaimed at some car rental companies. Dollar denomination cheques can be used like regular money. There"s no need to cash them at a bank: use them instead to pay for meals, supermarket purchases or whatever. Ten or twenty dollar cheques are accepted like this almost always and you"ll be given change just as though you"d presented the cashier with dollar bills. Be prepared to show I. D. when you cash your cheques. Credit cards can be even more valuable than travellers" cheques, as they are often used to guarantee room reservations over the phone and are accepted in lieu of deposit when renting a car—indeed without a credit card you may be considered so untrustworthy that not only a deposit but your passport will be held as security too. The major credit cards are VISA, Master Charge and Access, Diners Club and American Express. If you hold a bank card, it could well be worthwhile to increase your credit limit for travel purposes—you should ask your bank manager.

Seven Ways to Improve Your Conversation Skills I believe that one of the best ways to connect with people and build quality relationships is through making conversation. Although most people can hold a conversation, only a few are smooth and charismatic(具备超凡魅力的) when they talk. Working as a communication coach, I have explored and tested many techniques for improving conversation skills. I have discovered 7 simple and effective ways to be a smooth talker. Here they are: 1. Talk slowly Typically, good talkers don"t rush into a conversation. They take their time when they reflect on something and when they say it out loud. They act as if they have all the time in the world. This makes them come off as centered and collected. Model this way of talking and you will create the same effect. 2. Hold more eye contact Most people keep eye contact about 2/3 of the time or less when they talk. In my experience, it"s a very good idea to hold eye contact just a bit more than that. This will convey confidence and interest in interacting with them. 3. Notice the details People with good conversation skills tend to notice the kind of things that the average person doesn"t notice, and to bring such details into the conversation. They may notice and point out an interesting ring on the other person"s hand, a certain foreign accent, or a certain voice tone they use when saying a name. Thus, such individuals impress people in a very elegant manner. 4. Give unique compliments Anybody can pay a generic compliment to try and get another person"s appreciation. Charismatic people on the other hand are able to really pay attention to others, to look beyond the facade and thus, pay unique compliments. Do the same and besides wooing others, you may even help them find out things about themselves they didn"t know. 5. Express your emotions It"s very rare to meet a person who is comfortable talking about their emotions and how certain things make them feel, especially with strangers. Yet this way of talking is a real virtue. Don"t just present the facts, you"re not a newspaper. Express your feelings about those facts. Keep in mind that it is at the emotional level that people connect best. 6. Offer interesting insights Anybody can talk about the news or express basic opinions. But good talkers can frequently tell you things you didn"t know and that you"ll find fascinating. This is why it"s good to have knowledge into fields such as psychology or sociology, and bring such knowledge out at the right moments in a conversation. 7. Use the best words The ability to talk smoothly has a lot to do with choosing the precise words to convey your precise feelings or thoughts. Constantly develop your vocabulary and practice communicating as accurately as possible. It will help you develop a way with words and allow you to express yourself more easily. Conversational skills don"t improve just like that. It takes time, practice and the ability to learn at a rapid rate from your own experiences. On top of this, they have virtually no limit to how far they can be developed.

Universities Branch Out As never before in their long story, universities have become instruments of national competition as well as instruments of peace. They are the place of the scientific discoveries that move economies forward, and the primary means of educating the talent required to obtain and maintain competitive advantages. But at the same time, the opening of national borders to the flow of goods, services, information and especially people has made universities a powerful force for global integration, mutual understanding and geopolitical stability. In response to the same forces that have driven the world economy, universities have become more sell-consciously global: seeking students from around the world who represent the entire range of cultures and values, sending their own students abroad to prepare them for global careers, offering courses of study that address the challenges of an interconnected world and collaborative (合作的) research programs to advance science for the benefit of all humanity. Of the forces shaping higher education none is more sweeping than the movement across borders. Over the past three decades the number of students leaving home each year to study abroad has grown at an annual rate of 3.9 percent, from 800,000 in 1975 to 2.5 million in 2004. Most travel from one developed nation to another, but the flow from developing to developed countries is growing rapidly. The reverse flow, from developed to developing countries, is on the rise, too. Today foreign students earn 30 percent of the doctoral degrees awarded in the United States and 38 percent of those in the United Kingdom. And the number crossing borders for undergraduate study is growing as well, to 8 percent of the undergraduates at America"s best institutions and 10 percent of all undergraduates in the U. K. In the United States, 20 percent of the newly hired professors in science and engineering are foreign-born, and in China many newly hired faculty members at the top research universities received their graduate education abroad. Universities are also encouraging students to spend some of their undergraduate years in another country. In Europe, more than 140,000 students participate in the Erasmus program each year, taking courses for credit in one of 2,200 participating institutions across the continent. And in the United States, institutions are helping place students in summer internships (实习) abroad to prepare them for global careers. Yale and Harvard have led the way, offering every undergraduate at least one international study or internship opportunity—and providing the financial resources to make it possible. Globalization is also reshaping the way research is done. One new trend involves sourcing portions of a research program to another country. Yale professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Tian Xu directs a research center focused on the genetics of human disease at Shanghai"s Fudan University, in collaboration with faculty colleagues from both schools. The Shanghai center has 95 employees and graduate students working in a 4,300-square-meter laboratory facility. Yale faculty, postdoctors and graduate students visit regularly and attend videoconference seminars with scientists from both campuses. The arrangement benefits both countries; Xu"s Yale lab is more productive, thanks to the lower costs of conducting research in China and Chinese graduate students, postdoctors and faculty get on-the-job training from a word-class scientist and his U.S. team. As a result of its strength in science, the United States has consistently led the world in the commercialization of major new technologies, from the mainframe computer and integrated circuit of the 1960s to the Internet infrastructure (基础设) and applications software of the 1990s. The link between university-based science and industrial application is often indirect but sometimes highly visible: Silicon Valley was intentionally created by Stanford University, and Route 128 outside Boston has long housed companies spun off from MIT and Harvard. Around the world, governments have encouraged copying of this model, perhaps most successfully in Cambridge, England, where Microsoft and scores of other leading software and biotechnology companies have set up shop around the university. For all its success, the United States remains deeply hesitant about sustaining the research-university model. Most politicians recognize the link between investment in science and national economic strength, but support for research funding has been unsteady. The budget of the National Institutes of Health doubled between 1998 and 2003, but has risen more slowly than inflation since then. Support for the physical sciences and engineering barely kept pace with inflation during that same period. The attempt to make up lost ground is welcome, but the nation would be better served by steady, predictable increases in science funding at the rate of long-term GDP growth, which is on the order of inflation plus 3 percent per year. American politicians have great difficulty recognizing that admitting more foreign students can greatly promote the national interest by increasing international understanding. Adjusted for inflation, public funding for international exchanges and foreign-language study is well below the levels of 40 years ago. In the wake of September 11, changes in the visa process caused a dramatic decline in the number of foreign students seeking admission to U.S. universities, and a corresponding surge in enrollments in Australia, Singapore and the U. K. Objections from Americans university and business leaders led to improvements in the process and a reversal of the decline, but the United States is still seen by many as unwelcoming to international students. Most Americans recognize that universities contribute to the nation"s well-being through their scientific research, but many fear that foreign students threaten American competitiveness by taking their knowledge and skills back home. They fail to grasp that welcoming foreign students to the United States has two important positive effects: first, the very best of them stay in the States and—like immigrants throughout history—strengthen the nation; and second, foreign students who study in the United States become ambassadors for many of its most cherished (珍视) values when they return home. Or at least they understand them better. In America as elsewhere, few instruments of foreign policy are as effective in promoting peace and stability as welcoming international university students.

Six Secrets of High-Energy People There"s an energy crisis in America, and it has nothing to do with fossil fuels. Millions of us get up each morning already weary over the day holds. "I just can"t get started," people say. But it"s not physical energy that most of us lack. Sure, we could all use extra sleep and a better diet. But in truth, people are healthier today than at any time in history. I can almost guarantee that if you long for more energy, the problem is not with your body. What you"re seeking is not physical energy. It"s emotional energy. Yet, sad to say, life sometimes seems designed to exhaust our supply. We work too hard. We have family obligations. We encounter emergencies and personal crises. No wonder so many of us suffer from emotional fatigue, a kind of utter exhaustion of the spirit. And yet we all know people who are filled with joy, despite the unpleasant circumstances of their lives. Even as a child, I observed people who were poor or disabled, or ill, but who nonetheless faced life with optimism and vigor. Consider Laura Hillenbrand, who, despite an extremely weak body, wrote the best-seller Seabiscuit . Hillenbrand barely had enough physical energy to drag herself out of bed to write. But she was fueled by having a story she wanted to share. It was emotional energy that helped her succeed. Unlike physical energy, which is finite and diminishes with age, emotional energy is unlimited and has nothing to do with genes or upbringing. So how do you get it? You can"t simply tell yourself to he positive. You must take action. Here are six practical strategies that work. 1. Do something new. Very little that"s new occurs in our lives. The impact of this sameness on our emotional energy is gradual, hut huge: It"s like a tire with a slow leak. You don"t notice it at first, but eventually you"ll get a flat. It"s up to you to plug the leak—even though there are always a dozen reasons to stay stuck in your dull routines of life. That"s where Maura, 36, a waitress, found herself a year ago. Fortunately, Maura had a lifeline—a group of women friends who meet regularly to discuss their lives. Their lively discussions spurred Maura to make small but nevertheless life-altering changes. She joined a gym in the next town. She changed her look with a short haircut and new black T-shirts. Eventually, Maura gathered the courage to quit her job and start her own business. Here"s a challenge: If it"s something you wouldn"t ordinarily do, do it. Try a dish you"ve never eaten. Listen to music you"d ordinarily tune out. You"ll discover these small things add to your emotional energy. 2. Reclaim life"s meaning. So many of my patients tell me that their lives used to have meaning, but that somewhere along the line things went stale. The first step in solving this meaning shortage is to figure out what you really care about, and then do something about it. A ease in point is Ivy, 57, a pioneer in investment banking. "I mistakenly believed that all the money I made would mean something," she says. "But I feel lost, like a 22-year-old wondering what to do with her life." Ivy"s solution? She started a program that shows Wall Streeters how to donate time and money to poor children. In the process, Ivy filled her life with meaning. 3. Put yourself in the fun zone. Most of us grown-ups are seriously fun-deprived. High-energy people have the same day-to-day work as the rest of us, but they manage to find something enjoyable in every situation. A real-estate broker I know keeps herself amused on the job by mentally redecorating the houses she shows to clients. "I love imagining what even the most run-down house could look like with a little tender loving care," she says. "It"s a challenge—and the least desirable properties are usually the most fun." We all define fun differently, of course, but I can guarantee this: If you put just a bit of it into your day, your energy will increase quickly. 4. Bid farewell to guilt and regret. Everyone"s past is filled with regrets that still cause pain. But from an emotional energy point of view, they are dead weights that keep us from moving forward. While they can"t merely be willed away, I do recommend you remind yourself that whatever happened is in the past, and nothing can change that. Holding on to the memory only allows the damage to continue into the present. 5. Make up your mind. Say you"ve been thinking about cutting your hair short. Will it look stylish—or too extreme? You endlessly think it over. Having the decision hanging over your head is a huge energy drain. Every time you can"t decide, you burden yourself with alternatives. Quit thinking that you have to make the right decision; instead, make a choice and don"t look back. 6. Give to get. Emotional energy has a kind of magical quality: the more you give, the more you get back. This is the difference between emotional and physical energy. With the latter, you have to get it to be able to give it. With the former, however, you get it by giving it. Start by asking everyone you meet, "How are you?" as if you really want to know, then listen to the reply. Be the one who hears. Most of us also need to smile more often. If you don"t smile at the person you love first thing in the morning, you"re sucking energy out of your relationship. Finally, help another person—and make the help real, concrete. Give a massage (按摩) to someone you love, or cook her dinner. Then, expand the circle to work. Try asking yourself what you"d do if your goal were to be helpful rather than efficient. After all, if it"s true that what goes around comes around, why not make sure that what"s circulating around you is the good stuff?

Highways Early in the 20th century, most of the streets and roads in the U.S. were made of dirt, brick, and cedar wood blocks. Built for horse, carriage, and foot traffic, they were usually poorly cared for and too narrow to accommodate (容纳) automobiles. With the increase in auto production, private turnpike (收费公路) companies under local authorities began to spring up, and by 1921 there were 387,000 miles of paved roads. Many were built using specifications of 19th century Scottish engineers Thomas Telford and John Mac Adam (for whom the macadam surface is named), whose specifications stressed the importance of adequate drainage. Beyond that, there were no national standards for size, weight restrictions, or commercial signs. During World War I, roads throughout the country were nearly destroyed by the weight of trucks. When General Eisenhower returned from Germany in 1919, after serving in the U.S. Army"s first transcontinental motor convoy (车队), he noted, "The old convoy had started me thinking about good, two-lane highways, but Germany"s Autobahn or motorway had made me see the wisdom of broader ribbons across the land." It would take another war before the federal government would act on a national highway system. During World War Ⅱ, a tremendous increase in trucks and new roads were required. The war demonstrated how critical highways were to the defense effort. Thirteen percent of defense plants received all their supplies by truck and almost all other plants shipped more than half of their products by vehicle. The war also revealed that local control of highways had led to a confusing variety of design standards. Even federal and state highways did not follow basic standards. Some states allowed trucks up to 36,000 pounds, while others restricted anything over 7,000 pounds. A government study recommended a national highway system of 33,920 miles, and Congress soon passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944, which called for strict, centrally controlled design criteria. The interstate highway system was finally launched in 1956 and has been hailed as one of the greatest public work projects of the century. To build its 44,000-mile web of highways, bridges, and tunnels, hundreds of unique engineering designs and solutions had to be worked out. Consider the many geographic features of the country: mountains, steep grades, wetlands, rivers, desserts, and plains. Variables included the slope of the land, the ability of the pavement to support the load, the intensity of road use, and the nature of the underlying soil. Urban areas were another problem. Innovative designs of roadways, tunnels, bridges, overpasses, and interchanges that could run through or bypass urban areas soon began to weave their way across the country, forever altering the face of America. Long-span, segmented-concrete, cable-stayed bridges such as Hale Boggs in Louisiana and the Sunshine Skyway in Florida, and remarkable tunnels like Fort McHenry in Maryland and Mt, Baker in Washington, met many of the nation"s physical challenges. Traffic control systems and methods of construction developed under the interstate program soon influenced highway construction around the world, and were invaluable in improving the condition of urban streets and traffic patterns. Today, the interstate system links every major city in the U.S. and the U.S. with Canada and Mexico. Built with safety in mind, the highways have wide lanes and shoulders, dividing medians or barriers, long entry and exit lanes, curves engineered for sate turns, and limited access. The death rate on highways is half that of all other U. S. roads (0.86 deaths per 100 million passenger miles compared to 1.99 deaths per 100 million on all other roads). By opening the North American continent, highways have enabled consumer goods and services to reach people in remote and rural areas of the country, spurred the growth of suburbs, and provided people with greater options in terms of jobs, access to cultural programs, health care, and other benefits. Above all, the interstate system provides individuals with what they cherish most: personal freedom of mobility. The interstate system has been an essential element of the nation"s economic growth in terms of shipping and job creation: more than 75 percent of the nation"s freight deliveries arrive by truck; and most products that arrive by rail or air use interstates for the last leg of the journey by vehicle. Not only has the highway system affected the American economy by providing shipping routes, it has led to the growth of spin-off industries like service stations, motels, restaurants, and shopping centers. It has allowed the relocation of manufacturing plants and other industries from urban areas to rural. By the end of the century there was an immense network of paved roads, residential streets, expressways, and freeways built to support millions of vehicles. The highway system was officially renamed for Eisenhower to honor his vision and leadership. The year construction began he said: "Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear—United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts."

The BBC was founded in 1922, including radio and television services. It is based at Broadcasting House in London. The BBC is controlled by some governors chosen by the government, hut these people have freedom and the government can"t interfere (干扰). That is, the BBC is supposed not to be the mouthpiece(发言人) of the government. It has to be as fair as possible in giving radio and television time to, for example, political parties and religlous(宗教的) groups. There is a kind of interesting service in British—rental service. Many people prefer to rent their television sets instead of buying them. The rent for a black and white set is about 80 pence a week (1980). The rent of a color set is more than twice that of a black and white set. If the sets go wrong, people can have them repaired free of charge or replaced immediately. Everyone has to buy a yearly license, since there is no advertising on BBC radio or television. It is from the sale of licenses that the BBC gets most of its money. A license for a black and white set costs 8 pounds, and for a color set 18 pounds a year. There are four specialized radio channels, which broadcast different kinds of programs. Radio 1 is mainly pop music, Radio 2 deals with light music, sports and other programs. Radio 3 broadcasts serious music, talks on serious subjects etc.. News broadcasts are mainly given by Radio 4. There are special programs for Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and certain parts of England. It also broadcasts programs about Britain—in many different languages as well as in English to all parts of the world.

Bodies Under Construction Three years ago, when a 15-year-old British girl decided to get breast implants(隆胸) for her sixteenth birthday, the story made headlines around the world. Since then, media reports have continued to speculate (猜测) that cosmetic surgery, once the exclusive domain of wealthy older women, is a trendy new option for any teenager with an adolescent hang-up (烦恼). Dr. Darrick Antell, a top New York City plastic surgeon(整形外科医生), says he has seen an increase in the number of teenage patients but cautions against calling it a trend. "One of the main reasons for the increase is visibility: today"s teenagers are growing up with parents who have had cosmetic surgery, so they see and hear about it more. The media has also done a good job of making people aware of the procedures available. Another reason is acceptability. In a way, plastic surgery has come out of the closet," Dr. Antell says. When details of cosmetic procedures are frequently discussed on talk shows and published in magazines, it"s not surprising that they filter into our consciousness: "Sometimes when I"m out to dinner with my friends, we"ll play a game called "What would you have done?" where we sort of daydream and discuss what we would do if money was no object and the procedures were safe," says 18-year-old Alison Preiss, an Ontario high school student. While Preiss doesn"t think she could actually go through with a procedure, she says it could go either way. "I could grow up to realize that there are more important things than my nose, or it could really bother me to the point where I decide to have surgery. I suppose it depends on my lifestyle and career choices," Preiss says. Suzanne Ma, a 19-year-old Ryerson University student, has considered a double eyelid procedure popular in Asia. "I"m Chinese, and I don"t like my eyes. I don"t have double eyelids, so I feel that my eyes look a lot smaller than they really are. My concerns are not entirely for cosmetic reasons. With my heavy eyelids, my eyelashes don"t grow out properly. Some of them get trapped under the eyelids and it"s very easy for me to get an infection," Ma says. As in North America, plastic surgery is booming overseas, especially in wealthier Asian countries like Korea, where it is seen as a way to improve career prospects and self-confidence. In China, women and some men are paying thousands of dollars to have a brutal surgical procedure performed that lengthens their legs so they can fulfill height requirements often used to narrow down the number of job applicants. Although reasons .[or cosmetic surgery range from getting a better look to improving job prospects, often the common factor among patients is more than skin deep. "Teenagers who are thinking about having plastic surgery to change the way they look are often addressing issues of self-esteem," says psychotherapist Dorothy Ratusny. "Between the ages of 13 and 19, there"s a lot of emphasis on peers and what others think of you. It"s also a time when things such as not being part of the popular crowd, changes in financial situation and divorce can negatively affect a teenager"s self-esteem." Cosmetic surgery may have a positive impact if your body image is consistently tied to a negative focus on a particular facial feature or body part. Dr. Antell says, "The classic case is a teenage patient of mine who had reconstructive surgery to correct a significant discrepancy (差异，不一致) between her upper and lower jaws. When she came into my office for the initial consultation she was constantly looking at the floor. After the surgery, she was looking up and smiling. Now she"s singing in her local school group." Dr. Antell is careful to point out that there are murky areas. "Liposuction (抽脂术) is one of those areas. So is breast augmentation because you"re not really sure that the teenager has stopped growing yet. But there are exceptions, for example, if a patient has breast asymmetry." Dr. Mitchell Brown, a plastic surgeon at Sunnybrook and Women"s College Health Sciences Centre in Toronto says, "Correcting breast asymmetry, when women develop breasts that are different in terms of shape and size, can be appropriate for teenage girls because it causes a very significant psychological impact on them during their developmental years. Doctors are very aware of the psychological drama affecting our lives and it has become a very important factor when evaluating a patient. Dr. Brown says, "The key thing from my perspective is to assess physical, emotional and psychological maturity before treating a patient. I spend a great deal of time with my patients, regardless of their age, to determine that they have thought out their concern carefully and have reasonable goals and expectations." In other words, cosmetic surgery can improve a patient"s body but it won"t necessarily improve their self-image or guarantee happiness. Dr. Antell says, "I"ve done liposuction on a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. This is somebody most people would think looked perfect. But she was very insecure. She didn"t see herself the way others did. I can"t give people confidence." So, if you"re considering cosmetic surgery you need to ask yourself what you hope to achieve because it"s not going to be the one magic solution that makes everything better. In fact, it may even change you for the worse—just surf the Web and read the thousands of horror stories from people hoping to find peace of mind or happiness by going under the knife.

判断题Hal Bohlman, his wife Judy, and their three children live in a small apartment. Hal works in the income tax division of the government where he is a public information officer. Their children are now 12, 10, and 5 years old. Their plan is for Judy to return to work after their youngest child starts primary school next year. They hope to save up enough money to buy a house. Last week, however, Judy"s father died suddenly of a heart attack. They now have to decide what to do about Judy"s mother, since Judy is the only child. Judy"s father was the manager of a store in a large supermarket chain, so her mother will receive a modest but sufficient pension from the company. In addition, she will receive the money from her husband"s life insurance and will continue to receive social welfare benefits from the government. However, Judy realizes that it would probably be dangerous for her mother to live alone. Although her health is basically good for someone of age 73, she has bad days when her heart or arthritis(关节炎) acts up. Judy is afraid she might have trouble taking care of herself now that she is alone. Her mother is living in the house that she and her husband owned, a three-bedroom house in the suburbs of the same city where Hal and Judy live. Hal and Judy"s mother never got along well in the past, but Hal realizes that Judy is worried about her mother.

填空题Christmas is a day of fun, feasting and exchanging 1 . People have been preparing for it for weeks. They have been cooking 2 foods, going to parties, and buying gifts. They have been decorating their houses in the two traditional 3 of Christmas: red and green. The most important Christmas decoration in many houses is a Christmas tree. It is an evergreen tree 4 light, glass balls and shiny papers. The Christmas tree is a 5 of life in the darkest, coldest season in the northern part of the world.

填空题The government promised that they ______ (do) their best to protect the environment.

填空题Read Before Use Important: This product can cause an allergic reaction (过敏反应) which, in rare cases, may be severe. To help you to reduce the risk of allergic reaction, it is essential to follow the precautions (注意事项) below: 1. Skin test Perform a skin test 48 hours before using this product, even if you have already used a hair colorant of this or any other brands before. 2. In case of a reaction during the application, rinse (冲洗) immediately with lukewarm (微温的) water. Stop using the product, and before coloring your hair again, consult a doctor. · Avoid contact with eyes. · Rinse eyes immediately if the product comes into contact with them. · Wear suitable gloves supplied in the package. · Do not use it to color eyelashes and eyebrows or for any purpose other than coloring the hair. · Keep out of the reach of children. Safety Instructions To be safe, you"d better test your skin 1 before using the product. If there is any kind of reaction, you should rinse your hair immediately with 2 You should not make the product get into your eyes. While using the product, you should wear 3 You should not use the product to color 4 You should keep the product away from 5

填空题The building needs ______ (repair) before you move in.

填空题Advertisements appear everywhere in modern society. When you walk along the streets, you can see large billboards with pretty girls smiling at you. You read newspapers, and you see half of the pages covered with ads. You turn on the TV and you see commercial advertisements again. Whether you like it or not, advertising pours into your life. In order to attract more customers, advertisers will sometimes go to extremes. Advertisers adapt every possible stimulation in producing their announcements and making ads, such as sound, light, colors and human performance. For instance, to advertise a certain food, advertisers will employ an actor to sit at a table and devour their seemingly delicious food product while they film him. Although advertisements enable you to make decisions quickly, sometimes they cause lots of trouble. The most intolerable thing is to have to watch commercials before and during the films on TV. There are always many of them and they make you forget what you are sitting there for. Sometimes commercials for the same type of products are shown together forcing you to think about which brand you should choose.

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填空题When the professor came into the classroom, he found himself ______ (surround) by many students.

填空题After ______ (interview) for the job, you will be required to take a language test.

填空题The song "Happy Birthday to You" is sung all over the world just before the birthday boy or girl blows out the candles on the cake. It is so simple that children as young as three can sing it. The song, with its original(最初的) title "Good Morning to You", was written in 1893 by the two sisters, Mildred and Patty Smith Hill. They were the daughters of a progressive Kentucky couple, who believed in female education at a time—the mid-nineteenth century—when it was still a novel idea and who trained their two daughters to be schoolteachers. They were long involved in elementary education, and Patty, in particular. She achieved a lot as a pioneer in kindergarten education, and for several decades a major spokesman for preschool education. She taught at Columbia University"s Teachers College from 1905 to 1935, and at her retirement became one of the first women to be named an honorary(荣誉的) professor by Columbia. A birthday cake with burning candles is also an important part at one"s birthday party. It may derive, distantly, from the ancient Greek practice of offering to Artemis, goddess of the hunt and of the moon, a round honey cake into which a candle was stuck. After German bakers invented the modern birthday cake in the Middle Ages, a similar custom was adopted for the advocate (提倡) of good spirits at birthdays. The cake, ready by morning, would be surrounded by burning candles, in a kind of protective fire circle, and they would be kept lit all day, until dessert time at the evening meal.

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