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1Jeremy Hampden has a large circle of friends and is very popular at parties. Everybody admires him for his great sense of humour - everybody, that is, except his six-year-old daughter, Jenny. Recently, one of Jeremys closest friends asked him to make a speech at a wedding reception. This is the sort of thing that Jeremy loves. He prepared the speech carefully and went to the wedding with Jenny. he had included a large number of funny stories in the speech and, of course, it was a great success. As soon as he had finished, Jenny told him she wanted to go home. Jeremy was a little disappointed by this but he did as his daughter asked. On the way home, he asked Jenny if she had enjoyed the speech. To his surprise, she said she hadnt. Jeremy asked her why this was so and she told him that she did not like to see so many people laughing at him!2Last Christmas， the circus owner， Jimmy Gates， decided to take some presents to a childrens hospital. Dressed up as Father Christmas and accompanied by a guard of honour of six pretty girls， he set off down the main street of the city riding a baby elephant called Jumbo. He should have known that the police would never allow this sort of thing. A policeman approached Jimmy and told him he ought to have gone along a side street as Jumbo was holding up the traffic. Though Jimmy agreed to go at once， Jumbo refused to move. Fifteen policemen had to push very hard to get him off the main street. The police had a difficult time， but they were most amused. Jumbo must weigh a few tons， said a policeman afterwards， so it was fortunate that we didnt have to carry him. Of course， we should arrest him， but as he has a good record， we shall let him off this time.3In 1858, a French engineer, Aime Thome de Gamond, arrived in England with a plan for a twenty-one-mile tunnel under the English Channel. He said that it would be possible to build a platform in the centre of the Channel. This platform would serve as a port and a railway station. The tunnel would be well-ventilated if tall chimneys were built above sea level. In 1860, a better plan was put forward by an Englishman, William Low. He suggested that a double railway-tunnel should be built. This would solve the problem of ventilation, for if a train entered this tunnel, it would draw in fresh air behind it. Forty-two years later a tunnel was actually begun. If, at the time, the British had not feared invasion, it would have been completed. The world had to wait almost another 100 years for the Channel Tunnel. It was officially opened on March 7,1994, finally connecting Britain to the European continent.4 The InternetWe are all busy talking about and using the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet?Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up (建立) in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didnt work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system (系统) had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time.At first, the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s, universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it, too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing” the Internet easier.Today it is easy to get online and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mails is more and more popular among young people.The Internet now has become one of the most important parts in peoples life.5Some people have a lot of hair, while others have thin hair or are bald on top of their heads. However, hair problems can affect anyone if they have an unhealthy diet or lifestyle. Are you happy with the hair you have? If you are not, try the following advice.The first step to a healthier head of hair is to make sure you are eating the right kinds of food. Lack of protein and iron can secretly rob your hair of its shiny beauty. You need to eat enough green vegetables and fruit. Drinking plenty of water is also important to help prevent your hair from getting dry. Doctors suggest you drink eight to ten glasses each day.The stress of life can also damage your hair. Young people have many things to worry about, like doing difficult homework or preparing for important exams. It is important for you to reduce the pressure you are feeling. Listening to music and getting more rest can help.6When I was about eight, I got a book about stars. That was the beginning of my lifes work. When I was young, I did not use to have much money. I could not buy expensive things, but I had my eyes. I used to go outside every night to look at the stars.There are billions of stars in the skybut you can only see about 3,000 with your own eyes.Get a map of the stars and begin to find your way through the sky. In different seasons, you can see different groups of stars. The shapes of these groups never change. It is easy to learn the name of each group. When you know these, you may start to look at the stars inside each group. Not all stars are the same. Some are big, and some are small. Some look white, some look red and some look blue. Sometimes, you may see a star move. However, if you see it move from one group to another, then it is not a star but a planet. You are able to see Venus and Jupiter easily. They are both very bright. It is easy to see Mars, too. It looks red. You will soon begin to learn more and more about the stars. Then you will want to find out even more about them.7A photographer can have a very interesting life. Norman Parkinson was a famous English photographer. He liked traveling to interesting places and taking photographs. It was his hobby as well as his job.Taking photographs is a favourite hobby of many people all over the world. It can help us remember things. We all love to take photographs of each other, especially when we travel to new places. We also like to have a photograph of everybody in the group together. When we want to be in the picture, we need to ask someone to take the photograph for us.Having photographs is important because people and places always change. It is very sad, for example, if children cannot look at photographs of their parents or grandparents. What did Grandfather look like? Where did he use to live? If we do not have photographs, children may not know the answers to these questions. Photographs help us know and understand our history.8 People work with different parts of their bodies. A construction worker mostly uses his hands. An athlete mostly uses his or her arms and legs. Teachers use their brains for thinking, their mouths for speaking, their eyes for reading and their ears for listening. But how many people use their noses for their jobs? In fact, quite a few!A perfume maker must have a good sense of smell. A good sense of smell is also useful for working with any kind of food. A cook working in a restaurant uses his or her nose all day. He or she must have a good sense of taste as well.Firemen need to have a good sense of smell. The best firemen can smell smoke very quickly and because of this, a fireman with a good sense of smell will always be safer than one without.Close your eyes. What can you smell? Can you tell lots of different things? Yes? Then maybe you should look for a job using your nose.9Tea is one of the most important and popular drinks in China. There are many different kinds of tea. People always say, “We have 10,000 different kinds of tea.” But mostly, we have green tea, black tea, oolong tea and white tea. There are also many different kinds of flower tea.Most people know the story about Dragon Well green tea. This tea comes from the Chinese village of Dragon Well, not far from Hangzhou. Nearly 2000 years ago, the village had many months with no rain. All of the crops were dying, and the farmers were very worried. Then a man found a dragon in a well. He asked the dragon to get out of the well. As soon as the dragon came out, it began to rain and the crops were saved. People now call the tea from that area, “Dragon Well tea”.People in the UK, the USA and Australia drink tea too, but most people there like tea with a little sugar.According to doctors, green tea is very good for you. You should drink some every day. Do you?10Throughout the history of mankind, people have communicated with body language. Although you probably dont realize you are doing it, you use your hands and the rest of your body every time you talk to someone. In many situations, what you say with your eyes is more important than what comes out of your mouth.Eye contact is one of the most important forms of body language. It can be the key to successful communication. It can show whether a person is friendly or unfriendly, interested or bored, clear or confused. However, eye contact can mean different things in different cultures.In Western cultures, making eye contact in conversations is necessary. As a matter of fact, a Westerner might consider a lack of eye contact as a lack of interest. In countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece, people like standing close to each other to talk, so eye contact is frequent.In many Asian cultures, avoiding eye contact shows respect. People do this when they talk with anyone in authority or with elders.