Lesson 11

                      Is He a Good Neighbour?

                            Text A

  You and your family have been living in the same six-family apartment building for eight years. The landlord's family also lives there, and, generally speaking,all the tenants get along fairly well with each other. Recently, however, there was a change in the apartment next to yours.

  A nice, quiet old couple used to live there. The old lady would sometimes bring over some cookies or small cakes she had made, and your mother in return would give them some food or help the old woman with her shopping. Unfortunately, the old lady died last month. Her husband couldn't live alone, so his grandson moved in with him.


  The grandson, who is about twenty, has become a problem to your family. The walls of the building are thin and he is noisy. You are used to peace and quiet, but the grandson likes to listen to his radio late at night. Sometimes friends of his visit, and they make a lot of noise. Everyone in your family is bothered by your new neighbor and as a result is becoming more irritated.


  Your mother once politely asked the old man if he was able to sleep well at night , but apparently he didn't get the hint. If he did understand your mother's intention and did speak to his grandson about it, the grandson apparently didn't listen, since things haven't changed any. Everyone in your family agrees that something has to be done, but no one wants to hurt the old man's feelings or cause him any problems.
  What do you think should be done?

                         
                              Text B


ALBERT:   Listen, the heating's broken in my room. When are you going to come and fix it?
MANAGER:   I'm sorry to hear that, sir. I'll get someone right away.
ALBERT:   You'd better. It's freezing up there. And my
  room's a disgrace. That maid's useless. I want her replaced.
MANAGER:   Well, I'll speak to the housekeeper about it, sir, but I'm sure. . . .
ALBERT:   And that hall porter's another one. Cheeky devil. You should get rid of him, too.
  Doesn't know how to treat guests with respect. And look at the money I'm paying !
MANAGER:   Well, I'm very sorry, sir, but George has been with us for twenty years and we've
  never had any complaints about him until now.
ALBERT:   And another thing! What are you going to do about those foreigners in number 27?
  Carrying on all night in that funny language! Shouting, they were. It shouldn't be
  allowed.
MANAGER:   If you like , sir , I'll have a word with them and ask them to be a little more
  considerate.
ALBERT:   Yes , do that , will you , then maybe I'll get some sleep.
MANAGER:   I'm very sorry you've been disturbed, sir. But are you enjoying your stay apart
  from that?

ALBERT:   Well , I don't think much of the restaurant. I can't get a decent plate of fish
  and chips. It's all salad and fancy stuff. And the service is terrible, too.

MANAGER:   Well. sir, I'm sure the waiters try to be as helpful as they can, but they are
  very busy at dinner.
ALBERT:   Well , you should get some more , shouldn't you?
  You should be able to afford it. You're charging enough this year, aren't you?
MANAGER:   I'm very sorry you feel that way about it, sir. If there's anything else I can do
  to make your stay here more pleasant, please don't hesitate to ask me.
ALBERT:   Don't worry , I'll tell you all right !


                    Additional Information

  The time of day is about 7. 30 in the evening. You are on your way home and are presently on a subway train which is about full. At one of the stops , a young man in his eaily twenties gets on the train and sits down next to a middle-aged woman reading a book.

The man looks like he might have been drinking a little. After a few minutes, he reaches,into his pocket for a cigarette and lights up. There are signs on the subway which prohibit smoking.People usually obey the signs , since it is both dangerous and inconsiderate not to. The woman turri~ to the man and very politely says, "Excusc me, sir, but you aren't supposed to smoke on the subway. "

　

The man ignores her, so she once again says. "Excuse me, sir, but people don't usually smoke on the subway. " The man looks at the woman and says, "Why don't you mind your own business,lady?" The woman closes her book, very calmly stands up, looks straight at the man and says, "I think the safety of all the passengers is everyone's business, young man. " She then turns tc walk away, when suddenly the young man jumps up and grabs her by the arm and turns her around. The woman yells.                      

Lesson 12

                          Seeing the World

                            Text A

  If someone offered to pay all my expenses for a month's holiday anywhere in the world, I would feel very surprised and very excited. It would be difficult to decide where I wanted to go. Should I go to one place or to lots of different places? If I went to one country, I could see and understand a lot about it. If I went to lots of countries, my holiday would be more interesting and more exciting. I think I would decide to fly around the world and to visit three different countries. The countries I would visit would be Australia, the United States of America and Kenya.

  If I went to Australia, I would stay there for about two weeks. I am sure it would be very interesting to visit a country which is so very different from my own. Before I went, I would write to one of my Australian friends. I would suggest that if it were possible, he should spend a week with me visiting Aboriginal tribes in the northern part of Australia. I would really like to find out how the Aboriginal people live in Australia today. My friend could explain what we saw and he could translate what people said because he majored in Aboriginal Studies at Queensland University. While I was visiting Australia, I hope I could also see some of the large cities , such as Sydney and Melbourne.


  If I went to the United States , I would stay there about a week. I expect I would start by visiting New YorkS. I have heard that New York is a very exciting city. I imagine that there are, lots of tourist attractions, that the buildings are spectacular and that the food is very varied. After I had stayed two or three days in New York, I would fly to San Francisco. I hope I could stay with my relations who live there and I would visit the city and other parts of California.


  Finally, I would fly to Kenya where I would stay for about a week. There are three things I would like to do in Kenya. First , I hope I could visit the coast because I would like to see the old Arab cities and enjoy the beautiful beaches. Next, I would like to visit a Game eserve. I imagine the wild animals of Africa- the lion, elephant and hippopotamus- are very exciting and beautiful. Finally, I would like to visit the Mountains of Kenya where you can see snow on the Equator.
  If someone offered me this money, I would be amazed. Unfortunately, I do not think this will ever happen and I doubt if I shall ever visit these countries.

             
                              Text B

  Ann started work last summer, so she didn't have a holiday.She saved as much as she could and, in January, she booked a package trip to Rosas, in Spain. She left London airport early on the norning of the-first Saturday in August. She was very excited, as this was her first trip abroad. During the flight they had a snack , and when they arrived at Barcelona airport,a special bus was ready to take them to their hotel in Rosas. The weather was beautiful and Ann enjoyed the bus trip.


  At the hotel, she checked in, and then went to her room to change before dinner. She was just ready to go downstairs, when she found that her Spanish money wasn't in her handbag. She carefully looked in all her luggage, but she couldn't find it. All she had was a small purse with ten English pound notes in it!


  Ann found a place to change her English money. She had very few pesetas, and she would be here for two weeks. On her way back to the hotel, Ann bought some cheese, some bread and some oranges. When she got back, she told the manager that her doctor had told her not to eat Spanish food; she'd just have breakfast each day. This was all right , as she knew the price of hotels included breakfast.


  For the rest of her holiday, Ann swam in the hotel swimming-pool, or lay on the beach and got a suntan. She also went for long walks with one of the other tourists, a Scottish girl called Jane. However, when the others went to interesting places, she always said she wasn't well. In fact, her holiday wasn't bad, except that she was always hungry. After all, a piece of fruit for lunch, and bread and cheese for supper isn't very much. . . especially not for two weeks !


  Late in the afternoon of their last day, Ann and Jane were on the beach. Jane asked her why she never ate with them in the hotel restaurant. The food was excellent. Ann told her all about her money problems. Jane looked at her for a minute, and then said, "But didn't you know? The price of this holiday includes absolutely everything!"



                    Additional Information

                        TRAVEL BOOKS

  There are several ways you can find out aboiit the countries and places you wish to visit. You can talk to friends who have travelled to the places. Or you can go and see a colour film about them. Or you can read travel books.


  It would seem that there are three kinds of travel books. The first are those that give a personal, subjective account of travels which the author has actually made himself. If they are informative and have a good index then they can be useful to you when you are planning your traves. The second kind are those books whose purpose is to give a purely objective description of things to be done and seen.

If a well-read, cultured person has written such a book then it is even more useful. It can be classified as a selective guide book. The third kind are those books which are called 'a guide' to some place or other. If they are good, they will, in addition to their factual information, give an analysis or an interpretation. Like the first kind they can be inspiring and entertaining. But their primary function is to assist the
reader who wishes to plan in the most practical way.


  Whatever kind of travel book you choose you must make sure that it does not describe everything as 'marvellous' , 'fabulous' or 'magical' . You must also note its date of publication because travel is a very practical affair and many things change quickly in the twen tieth century. Finally, you should make sure that the contents are well presented and easy to find.

Lesson 13

                      What's Wrong with Them?
                           
                              Text A

  I'm forty and married with two children. My trouble is that I haven't got enough to do. The kids are at school all day and the house is empty. So I eat chocolates, mostly. I've put on a lot of weight , but I can't give them up. I try as hard as I can but I just can't stop eating.

  Doctor Bruce writes : I think Mrs Allen would be happier if she found a job, or if she got out of the house more and made some interesting friends. If she did that, I think the weight problem would be solved.
  I'm sixteen. My trouble is my spotty skin. I've used all the creams on the market, but none of them do any good. And now I've met a marvellous girl. But I'm afraid to ask her to go out with me.


  Doctor Bruce writes: Most teenagers suffer from this, of course, at some time or other. And it makes them very shy and self-conscious. 'What will other people think of me, if they see me like this?' they wonder. And it's a pity, because if they didn't worry so much, the skin trouble would soon disappear. Tom should learn a relaxation technique, yoga for example. Then I think he'd solve the problem very quickly.


  My problem is time. I haven't enough of it. I sleep badly, and I wake up tired. I get indigestion every day and now I'm beginning to get bad headaches and pains in my chest. And don't tell me to take a holiday, doctor. I haven't got time.


  Doctor Bruce writes ; If Mr Tyler had more common sense ,he'd find the time to have a holiday, or change his job. If he thought for a minute, he'd see that he can't go on like this. He should rest more. Then he'd work better. But that's the silly thing about men like him. They only believe they're ill when they're almost dead.

                     
                              Text B

Dear Doctor :
  I am forty-seven years old, male, and of average height and weight. My health generally seems quite good except for one problem. I wake up every morning feeling tired-so tired that I can hardly get out of bed.


  All day at work I fight this tired feeling, just dragging myself around. When I get home from work around 5. 30, I have a good dinner with my family and then sit dow n to read the newspaper. But before I have finished reading the front page, I fall asleep in my chair and often sleep until 8. 30 or 9. 00 p.m.
  When I wake up from this nap, I feel wonderful. I'm full of energy and ready to do a day's work. But at that hour there is nothing to do but watch television, which I do until after midnight.


  Even at midnight I still do not feel sleepy, but I know I ought to get a good night's rest, so I take a sleeping pill and go to bed. It's often two o'clock in the morning before the pill puts me to sleep. Just a few hours after that I have to drag myself out of bed again to go to work. All day I feel too tired to work. I just drag myself around until it's time to go home.
Do you think there might be something wrong with my blood?
                                                  J. T. L.
When this letter appeared in the DEAR DOCTOR column of a newspaper, the doctor's reply zeras printed belozo it. Here is mhat the doctor answered :
Dear Mr L. :


  I don't think there is anything wrong with your blood. The key to your problem is that long nap after dinner.
  If you didn't sleep for hours during the early part of the evening, you would be more ready to sleep at bedtime. If you didn't nap after dinner, you would not want to stay up so late, and you would not feel the need to take a sleeping pill. The pill is still working in your system when you get up in the morning. This helps account for the fact that you feel tired all day.


  You should get out of the habit of sleeping during the evening. Right after your evening meal, engage in some sort of physical activity-a sport such as bowling, perhaps. Or get. together with friends for an evening of cards and conversation. Then go to bed at `your usual time or a little earlier, and you should be able to get a good night's rest without taking a pill.


  If you can get into the habit of spending your evenings this way, I am sure you will feel less tired during the day. At first it may be hard for you to go to sleep without taking a pill. If so,get up and watch television or do some jobs around your house until you feel sleepy. If you fall asleep and then wake up a few hours later, get up but do not take a leeping pill.

Read a while or listen to the radio, and make yourself a warm drink. Eat a sandwich or a cookie. Then go back to bed. Even if you get only a few hour's sleep that night, you will feel better, in the morning than you usually feel after taking a pill. The next night you will be ready to sleep at an earlier hour.
  The most important thing is to avoid taking that nap right after dinner and to avoid taking pills.

　

                      Additional Information

  Yesterday's drizzle did not dampen Beijingers' enthusiasm in events marking the first national dental care day.
  People of all ages crowded around medical experts who answered questions about dental care, and about toothbrushes and toothpaste.


  A girl in her 20's approached the consulting desk set by the Oral Medical College of the Beijing University of Medical Sciences at the Xidan crossroad. She wanted to know if there was anything wrong with her teeth.
  The girl dreamed about losing all her teeth , and , worse yet , her teeth ached when she awoke every morning.


  After examining her mouth, a consultant said her teeth looked all right. Sometimes,however, tension makes peoples' teeth ache. Relax, she was told. And if that does not help, get a thorough dental examination.
  Young parents wanted to know how to keep their children's teeth healthy.
  One by one , the doctors answered their questions and outlined the best solutions for them.


  More than 500 medical specialists from 18 districts and suburban counties across the municipality as well as over 200 teachers and students from the Oral Medical College of the beijing University of Medical Sciences took part in the sidewalk consultations.


  And about 47 consulting stations were set up in major streets and the four big department stores at downtown Xidan, Wangfujing, Dongsi and the Dong'an Market.
  In addition to offering suggestions, the medical workers also brought with them some simple medical equipment for fast dental checks and toothpaste and toothbrushes for sale.
  Posters and propaganda blackboards were also set up in most primary and middle schools in beijing.


  "I never thought there would be so much scientific knowledge on tooth brushing," said a middle-aged man. "National Dental Care day has taught me how important it is to take care of my teeth and how to do it," he said. According to information from the National Dental Diseases Prevention Group , similar activities were conducted yesterday in most of the country's provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.


  "A massive campaign to teach people how to care for their own teeth is the best way for China to deal with dental diseases in the face of a shortage of dental medical workers," Chen Minzhang, Minister of Public Health said on Tuesday at a symposium on dental care in beijing Stomatological Hospital.


  At present, almost half of the population is suffering from dental caries (cavities).
  While the figure is even higher among children, 80 per cent of urban children have dental caries and 60 per cent are so afflicted in rural areas.
  In some cities, the rate with children may reach as high as more than 90 per cent.
  The minister also pointed out that dental care should be taught in primary and middle schools and the vast rural areas in order to raise the whole nation's dental care standards.

Lesson 14

                      What Sports Do They Enjoy?

                            Text A

  Not all people like to wnrk but everyone likes to play. All over the world men and women and boys and girls enjoy sports. iends the days of long ago, adults and children have called their friends together to spend hours , even days , playing games.

  Sports help people to live happily. They help to keep people healthy and feeling good. When they are playing games, people move a lot. This is good for their health. I-Iaving fun with their friends makes them happy.
  Many people enjoy sports by watching others play. In small towns , crowds meet to watch the bicycle races or the soccer game.In the big cities, thousands buy tickets to see an ice-skating show or a baseball game.


  What games have you played? What are your favorite sports now? You probably play the games that people in your town or city play. Is the climate hot where you live? Then swimming is probably one of your sports. Boys and girls in Australia love tc swim. There are wonderful beaches there and the weather is good for swimming.
 

Or do you live in a cold climate? Then you would like to ski. There are many skiers in Austria where there are big mountains and cold winters. Does it rain often where you live? Then kite flying would not be one of your sports. It is one of the favorite sports of Thailand.


  Surfing is an important sport in Hawaii. The Pacific Ocean sends huge waves up on the beaches, waves that are just right for surfing . But you need to live near an ocean to ride the waves and enjoy surfing.
  People in Switzerland love to climb the wonderful mountains of their country. Mountain climbing and hiking are favorite sports there. But there can be no mountain climbing where tlmc re are no mountains.


  Sposts change with the season. People often do not play the same games in winter as in summer. Sailing is fun in warm weather, but when it gets cold it's time to change to other sports. People talk about sports' seasons. Baseball is only played for a few months of the year. This is called "the baseball
season".

                              Text B

  Have you ever wondered how some people can break bricks wi th their bare hands'? People who can do this kind of thing are experts in Karate. They are called "Karatekas". Let's try to f ind out how karatekas could do such things. We wanted to learn i f they were especially strong and we got some surprising answers!

Believe it or not , Karatekas aren't stronger than ordinary nary people - they just have more courage! A Karate expertstrikes hard objects like bricks or plates with the small bone in his wrist , opposite the thumb. Speed is the essence of this sport. But the strange thing is that untrained men can break hard objects in the same way just as well as Karatekas.

Of course, Karatekas practise a lot and they have a layer of hard skin round their wrists. Though they have this advantage over ordinary people, it's basically lust a qu5tion of willpower-at least , that's what you can tell your mother afer you've experimentedon
a few dinner plates !



                      Additional Information

                          The Football Match
  Thi's is John Roberts reporting from Cardiff. The result of the match which finished at four this afternoon between France and Wales was a draw. Neither side scored. The Dutch referee did not allow the one goal which France managed to kick. The reason for this was that a French player was unfortunately off side. So both teams went .home disappointed. This means that neither the French nor the Welsh team will reach first place in this international competition.


  However, I can say that the spectators were delighted with the game. They particularly admired the French forwards, who were always fast and often threatened the Welsh defence. Once it looked as though the Welsh goalkeeper was in serious trouble.

He dived to his right to save a shot from the French centre forward and crashed his head against the goal post. A doctor examined him but he soon began to play again. Of course the large, friendly crowd applauded him. Wales will certainly welcome another visit from this splendid team.

Lesson 15

                      Remembering My Grandparents

                            Text A

  When memory began for me, my grandfather was past sixty-a great tall man with thick hair becoming gray. He had black eyes and a straight nose which ended in a slightly flattened tip. Once he explained seriously to me that he got that flattened tip as a small child when he fell down and stepped on his nose.

  The little marks of laughter at the corners of his eyes were the prodnct of a kindly and humorous nature. The years of work which had bent his shoulders had never dulled his humour nor his love of a joke.


  Everywhere he went, "Gramp" made friends easily. At the end of half an hour you felt you had known him all your life. I soon learned that he hated to give orders , but that when he had to, he tried to make his orders sound like suggestions.


  One July morning, as he was leaving to go to the cornfield, he said : "Edwin, you can pick up the potatoes in the field today if you want to do that. " Then he drove away with his horses.
  The day passed, and I did not have any desire to pick up potatoes. Evening came and the potatoes were still in the field. Gramp, dusty and tired, led the horses to get their drink.


  "How many bags of potatoes were there?" Gramp inquired. "I don't know. "
  "How many potatoes did you pick up?"
  "I didn't pick any. " "Not any! Why not?"
  "You said I could pick, them up if I wanted to. You didn't say I had to. "
  In the next few minutes I learned a lesson I would not forget: when Gramp said I could if I wanted to, he meant that I should want to.
  Gram hated cruelty and injustice. The injustices of history, even those of a thousand years before, angered her as much as the injustices of her own day.


  She also had a deep love of beauty. When she was almost seventy-five, and had gone to live with one of her daughters, she spent a delightful morning washing dishes because, as she said, the beautiful patterns on the dishes gave her pleasure. The bird, the flowers, the clouds-all that was beautiful around her- pleased her. She was like the father of the French painter, Millet, who used to gather grass and show it to his son , saying , "See how beautif ul this is ! "


  In a pioneer society it is the harder qualities of mind and character that are of value. The softer virtues are considered unnecessary. Men and women struggling daily to earn a living are unable, even for a moment, to forget the business of preserving their lives. Only unusual people, like my grandparents, manage to keep the softer qualities in a world of daily struggle.
  Such were the two people with whom I spent the months from June to September in the wonderful days of summer and youth.


                              Text B

  He always rose early to enjoy at least two hours of solitude in the house and garden before the rest of the family came down In winter he spent most of the time reading and writing. In sum mer he liked to get out of doors to work in the kitchen garden or to take the dog for a walk in the neighbouring woods and fields Whatever the weather, there was plenty to occupy him.

Although he was a creature of habit, there seemed to be an infinite variety in his pursuits. He wrote book reviews regularly for two of the national weeklies. He worked conscientiously his special subject, Indian History, and was thus one of the world authorities on it;

he collected modern abstract paintings and so had a circle of friends amongst artists and sculptors; there was hardly anything he did not know about traditional jazz and he often entertained both British and America n jazz musicians He was a superb cook and knew a lot about French and German food.

His family adored him and in a sense he was spoiled by them. At first glance you would have taken him for a retired army officer-his bearing was erect, his hair was cut short, he was fussy about his clothes, which were always neat, clean and conventional. He liked to keep fit, and this was reflected in his clear, steady blue eyes and healthy suntanned complexion. He hardly ever watched TV, but enjoyed a good film and an occasional evening at the theatre.




                    Additional Information

  The elderly who find great rewards and satisfactions in their later lives are a small minorit.y in this country. But they do exist. They are the"aged elite".
  What is most striking about these people is their capacity for growth. When Arthur Rubinstein was eighty, someone told him that he was playing the piano better than ever. "I think so," he agreed. "Now I take chances I never took before. I used to be so much more careful. No wrong notes. Not too bold ideas. Now I let go and enjoy myself and to hell with everything except the music!'


  Another reason for the success of the aged elite are the traits they' have formed earlier in their lives. A sixty-eight-year-old woman, three times married and widowed , says , "It's not just what you do when you're past sixty-five.
It's what you did all your life that matters. If you've lived a full life, developed your mind, you'll be able to use it past sixty-five. Let the young people put that in their soup and eat it. "


  Along with frankness comes humor. A sense of humor, of course, is not something that suddenly arrives at age sixty-five. It is an aid people use all their lives to cope with tension. "Humor, " says Dr James Birren, noted psychologist, also leads you to join with other people. "


  The ability to associate with others is another trait of the aged elite. "There are two ways to deal with stress," says Birren. "You either reach out or withdraw. The reachers seek out other people to share their problems instead of pulling away. "
  Growing, active, humorous, sharing-these are all qualities that describe the aged elite.

不全呀，头儿

嘿嘿，还没弄完呢。
下面接上——

Lesson 16

                  How to Improve Your Study Habits

                            Text A
  Maybe you are an average student with an average intellect.You pass most of your subjects. You occasionally get good grades, but they are usually just average. You are more interested in hiking than in history, and in sports than in scholarship. The fact is that you don't study very much.

  You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessarily so, however. Anyone can become a better scholar if he or she wants to. It is true that you may not be enthusiastic about everything that you study, but by using your time properly you may improve your grades without additional work. Here's how :


  1. Plan your time carefully. When you plan a trip, one of the first things you must do is to make a list of things, to take. If you don't you are almost certain to leave something important at home. When you plan your week, you should make a list of things that you have to do. Otherwise, you may forget to leave enough time to complete an important task. After making the list, you should make a schedule of your time.

First fill in committed time-eating, sleeping, dressing, school, meeting, ete. Then decide on a good, regular time for studying. Be sure to set aside enough time to complete the work that, you are normally assigned each week. Of course , studying shouldn't occupy all of your free time. Don't forget to set aside enough time for entertainment, hobbies , and maybe just relaxation. A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you to realize what is happening to your time.


  2. Find a good place to study. Look around the house for a good study area. Keep this space , which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room, free of everything but study materials. No games, radios, or television! If you can't find such a place at home, find a library where you can study. When you sit down to work, concentrate on the subject! And don't go to the place you have chosen unless you are ready to study.


  3. Scan before you read. This means looking a passage over quickly but thoroughly before you begin to read it more carefully.
Scanning a passage lets you preview the material and get a general idea of the content. This will actually allow you to skip less important material when you begin to read. Scanning will help you double your reading speed and improve your comprehension.


  4. Make good use of your time in class. Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teacher says. Sit where you can see and hear well. Really listening in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says. When the teacher gets off the subject, stop taking notes.


  5. Study regularly. When you get home from class, go over your notes. Review the important points that your teacher mentioned in class. Read any related material in your textbook. If you know what your teacher is going to discuss the next day, scan and read that material, too. This will help you understand the next class. If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you will remember it longer.


  6. Develop a good attitude about tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. The world won't end if you don't pass a test, so don't get overly worried. Tests do more than just provide grades; they let you know what you need to study more , and they help make your new knowledge permanent.
  There are other techniques that might help you with your studying. Only a handful have been mentioned here. You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.


                            Text B
  Some kind of planning is essential. For one thing it reveals whether you really have enough to say on the topic you have chosen while there is still time to change to another topic. It is also important because it stimulates your ideas and helps to fix them in your mind Without some notes to help you, you may find that you begin writing with several ideas in your head but you forget some of them as you are writing.


  When you have chosen your topic, and perhaps have a general idea of your theme, make quick short notes of all the ideas that come into your head.Remember that these should be notes-words or phrases-not sentences , which would slow you down. As you do this you will find that new ideas will come to you, for one idea leads to another. This should not take more than ten minutes, for in an examination you have no time to waste.


  If you have not yet decided on your main theme , you can do so now, and then on the main idea of each paragraph. You may have to rearrange your ideas, to decide which paragraphs they will fit into, and which ideas will be left out altogether.


  It is for you to decide how detailed your plan should be. If you are good at writing, and have had plenty of practice, probably only a few brief notes will be necessary, but if you are not, then you may require a more detailed plan. But remember that everi the best writers need to make some notes if they are going to produce a well-organized piece of writing. You will of course be given marks for the arrangement of your ideas.


  With your plan in front of you, you should be able to write your composition. There should be no need to write a rough verseon first, then correct it and make a final copy. This is a waste of time.



                    Additional Informstion

  There is a lot of misunderstanding about studying. Most students have not been taught the principles behind really effective working. Above is a graph showing the amount a person learns against the number of honrs he works in a day. If he doesn't do any work, he learns nothing (point 0). If he does an hour's work he learns a cerain amount (point 1 ).

If he does two hours' work he learns about twice as much (point 2). If he does more work he'll learn still more (point 3). Now, it he tried to do 23 1/2 hours' work in 24, he'll be so exhausted that he'll hardly remember anything: what he learns will be very little (point 4). If he did less work he'd learn more (point 5).


  Now whatever the exact shape of this curve, it must have a crest. Point X is the very maximum anyone can learn in the day. And this represents the optimum, the best, amount of work to do. It is the best possible compromise between adequate time at the books and fatigue. Fatigue is an absolutely real thing; one can't escape it or try to ignore it. If you try to, if you press yourself to'work past the optimum (and any fool can prop his eyelids up and do 14 hours a day ) , you can only get on this downward slope and achieve less than the best-and then get exhausted and lose your power of concentration.


  The skill in being a student consists in getting one's daily study as near the optimum point as possible. I cannot tell you what the optimum is. It differs with the type of work, it differs from person to person, andeven in the same person it varies from week to week. You must try to find your own. Every day you study, bear this principle of the optimum in mind. When you feel yourself getting fatigued, if you find yourself repeatedly reading over the same paragraph and not taking it iri, that's a pretty good sign you've reached the crest for the day and should stop.


  Most ordinary students find their optimum at about five hours a day. Yours may be a little more or a little less-but if you get in five hours' good work a day, you will be doing well.


  Now. what are you doing with yourself when you aren't working? Before examinations some students do nothing at all except sit in a chair and worry. Here is another misunderstanding. Peop~e too easily think of the mind as if it worked like the body, it does not. If one wanted to conserve physical energy to cut the maximum amount of firewood, one would lie flat on a bed and rest when one wasn't chopping. But the mind cannot rest. Even in sleep you dream, even if you forget your dreams. The mind is always turning. It gets its relaxation only by variety. That is what makes mental rest.


  When you've finished your optimum hourage you must stop. You must not then sit around in the chair thinking about the work-that only tires without any learning. You must get out and do something. It doesn't matter what-anything so long as you are actively doing something else but work.

Lesson 17

                        Juvenile Delinquency
                              Text A
  Jennifer got off the bus from the university and began walking towards the flat she shared with two other students. On her way she had to buy some food and stopped in one of the shops in the street. It was run by an Asian family, and although the prices there were a little higher than in the big supermarket further down the street, she did a lot of her shopping there. The vegetables were fresher and they had various things she couldn't get elsewhere. Mr Patel, the owner of the shop, was checking through a list, but smiled, as he always did, when he saw her come in.


  She picked up a wire basket and walked towards the back of the shop, where the rice was kept: The shop was divided by three long aisles, with rows of shelves crammed with all sorts of things. Except for her and Mr Patel , there were only two other people there. They were two teenage boys, and they were standing at the end of one of the aisles.

She glanced at them as she passed. They were both wearing long, old-fashioned overcoats and they looked rather ridiculous in them because the coats were too big. But such things were popular with some teenagers at the time. 'Watch out, stupid,' she heard one of them whisper to the other. She walked on to the next aisle and found the rice she was looking for.

Then she heard something else. It sounded like a tin dropping on the floor. She peered through a gap in the shelf and caught a glimpse of one. of the boys bending down. She saw him pick up a tin of food. But instead of putting it in the shopping basket, he dropped it into the inside pocket of his long overcoat. Jennifer glanced back down the aisle. She could see Mr Patel at the cash till, still checking through his list.

Then she looked through the gap in the shelf again. The boys still had their backs to her. 'Come on, let's get out of here,' she heard one of them say. At the same time, she saw one of them put another tin in his overcoat pocket. They moved away from her. She could no longer see what they were doing or hear what they were saymg.


  When she got to the till, the two boys were in front of her. She watched them pay for the few things they had in the basket. They had both buttoned their coats and fastened them with their belts. Mr Patel did not seem suspicious at all. He even smiled at them as they were about to leave. Jennifer opened her mouth to say something.

     
                            Text B

  The only crime I have ever been connected with was unsuccessful. One summer night I went to bed, leaving my bedroom door open because it was very hot. During the night I was woken up by the sound of a match being struck. For a moment I thought it must be the friend I lived with, but then I remembered he was away.

I felt certain there was someone in the room. I saw the outline of a man standing near the door. I was almost certain the man was a burglar. Without thinking what I was doing, I shouted loudly and. jumped out of bed to catch the man. As I ran across the garden, I suddenly realized I was doing something very foolish. The burglar I was chasing might be carrying a knife. I went straight back into the house and locked all the doors to protect myself.


  This was a very small crime which did not succeed, but crime is a serious problem in Britain. One sort of crime which particularly worries people is juvenile delinquency-that is, crimes committed by young people. For some years, juvenile delinquency has been increasing. There are two main sorts of juvenile crime : stealing and violence. Most people do not understand why young people commit these crimes. There are , I think, a large number of different reasons.


  These crimes are not usually committed by people who are poor or in needl. Young people often dislike and resent the adult world. They will do things to show that they are rebels. Also in Britain today it is easier far young people to commit crimes because they have more freedom to go where they like and more money to do what they like.


  There are two other possible causes which are worth mentioning. More and more people in Britain live in large towns. In a large town no one knows who anyone else is or where they live. But in the village I come from crimes are rare because everybody knows everyone else.


  Although it is diffcult to explain, I think the last cause is very important. Perhaps there is something wrong with our society which encourages violence and crime. It is a fact that all the time children are exposed to films and reports about crime and violence. Many people do nat agree that this influences young people, but I think that young people are very much influenced
by the society they grow up in. I feel that the fault may be as tnuch with our whole society as with these young people.



                    Additional Information

  It's just before school starts, when they check the pupils for guns. By now, the 1,600 students at Chester High School in Philadelphia have got used to it.
  One by one, they go through a metal detector gate, like the ones at an airport, at the main entrance to their school. The beeper alarm is constantly going off, indicating some metal object in the pupil's pockets. Mostly, it is a key, or coins.


  Such searches-in some schools a regular routine , in others , a spotcheck- are part of the attempt of school authorities in the United States to keep students from bringing into the classroom their knives, revolvers and machine-guns.
  The metal detector checks have already become commonplace in schools in Philadelphia, Detroit, and New York. A school in Fairfax, on the outskirts of Washington, D. C. , will soon begin them.


  School administrators decided that something finally had to be done after the various shootouts and discoveries of weapons in schools around the country had made headlines for weeks running.
  On January 26, at Woodrow Wilson School in Washington, a teenager shot and wounded four others in a fight over a place to sit in the school cafeteria.


  On February 9, teachers confiscated a semi-automatic pistol from two 13-year-olds at a school in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring after they had threatened other students with the weapon. Six days later, a student at Kramer High School in Washington threatened a schoolmate with a sawedoff shotgun. Asked why he did it, the youngster said the other had "stared so stupidly" at him.
  The list of such incidents goes on and,on, and in some cases, they are fatall.


  According to the California-based " National School Safety Centre " (NSSC) in a recent report, there were 360,000 violent incidents in American schools in 1986, the last year for which statistics are available. The incidents ranged from fistfights to shootouts, and 70,000 weapons were confiscated, including 1 , 700 pistols and rifles.
  Since then , says Ronald Stephens , the director of NSSC , the number of incidents involving guns in schools has risen considerably.Teachers and security experts have a hard time explaining why teenagers want to bring lethal weapons with them to school.


  "Some want to impress their schoolmates," believes Stephens."They feel that a gun is a symbol of power and control.Others have a feeling that they need weapons to protectthemselves."
  School authorities see the rise in weapons and violence above all as being connected to drugs in American high schools. Armed youth gangs divide up the drug trade turf among themselves. According to the NSSC , the older gang members use the younger newcomers as "weapons depots".


  Lyn Siper of the National Crime Prevention Council in Washington believes that youths during their puberty lean towards fighting out their conflicts instead of talking about them. Such drugs as cocaine and crack add to their emotional disturbance.
  Siper and Stephens agree that the general level of violence on the streets of big American cities, and the unimpeded access to guns, play a role. America's citizens possess a total of 120 million firearms. Many of the revolvers and rifles which authorities confiscated in the schools had been legally acquired and registered by the students' parents.

Lesson 18

                        How to Keep Fit

                            Text A

  Ten years ago I used to be very fit. T cycled to work and I got a lot of exercise at the weekends. I used to play tennis a lot and go for long walks. In those days I didn't earn very much. I had a job in an office. It wasn't a very good job but I had a lot of time to do the things I enjoyed doing.

  Then, about eight years ago, I got a much better job. The pay was better. But the hours were a lot longer, too. I bought a Far and drove to work every day. I began to take people out to lunch. 'Expense account' lunches. And I began to put on weight, too. I stopped playing tennis and going for long walks at the weekend because I just didn't have any time for things like that any more.

There's a lot of stress in a job like mine. Perhaps that's why I starred drinking more than I used to. For example,I used to have only half a glass of whisky when I got home, then I started filling the glass to the top. Then I had another glass , and then another. I started smoking a lot , too. I never used to smoke at all.


  Two months ago I had a heart attack. At first I just couldn't believe it. `I'm too young,' I said. Luckily it wasn't very serious. I was in hospital.a few days and they did a lot of tests. The doctor advised me to stop smoking and to eat less. He told me to do a lot of other things , too. But I don't see how I can do some of them and keep my job. For example, he advised, me to work less, and get more exercise. But I just havern't any time! My job takes everything out of me!


  Sometimes I wonder if I should get. anather jab. Perhaps I could do something like I used to do. But if I do that, I won't earn as much. I have a family to support: I have to think of them, too. I just don't know what I should do. What do you think?


                              Text B

  Here is one person who really believes in keeping fit. Her name is Mrs Laura Taylor. She is 45 but looks at least 10 years younger. Let's listen to her story.
  It all started about two. years ago. Tn those days things were very different. I was overweight. I used to smoke a lot- about 30'cigarettes a day. I never got any exercise. I used to stay at home all day: I never went out into the fresh air, except to do the shopping.. And even then I used to take the car.

One day I looked at myself in the misror.'My God,' I thought. `I look terrible t' I tried to touch my toes. I couldn't.do it. I found an old dress.I couldn't put it on. It was too small. Or rather, I was too fat! The next day I tried to jog a little. At first it was terrible. I mean I just couIdn't run. Not even a short distance. And at ftrst people used to laugh at me.


  `Why are you running? Are you in a hurry?' they shouted. But now I've completely changed the way i live. I've stopped reating meat and I've statted,eating far more fresh vegetables. My husband and daughter have started that, tdo. At first they didn't like the new food. But they've changed. About six months ago I sold my car and bought a bike. Recently I've started doing yoga exercises. My husband often goes cycling with me now and my daughter jogs with me in the evening. 'They've both lost weight and are much healthier than they used to be, too.



                      Additional Information

                          YOGA

  Have you ever tried to hold your breath for a long time and then let it out slowly? This is one of the techniques of an ancient Indian discipline known as Yoga. For thousands of years , people have used Yoga to help search for happiness and contentment.


  Students of Yoga often study for as long as 20 years before becoming masters, or Yogis. They learn many different physioal exercises. These exercises are designed to put the students in good Physical condition. Then they can concentrate on deep religious thoughts without worrying about physical discomforts.


  Many Yoga exercises involve putting the body into difficult positions. Some of them are very hard to learn. Have you ever tried to fold your legs over one another? This is one of the basic Yoga positions. It is called the lgtus position. Most people find it difficult to stay in that positio for even a few minutes. But Yogis train themselves to remain in the lotus position for hours or even days. They are taught to overcome the physical discomforts of holding these positions. Other exercises and rules teach concentation- Yogis feel this is the key to finding inner peace. This kind of concentration is called meditation.


  Yogis and many other people practice meditatjon. They claim that it makes them feel relaxed and peaceful. Some people say that it makes them feel better - just as good exercise does. But other people claim that it is a way of achieving a strong religious feeling. These peopie say that meditation helps them feel much closer to God.


  The word Yoga itself comes from an ancient Saqgkrit word meanin "union". What kind of union do you think the word refers to? Why would people
want to have this kind of experience?          

Lesson 19

                        Why Go to School?

                            Text A
MATTHEW:   Lesley, you're a teacher. How does the English school system work?
LESLEY:   Um, well, first of all most children start school at the age of five and they  
  can't leave school until the age of sixteen , which is just , you know , the age
  the age of five until eleven. . . um, and previously they used to take an e~even
  plus examination which would then determine whether they would go to a grammar
  school or alternatively a secondary modern school. But now we have a... a new
  systen where children aren't divided off at the age of eleven and will go into a
  comprehensive system ofschooling, and. . . will do the things that they're best
  able to do at certain ages and if they want to take the exams they are able to
  at. . . at the age of sixteen.
MATTHEW:   Do you think that's a . . . an improvement to th system?
LESLEY:   Well,... mm, theoretically... it's supposed t be much better because it gives. . .
  it stops separating children off at the age of eleven and gives them a
  better chance, and in fact what usually happens is that those children who
  wouldn't. . . er who would have gone to a grammar school tend to be at the
  top end of the comprehensive system, and those that would have gone to
  secondarymodern school find themselves at the lower levels of the school.
MAT'THEW:   Do you think that the present school system is an efficient way of
  educating children?
LESLEY   Mm. . . well if you , if you accept that , you know , there have to be schools,  
  it seems to work fairly efficiently. Of course one of our great problems in
  England is that we have very large cl'asses and. . . um, it would be very nice
  in a class, there are only twenty. . . mm and so that each child gets more
  individual attention so that their own particular needs just aren't passed over.
MATTHEW   Do you think the. . . the subjects that er. . . children study today are
  adapted to present-day society?
LESLEY   It would be very good if... er, more children at school had the opportunity of
  learning about the society they live in... in economic terms and in social
  terms , so that they are much more aware of the problems that we face today.
  But I also think that education isn't only something that has to be. . . has
  to be relevant. . . um, I think education can be just a. .. a gradual  
  extension of one self , and I don't think it's um. . . importarit for
  subjects to be seen only in terms of how useful they are when you leave
  school. . . but how much you enjoy them and how much they mean to you.
MATTHEW   David, what would you do in an average day at school?
DAVID   Um... it mainly consists of English and Maths, which takes up a lot of the
  lesson time and then. . . um. . . like on Mondays , for example. . .er,
  we would do ...er, I don't know, Maths, English, Art, History and then
  Tuesdays would be some more English, probably ... um, His tory , Reiigious  
  studies , Physics , whatever taking now which is `O' level , which is... is
  nine subjects in all.
MATTHEW   I see, so you can choose. . . the subject you want to take for 'O' level...
  You don't have to take. . . every subject in the schdol?
DAVID   No,.... no, no.
MATTHEW   What about games. . . er and drama and things like that?
DAVID   We have about an hour and a half of games a week, and for about an hour a week
  we. . . do a. . . a thing known as er. . . social studies, which is
  um... it's a kind of a cross-section of... er what life wili be after we
  we leave school. . . Um. . . where we do drama. .. a . . . we study
  ecology,sociology et cetera... Um, it's not 'O' level, we don't take an 'O'
  level in it, it's just for er... expersence.

MATTHEW   janet, do you... think that your daughters gain a tremendous amount from
  their education?
JANET   I think they. . . they gain a certain amount of um... necessary knowledge,
  yes,but I wish it was broader. I wish that instead of being driven  
  towards passing exams that they had, certainly at this stage of adolescence' ,
  the chance to really broaden their outlook' completely and not feel this
  necessity to read towards passing an exam , to collecting a piece
  of paper at the end of it.
MATTHEW   Er. . . do you have any specific ways in which you think. . . time at
  school could be improved?
JANET   Yes , I think there could be a. . . a lot more encouragement in doing
  things for their own sake, for getting the satisfaction out of   them... um,
  rather than this 'rat race' that everybody's forced into. . . um... for what
  is achieved at the end. I think . . . a lot more should be done to encourage
  people to get the value out of it themselves.
MATTHEW   Do you think that er. . . education is just something that takes place  
  inside a school building , or is . it a. . . an activity which takes
  place not only outside but right the way through your life?
JANET   I think it starts the moment you're born, and . . . er... that it's going on
  all around you. It's notjust taking place in a school building. . .
  um it should be. . . part of your whole life.

                 
                            Text B

  In 1967, The Observer, one of Britain's leading Sunday newspapers papers , organized a competition for secondary school-children ; they had to write about "The School that I'd Like". This meant , of course , that they also had to say what was wrong with the schools they had.

David , 15
But what is the main purpose of schools to educate young people so that when they go out into thewvorld they will be prepared for ~t? But are they? We learn our Mathematics, English, Physics, etc. , but what do you learn about sex, marriage and things like this? These are just as important but we don't learn very much about them.

Carol , 17
Give us more variety! Give us the chance to visit factories more frequently , to talk with miners , dustmen , doctors , lawyers , jail-birds and drug addicts, too. Give us the chance to visit remand mand homes and prisons. We want to know more about life and less about books.

Robin, 16
What a bore school is nowadays, the same as it has been for hunireds of years. What we get is the same old thing: teacher, outdated
textbooks , and a class fed up to the teeth with the teacher and the school. What we need is one great change in the educational system of the country. Children do not want to be taught at, but want to find things for themselves. If a child is interested in the way a rabbit's heart works, let him go and find out, by cutting one up.

Irena , 15
Homework should not be given. Many of us would rather spend another hour at school than two hours at home doing an hour's homework, where we are constantly being distracted by television
and such things.

Sidney, 15
The first step must surely be to raise teachers'salaries by at least fifty per cent so as to attract first-class people to the profession. And the only means of doing this is by offering salaries equal to their responsibility in shaping the hopes of tomorrow and competitive with those offered by industry.

Christopher, 16
The discipline and life of the school would be based on freedom for the pupil. So freedom and a minimum of control would be important and the pupils, male and female, would be treated as adults and allowed to see if they can live together in a community like intelligent people. Given this responsibility and freedom, the pupils obviously would not always be well-behaved and sensible, but they would, I believe, grow up to be mature and intelligent adults who are socially and in all other ways, useful to the community.

Margaret , 14
. . . all this (i. e. freedom in schools) suggests that the school would always be chaotic, which would give all the. pupils an insihgt into what life, after school, is like: chaos.



                    Additional Information

  I am beginning ro feel the pressure of work. None of the courses are as simple as they appear to be. There are a lot of reference books to consult and you can consider yourself lucky if you manage to get half of them from the Iibrary. Most copies seem to be permanently lent out. The reading rooms are always crowded and you have to get there early in order to find a place.


  The biggest headache is our dormitory. Though there are desks for us to work at, nobody ever works there. For one thing, the room is so crowded that there is little elbow room, and it is so dark that we need the electric light even in day time. The worst is the human element - there are always those who don't want to work and won't let others work either. They either chat, sing, play the guitar or listen to tapes. How I miss my little cubicle of a room at home!


  Perhaps it's only a reaction against my early excitement, but anyway I am often overcome by low spirits. Sometimes I even think I am wasting my time here and wish I had not come here at all. But of course I know they are only passing moods caused by my disillusionment. I find some of the teachers just hopeless and totally irresponsible. All they are interested in is to earn some extra money by moonlighting. In one way. they are to be sympathized with because they do need the extra money what .with their low salaries and the rising prices. But surely they shouldn't let us suffer as a result.


  My biggest disappointment is in my fellow students. Of course I am ceferring only to some, and perhaps they are only a minority. They are a far cry from my old image of college students. They dress and behave no better than the hooligans we often see in the streets. I really don't know how they managed to get into the university, for they don't seem to be interested in their studies at all.

All they care for is to have a good time , as though to enter university is an end in itself. They hold dances every Saturday evening or play cards in the dormitories deep into the night , drinking and smoking heavily. What's more they always jump the queue in the dining halls and quarrel with anyone who tries to stop them. Once they even came to blows. What a disgrace!


  But despite all this, college life is opening up for me a new vista that brings as much excitement as enlightenment. Here we can talk about anything under the sun. I had always thought myself well-read and my classmates at school had looked up to me for my wide "general knowledge". But now I've come to realize how ignorant I really am.

Just from casual conversaation and informal discussions , I've learnt more about the wvorld and society in the past two months than what I learned from all the fo.rmal classes at school. Also I found many extra-curricula lectures by guest speakers most stimulating. One in particular inspired me very much, a lecture on symphonic music by a young conductor from the Central Conservatory. Before, music used to be merely a collection of beautiful sounds to me. But now I am constantly discovering new and hidden meaning behind all these sounds.
  One thing I am sure; college life is and will be a most colourful and fruitful period in my whole life.