31. The Jobs of Tomorrow
What kind of work do you want to do when you are older? Many jobs might interest you. Two of them that have been around the longest are farming and building. People who work with computers have newer kinds of jobs.
The jobs of tomorrow will be decided by what people need and want. When we decide which job to take, we need to get the necessary information about chances of jobs. The chances result from the relations between the total population, labor force, and the need for goods(商品)and services.
32. To Stop Two Boys from Fighting
I am sixteen years old. I have a younger brother. My brother's name is Jim. Jim is a handsome boy and sometimes very humorous, he makes me laugh a lot, and I love him and am proud of him
One afternoon I was walking from my house to the store to buy some ink when I saw a small boy running along the street towards me. He was running a thigh speed. When he came near me, I was surprised to see it was Jim
“Hi, Jim,”I shouted to him,“why are you running like that?”
Jim didn't stop. He looked a bit nervous, and shouted to me,“I'm trying to stop two boys from fighting.”
I was surprised again I laughed and said,“That's an important job for a little boy, isn’t it? You don't do things like that very often Who are the two boys?”
“They're Tom and me,”answered Jim as he continued running down the street very quickly.
33. Buying a House
As house prices have risen too much these years, many people find it hard to afford a house. But all the people who do not have a house dream of the day they’ll pickup the keys to their own home The idea of owning a home is wonderful.
Buying a house will cost you a lot of money, so never do it in a hurry. Whatever the market condition is, when you are planning to buy a house there are many things to consider, whatever your intention is, to buy or only rent(租). After all, it is going to be your home, perhaps for quite a long time, and you want to be happy with it. You have to decide correctly what kind of house you want, how much you can
afford to pay, and the type of area you wish to live in however, it's always easy to forget all above, because it's most probably that you'll fall in love with the house for sale when you first see it.
34.Jimmy and His Son's Funny Stories
Jimmy is our new neighbor. He speaks with strange accent, but we like to talk with him. He told me an interesting story about himself.
He said he liked growing flowers in his garden in his spare time. And one Sunday morning, after breakfast he put on his old clothes and began digging in his garden He dug and dug. After half an hour he suddenly found a coin near his foot He put it in his right pocket. A few minutes later, he found another one He put it in the same pocket, too. The same thing happened for the third, the fourth and the fifth time He was very happy and told his wife about it She was very happy, too. She said,“A thief(小偷) stole a lot of coins from a shop a few days ago. The police caught him but they didn’t find any coins.”
Then Jimmy went on digging and found some more coins, but just when he began to dig, he felt something cold in his trousers. It ran down one of his legs. He put his hand down quickly ——and the coin came into his hand. Now he knew there was a hole in his pocket.
Jimmy also told me something even funnier about his son, Jack One day he took his son Jack to a boy's clothing shop. That shop was giving away（赠送) balloons to buyers' children Jack asked if he might have two balloons.“Sorry,”the salesperson said,“but we give only one balloon to each child. Do you have a brother at home?”Jack was always honest He didn't tell lies, but he wanted another balloon badly.“No.”he replied regretfully,“but my sister has a brother, and I'd like one for him”
What a lovely boy Jack is!
35. At Sea in a Small Boat
People have sailed around the world in quite small boats. It is not an easy thing. Sometimes the weather goes bad. That will be the end of a boat; and the end of everyone in it. Accidents can happen easily and quickly.
One family had an accident with a big fish The fish swam under their boat and bit(咬) holes in it The water came into the boat, of course; and the boat soon went down However, these people had another, smaller boat——a life-boat(救生艇) ; and they all got into that They lived and hoped for many days. They woke and slept, and they always, hoped... At last a ship found them
How do people live in a very small life-boat? Perhaps far weeks or months. They must be strong in every way. They must have hope——they must want to live But you cannot eat and drink hope.
You cannot drink sea water. Drink a lot of sea water——you will quickly die. Sailors（水手) can drink rain water. They must catch rain water in their boat. They must also catch fish and birds for food. Lifeboats do not often carry a cooker；and so the sailors cannot cook their food Raw(生的) fish and bird-meat is not very nice But there won't be any choice in a life-boat! The sailors must eat raw food or they will die
What do people think about in a life-boat? They think about land, a warm bed, dry clothes, clean water and food.
36. A Careless Couple
Mr. and Mrs. Long have a poor memory, and they are also very careless. Compared with the careless parents, their daughter Linda is quite different. Linda is very careful in doing things. If Mr. and Mrs. Long can act carefully and remember to check their work, they’ll not cause so much trouble in their life.
One summer they plan to fly to New York for a visit. They get to the airport only ten minutes before the plane leaves So time is short. But suddenly Mrs. Long says she must tell Linda, their daughter, not to forget to lock the front door when she leaves for school in the morning. As Linda is then at school, they can't reach her on the phone So the couple hurries to the post office. Mrs. Long writes a short note to Linda, while Mr. Long buys a stamp and an envelope(邮票). Soon the note is ready. They put the stamp on the envelope and drop it in the letter box in a hurry. But suddenly Mrs. Long begins to cry. The short note to her daughter is still in her hand. She has put their plane tickets in the envelope!
37. Protecting Your Teeth
George Washington had many great successes in his life, but he didn't succeed in keeping his own teeth! Back then, many people lost their teeth, But modern people know how to protect their teeth
The most important thing is to brush your teeth By keeping the teeth clean you will not have a toothache or other tooth disease
One other important thing is to eat right. For example, milk and cheese give teeth calcium(钙), which they need to be strong. Fruits and vegetables also help by providing VA and VD. On the other hand, sweet food is bad for teeth
So brush your teeth and eat right. They are the basic things you should do to protect your teeth. If you do the things, you'll be able to have good teeth for your whole life. That’s one success that even George Washington didn't have!
38. American classroom Rules (1)
l. If the teacher asks a question, you should give an answer. If you do not understand the question, you should raise your hand and ask the teacher to repeat the question. If you do not know the answer, it is all right to tell the teacher that you do not know. Then the teacher knows what you need to learn
2. There is no excuse for not doing your homework. If you are absent, you should call your teacher or someone who is in your class and ask for the homework. It is your duty to find out what homework you have missed. It is not the teacher's duty to tell you the missing homework.
3. You must not be absent on a test day. Serious illness is the only reason for missing a test.
4. Be on time! It is considered not polite to be late* Also, it disturbs other classmates. If you must come in late, be sure to do it quietly. In the U. S it is not necessary to knock before you enter the classroom Most of the teachers will give you a low grade if you are often late.
38. American Classroom Rules (2)
5.Have your textbook out and be ready to begin when the class starts. Be sure you have a paper and a pencil ready.
6. In America, you should call your teacher by his or her last name, not“teacher”. Also you should use Mr., Miss, Ms. or Mrs. before the last name (such as Mrs. Smith or Mr. Jones). This is considered polite
7. Be polite to other students. If another student is answering a question or giving a report, you should listen quietly and give them your attention.
8. It is considered impolite in the U.S. to eat, drink or chew gum(嚼口香糖) during class. Also, taking off one's shoes in the classroom is not polite.
9. If you must leave during class, do so quietly. There is no need to tell the teacher.
However, leaving the class for something instead of an emergency (紧急情况) is not accepted.
10. Copying another student's test or paper is never accepted It is called cheating.
At most schools in the U. S , students who cheat will be dismissed
39. Very P/eased to Meet You
During World War Two, a lot of young women in Britain were in the army. Joan Phillips was one of them She worked in a big camp, and of course met a lot of men, officers, and soldiers. One evening she met Captain Humphreys at a dance. Joan also played the piano there They had a very good time Captain Humphreys said to her,“I'm going abroad tomorrow, but I'd be very happy if We could write to each other.”Joan agreed. Then Captain Humphreys went to a foreign country. And they wrote for several months.
Then his letters stopped, but she received one from another officer, telling her that he had been wounded and was in a certain army hospital in England.
Joan went there and said to the matron(护士长),“I've come to visit captain Humphreys.”
“Only family members are allowed to visit patients here,”the matron said.
“Oh, that's all right,”answered Joan“I'm his sister.”
“I'm pleased to meet you,”the matron said,“I'm his mother!”
40. Keys? Kiss?
My cousin was giving an English lesson to a class of adults(成年人). They had recently come to live in America. My cousin placed many daily objects on a table, There was a pen, a ruler, an eraser, a tape, a piece of chalk, a newspaper, a magazine, a map, and a table tennis ball and so on Then she asked every member of the class to give her an object as they were told. The class went very smoothly and the students seemed interested and serious about the work. But when my cousin said to an Italian(意大利的)student,“Give me the keys,”the man looked surprised Seeing this, my cousin thought that the student hadn't heard her clearly, so she repeated,“Give me the keys.”The Italian student seemed a little shy, and then he threw his arms around the teacher's neck and kissed her on both cheeks(脸颊).