Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that man and animals possess if they are used. If fire didn't hurt when it burned, children would play with it until their hands were burned away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear didn't, a child could burn itself again and again because fear would not warn it to keep away from the fire that had burnt it before. A really fearless soldier--and some do exist--is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which man and animals might soon die out.

    In our first sentence we suggested that fear ought to be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead, to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.

    In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight towards you; fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is well.

    In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you cannot prevent an airplane crashing into your house, and you may not want to go and live in a desert where there are no airplanes. In this case, fear has given you its warning, you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of the particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.

    Bryan Laubscher, one of the world's leading astrophysicists, who study the physics and chemistry of the stars, planets, etc, is developing an invention called the Mars Elevator. To form a picture of this, you may want to imagine the story of Jack and the Beanstalk (《杰克与魔豆》). This is the story of a boy who grew a beanstalk that reached the heavens. Jack climbed the stalk and entered another world. The space elevator is similar but of course much more high-tech and better yet, it is real!

    Astrophysicists are designing a steel-like cable (缆绳) that will be connected to a platform (平台) in the ocean. This cable is designed to be pulled up into space, where it will then be connected to a space station. People will be able to travel up and down this elevator by the year 2020. There will be a number of space elevators so that both tourists and businesses can travel into space. To get there, space tourists will simply travel to the nearest ocean elevator entrance. The trip up into space will take about a week. When they arrive, space tourists will be inside a space station and will be able to stay there. There are other alternatives, too. Astronomers think it will be easy to travel from the space station to the moon, where space tourists can stay in a moon hotel — which is now being designed.

    The future looks bright for space tourists. It also looks bright for industry and scientists. Mining companies will travel to space to mine elements (元素) that are rare on Earth. Energy scientists will travel to space to set up space solar panels, which will collect a huge amount of energy from the sun and shoot it back to Earth where we can use it to heat our homes and meet our energy needs.

    About aspirin:

    Aspirin is a commonly used drug which can be taken to relieve discomfort caused by numerous medical problems including headaches, toothache, inflammation and infections. It is also suitable to treat colds and flu-like symptoms, and to reduce a high temperature.

    Who can take aspirin?

    Adults and children over 16 years of age.

    Who should not take aspirin?

    Women who are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant. Aspirin may harm your unborn baby.

    Women who are breast-feeding. Aspirin can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby.

    People who have any problems with the way the liver works or with the way the kidneys work.

How to take aspirin:

    Take aspirin after meals, with a full glass of water or milk.

    The recommended dose (剂量) ranges from two to three tablets at a time. Never take more than 4g 12 tablets) in any 24 -hour period.

    You must not take these tablets with any other medicine which contains any aspirin or painkiller.

    How to store aspirin:

    Keep all medicines out of the reach and sight of children.

    Store aspirin in a cool, dry place, away from direct heat and light.

    Do not put aspirin in the bathroom because the dampness there can cause it to lose its effectiveness.

    Throw away aspirin that smells strongly of vinegar.

    Possible side effects:

    Feeling sick, increased risk of bleeding, stomach pain, indigestion and heartburn are common. If these effects continue, contact your doctor.

    Ringing in the ears, difficulty breathing, dizziness, and mental confusion are rare. If these occur, stop taking the drug and contact your doctor for further advice.

    Walk down any British shopping street and you will find shops with strange names. Why is the opticians (眼镜店) called "Eyediology"? And who decided to name the butchers (肉铺) "Meat you there" ? What's going on?

    Puns are jokes based on words that sound the same. You've probably noticed that many words in English which are spelt in different ways and have different meanings are pronounced in the same way. Think about the name of the restaurant: "plaice" is a kind of fish so our restaurant is "the place" to eat fish. Butchers sell meat – so we'll "meet you there" – and opticians look after our eyes in a scientific way – so eyed – iology (ideology) is a name that fits. Hairdressers shear (cut) your locks (hair) and comb it – say the three words together quickly and you have the name of a famous detective. In shop titles and adverts, puns are used to get our attention.

    Puns are very old. The ancient Egyptians and Romans liked to pun. Shakespeare uses many puns in his plays – King Richard the Third (the son of York) brings "glorious summer" – just think about a word that has the same sound as son.

    Many people enjoy a good pun (pun / fun for all the family!) – others hate them. Puns aren't really designed to make you laugh. Here are some puns that might leave you asking for no more puns please. Have you heard about the bears who voted in the North Poll? Or the cheetah (印度豹) who couldn't be trusted at cards? Or how about the clever little Australian animal that had lots of koalaifications or the camel (骆驼) with no humps (驼峰) that was called Humphrey (and so was free of humps...)

    Puns can be funny but they sometimes make important points. Here's a fashion tip: "skinny genes make skinny jeans": so don't worry if your jeans don't fit. Look at your parents!

    Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, and died on July 18, 1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously (匿名).

    But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath's many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806, Bath was her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen's Bath can be enhanced (增强)by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen's time and the importance of Bath in her life and work.

    The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy.

    You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen's Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped.

A British woman who once weighed some 322 pounds said breaking a roller coaster seat during an amusement park outing was her motivation for working toward a healthier weight.

Four years ago, Danielle Wright, 27, went to the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, England, with her sister. She wanted to avoid roller coasters, fearing that she was too heavy for them. But she was convinced to give it a try and boarded one of the rides.

"Fitting in the seat was bad enough, but when it came to pulling down the safety bar, my stomach stopped it from working," she recalled. "One of the employees came over and had to put his foot against the ride and push the bar hard to make it click into place."

She was worried throughout the ride that “the bar was going to pop open and I was going to be thrown off the tracks". When the ride ended, the bar sprang up and made a huge noise. Shortly after, she heard an announcement over the loudspeaker saying the ride was temporarily closed due to a broken seat.

Though it was embarrassing, the incident presented a silver lining. "It's what I needed to motivate me to lose pounds," Danielle said. She totally changed her diet, cutting back on carbohydrate and replacing food like chocolate with healthier choices such as apples and yogurt. Meanwhile, she also began participating in workout classes.

In November 2016, Danielle found out she was pregnant. But as tempted as she was, she didn't allow herself to eat unhealthy food while pregnant and stuck to her new diet.

Now Danielle weighs some 140 pounds. "Being able to run and play with my little boy is, he best part of it all. I couldn't have asked for a better reward," she said.