Introductory Chemistry was taught at Duke University for many years by professor Bonk. One year, two guys took the class and did pretty well on all the quizzes and mid terms. They each had a solid A. These two friends were so confident in going into the final that the weekend before finals week,despite the Chemistry final being on Monday,they decided to go to the University of Virginia to party with some friends.

    They had a great time there. However,with their hangovers(宿醉) and tiredness,they overslept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then,they found professor Bonk after the final and explained to him how they missed the final. They told him they went up to the University of Virginia for the weekend and had planned to come back in time to study,but they had a flat tire on the way back and didn't have a spare. So they were late getting back to campus.

    Bonk thought this over and agreed that they could take the final the following day. The two guys,happily and relieved,studied that night and went in the next day at the time that Bonk had told them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet. He told them to begin.

    They looked at the first problem which was something simple about solution(溶解).It was worth 5 points. "Cool," they thought,"this is going to be an easy final". They then turned the page. They were unprepared,however,for what they saw on it. The question contained only two words: (95 points) Which tire?

Carol: I started playing the cello（大提琴）when I was about eight or nine. It was great playing the cello because I was in youth orchestras and we went abroad to do tours. But anyway, when I got to university, I stopped playing. Well, there just wasn't time and there were so many other things to do. Luckily, I took it up after my 25^th birthday and joined a band.

Daniel: When I was little, I thought I'd end up learning the guitar like my father, but then I decided that I wanted to have my own instrument, so I chose the trumpet（小号）. I'm in the school jazz band and I'd like to be a musician when I grow up, but my dad says it's difficult to make a living from music. But I don't want to be a lawyer like him. It's so boring.

Carmen: Nobody likes living near someone like me because when I practice, I make a lot of noise! But you have to keep practicing, don't you? Otherwise it gets more and more difficult. The trouble is, in the summer, when it's hot, I have to open the windows, so the whole street gets to hear it if I'm not careful. I love playing the drums and I play in a fantastic band.

Vince: I've played the guitar for as long as I can remember, but when I was trying to make it as a musician after school, I used to play in the Underground in London to make a bit of extra money. I kept on playing, but I ran a restaurant to make a living. When I get any spare time I still play. I've got a few friends who like music too and we have formed a band.

    Sports shoes that work out whether their owner has done enough exercise to warrant(保证；授权) time in front of the television have been invented in the UK.

    The shoes — named Square Eyes — contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter(传话器) passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves, based on the day's efforts.

    The design was inspired by a desire to fight against the rapidly ballooning waistlines among British teenagers, says Gillian Swan, who developed Square Eyes as a final year design project at Brunel University to London, UK. “We looked at current issues and childhood overweight really stood out,” she says. “And I wanted to deal with that with my design.”

    Once a child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps.

    Swan calculated how exercise should translate to television time using the recommended daily amounts of both. Health experts suggest that a child take 12,000 steps each day and watch no more than two hours of television. So, every 100 steps recorded by the Square Eyes shoes equals exactly one minute of TV time.

    Existing pedometers(计步器) normally clip(夹在) onto a belt or slip into a pocket and keep count of steps by measuring sudden movement. Swan says these can be easily tricked into recording steps through shaking. But her shoe has been built to be harder for lazy teenagers to cheat. “It is possible, but it would be a lot of effort,” she says. “That was one of my main design considerations.”

    Turning on the TV, a wonderful scene comes to your eyes — a group of men, tall, strong and handsome, and women, young, beautiful and attractive, too. Together they eat in the finest restaurants, traveling everywhere around the world by luxurious planes and pleasure ships. They are models.

    Do you envy them？What sort of life are models leading？Is it a wonderful life for a young lady or a young man?

    A few models are well-known actors or actresses who can make a lot of money only by showing themselves off in commercials. But the majority of them are just curious to see what it is like. They^'d like to be models just because they are attracted by what they imagine — models earn a lot of money and lead a glorious life. This is true for those who are very successful. However, most models find it difficult to get work. Very few can earn enough to live on, and for all models their expenses are high. Their agents claim about 20% of the earnings, and no model will get very far without a clever agent. Besides, they have to buy good clothing. They also have to pay to travel to interviews and reach the places where the work is to be done.

    Interviews for a model job are known as cattle markets in the modeling world, and not without a good reason. A top model can choose his or her work, demand and receive high fees and has his or her expenses paid. But for most models, the situation is quite different. An agent or employer inspects each model much as a farmer inspects cattle at a market. Intelligence, qualifications and personal characteristics count for little against good looks and tight figures. For all except the very few lucky ones, the life of a model is a continual search for work, trying to sell him or her in the face of fierce competition and, sometimes, not particularly moral standards on the part of some employers.

    Immigration officials at the airport look suspiciously at a girl whose passport shows her occupation as “Model”, and these are men and women of considerable experience of the world. It comes no surprise to find that some models prefer to put “Secretary” or “Businessman” as their jobs in their passports.

    Do you intend to study at an American university? It takes a long time to get accepted at most American schools, perhaps as much as a year. That's why you should start choosing a school as soon as possible. It's a good idea to apply to several different institutions, so that you'll have a better chance of acceptance at one. You should start looking for information now, because the more information you have about each college, the better choice you can make.

    There are two good ways to get information you need. One is a general reference (参考) book, called Guide to American Colleges and Universities. The other good source of information is the catalogue (目录) published by each school.

    You can study the general guide in almost any American library. This book has many useful statistics, such as the number of students, the average test scores for people accepted to the school, the number of books in the library, and the number of teachers. You can also find the address of each school in this book.

    Although the general guidebook has helpful information, some of the facts may be out-of-date. For example, many schools raise their tuition every year. Since you'll need to know what your education will cost, out-of-date information will not be good enough. Also, schools sometimes change their requirements for entrance. To be sure that you are getting present information, write to the university and ask for its catalogue. The catalogue has more detailed information. For example, the catalogue can tell you if there is a special foreign student advisor, what kind of courses are offered, and what kind of housing is available. Some universities have dormitories, but at others you have to find your own place to live.

    With all of this information, you should be able to pick out several good schools.

    One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O. Henry. From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum. Visitors to Austin can see the house. It was saved from destruction (破坏) and turned into a museum in1934. The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer.

    William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years. Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters. Others did not. An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here. It was taken there in the house about 1895. The piano there goes back to the 1860s. His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin.

    Porter did not start his career as a successful writer. He worked at a farm, land office and bank. He also loved words and writing. The museumm has a special proof of Porter's love of language—his dictionary. It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary.

    Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged with financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job. Because he was afraid of a trail (审判), he left the country secretly. But he returned because his wife was dying. After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal. He served three and a half years in a prison in Ohio.

    William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret. But there was one good thing about it. It provided him with time to write. By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O. Henry.

    Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there. He published over 180 stories in the last eight years of his life.