Any car accident is frightening, but an accident in which your vehicle is thrown into the water, with you trapped inside, is absolutely terrifying. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, most deaths result from panic, without a plan or understanding what is happening to the car in the water. By adopting a brace (支撑) position, acting decisively and getting out fast, you can save yourself from a sinking vehicle.

    Brace yourself for impact (撞击力). As soon as you're aware that you're going off the road and into a body of water, adopt a brace position. The impact could set off the airbag system in your vehicle, so you should place both hands on the steering wheel in the "ten and two" position.

    Undo your seatbelt. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Untie the children, starting with the oldest first. Forget the cell phone call. Your car isn't going to wait for you to make the call.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Leave the door alone at this stage and concentrate on the window. A car's electrical system should work for up to three minutes in water, so try the method of opening it electronically first. Many people don't think about the window as an escape option either because of panic or misinformation about doors and sinking.

    Break the window. If you aren't able to open the window, or it only opens halfway, you'll need to break it with an object or your foot. It may feel counter-intuitive (有悖常理的) to let water into the car. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Escape when the car has equalized. If it has reached the dramatic stage where the car cabin has been filled with water and it has become balanced, you must move quickly and effectively to ensure your survival. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} While there is still air in the car, take slow, deep breaths and focus on what you're doing.

A. Open the window as soon as you hit the water.

B. Surviving a sinking car is not as difficult as you think.

C. It takes 60 to 120 seconds for a car to fill up with water usually.

D. Such accidents are particularly dangerous to the risk of drowning.

E. In conclusion, if you know what to do in the water, you will be safe.

F. This is the first thing to attend to, yet it often gets forgotten in the panic.

G. But the sooner the window is open, the sooner you can escape directly through it.

    People who like travelling have their reasons. They believe that travelling can help them expand their field of view, especially in the geographical and historical sense. They also think that touring will give them more chances to enjoy different kinds of food and experience new things that would never be brought by other activities. But those who dislike travelling also have some reasons.

    Travelling, in my opinion, does more good than harm. Most importantly, it broadens our mind. We can get in touch with other civilizations (文明), cultures, customs and ideas.

    Through history, most people travelled because of necessity (必要性)-not for pleasure. People travelled just in order to remain alive. They searched for food to eat or places to live in. They sometimes ran away from enemies. This is not to say that no one ever travelled just for the fun of it. In ancient times, for example, rich Romans travelled all the way to Greece to take part in the Olympic Games, and festivals. Of course, some people decided to travel just out of curiosity. They wanted to find out what it looked like beyond the horizon (地平线). Also business travel has been going on for centuries. Traders could not only make money but also learn to speak several languages and be introduced to different cultures.

    So, travelling does enrich our mind and draw new ideas to us. There is no doubt that we can get much from it.

    Whether you are young or young at heart, it is never too late to change, or take in some new and better practices into your daily life. Here are some wise lessons that I wish I knew when I was younger.

    I used to be worried about what others thought of me. Finally, I changed. Remember that if you're wasting too much time looking for respect(尊重) from others, then you will not have time to finish all you desire(期望).Everyone has an opinion, but in fact others' opinions about you are based more on their history and perceptions(观念) than anything you're actually doing. So depend on your own assessment(评估) of you rather than others'.

    Enjoy every moment of today. Don't wait to do or enjoy anything. Don't tell yourself you will do it tomorrow. If it is important to you, then do it today. Pay attention to what is happening now, the task at hand and all the choices you make today, big and small. Our future is set by what we decide and do today.

    What happened yesterday is over. You can not change it. So let it go. Don't waste your energy considering anger or unhappiness. It only stops you from moving forward in life.

    Look for the good in people. Celebrate the happy moments, big and small. Search for the chances for growth. Give helpful encouragement rather than unwanted criticism (批评). Be helpful whenever possible.

    In a word, life is serious but you can still be delighted and hopeful. Otherwise, what's the point?

    Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall

    At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city

    Monday, 7th of January until Sunday, 1 3th of January 2008

    Feast until you're full!

    Come down to Munchies this week to enjoy the special dishes on offer at all of our food outlets. Order from the following:

    Succulent chicken rice     • Spicy satay beef            •DeliciOus noodle dishes

    Plump pork chops            • Seafood specialties         • Crunchy vegetables

    Sweet tropical fruit

    10% discount on all orders above $ 20.00

    Halal food is available at the stall Malay Food Heaven.

    Win Prizes and Gifts!

    Spend $ 20.00 or more and win instant prizes from our lucky draw box.

    Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner.

    Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls.

    Win a holiday to Westem Australia. A free raffle ticket is given with every receipt. Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided.

    Winner to be announced in The Straits Times on the 15th of January.

    Join in the Fun!

    Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 10th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you:

    May Lee      • Jackie Chen       • Kim Yap             • Kamal

    Autograph sessions will follow each performance! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out.

    In recent decades there has been a strong push in American education to prepare all high school students for college. As a result, fewer and fewer young people are pursuing careers as skilled tradesmen. But teens should be encouraged to consider learning a trade.
    The average cost of a bachelor's degree is $127,000 and 70 percent of students apply for some form of student loans to help cover this cost. On average, loan borrowers graduate with $37,172 in debt. The average trade school degree, on the other hand, costs only $33,000 – less than what many four-year degree holders will still owe after graduation.
    I have a friend who is a highly educated college professor. He makes a comfortable living, and of course he loves his work, but recently as we discussed his own children's future career plans, it was my friend who raised the idea of pursuing a trade school degree. He told me that every time he calls his plumber (水暖工), the plumber answers his phone from his yacht(游艇).
    Of course not every tradesman can earn a yacht-buying salary, but there are a number of skilled professionals that can earn six figures.
    It's widely believed that academics are more valuable than physical or skilled work. Fortunately, there has been an effort to change that message in recent years and to restore dignity to trade education and tradesmen. Still, that message is going to be reinforced in classrooms and at home so that all students will recognize the beauty and value of possessing a skill, of being able to make something with one's own hands, and of offering a service that makes other people's lives not only better, but in many cases, possible.

    In the waters off Brisbane, Australia, a seven­foot­long sand tiger shark swims in pain. A two­foot­long spike sticks out of her side. It's a piece of fishing equipment that the shark ate carelessly. After traveling into her body, the spike punctured(刺) through the shark's stomach.

    A man swimming in the water notices the shark. Then, he warns Sea World Marine Park in the nearby town of Gold Coast. Sea World sends a 12­person team from its rescue center to where the shark was discovered in Moreton Bay Marine Park. Soon, they find her lying on the seafloor. "She'll die without help，"says Trevor Long, leader of the rescue center.

    Using an onboard crane(吊车), the rescuers move the shark into their boat's 13­foot­long tank(缸). Then Dr. David Blyde gives the shark pain medicine and performs an operation to remove the spike. After that, the team sails with the shark to Sea World 33 miles away. They place the fish in a 49­foot­long tank and wait to see if she gets better.

    To give the shark's stomach time to get better, she isn't fed for the first few days. A week after her operation, Long offers the shark a small, dead fish. The animal refuses to eat. But days later when he drops another fish into her tank, the shark enjoys her meal. By now the shark's wounds are getting better.

    Two weeks after her rescue, they take the shark back to the boat and return her to Moreton Bay Marine Park. As the fish is lowered by the crane to the water's surface, two rescuers jump into the ocean and guide her into the sea. From the boat, Long watches her swim away." The shark has another chance," Long says.