My family lived in a motel for two years. Like most families living there, we stayed in a two- bedroom suite. We were living from paycheck to paycheck, so when Christmas approached, we didn't know if we could be able to purchase gifts for our children.

    A few days before Christmas someone dropped off presents for all the kids that lived in the motel. It brought so much joy to all the children, most of whom knew that they wouldn't be receiving anything.

Five years ago, we moved out of the motel. After that, my husband and I were working hard at the Joe's Crab Shack to support our family. A few days before Christmas, I was working a “big top” and a single table. The man at my table could see that the large table was taking most of my time, but I was very patient and friendly. Between drinks and food I was able to chat with him about his family and mine. He left me $10, then walked out. About 10 minutes later, I turned around and there he was again. He gave me a hug, and put something in the side of my coat, telling me “Have a Merry Christmas”. I reached into my coat and pulled out $800.

    I was so moved by his generosity that I burst into tears. He had given me more than enough money to help my family catch up on our bills. After discussing what we should do with the money we had left over, we decided to buy presents for the families living at the motel, so we could pass on the blessing that we had received. Since then, it has been a tradition for us to give Christmas gift to the families in need.

    Last year we were able to give presents each of the 80 children at a school in our community, and throw a Christmas party for them. This year our goal is to add at least 20 children.

    Business administration is the most popular undergraduate major in U.S. colleges and universities, accounting for as much as one-fifth of all bachelor degrees awarded each year. Students naturally think of a business degree as the surest way to land a good job after graduation. Many international students agree. Twenty percent studied business last year-the second most popular major after engineering, according to the Institute of International Education.

    Below are descriptions of three of U.S. colleges and universities with strong offerings in business.

    Bentley College    Waltham, Massachusetts

    Bentley offers its 4,000 undergraduates a top-flight business education and an equally strong liberal-arts program that leaves them well-prepared to join the ranks of future business leaders. The college occupies a scenic campus only a shuttle-bus ride from Boston's Harvard Square. More than 90 percent of students seek career-oriented internships（实习）.

    Bucknell University    Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

    Bucknell's 3,500 undergraduates benefit from small classes and an engaging staff at this liberal-arts institution in a remote but beautiful campus in central Pennsylvania. Accounting and financial management are specialties in the introductory management course that create and sell a product and then donate their profits to charity（慈善）.

    University of Cincinnati        Cincinnati, Ohio

    This urban university with 21,000 undergraduates, located a mile from downtown Cincinnati, was the-birthplace of cooperative education over a century ago. Under this five-year “earn while you learn” program, more than 3,000 students alternate academic study with internships in local businesses and other organizations.

    They say the average person makes 35, 000 decisions a day. Yet in her new book, How Woman Decide, Therese Huston explores a widespread phenomenon that many women fail to notice. "There's a huge double standard when it comes to how men and women are viewed as decision﹣makers," explains Therese, a psychologist from Seattle University. Therese decided to write the book after looking at her bookshelf: At one end, there were bestselling books about how to be a clever decision﹣maker ﹣ all written by men and featuring interviews with men like athletes. At the other end were books aimed at women on gaining leadership skills and confidence.

    "Once those women are at the table, will their decisions be taken as seriously as men's？" Therese wondered. "Men are respected as decision﹣makers more than women, especially in the workplace, largely because there's this cultural belief that women are unable to make smart choices at work. "

    So, Therese set out to pick apart the stereotypes（固有印象）to see what scientific research had found. "Scientific research shows that men and women struggle with decision-making equally. The only disadvantage I found was that during the teenage years-teenage girls are more indecisive than teenage boys. Otherwise, there's little difference between the genders（性别）.

    However, there are some differences. "Women are more collaborative（协作的）, "says Therese. "A female boss is more likely to ask the opinions of those around her when making a choice. Women ask for input, which helps make better decisions. However, this is often seen as a weakness rather than a strength.

    Therese also found that during times of stress, men and women make different choices, and the outcomes are often better when women are involved.

    Study after study backs this view up. Neuroscientists Mara Mather and Nicole Lighthall from the University of Southern California studied the way men and women make decisions and found that in times of stress, they react very differently.

    During their study, which involved playing a virtual gambling（赌博）game, they found that when the females became stressed, they made smart decisions ﹣ quitting while they were ahead or taking safe bets. But when the men became stressed, they did the opposite, risking everything for a slim chance of a big win.

    Often people use laptops(手提电脑) on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms.

    Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want. Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop. The laptops are part of a $10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college. The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet. Besides, they will be able to use e-mail to "speak" with their teachers, their classmates and their families. However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs. They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees—anywhere at all!

    Because of the many changes in computer technology, laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable. As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers. Also, the portable(便携式的)computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources. State higher-education officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too.

    Jon Pedley is making a big change. He is giving up his life as a successful businessman for life of helping others. He is trading his beautiful farmhouse in England for life in a mud hut it Uganda, East Africa.

    Pedley admits that he has not always led a very positive life. At times he drank too much and got in trouble with the law. "I've always put the pursuit(追求) of money in front of everything else. As long as I was all right, I didn't care who I was hurting," says Pedley.

    But a visit to Uganda in 2007 gave Pedley a new outlook(观点) on life. He was amazed at what he saw and how much the people there appreciated the work he was doing. "I worked there for a few days and these people who have nothing thanked me by giving me bags of potatoes, which are a fortune for them," he said.

    Now Pedley is selling his business, his $1.5 million farmhouse, and his expensive car — and moving into a hut made of mud and boards in a small Ugandan village. There he will help run an organization that hopes to improve the quality of life for people in the village of Kigazi. He will help to build schoolrooms for children and tanks to hold clean water for villagers. Today, people in Kigazi must walk two miles to a hospital, so Pedley will help to build doctors' offices, too.

    Pedley's organization will also work with English teenagers who are in trouble. The teens will be sent to a "camp" in Uganda that Pedley will run. The teens will live in mud huts and help to build water, health and education facilities(设备) for kids in Kigazi, many of whom have lost their parents due to poverty or disease. Pedley hopes the teens will see a side of life that might help them turn around their own lives and set them on a new and more positive path.

With the rapid development of science and technology, we don't know how different our life will be in the future. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

At first we think about human relationships. In the year2050, we will use computers almost every day. We will be making new friends through the Internet—even our husbands or wives will be met in this way. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} On the other hand, our relationship with people won't be as important as they are today--we will feel a little lonely.

Computers will also help us in many other activities in 

2050. For example, they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier. In addition, there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers, like robots which will do the housework for us.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Traveling to other planets or to the moon will also be available for everyone. Means of transport will, of course, change, too. We will be using solar-powered cars, which will be much more environmentally friendly.

We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment. But it isn't true. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} And, scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases, like cancer or AIDS. Therefore, our surroundings as well as health will be in a better condition.

Although we can't predict the exact changes which will be made in the world, we often think about them. We worry about our and our children's future; we have expectations, hopes as well as fears. But I think we should be rather confident about our future. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. We can only imagine it.

B. It will be much faster and easier for us.

C. Our environment will be more polluted.

D. However, we are convinced of the following.

E. Spending holidays will also be completely different.

F. We should be happy and believe good things will happen.

G. We will pay more attention to protecting the environment.