“I honestly have no idea how that cat got up there. It's a hundred—foot—metal pole. There's no way he climbed that thing,”Jim said to the worried woman. It wasn't even her cat, but she was passing by and saw it. immediately calling the fire—station to come to save it. Jim saw a lotof strange things as a fireman, often sad or upsetting things, but this was new.

  “I suppose we could get the blanket and see if we can convince the poor cat to jump down. But he doesn't really look too scared…”Jim said to the woman.

  “Dave, get overhere!” Jim called over his shoulder to the fire truck driver. Dave walked over and looked where Jim was pointing.

  “How'd he get up there?”

    Jim shrugged, similarly puzzled.“Do you suppose we could get the blanket and convince him tojump?”

    Dave shrugged in response.“I don't seewhy not.”

    Jim looked up at the black mass on the top of the flagpole, the Americannag waving proudly beneath him. It was definitely a cat, and heregarded the people gathered below as if they were his subjects(臣民) and he their king, his yellow eyes scanning his surroundings with apparentd is interest.

    When the blanket was spread out below the cat, Jim and Davebegan striking the flagpole. The cat lookeddown, and then gazed into the sky as if it were looking for something. Jim and Davefollowed his gaze. Suddenly, out of theclear sky, appeared adark figure. The figures wooped(俯冲) low toward the flag pole. It was aneagle! As it got closer, the cat leaped down the pole swiftly onto the ground, and then got lost in the bushes.

    Jim, Dave, and the oldwoman were left with their mouths open. They all agreedit was the best way to get it down.

    If you don't think technology can improve your trip better, meet Judy. When she recently checked into the Biu Hotel in Zurich, a clerk asked her to pay hundreds of dollars higher than the online offer. It was not a cheap stay, but it became more of one after she fired up the Booking. Com app she'd used to purchase her room on her smartphone. “As soon as I showed him the rate, he honored it,” Judy says.

    Technology may create challenges for travelers-indeed, it may have led to Judy's rate confusion in the first place-but it can also solve them. The solutions go beyond making sure of a hotel rate. The latest version of Booking.com is among the most feature-rich booking programs. Users can select hotels by location, make a secure booking and view the confirmed rate.

    Another pain point for travelers is traffic that eats away precious vacation time. There's a new app for that, called Commute. As the name implies, it's aimed at users who have to make the same trip every day. Just input basic information about your destination and expected leaving time, and the app will start sending you traffic data 15 minutes before you leave.

    Another source of travel-related conflict and confusion is money. That's particularly true when you're dealing with a foreign currency. The latest version of Travel Money Tracker helps travelers prevent currency mix-ups. It instantly converts(兑换) a country's native currency to yours, so you know exactly how much that Espresso(浓咖啡) in Milan costs in dollars. One extra feature is the ability to set up an alert that tells you when you're overspending, which can sometimes be a problem when you're on vacation. The only catch, of course, is that you have to remember to record all your purchases.

    If women are mercilessly exploited（剥削）year after year,they have only themselves to blame.Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion,they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores.Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it,only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe（衣橱）packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.

    Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn.Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way,waste hours of their time altering（政变）the dresses they have.Skirts are lengthened or shortened;neck-line are lowered or raised,and so on.

    No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society.Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth,comfort and durability（耐用）.They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort,as long as they look right.There can hardly be a man who hasn't at some times in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day,or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.

    When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion,the conclusions to be drawn are obvious.Do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes,one wonders,reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability （不稳定）?Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers.Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability（可靠）?That is for you to decide.

Chopsticks

    Right now, millions of people are digging into their food with two sticks that have school the test of time as a utensil(烹调用具)for humans. But what's so special about them? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Personally, I think they teach us the importance of:

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    If you're ever tried using them, you know that you can't get what you want by just randomly stabbing at the plate. To be able to get what you want, you have to aim for it. There's no way you can pick up everything in one go. Know what you want, and just do it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Practice

    Using chopsticks doesn't come naturally. You can't learn to use them by just reading about them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is the same with the real life. You can read as much as you like about all the things you want to do, but it will just amount to dreams and theory if you don't try actually doing it.

    Slowing Down

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Why? Because it allows your stomach to tell your brain you're full before you overeat. Eating with chopsticks is a slower process, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes we need to slow down and take things one step at a time, so that we have time to think and realize that we don't have to keep charging full speed through life.

A. Aim

B. Motivation

C. What can we learn from them?

D. You have to practice using them

E. Those who eat too fast were less successful at losing weight

F. Sometimes, a little bit of focus makes the difference between failure and success

G. A common health tip is to try to eat with chopsticks when you can

    Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel.

    Green said, “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.”

    Blue interrupted, “You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life.”

    Yellow chuckled(咯咯地笑). “The sun is yellow, as well as the moon and the stars. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile.”

    Red could bear it no longer. “I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood-life's blood! I am the color of danger and bravery. I bring fire into the blood. I am the color of passion and love.”

    Purple stood at his full height. “I am the color of royalty(皇室) and power. I am the sign of authority (权力) and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey.”

    Finally Indigo(靛蓝) spoke with determination, “Think of me and I am the color of silence. I represent thought and reflection. You need me for balance and contrast(对比), for prayer and inner peace.”

    The colors went on boasting(吹嘘), each showing off his or her own advantages. Suddenly there came a flash of bright lightening. Thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down. The colors were scared to death.

    In the midst of the quarrelling, rain began to speak, “You foolish colors. Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.”

    Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands.

    From then on, when it rains, colors will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color.

    Whenever a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.

    What is the most important day of your life? For many people the answer is your Wedding Day—the day when you marry another person and promise to live together as husband or wife for the rest of your lives.

    Wedding celebrations differ from country to country—in China the bride wears red while in India the wedding continues for three days. However, in Britain the bride wears white and wedding usually only lasts for one day.

    In the UK it is possible to get married in a religious or civil ceremony. A religious ceremony takes place in a church. A civil ceremony, on the other hand, can be held in an office, in a hotel, or even on a boat.

    On the day of the wedding the bride and groom are kept separate until the ceremony. It is said to be bad luck if the groom sees the bride in her dress before the wedding. The bride arrives at the ceremony accompanied by her father and bridesmaids. They officially give her away to her new husband. During the ceremony the happy couple exchange vows and give each other wedding rings which they will wear forever. At the end of the ceremony they kiss.

    Afterwards they go outside where friends and family throw rice or color papers over them and then they go on to the reception where there is a lot of food and drink. After the meal the father of the bride and the best man make speeches. Then the bride and groom take the first dance. It is a lot of fun. Finally, at the end of the party the newly-weds leave to go on honeymoon, usually to a very romantic destination.