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　　One in five US workers regularly attends after-work drinks with co-workers, where the most common mishaps range from bad-mouthing another worker to kissing a colleague and drinking too much, according to a study released on Tuesday.

　　Most workers attend so-called happy hours to bond with colleagues, although 15 percent go to hear the latest office gossip and 13 percent go because they feel obligated, said the survey conducted for CareerBuilder.com, an online job site.

　　As to what happens when the after-work drinks flow, 16 percent reported bad-mouthing a colleague, 10 percent shared a secret about a colleague, 8 percent kissed a colleague and 8 percent said they drank too much and acted unprofessionally.

　　Five percent said they had shared a secret about the company, and 4 percent confessed to singing karaoke.

　　While 21 percent of those who attend say happy hours are good for networking, 85 percent said attending had not helped them get closer to someone higher up or get a better position.

　　An equal number of men and women said they attend happy hours with co-workers, with younger workers age 25 to 34 most likely and workers over 55 least likely to attend.

　　Overall, 21 percent of workers attend happy hours with co-workers and, of those, nearly a quarter go at least once a month.

　　The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 6,987 full-time employees between February 11 and March 13.

　　Harris Interactive said the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.

　　据本周二发布的一项调查显示，美国有五分之一的员工会定期在下班后跟同事去喝几杯，每当这个时候，诸如讲同事坏话、亲吻某位同事、以及醉酒等糗事就要上演了。

　　这项为在线求职网站CareerBuilder.com所做的调查表示，虽然去参加所谓"欢乐时光"的人中有15%是去搜罗最新的办公室流言，13%是迫于无奈才去的，大多数员工去那里都是为了拉近同事关系。

　　在被问及下班后的欢饮时光都会做些什么的时候，有16%的人表示会讲同事坏话，10%的人会散播某位同事的秘密，8%的人会亲吻某位同事，还有8%的人表示他们会喝醉酒，做出反常的举动。

　　有5%的人说他们会传播一些跟公司有关的秘密，另有4%的人表示会唱卡拉OK。

　　参加欢乐时光的人当中有21%表示此类活动有助于人际关系，85%的人则表示参加此类活动并不能让他们跟某些高层人士更加接近，也不会对他们升职有什么帮助。

　　男性和女性跟同事共赴欢乐时光的人数是一样的，年龄在25到34岁之间的年轻员工是最有可能参加此类活动的人群，而55岁以上的员工参加的可能性是最低的。

　　总的来说，有21%的员工下班后会与同事共赴欢乐时光，而他们当中有近四分之一的人每月至少去一次。

　　这项调查是哈里斯互动公司代表CareerBuilder.com在2月11日至3月13日之间进行的，共有6987名全职雇员参加。

　　哈里斯互动表示该调查结果会有正负1.2个百分点的采样误差。

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　　It's not easy to have a great relationship with your boy/girlfriend, partner, or spouse. But it's not impossible, either - it takes some work, of course, but it's work, work that's a joy when everything comes together.

　　A lot of times, though, the work isn't enough. We get in our own way with ideas and attitudes about relationships that are not only wrong, but often work to undermine our relationships no matter how hard we work at it.

　　I've watched a lot of breakups (some of them my own). I've seen dramatic flare-ups and drawn-out slow fades, and I've tried to pay attention to what seems to be going on. Here are a few of the things I've seen that cause people to destroy their own relationships.

1. You're playing to win

One of the deadliest killers of relationships is the competitive urge. I don't mean competition in the sense that you can't stand to lose at tennis, I mean the attitude that the relationship itself is a kind of game that you're tying to win. People in competitive relationships are always looking for an advantage, the upper hand, some edge they can hold over their partner's head. If you feel that there are things you can't tell your partner because she or he will use it against you, you're in a competitive relationship - but not for long.

2. You don't trust

There are two aspects of trust that are important in relationships. One is trusting your partner enough to know that s/he won't cheat on you or otherwise hurt you - and to know that he or she trusts you that way, too. The other is trusting them enough to know they won't leave you or stop loving you no matter what you do or say. The second that level of trust is gone, whether because one of you takes advantage of that trust and does something horrible or because one of you thinks the other has, the relationship is over - even if it takes 10 more years for you to break up.

3. You don't talk

Too many people hold their tongues about things that bother or upset them in their relationship, either because they don't want to hurt their partner, or because they're trying to win. (See #1 above; example: "If you don't know why I'm mad, I'm certainly not going to tell you!") While this might make things easier in the short term, in the long run it gradually erodes the foundation of the relationship away. Little issues grow into bigger and bigger problems - problems that don't get fixed because your partner is blissfully unaware, or worse, is totally aware of them but thinks they don't really bother you. Ultimately, keeping quiet reflects a lack of trust - and, as I said that's the death of a relationship.

4. You don't listen

Listening - really listening - is hard. It's normal to want to defend ourselves when we hear something that seems like criticism, so instead of really hearing someone out, we interrupt to explain or excuse ourselves, or we turn inward to prepare our defense. But your partner deserves your active listening. S/he even deserves you to hear the between-the-lines content of daily chit-chat, to suss out his/her dreams and desires when even s/he doesn't even know exactly what they are. If you can't listen that way, at least to the person you love, there's a problem.

5. You spend like a single person

This was a hard lesson for me to learn - until it broke up a 7-year relationship. When you're single, you can buy whatever you want, whenever you want, with little regard for the future. It's not necessarily wise, but you're the only one who has to pay the consequences. When you are with someone in a long-term relationship, that is no longer a possibility. Your partner - and your children, if there are or will be any - will have to bear the brunt of your spending, so you'd better get in the habit of taking care of household necessities first and then, if there's anything left over, of discussing with your partner the best way to use it.

This is an increasing problem these days, because more and more people are opting to keep their finances separate, even when they're married. There's nothing wrong with that kind of arrangement in and of itself, but it demands more communication and involvement between the partners, not less. If you're spending money as if it was your money and nobody else has a right to tell you what to do with it, your relationship is doomed.

6. You're afraid of breaking up

Nobody in a truly happy partnership is afraid of breaking up. If you are, that's a big warning sign that something's wrong. But often, what's wrong is the fear itself. Not only does it betray a lack of trust, but it shows a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem - you're afraid that there's no good reason for someone to want to be with you, and that sooner or later your partner will "wise up" and take off. So you pour more energy into keeping up the appearance of a happy relationships than you do into building yourself up as a person. Quite frankly, this isn't going to be very satisfying for you, and it also isn't going to be very satisfying for your partner.

7. You're dependent

There's a thin line between companionship and support and dependency. If you depend on your partner - that is, if you absolutely cannot live without her or him - you've crossed that line. The pressure is now on your partner to fill whatever's missing in you - a pressure s/he will learn to resent. If you expect your partner to bring everything while you bring nothing to your relationship - and I'm talking finances as well as emotional support, here - you're in trouble. (Note: I'm not saying that you need to contribute equally to household finances - what I'm saying is that if you're not contributing to the household budget, and you're not contributing anywhere else, things are out of whack and that's never good.)

8. You expect Happiness

A sign of a bad relationship is that one or both partners expect either to make the other happy or for their partner to make them happy. This is not only an unrealistic expectation to lay on yourself or on them - nobody can "make" you happy, except you - but it's an unrealistic expectation to lay on your relationship. Relationships aren't only about being happy, and there's lots of times when you won't and even shouldn't be. Being able to rely on someone even when you're upset, miserable, depressed, or grieving is a lot more important than being happy all the time. If you expect your partner to make you happy - or worse, you're frustrated because you aren't able to make your partner happy - your relationship isn't going to fare well when it hits a rough spot.

9. You never fight

A good argument is essential, every now and then. In part, arguing helps bring out the little stuff before it becomes major, but also, fighting expresses anger which is a perfectly normal part of a human's emotional make-up. Your relationship has to be strong enough to hold all of who you are, not just the sunny stuff.

One reason couples don't fight is that they fear conflict - which reflects a lack of trust and a foundation of fear. That's bad. Another reason couples avoid arguments is that they've learned that anger is unreasonable and unproductive. They've learned that arguing represents a breakdown rather than a natural part of a relationship's development. While an argument isn't pleasant, it can help both partners to articulate issues they may not have even known they had - and help keep them from simmering until you cross a line you can't come back from.

10. You expect it to be easy/you expect it to be hard

There are two deeply problematic attitudes about relationships I hear often. One is that a relationship should be easy, that if you really love each other and are meant to be together, it will work itself out. The other is that anything worth having is going to be hard - and that therefore if it's hard, it must be worth having.

The outcome of both views is that you don't work at your relationship. You don't work because it's supposed to be easy and therefore not need any work, or you don't work because it's supposed to be hard and it wouldn't be hard if you worked at it. In both cases, you quickly get burnt out - either because the problems you're ignoring really don't go away just because you think they should. or because the problems you're cultivating are a constant drag on your energy. A relationship that's too much work might be suffering from one of the attitudes above, but a relationship that doesn't seem to need any work isn't any better.

Your choices

There isn't any one answer to any of the problems above. There are choices though: you can either seek out an answer, something that addresses why you are hurting your relationship, or you can resign yourself to the failure of your relationship (and maybe the next one, and the next one, and…). Failure doesn't always mean you break up - many people aren't that lucky. But people can live quite unhappily in failed relationships for years and even decades because they're afraid they won't find anything better, or worse, they're afraid they deserve it. Don't you be one of them - if you suffer from any of these problems, figure out how to fix it, whether that means therapy, a solo mountain retreat, or just talking to your partner and committing yourselves to change.

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　　An older couple had a son, who was still living with them. The parents were a little worried, as the son was still unable to decide about his future career, so they decided to do a small test.

　　They took a ten-dollar bill, a bible, and a bottle of whiskey, and put them on the front hall table... then they hid, pretending they were not at home.

　　The father's plan was: "If our son takes the money, he will be a businessman, if he takes the bible, he will be a priest, but if he takes the bottle of whiskey, I'm afraid our son will be a drunkard."

　　So the parents hid in the nearby closet and waited nervously. Peeping through the keyhole they saw their son arrive. The son saw the note they had left.

　　Then, he took the 10-dollar bill, looked at it against the light, and slid it in his pocket.

　　After that, he took the bible, flicked through it, and took it.

　　Finally he grabbed the bottle, opened it, and took an appreciative whiff to be assured of the quality ...then he left for his room, carrying all three items.

　　The father slapped his forehead, and said: "Darn, it's even worse than I could ever have imagined.. " "Our son is going to be a politician!"

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　　Once upon a time...

　　A poor woodcutter lived with his wife and three daughters in a little hut on the borders of a great forest.

　　One morning as he was going to his work, he said to his wife, 'Let our eldest daughter bring me my lunch into the wood; and so that she shall not lose her way, I will take a bag of millet with me, and sprinkle the seed on the path.'

　　When the sun had risen high over the forest, the girl set out with a basin of soup. But the field and wood sparrows, the larks and finches, blackbirds and green finches had picked up the millet long ago, and the girl could not find her way.

　　She went on and on, till the sun set and night came on. The trees rustled in the darkness, the owls hooted, and she began to be very much frightened. Then she saw in tile distance a light that twinkled between the trees. 'There must be people living yonder,' she thought, 'who will take me in for the night,' and she began walking towards it.

　　Not long afterwards she came to a house with lights in the windows.

　　She knocked at the door, and a gruff voice called, 'Come in!'

　　The girl stepped into the dark entrance, and tapped at the door of the room.

　　'Just walk in,' cried the voice, and when she opened the door there sat an old gray-haired man at the table. His face was resting on his hands, and his white beard flowed over the table almost down to the ground.

　　By the stove lay three beasts, a hen, a cock, and a brindled cow. The girl told the old man her story, and asked for a night's lodging.

　　The man said:

　　Pretty cock, Pretty hen, And you, pretty brindled cow, What do you say now?

'Duks,' answered the beasts; and that must have meant, 'We are quite willing,' for the old man went on, 'Here is abundance; go into the back kitchen and cook us a supper.'

　　The girl found plenty of everything in the kitchen, and cooked a good meal, but she did not think of the beasts.

　　She placed the full dishes on the table, sat down opposite the gray-haired man, and ate till her hunger was appeased.

　　When she was satisfied, she said, 'But now I am so tired, where is a bed in which I can sleep? '

　　The beasts answered:

　　You have eaten with him, You have drunk with him, Of us you have not thought, Sleep then as you ought!

　　Then the old man said, 'Go upstairs, and there you will find a bedroom; shake the bed, and put clean sheets on, and go to sleep.'

　　The maiden went upstairs, and when she had made the bed, she lay down.

　　After some time the gray-haired man came, looked at her by the light of his candle, and shook his head. And when he saw that she was sound asleep, he opened a trapdoor and let her fall into the cellar.

　　The woodcutter came home late in the evening, and reproached his wife for leaving him all day without food.

　　'No, I did not,' she answered; 'the girl went off with your dinner. She must have lost her way, but will no doubt come back to-morrow.'

　　But at daybreak the woodcutter started off into the wood, and this time asked his second daughter to bring his food. 'I will take a bag of lentils,' said he; 'they are larger than millet, and the girl will see them better and be sure to find her way.'

　　At midday the maiden took the food, but the lentils had all gone; as on the previous day, the wood birds had eaten them all.

　　The maiden wandered about the wood till nightfall, when she came in the same way to the old man's house, and asked for food and a night's lodging.

　　The man with the white hair again asked the beasts:

　　Pretty cock, Pretty hen, And you, pretty brindled cow, What do you say now?

　　The beasts answered, 'Duks,' and everything happened as on the former day.

　　The girl cooked a good meal, ate and drank with the old man, and did not trouble herself about the animals.

　　And when she asked for a bed, they replied:

　　You have eaten with him You have drunk with him, Of us you have not thought, Now sleep as you ought!

　　And when she was asleep, the old man shook his head over her, and let her fall into the cellar.

　　On the third morning the woodcutter said to his wife, 'Send our youngest child to-day with my dinner. She is always good and obedient, and will keep to the right path, and not wander away like her sisters, idle drones!'

　　But the mother said, 'Must I lose my dearest child too?'

　　'Do not fear,' he answered; 'she is too clever and intelligent to lose her way. I will take plenty of peas with me and strew them along; they are even larger than lentils, and will show her the way.'

　　But when the maiden started off with the basket on her arm, the wood pigeons had eaten up the peas, and she did not know which way to go. She was much distressed, and thought constantly of her poor hungry father and her anxious mother. At last, when it grew dark, she saw the little light, and came to the house in the wood. She asked prettily if she might stay there for the night, and the man with the white beard asked his beasts again:

　　Pretty cock, Pretty hen, And you, pretty brindled cow, What do you say now?

　　'Duks,' they said. Then the maiden stepped up to the stove where the animals were lying, and stroked the cock and the hen, and scratched the brindled cow between its horns.

　　And when at the bidding of the old man she had prepared a good supper, and the dishes were standing on the table, she said, 'Shall I have plenty while the good beasts have nothing? There is food to spare outside; I will attend to them first.'

　　Then she went out and fetched barley and strewed it before the cock and hen, and brought the cow an armful of sweet-smelling hay.

　　'Eat that, dear beasts,' she said,' and when you are thirsty you shall have a good drink.'

　　Then she fetched a bowl of water, and the cock and hen flew on to the edge, put their beaks in, and then held up their heads as birds do when they drink, and the brindled cow also drank her fill. When the beasts were satisfied, the maiden sat down beside the old man at the table and ate what was left for her. Soon the cock and hen began to tuck their heads under their wings, and the brindled cow blinked its eyes, so the maiden said, 'Shall we not go to rest now?'

　　Pretty cock, Pretty hen, And you, pretty brindled cow, What do you say now?

　　The animals said, 'Duks:

　　You have eaten with us, You have drunk with us, You have tended us right, So we wish you good night.'

　　The maiden therefore went upstairs, made the bed and put on clean sheets and fell asleep. She slept peacefully till midnight, when there was such a noise in the house that she awoke. Everything trembled and shook; the animals sprang up and dashed themselves in terror against the wall; the beams swayed as if they would be torn from their foundations, it seemed as if the stairs were tumbling down, and then the roof fell in with a crash. Then all became still, and as no harm came to the maiden she lay down again and fell asleep. But when she awoke again in broad daylight, what a sight met her eyes! She was lying in a splendid room furnished with royal splendour; the walls were covered with golden flowers on a green ground; the bed was of ivory and the counterpane of velvet, and on a stool near by lay a pair of slippers studded with pearls. The maiden thought she must be dreaming, but in came three servants richly dressed, who asked what were her commands. 'Go,' said the maiden, 'I will get up at once and cook the old man's supper for him, and then I will feed the pretty cock and hen and the brindled cow.'

　　But the door opened and in came a handsome young man, who said, 'I am a king's son, and was condemned by a wicked witch to live as an old man in this wood with no company but that of my three servants, who were transformed into a cock, a hen, and a brindled cow. The spell could only be broken by the arrival of a maiden who should show herself kind not only to men but to beasts. You are that maiden, and last night at midnight we were freed, and this poor house was again transformed into my royal palace.

　　As they stood there the king's son told his three servants to go and fetch the maiden's parents to be present at the wedding feast.

　　'But where are my two sisters?' asked the maid.

　　'I shut them up in the cellar, but in the morning they shall be led forth into the forest and shall serve a charcoal burner until they have improved, and will never again suffer poor animals to go hungry.'

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Diana　　　　　　　　　　　Paul Anka

I'm so young and you're so old

This, my darling, I've been told

I don't care just what they say

'Cause forever I will pray

You and I will be as free

As the birds up in the trees

Oh, please stay by me, Diana

Thrills I get when you hold me close

Oh, my darling, you're the most

I love you but do you love me

Oh, Diana, can't you see

I love you with all my heart

And I hope we will never part

Oh, please stay with me, Diana

Oh, my darling, oh, my lover

Tell me that there is no other

I love you with my heart

Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh

Only you can take my heart

Only you can tear it apart

When you hold me in your loving arms

I can feel you giving all your charms

Hold me, darling, hold me tight

Squeeze me baby with all your might

Oh, please stay with me, Diana

Oh, please, Diana

Oh, please, Diana

Oh, please, Diana

黛安娜　　　　　　　　　　保罗安卡

我这么年轻，你那么老

亲爱的，有人对我这么说

我不在乎别人怎么讲

因为我会不断祈祷

祈祷你我永远自由

像那树梢上的鸟儿

噢，请站在我这边，黛安娜

当你拥抱着我时，我不禁颤抖

噢，亲爱的，你是最棒的

我爱你，但你爱我吗？

噢，黛安娜，你看不出来吗？

我全心全意的爱着你

但愿我俩永不分离

噢，请留在我身边，黛安娜

噢，亲爱的，我的爱人

告诉我，不会有第三者

我全心全意的爱着你

噢................

只有你能占领我的心

只有你能撕碎它

当你把我拥在你爱的怀里

我感觉你所有的魔力

抱我，亲爱的，抱紧我

使劲的抱紧我

噢，请留在我身边，黛安娜

噢，求求你，黛安娜

噢，求求你，黛安娜

噢，求求你，黛安娜

　 这首歌是青春偶像保罗安卡写于一九五六年的歌，当时他才十五岁而已。歌曲内容是描述他年少时居住在加拿大渥太华市，情窦初开暗恋邻居少女Diane Ayoub的复杂情绪，对方当时也才十八岁。

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　　你已经有一个机会到你渴望的外资公司上班，但是每一次你需要和你的老板用英文沟通，你打住了你的话。别再害怕！以下有5个修饰及使用回复的词汇-它们真的会使你的老板爱上你！

　　So you've landed a much desired job in a foreign company, but every time you need to communicate with your boss in English, you freeze up. Fear not! Exhibit the following five qualities and use the corresponding phrases - they're sure to make your boss love you!

　　热情

　　一种正面的态度让事情大大不同！让你的热情被视为是自动自发的藉由使用这些词汇的任务，"I'd be happy to do that." 尤其地，自动的沟通藉由询问来负起责任"I'd be happy to do that." 当然，当你的老板感谢你工作，你的回复是，"My pleasure" 来显示你真诚的喜欢你正在做的事情！

　　Enthusiasm

　　A positive attitude can make a big difference! Make your passion known by volunteering for tasks using the phrase, "I'd be happy to do that." Additionally, communicate willingness to take on responsibilities by asking, "Is there anything else you'd like me to do?" Of course, when your boss thanks you for your work, reply with, "My pleasure" to show you truly like what you're doing!

　　支持

　　我们都喜欢围绕在一些人和我们是see eye to eye，或是与我们所做的是相同理念的人相处。支持你的老板的想法，你将确实获得他或她的青睐。使用一些表达像是"Good point!"，"I couldn't agree with you more"和"That's exactly how I feel"来传递你的同意。你的老板将会感激你的支持。

　　Support

　　We all like to be around people who see eye to eye with us, or who hold the same opinions as we do. Be supportive of your boss's ideas, and you'll surely get on his or her good side. Use expressions like "Good point!", "I couldn't agree with you more" and "That's exactly how I feel" to convey agreement. Your boss will appreciate your support.

　　礼貌

　　请记住真诚"please"或是 "thank you"是长远之计。即使你与你的老板或是经理存在一种友善关系，重点是礼貌。如果当你的老板正在和某人说话，你却急需要，为了确定要说，"Excuse me for interrupting."如果你询问一个讯息，你可以加上，"Please get back to me as soon as possible."最后，当他们回复，告诉他们， "Thanks for your help!"

　　Politeness

　　Remember that a sincere "please" or "thank you" can go a long way. Even if you have a friendly relationship with your boss or manager, it's important to be polite. If you have an urgent need while your boss is speaking with someone else, be sure to say, "Excuse me for interrupting." If you request information, you can add, "Please get back to me as soon as possible." Finally, when they respond, tell them, "Thanks for your help!"

　　效能

　　努力工作是我们不能忘记的部份！你理当然将会被感激当你正on the ball，或是有能力的和有效率的在你的工作岗位上。当你被分配一项任务，会说，"I'll get right on that"来显示你将会立刻开始工作。或是，你可以告诉你的老板，"I'll get that to you

by 6 p.m."如果他或她询问有关于你正工作某些近况。

　　Efficiency

　　Hard work is an aspect we can't forget! You will definitely be appreciated if you are on the ball, or capable and efficient in your work. When assigned a task, say, "I'll get right on that" to show you will begin working on it immediately. Or, you can tell your boss, "I'll get that to you by 6 p.m." if he or she inquires about something you are working on.

　　想象力

　　如果你有一百万个想法，请不要害怕提出建议来！这会透露你是有创新的，野心的，及渴望找出改善公司的方法。使用一些词汇像是I was thinking that it might be a good idea to ? 或是"Why don't we ? 以非胁迫性方式来说明你的想法。尤其地，准备你自己反驳的论点，当然不是所有想法都是overnight hit，或是立刻成功，但它的意思不是说你应该停止去建议他们！

　　Imagination

　　If you have a brilliant idea, don't be afraid to suggest it! This reveals that you're innovative, ambitious, and looking for ways to improve the company. Use phrases such as "I was thinking that it might be a good idea to ? or "Why don't we ? to introduce your ideas in a non-threatening way. Additionally, prepare yourself for rejection, as not all ideas are an overnight hit, or immediate success - but that doesn't mean you should stop suggesting them!

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　　纳什（1567-1601），伊丽莎白时期"大学才子"之一，作品有传奇小说《杰克.威尔顿》(The Life of Jack Wilton)等。

　　《春》一诗选自纳什为宫廷娱乐所作的喜剧《维尔.塞默的遗言》(Will Summer's Testament)，韵律主要是五步扬格，韵式是aaab,cccb,dddb三节最后一行是叠句(refrain)；每节中除末一行外，其他三行都用腹韵(leonine rhyme)，即第二音步的第二个词同第五音步末尾的词协韵。

SPRING

Thomas Nash

Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleasant king;

Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,

Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing,

Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

The palm and may make country houses gay,

Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day,

And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay,

Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet,

Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit,

In every street theses tunes our ears do greet,

Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

Spring! the sweet Spring!

春

郭沫若 译

春，甘美之春，一年之中的尧舜，

处处都有花树，都有女儿环舞，

微寒但觉清和，佳禽争着唱歌，

啁啁，啾啾，哥哥，割麦、插一禾！

榆柳呀山楂，打扮着田舍人家，

羊羔嬉游，牧笛儿整日价吹奏，

百鸟总在和鸣，一片悠扬声韵，

啁啁，啾啾，哥哥，割麦、插一禾！

郊原荡漾香风，雏菊吻人脚踵，

情侣作对成双，老妪坐晒阳光，

走向任何通衢，都有歌声悦耳，

啁啁，啾啾，哥哥，割麦、插一禾！

春！甘美之春！

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　　THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. We've just finished our meetings here in Japan. I would call them very productive.

　　Our goal was to make progress in five key areas: confronting climate change, reinforcing our commitment to a successful Doha agreement, fighting disease in Africa, ensuring that the G8 nations are accountable for their commitments, and addressing the challenges of high food and energy prices. I'm pleased to report that we've had significant success in all of them.

　　On climate change, I want to thank the Prime Minister for hosting today's meeting of leaders from the world's major economies. In order to address climate change, all major economies must be at the table. And that's what took place today. The G8 expressed our desire to have a -- a significant reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050. We made it clear and the other nations agreed that they must also participate in an ambitious goal, with interim goals and interim plans to enable the world to successfully address climate change. And we made progress, significant progress, toward a comprehensive approach.

　　One way to meet objectives is to invest in technology, both at the national and international levels, both through the private and public sectors. The United States, Japan, and United Kingdom launched what's called a Clean Technology Fund, and we hope Congress funds that effort. It's a way to help developing nations afford the technologies so that they can become good stewards of the environment.

　　We're also taking steps to promote clean technologies by cooperating on research and development. You know, I firmly believe that we can become less dependent on oil through new technology, and obviously we're going to have to spend some money on research and development to be able to achieve that objective.

　　On other matters, the G8 leaders emphasized the critical importance of concluding a Doha Round. We want the world to trade freely. We want to make sure markets are open for agricultural goods and manufacturing goods and services. We also recognize that the best way to help alleviate poverty is through trade. And so we had good discussions over the past couple of days about successfully completing the Doha Round by the end of this year.

　　We also made some progress on alleviating sickness in Africa. The G8 committed $60 billion over five years to fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases. I'm also pleased to report the G8 leaders pledged to provide 100 million long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets by 2010 to help deal with malaria. As you know, the United States has been in the forefront of trying to help nations eradicate malaria, and the G8 nations stepped forward to support our efforts. And I appreciate that very much.

　　We also committed with partner nations in Africa to train new health care workers. Can't solve health care problems unless there's health care workers on the ground. And the United States is involved with that. And finally, we are working to expand our efforts to treat key neglected tropical diseases, with the goal of reaching 75 percent of victims in the most affected countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America within five years. In other words, we had a comprehensive agenda on helping those who are being affected by disease live healthy lives.

　　I've always believed to whom much is given much is required. The nations sitting around the table have got much, and I think we're required to help those who don't. Pledges are important. Those have been -- you know, oftentimes in the political process people talk big, but they never follow up. And so one of the key ingredients of these recent meetings was all of us need to be reminded that when we say we're going to do something, we got to do it. And so accountability is an important part of fulfilling our obligations.

　　We agreed to release detailed reports on our progress in meeting the commitments, breaking down our efforts, country by country, disease by disease. This, of course, will help ensure the G8 initiatives are measurable and transparent, so that we're held accountable for the promises we make.

　　And finally, we agreed on steps to deal with hunger and high energy prices. We agreed to meet short-term food needs by providing emergency food shipments, and increasing access to fertilizer and seeds, and encouraging other nations to eliminate their export restrictions. We also agreed on steps to relieve hunger in the longer-term, including working to double production of key food staples in several African countries, accelerating access to new agricultural technology such as new seed varieties developed through bio-technology. We're also seeking to increase the amount of food aid supplied by local producers. In other words, instead of the United States just simply giving food, we ought to be buying food from local producers so that they can develop their own agricultural industries, so to help deal with world hunger.

　　We also agreed that on high energy prices that we got to deal with both on the supply and demand. On the supply side, oil and production refining capacity need to be increased. And the United States needs to do its part. The Democratic leaders in Congress will not allow us to explore for oil and gas in parts of Alaska, offshore America, and now is the time for them to change their mind. We also -- I'm firmly -- believe that we can do this kind of exploration in environmentally friendly ways.

　　On the demand side, we agreed to take new steps to increase energy efficiency, and we agreed that fuel subsidies that artificially inflate demand should be eliminated or reduced.

　　In other words, this was a -- you know, a lot of meetings on important subjects, and we accomplished a lot. By protecting our environment and resisting protectionism and fighting disease and promoting development and improving the daily life for millions around the world, we serve both our interests as Americans, and we serve the interest of the world.

　　We've enjoyed our stay here in Japan. I want to thank the Prime Minister once again for his grand hospitality. And I appreciate you all covering this summit. Thank you very much.

　　END 4:30 P.M. (Local)

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　　阅读理解是中考英语卷面分值最高、且比较容易丢分的题型，近日，就"如何在此题型中得分"刘东老师进行了解析。

　　刘东介绍说，阅读理解这一题型，通常是设A、B、C、D四个语段，采用"选择最佳答案回答问题"和"阅读材料判断正误"两种形式，来考察学生的阅读能力。究竟应该如何应对阅读理解题呢？

　　首先，要把握和围绕命题趋势，搞好总复习。从近几年来的情况看，中考试题中阅读理解的内容和体裁越来越丰富。内容涉及社会文化、风俗习惯、历史、地理、政治经济、科学技术、医疗教育、幽默小故事等，体裁形式也是多样的。对此，同学们复习备考过程中，就必须做到全面练习，熟悉各种内容和体裁的不同特点，逐步掌握其有效的解题规律。

　　其次，要明确阅读理解题的考察内容和形式。概括地说，阅读理解就是要考察学生的阅读技能，包括理解和把握文章主题；了解具体的内容细节；猜测词义技巧；归纳篇章大意；以及分析和推断作者想要表达的观点、意图和态度等。考题通常从以下五个方面来设题：

　　(1)文章主题和中心大意的考察。主要考察学生对文章的理解程度，包括作者的写作目的、中心思想及段落大意等。在这种形式下，考生只有读懂全文，才能正确完成解题。

　　(2)内容细节的考察。主要考察学生在快速阅读过程中，对具体信息点的掌握程度。

　　(3)确定文章标题的考察。主要是考察学生在宏观层面上的抽象概括能力。

　　(4)推论性考察。主要是考察学生根据阅读材料中所提供的信息，推断出未知信息的能力。要求学生把已有信息作为已知条件，从中推断出符合因果关系变化的未知结论。

　　(5)猜测词义考察。主要是考察学生的词汇量程度。这一点主要是建立在学生的长期积累基础上的。

　　再次，要熟练掌握阅读理解的解题方法和技巧。针对不同内容和形式的考题，往往都有一些行之有效的解题方法和技巧。从考察内容的体裁上来说，故事类文章应该抓住人物、时间、地点和情节发展线索。科普类文章要以事实为中心进行思考，抓住事物的特征、用途、相互关系等。图表类短文常常是与我们日常生活密切联系的内容，主要应该从两方面入手，一是了解图表的主要内容。二是推敲图表中的语境或数字，找出它们之间的关联关系和表达的含义。新闻类文章成为短文阅读常考察的一个重要内容。阅读这类文章时，头脑中一定要带着5个"W"(who、where、what、when、why)去进行。

　　从考察形式上来讲，应对文章主题和中心大意考题时，寻找和发现文章主题句就是关键。这个主题句一般具有如下特点：①表达的意思比较概括。②句子结构简单，大多数时候，不采用长句、难句的形式。③段落的其他句子必定是用来解释或发挥主题句所表达的主题思想的。④主题句的位置除个别情况下是在文中的句子，大多数情况下，主题句往往是在段首和段尾。所以，在阅读文章时，要特别注意文章的首段、首句和末句。

　　在应对细节考察题时，一定要遵循忠实原文的原则。这种形式的考题常常是直观性问题，其正确答案都可以在阅读材料中找到相应文字来验证。

　　在确定文章标题的考题中，要正确领会全文的主题，从宏观的层面把握文章的中心思想。从而加以分析、抽象和概括，排除似是而非的干扰项，选出最佳的答案。另外，标题的特点一般是省略冠词，be动词或定语的人称代词，并且多以短评或简单句为主。

　　推论性考察题一般包括事实推断、指代推断、逻辑推断和对作者意图与观点的推断。常见的提问方式有：①The writer believes that ＿＿＿＿.②From this passage we can guess ＿＿＿＿.③The write suggests that ＿＿＿＿.除了一般的事实题可直接从文中找出答案外，其他诸如对条件变化、因果关系以及作者意图等较为深层的逻辑推断题，则必须要建立在对全文的理解基础上，通过文章所提供的线索，加以综合分析，才能做出正确的推断。

　　词义猜测考察中，常见的提问方式有：①In this passage the underlined wor "×" means ＿＿＿＿. ②The under lined word "×"refers to ＿＿＿＿. ③Here "it" means ＿＿＿＿.猜测词义时，可以从以下三个方面考虑：一是根据上下文已知部分进行逻辑上的推测。二是运用语法知识和构词法进行分析。三是依据常识和生活经验做出判断。

　　最后，在备考和应考阶段应当注意的几个问题：

　　①要尽力扩大词汇量，提高阅读速度。

　　②要注意培养语意和词义推测能力，把握好长句和难句。

　　③尽量选取不同体裁和内容的文章，熟悉各自不同的侧重点，通过文章线索来分析和判断作者的意图和所表达的观点。

　　④尽量了解和掌握英语国家的风俗习惯、风土人情，必须按照英语语言的表达方式来理解文章，排除我们自己语言习惯的干扰。

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