I want to introduce my class to you. My class (be) very small and there (be) only 20 students in it. Some (be) boys and the others (be) girls. All of us (be) getting along well with each other. None of us (have) quarrelled with each other. Every boy and every girl (help) the others in every subject, so nobody (fail) in any exam. Our headmaster often (praise) us for our helping each other. Every weekend, there (be) a meeting and our headmaster, with five of us, (attend) it, discussing how to make our class better.

    Such (be) our class, a happy and friendly family.

    In 1957, Jane Goodall first met the famous anthropologist (人类学者) Dr Louis Leakey, who later played an important role in her life. With the 1 of gaining insight into humans' evolutionary (进化的) past, Dr Leakey 2 a pioneering long-term field study on 3 chimps. Even though Jane had no formal 4, her patience and determination to understand animals 5 him to choose her for the study. 6 it was unusual for a woman to work in the forest of Africa, going there 7 the fulfillment (实现) of her childhood dream. In the summer of 1960 she 8 in Tanzania (坦桑尼亚) on Lake Tanganyika's eastern shore. This marked the 9 of the longest continuous field study of animals in their 10 habitat (栖息地). Five years 11, she earned a doctor's degree at Cambridge University and then 12 to Tanzania to found the Gombe Stream Research Center. And in 1977, to provide on—going 13 for chimp research, Dr Goodall 14 The Jane Goodall Institute.

    Today, she 15 most of her time traveling around the world, giving lectures on her 16 at Gombe and speaking to school groups about Roots && Shoots, her environmental education and humanitarian program for the 17.

    "Chimps have given me so 18. The long hours spent with them in the 19 have enriched my life beyond measure. What I have learned from them has shaped my 20 of human behavior, of our place in nature."

    Question: I have recently got a senior position within my company. One of my new tasks is to make monthly progress reports on my department in front of other senior officials. During my first meeting, I presented and then opened the floor to questions.

    My first reaction was to answer defensively. Later, I realized that I shouldn't feel that way. But how can I keep cool and effectively answer questions in this type of settings?

    Answer: Congratulations on your new position! Presenting in front of your peers (同事) is a hard task in itself, and it becomes much more difficult when a question-and-answer period is required. Question-and-answer periods are a great way to clarify the message and strengthen key points.

    When a person is asking a question, show interest and a desire to understand the question by listening and asking for clarification.

    Buy time

    When facing a hard question, most people can't give an answer immediately. Buy time by repeating the question in your own words. These techniques allow you to quickly organize your thoughts as well as to make sure you will be correctly answering the question.

    Suggest a private meeting

    A one-on-one meeting is a calmer setting than speaking in front of your peers.

    Chinese high school students have the longest study hours compared to their peers (同龄人) in Japan, the US and the Republic of Korea, a survey conducted by the four countries said.

    The survey, released by the China Youth and Children Research Center (CYCRC) on Monday, was jointly conducted with institutions in the four countries in September—October of 2008. It covers nearly 4, 000 students in senior high schools and vocational high schools in the four countries.

    About 78.3 percent of Chinese students said they spend more than eight hours at school and 56.7 percent said they study at least two more hours each day at home. By contrast, only 24.7 percent of their peers in the US, 20.5 percent in Japan and 15.4 percent in Korea study more than two hours after school.

    Around 60 percent of all students surveyed said their burden for studies was the heaviest; however, the Japanese felt their burden was the worst with respondents (应答者) reaching 79.2 percent.

    Among the five biggest headaches for young people in the four countries were: over—scheduling ranked first, followed by a boring leisure life, unsatisfied appearance, little time for exercise and making friends, and no spare money.

    "Moderate (适度的) study pressure can better drive students to develop, however, too much will squeeze (挤) their development space, and can even cause harm to their physical and psychological health," the survey said.

    "Balancing their studies and all-round development is a very important task," it said.

    The world we live in gets more mechanized every year. Some countries which were mainly agricultural a hundred years ago have now become industrial. New factories and towns have been built on good agricultural land. There are now fewer farms to serve a much greater population, so these farms must be more efficient in order to produce as much food as possible. There is no place in the modern agricultural world for the inefficient farmer. Unfortunately, many of the picturesque aspects of farming are disappearing in the search for efficiency. The more tractors are used, the fewer horses are needed. Everyone agrees that horses are far more pleasant to look at than tractors. But they are less efficient. Cows are usually milked by machinery nowadays, and even pigs are fed automatically. There is not much art or poetry on the modern farm, and the old traditional idea of a farm as a slow, peaceful, romantic place is totally wrong nowadays.

    The modern farmer has to be a mechanic, a scientist, an accountant and a gambler. The more mechanized farming becomes, the more expert the farmer has to be. He must understand what machinery is necessary for his kind of farm, and he must know how to use it efficiently. He must also understand the new technical advances in agriculture, and how to use chemical and synthetic products to improve his crops. The more workers a farmer employs, the more he must know about the problems of wages and taxes. As in any other industry, most modern farmers find it necessary to employ office staff to deal with these. But although he has more modern equipments and far more scientific aids than his grandfather had, the farmer is still dependent upon the weather. As he can never be sure what the weather will do, he must be prepared to take risks, and face the possibility of losing everything.