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During the 20th century there has been a great change in the lives of women．A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century probably has been in her middle 20's and would be likely to have seven or eight children．By the time the youngest was 15，the mother would have been in her early 50's and would expect to live a further 20 years，during which chance and health made

it hard for her to get paid work．

Today women marry younger and have fewer children．Usually a woman's youngest child will be 15 when she is 45 and she can be expected to live another 35 years and is likely to get paid work until 60

This important change in women's life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position．Even a few years ago most girls left school and took a fulltime joB． However，when they married they usually left work at once and never returned to it．Today the school-leaving age is 16，many girls stay at school after that age，and though women marry younger，more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born．Many more return to work later．Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage，with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties of family life．

Fifteen people were killed and 38 others injured in a road accident early Wednesday morning in Enshi，Central China's Hubei Province．The bus，travelling from Wanzhou in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province，had 53 passengers on board，three more than permitted．

At around 1 am on Wednesday，the bus increased speed gradually on a curve（弯路）and plunged more than 30 metres into a valley below．Thirteen people，including one of the two drivers，died at once．Two others died on the way to hospital．

Although the cause of the accident is still unclear，the local police said the driver paid no attention to the official warning signs on the expressway．It hit a section which had been closed as a result of snow．Because of the freezing weather and icy roads，the expressway had been closed by police since Tuesday morning．But the bus drivers took the dangerous route，paying no attention to the warnings．

The rescue team，which included more than 30 medical workers and 120 local villagers，joined together and rushed to the scene at the news of the accident．By 5 am，all of the injured had been sent to three local hospitals for emergency treatment．A hospital source said most of the patients were in a stable（稳定的）condition but a few were still in danger．

According to a 2002 national public opinion poll，traffic accidents ranked as people's third biggest security concern．

Pop music is the name for different forms of popular，commercial music． It had its beginning in the United States of America and spread throughout the whole world during the 1950s and 1960s．It is widely liked by the young people．The best known early form of pop music was “rock 'n 'roll”；another was “blues”．A more recent development is “folk－rock”．

Pop music has taken the place of native music in many parts of the world；it has caused the number of people for jazz to become much smaller than it was in the 1950s and earlier，and it has now begun to rule musical stage productions．It's a big industry．Much pop music is without artistic value，but the work of some pop singers，e．g．the Beatles，Bob Dylan，the groups like Floyd and Crosby，Stills and Nash，is on a higher musical level．And there is still a great interest in it today．Pop music concerts and festivals are held all over the world．

So you think you know your dog. But how well does your dog know you? She probably recognizes you when she sees you. But can a dog tell by simply looking at you whether you have a happy or an angry expression on your face? Researchers in Austria have taught pet dogs to know the difference.

Dogs are very mindful of sound. When dog owners shout or speak in a strong, harsh(刺耳的) voice, dogs often act guilty and quietly move away from the area. Researchers have found that dogs can look at our faces, and tell the difference between a smile and a frown. The animals were able to recognize a look of approval from one of disapproval.

Researchers performed a series of experiments. They taught dogs to recognize facial expressions. They showed the dogs two pictures of either the upper of lower half of a person’s face. On one picture, the person looked happy. The other appeared angry. The dogs were then shown images of the eyes or mouths of people they had never seen before. They were also shown the left half of the faces used in training. Once the dogs learned to recognize which image was happy or angry, they could easily identify the same expressions in pictures of any face.

Corsin Muller, who led the study, says future studies will try to show whether dogs can learn the meaning of facial expressions—for example, whether a frown shows that someone is angry. “What we can say with our study is that they can tell these ones are different. But what we cannot be sure of at this point is what exact meaning they are associating with these different expressions.”

“Of course it seems likely that they would associate (联系)some positive meanings with the smiley face and they would associate some rather negative meanings with the angry face. But what exactly they are associating with these expressions we cannot know at this point.” Corsin says.

Good afternoon，and welcome to England. We hope that your visit here will be a pleasant one. Today，I would like to draw your attention to a few of our laws.

The first one is about drinking. Now，you may not buy alcohol in this country. If you are under 18 years of age，nor may your friends buy it for you.

Secondly，noise. Enjoy yourselves by all means，but please don’t make unnecessary noise，particularly at night. We ask you to respect other people who may wish to be quiet.

Thirdly，crossing the road. Be careful！The traffic moves on the left side of the road in this country. Use pedestrian crossings and do not take any chances when crossing the road.

My next point is about litter (throwing away waste material in a public place)．It is an offence (违法行为) to drop litter in the street. When you have something to throw away，please put it in your pocket and take it home，or put it in a litter bin.

Finally，as regards something，it is against the law to buy cigarettes or tobacco if you are under 16 years of age.

I’d like to finish by saying that if you require any sort of help or assistance，you should contact your local police，who will be pleased to help you.

Now，are there any questions?

Many people turn to doctors or self-help books, but they forget a great thing that could help them fight illness: their friends.

Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship in health. A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the danger for obesity among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties(关系) could improve brain health as we age.

"In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’t well realized, " said Rebecca, a professor at the University of North Carolina. "Friendship has a bigger effect on our psychological (心理的) health than family relationships. "

While many friendship studies are about the close relationships of women, some research shows that it can do good to men too. In a six-year study of 736 middle-aged men, having friendships reduces the risk of heart disease. Only smoking was as important a danger factor (因素) as having little social support.

The exact reason why friendship has such a big effect isn’t clear. While friends can send a sick person to the hospital or pick up medicine, the advantages go well beyond physical help. Friendship clearly has a big psychological effect."People with stronger friendships feel like there is someone they can turn to, " said Karen, a doctor. "The message of these studies is that friends make your life better. "

Everyone needs friends. We all like to feel close to someone. It is nice to have a friend to talk, laugh and do things with. Surely, there are times when we need to be alone. We don't always want people around. But we would feel lonely if we never had a friend.

No two people are the same. Sometimes friends don't get along well, which doesn't mean that they no longer like each other. Most of the time they will go on being friends. Sometimes friends move away, then we feel very sad. We miss them much, but we can call them and write to them. Maybe we would never see them again, and we can make new friends. It is surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them. Families sometimes name their children after a close friend. Many places are named after men and women, if they are friendly to people in a town. Some libraries are named this way. So are some schools. We think of these people when we go to these places.

There's more good news for people, if they have friends. These people live longer than those people if those don't have friends. Why? It could be that they are happier. Being happy helps you stay well. Or it could be just knowing that someone cares, if someone cares about you, you take better care of yourself.

One day last summer, watching the boys and girls trying to catch butterflies I remembered something happened when I was young. When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.

We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. No musician can sing more beautiful than the birds. I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.

I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, the bird flew about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.

I had left the cage out, and on the second day my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I about how to feed her baby.

The following morning when I went to see how my bird was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken good care of my little bird.

Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time. Hearing me crying over the death of my bird, he explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poisonous (有毒的) berries (干果). She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in cage.”

Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.

What do you think of British people and American people? You might think that there are no differences between the people in the two countries. After all they speak the same language, don't they? But if you ask a British or an American person, the differences are quite great.

What do British people think Americans are like? The British think Americans are very strange. They make a lot of noise and they laugh too loudly. They are rich, and they only think about money. But the British do say that Americans are kind, friendly people. They are happy to help you if you are in trouble.

What do Americans think of the British? Well, they think the British are cold and very unfriendly. They are not interested in success or in making lots of money. They think Britain is the best country in the world. They look down upon other countries. But Americans say that the British are quite good workers. They are brave and honest. And in time of trouble they face difficulties happily.

You can see that these ideas can cause misunderstanding between the British and Americans. But when American and British people become friends, they usually find things are not as bad as they expected.

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When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasnˈt a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

He listened to me quietly, then he asked.“Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didnˈt you ever wonder what youˈre really like? Well, you now have that girlˈs opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldnˈt change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“Thatˈs just for you，” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, youˈll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Donˈt shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”Daddyˈs advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, Iˈve never had a better piece of advice.