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Amazing Facts About Elf Owls

    The elf owl is mostly found in the southwestern parts of the United States and Mexico. During the spring and summer seasons, it moves to Arizona and New Mexico. It returns to Mexico for the winter. The elf owl doesnˈt build its own nest. It lives in tree holes.

    The elf owl is a yellow bird with dark wings. Its eyes are bright yellow and its feet are large. It is the smallest owl of the species, only about 12.5-14.5 centimeters long. It is also the worldˈs lightest owl, weighing not more than forty grams. In general, female elf owls weigh more than male ones.

    The female usually lays three eggs at a time. After the young elf owls are born, their mother will feed them with worms for up to three to four weeks. After 10 weeks, the young ones are fully grown and ready to take flight.

    The elf owls do not behave in a threatening way. When danger comes, they will fly away in the other direction, rather than staying and facing the danger or their enemies. Besides flying, the elf owl can also walk and climb like a parrot. The elf owl is most active after dusk, during the night and just before dawn. It can produce many different kinds of sounds. It can live for three to six years in the wild. If they are kept in cages, they can live for ten to fourteen years. The elf owls are now in danger because of the loss of habitat. Cutting down trees will result in lack of places for them to live in.

Eight days for just￥12,000

Departure time：May，October 2012

Includes：

● Return flights from 6 China’s airports to Naples

● Return airport to hotel transport

● Seven nights’ accommodation at the 3-star Hotel Nice

● Breakfast

● The service of guides

● Government taxes

Join us for a wonderful holiday in one of the Europe’s most wonderful corners—Naples in Italy if you want to have a nice time in a beautiful small quiet place. The ancient Romans called the city “happy land” with attractive coastline，colorful towns，splendid views and the warm Mediterranean Sea. Your best choice for a truly memorable holiday!

Choose between the peaceful traditional villages of Sant’ Agata,setting on a hillside six miles away from Sorrento，or the more lively and well-known international resort town of Sorrento，with wonderful views over the Bay of Naples.

Breathtaking scenery,famous sights and European restaurants everywhere. From the mysterious Isle of Capri to the hunting ruins of Pompeii，and from the unforgettable“Amalfi Drive” to the delightful resorts(度假胜地) of Positano,

Sorrento and Ravello,the area is a feast for the eyes！Join us，and you won’t be disappointed!

Price based on two tourists sharing a double room at the Hotel Nice. A single room，another￥2,000.A group of ten college students，￥10,000 for each.

Like to know more？Telephone Newmarket Air Holidays Ltd. on：0845 -226 -7788(All calls charge at local rates)．

One form of social prejudice against older people is the belief that they cannot understand or use modern technology. Activities like playing computer games, going on the Net and downloading MP3s are only for the youngsters. Isn’t it unfair that older people enjoying a computer game should be frowned（皱眉）upon by their children and grandchildren?

Nowadays older people have more control over their lives and they play a full part in society. Moreover, better health care has left more people in their sixties and seventies feeling fit and active after retirement. Mental activity, as well as physical exercise, can contribute to better health. Playing computer games is a very effective way of exercising the brain.

When personal computers were first introduced, most older people didn’t believe they would ever familiarize themselves with it. Now computers have been around for a few generations and retired people have gradually become more relaxed about using them for fun. Gamers over 65 prefer playing puzzle games and card games. Kate Stevens, aged 72, says: “I find it very relaxing. It’s not very demanding, but you still need to concentrate.”

Another development that has favored “grey games” is a change in the type of video games available on the market. There’s a greater variety of games to choose from, including more intellectual and complex strategy（策略）and simulation（模拟）games. Internet Chess and Train Simulator are among the most popular of these. Train Simulator is based on real-world rail activities. Players can choose from a variety of challengers, such as keeping to a strict-timetable and using helper engines during a winter storm.

Some people argue that “grey gamers” simply don’t have the skills required for computer games, and that teenagers are better. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Most computer games require the kind of analytical thinking that improves with practice, which means that the “grey gamers: may well be far better than gamers half a century younger than them. In games where speed is the main consideration, older people would be at a disadvantage because they may have slower reaction time. On the other hand, “grey gamers” have a preference for shower paced, mind challenging games.

Annie is a smart young lady who comes from a wealthy and famous family. She has been admitted to a good university and owns everything that money can buy. Well, almost everything. The trouble is that her family are too busy to afford time to be with her. In fact, Annie is so lonely that she spends a lot of time on her QQ. She likes to communicate with people who know little about her famous family and life. She uses the name Betty on QQ and has made a lot of friends who she keeps in touch with quite often.

Last year Annie made a very special friend on QQ. His name was Tonny and lived in New York. Tonny was full of stories and jokes. They had common interest in rock music and modern dance. So it always took them hours to talk happily on QQ and sometimes they even forgot their time. Of course, they wanted to know more about each other. Tonny sent a picture of himself: He was a tall handsome young man with a big, happy smile. As time went by, they became good friends and often sent cards and small things to each other.

When Annie’s father told her that he was going on a business trip to New York, she asked him to let her go with him so that she could give Tonny a surprise for his birthday. She would take him the latest DVD of their favorite rock singer. But when she knocked on Tonny’s door in New York, she found that her special friend was a twelve-year-old boy named Tim!

It’s nothing new that you can find many files or services you can download or use from the Internet. The question is：is downloading legal（合法的） or not？In most cases the answer is “No”，because sharing and downloading are illegal. Of course，you can find files for legal downloading，but you have to pay for them.

It seems innocent（无辜的） if you click on the download mark，but it isn’t. It should be compared with stealing in a store. Would you steal a magazine，an mp3 player or a car? Downloading from the Internet is a theft，and sharing files，once you have stolen them，only makes it worse. For example, if everybody only downloaded，movies wouldn’t make money and the studios wouldn’t invest millions of dollars to make new ones.

Many people may think it better，easier and cheaper to do downloading. I think，that is the main reason why Internet users prefer sharing something to buying them. In the modern world we love convenience and what could be more convenient than getting music，films and games without having to leave your house？You don’t need to pay for what you get，there is no registration，and you don’t have to wait until the shops open or the CD/DVD you want is posted to you. However，you could be in big trouble if you are caught. You could go to prison as a result of acting unlawfully，but so far only a tiny amount of people have been charged（指控） for downloading illegally. The majority of people who download illegally，and use the files for their personal use，will not get into trouble. And that’s why it’s important for people to understand what the long--term consequences are if they don’t want to pay for their music，films and TV. Will film and music companies still spend millions of pounds every year if they have no chance of making a profit？The answer is plainly “no”．

Finally I would like to say that the Internet offers a lot of services for money，but people will always try to get them for free. To summarize my thoughts I’d like to highlight that illegal downloading is both unfair towards producers and dangerous for those who practise this kind of activity. You have to decide whether to buy or download.