The Greatest Show on Earth The Olympic Games are the greatest festival of sport in the world. Every four years, a hundred or more countries send their best sportsmen to compete for the highest honors in sport. As many as 6, 000 people take part in over 20 sports. For the winners, there are gold medals and glory. But there is honor, too, for all who compete, win or lose. That is the spirit of the Olympics—to take part is what matters. The Olympic Games always start in a bright color and action. The teams of all the nations parade in the opening ceremony and march round the track. The custom is for the Greek team to march in first. For it was in Greece that the Olympics began. The team of the country where the Games are being held—the host country—marches in last. The runner with the Olympic torch then enters the stadium and lights the flame. A sportsman from the host country takes the Olympic oath on behalf of all the competitors. The judges and officials also take an oath. After the sportsmen march out of the stadium, the host country puts on a wonderful display. The competitions begin the next day. There are usually more than twenty sports in the Games. The rule is that there must be at least fifteen. The main events are in track and field, but it is a few days before these sports start. Each day the competitors take part in a different sport—riding, shooting, swimming, and crosscountry running. Points are gained for each event. Medals are awarded for the individual winners and for national teams. More and more women are taking part in the games. They first competed in 1900, in tennis and golf, which are no longer held in the Olympics. Women’s swimming events were introduced in 1912. But it was not until 1928 that there were any track and field events for women. Now, they compete in all but half a dozen of the sports. In horse riding, shooting, and boat racing, they may compete in the same events as the men.

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How to Get Along Well With Your Boss 1 Before you argue with your boss, check with the boss’ s secretary to determine his mood. If he ate nails for breakfast, it is not a good idea to ask him for something. Even without the boss’ s secretary, there are keys to timing don’ t approach the boss when he’ s on deadline, don’ t go in right before lunch, when he is apt to be distracted and rushed, don’t go in just before or after he has taken a vacation. 2 If you’ re mad, that will only make your boss mad. Calm down first. And don’ t let a particular concern open the floodgates for all your accumulated frustration. The boss will feel that you think negatively about the company and it is hopeless trying to change your mind. Then maybe he will dismiss you. 3 Terrible disputes can result when neither the employer nor the employee knows what is the problem the other wants to discuss. Sometimes the fight will go away when the issues are made clear. The employee has to get his point across clearly in order to make the boss understand it. 4 Your boss has enough on his mind without your adding more. If you can’ t put forward an immediate solution, at least suggest how to approach the problem. People who frequently present problems without solutions to their bosses may soon find they can’t get past the secretary. 5 To deal effectively with a boss, it’ s important to consider his goals and pressures. If you can put yourself in the position of being a partner to the boss, then he will be naturally more inclined to work with you to achieve your goals. A. Keep Your Voice Low All the Time B. Put Yourself in the Boss’ s Position C. Propose Your Solution D. Don’ t Go in When You Are Angry E. Make the Issue Clear F. Never Give In

The Greatest Show on Earth The Olympic Games are the greatest festival of sport in the world. Every four years, a hundred or more countries send their best sportsmen to compete for the highest honors in sport. As many as 6, 000 people take part in over 20 sports. For the winners, there are gold medals and glory. But there is honor, too, for all who compete, win or lose. That is the spirit of the Olympics—to take part is what matters. The Olympic Games always start in a bright color and action. The teams of all the nations parade in the opening ceremony and march round the track. The custom is for the Greek team to march in first. For it was in Greece that the Olympics began. The team of the country where the Games are being held—the host country—marches in last. The runner with the Olympic torch then enters the stadium and lights the flame. A sportsman from the host country takes the Olympic oath on behalf of all the competitors. The judges and officials also take an oath. After the sportsmen march out of the stadium, the host country puts on a wonderful display. The competitions begin the next day. There are usually more than twenty sports in the Games. The rule is that there must be at least fifteen. The main events are in track and field, but it is a few days before these sports start. Each day the competitors take part in a different sport—riding, shooting, swimming, and crosscountry running. Points are gained for each event. Medals are awarded for the individual winners and for national teams. More and more women are taking part in the games. They first competed in 1900, in tennis and golf, which are no longer held in the Olympics. Women’s swimming events were introduced in 1912. But it was not until 1928 that there were any track and field events for women. Now, they compete in all but half a dozen of the sports. In horse riding, shooting, and boat racing, they may compete in the same events as the men.

The Ideal Husband Science now might be able to explain women’ s fascination with Brad Pitt’ s face and George Clooney’ s eyes. Women seem to【C1】______potential mate by how masculine their features are, new research shows. Men with square jaws and well-defined brow ridges(轮廓清晰的眉骨)are seen as good short-term partners, 【C2】______those with more feminine traits such as a rounder face and fuller lips are perceived as better long-term mates. In the study by Daniel Kruger at the US’ s University of Michigan, 854 subjects viewed a series of 【C3】______head shots that had been digitally changed to exaggerate or minimize masculine traits(男性特征). They then【C4】______questions about how they expected the men in the photos to behave. Most participants said that those with more masculine features were【C5】______to be risky, competitive , and more apt to fight, challenge bosses, cheat on spouses and put less effort into parenting. Those with more feminine【C6】______were seen as good parents and husbands, hard workers and emotionally supportive mates. But, despite all the negative characteristics, when asked who they would choose for a short-term relationship, women selected the more masculine【C7】______men. Brad and George, both chiseled jaws and well-defined brows, then would be good for a【C8】______romance, not for something longer. The study was published in the December issue of the US journal Personal Relationships. Kruger said that from an evolutionary perspective, this【C9】______sense. The key is testosterone(睾丸激素), the hormone(荷尔蒙)responsible 【C10】______the development of masculine facial features and other sexual characteristics. It has been found to affect the body’ s ability to fight disease: men with high levels of the hormone are typically【C11】______and healthy traits women want to pass on to their children. However, increased testosterone has also been linked to【C12】______and violence in relationships. So, these men【C13】______produce high quality offspring, but they don’t always make great parents or faithful mates, Kruger says. The scientific community(学术界)have【C14】______skepticism toward physiognomy(观相术), which links facial characteristics to certain behavioral traits. But Kruger argues that the research is a valuable tool for understanding mating strategies. And, of course, for explaining why Tony Leung and Takeshi Kanesshiro have millions of female【C15】______. It might have to do with their genes. Or something to do with ours.

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The Fat Problem That Men Face It is a pleasure to see men of a certain age worrying about their weight. Listening to them is not such a pleasure. Because the men are new at the game, they don’t hesitate to discuss the fat problem incessantly. However women of the same age do not discuss the fat problem, especially not in mixed company. They prefer to face the problem with quiet dignity. Discussing the problem might only draw attention to some stray body part that may be successfully tucked away under an article of clothing. The age at which a man begins to explore the fat problem can vary. The actual problem can manifest itself in the early 30’ s, but broad-range discussion usually starts later. There are early nonverbal symptoms. I’ve watched the rugged journalist who shares my apartment sneak by with a Diet Coke. His shirts are no longer neatly tucked in to display a trim waist. Recently he has begun to verbalize his anxiety. He tells me, with a sheepish grin, that he is taking his suits to Chinatown to have them “tailored“. Still older men have lost their dignity and rattle on unabashedly. Often wives and children play important roles in their fat-inspection rituals. Take my oldest brother, a former college football player. His daughter says that several times a day he will stand at attention and call out, “Fat, medium or thin?“ She knows the correct answer: medium. Thin would be an obvious stretch, and fat may not get her that new video. According to his wife, he stands in front of the mirror in the morning(before the day’ s meals take their toll), puts his hands behind his head and lurches into a side bend, then clutches the roll that has developed and says, “am I getting fatter?“ His wife is expected to answer, “you look like you may have lost a few pounds“. And then there are the ex-husbands a pitiful group. They are extremely vocal. When I go to the movies with one, he confides that he is suffering from great hunger because he is dieting. He hasn’ t eaten since the pancakes and sausages he wolfed down that morning. He pauses in his monologue while he buys his popcorn. After the movie, we sprint to a restaurant, where he again pauses to devour a basket of bread. Before he orders his chaste salad and soup, he grows plaintive. Do I think he’s fat?

Obesity Causes Global Warming The list of ills attributable to obesity keeps growing. Last week, obese people were accused of causing global warming. This conclusion comes from Sheldon Jacobson of the University of Illinois, US, and a doctoral student, Laura McLay. Their study calculates how much extra gasoline is needed to haul fat Americans around. The answer, they say, is a billion gallons of gas per year.【B1】______ There has been calls for taxes on junk food in recent years.【B2】______“We tax cigarettes partly because of their health cost, “ Schmidt said. “ Similarly, leading a lazy lifestyle will end up costing taxpayers more. “ US political scientist Eric Oliver said his first instinct was to laugh at these gas and fast food arguments. But such claims are getting attention. At the US Obesity Society’ s annual meeting, one person correlated obesity with car accident deaths, and another correlated obesity with suicides.【B3】______“The funny thing was that everyone took it seriously, “ Oliver said. In a 1960s study, children were shown drawings of children with disabilities and without them, and a drawing of an obese child. They were asked which they would want for a friend? 【B4】______ Three researchers recently repeated the study using college students. Once again, almost no one, not even obese people, liked the obese person. “Obesity was stigmatized, “the researchers said. But, researchers say, getting thin is not like quitting smoking. People struggle to stop smoking, and, in the end, many succeed. Obesity is different. But, not because obese people don’ t care.【B5】______ Genes also play a part. A. A meager diet may keep you thin. B. It means an extra 11 million tons of carbon dioxide. C. The obese child was picked last. D. US economist Martin Schmidt suggests a tax on fast food delivered to people’ s car. E. Science has shown that they have limited personal control over their weight. F. No one asked whether there was really a cause-and-effect relationship.

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Which of the following is a long-established practice in the opening ceremony?

Who takes the Olympic oath?

What are the most important events in the Olympic Games?

When did women start taking part in the Olympic Games?

Why is there honor for the losers as well as for the winners?