1．
Laws
Before laws were written, there was no sure way of knowing what was permitted and what was forbidden. One judge might apply one set of rules to a case while another judge might apply completely different rules to a similar case. It all depended on the personal judgment of one person. Today we follow the custom of recording our laws. Rules passed by our lawmakers are printed and available for everyone to see. Unless laws are publicly available, we do not regard them as binding. Each of us is subject to many different sets of laws. Some laws say what is permitted, such as how fast you may drive. Other laws say what is required, such as paying a federal income tax. Still other laws say what is prohibited, such as smoking in elevators. In the United States, federal laws apply to everyone and state laws apply to activities within each state.
2．
Stress
As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is essential to a healthy mind and body. Stress is a natural part of everyday life. In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation. It is only when the stress get out of
control that it can lead to poor performance. The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, others lose heart at the first signs of unusual difficulties. Since we cannot remove stress from our lives, we need to find ways to deal with it.
3 The family fulfills a number of roles, such as providing education and recreational activities. Yet, there are several major functions performed by the family. First, unlike the young of animals, human infants need constant care and economic securities. In all cultures, the family assumes ultimate responsibility for he protection of children. Second, parents monitor a child’s behavior and tranmist the values and language of a culture to the child. Third, ideally, the family provides members with warm and intimate relationships and helps them to feel satisfied and secure. Unilike other institutions, the family is oblidged to serve the emotional needs of its members. Finally, family resources affect children’s ability to pursue certain opportunities such as higher education and specialized study. It is apparent, then, that the family has been assigned at least four vital functins wihtin human societies.
4 TV Ratings
Children in the United States watch from one to five hours of television every day. Tha's a lot of television! Teachers and parents don't like a lot of children's relevision programs. They think a lot of these programs are not suitable for children. For this reason, every television program in America has a rating. The ratings tell paretns about the program. Parents can check the ratings in the
neswpaper and this gives parents a choice. TV-G programs are suitable for all ages, and families watch them together. TV-Y programs are suitable for children 2-6, and they don't frighten children. TV-PG programs are suitable for some children, but they can frighten children. Some parents watch these programs with their chidlren. Then, they can answer their children's questions. TV-14 programs are suitalbe for children 14 and older. TV_MA programs are for adults, 17 and older. They are not suitable for children.
5
Stock Exchange
Another key finacial institution in the money market is the stock exchange. The stock exchange makes a market through stockbrokers. In the United State the market is made by specialists who are wholesalers of stocks and shares. They hold a \"float \" of shares at any time, and daily prices are set as they mark prices down and as they balance shares offered with shares demanded. Stock exchange transactions occur within a complex network of law, government regulations, and the internal rules of the individual governing bodies. Stock markets throughout the world have become increasingly institutionalized in the last 30 years. Although small savings have expanded greatly, they have in general been used to boost the great growth in personal insurance and pensions. Hence the main supply of funds to the stock market is now through insurance compainies, pension funds, private universities and other institutional fund sources.
6
The story of tea
Tea remained unknown to the western world until the sixteenth century, when European explorers who traveled to Chain and other Far Eastern countries returned with a host of new foods, spices and beverages. Very soon a thriving commerce in China teas was established. In 1826 the Dutch established plantations on Java, followed some ten years later by British, who set up tea estates in India. The production of tea has since spread rapidly. Tea is made form the leaves of an evergreen tropical and subtropical plant. Black tea is produced by first allowing tea leaves to wither. The leaves are fed through rolling machines to release the juices. The rolled tea leaves are then placed in extremely humid room and left to ferment. Fermentation is stopped by drying the leases over fires on pans, trays or baskets, a process that also seals in their final flavor.
7
College life
When students leave for college at an age 17 or 18, many of them have never been away from home and their family. The transition to greater freedom and responsiblility may be difficult for them,with no oine to wake them up for breakfast or do their laundry and fewer classes to attend but larger amounts of homework..Some students don’t adjust succeessfully. In the United States, where
almost 70% of high school graduates enter college, only a minority of these actually graduate. College has many sociual attarctions, some of which can be distractions. Sports, concerts and parties can be very time-consuming. The temptation to stay up too late at night is always present, so self-discipline is an important lesson to learn. In addition, many students have part-time jobs,especucally in the US where most students have cars and are expected to help their parents pay for tuition or college housing.
8 .MP3 Player
Despite a cloud of conntroversy and litigation over the legality of some web music sites, online music files are apparently here to stay. Many of those files are transferred from computers to more than 3.5 million portable MP3 players, small as a walkabout radio, or even smaller. Music fans have already downloaded an estimated 5 million copies of software programs that play computer files. These files that use MP3 encoding currently are the predominant means of compressiong music foles online. Many MP3 players look much like portable radios. Other look like large pens or even watches. Inside each player is a computer chip and memory that can store and play compressed digital audio files and will sometimes store other computer files as well. Digital audio can be downloaded from various websites, played on the home computer itself, transferred to one of these players, or recorded onto CDs for permanent storage.
