I'm usually fairly skeptical about any research that concludes that people are either happier on unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago. While any of there statements might be true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically. Still, I was struck by a report which concluded that today's children are significantly more anxious than children in the 1950. In fact, the analysis showed, normal children ages 9 to 17 exhibit a higher level of anxiety today than children who were treated for mental illness 50 years ago.
    Why are America's kids so stressed? The report cites two main causes: increasing physical isolation -- brought on by high divorce rates and less involvement in community, among other things -- and a growing perception that the world is a more dangerous place.
    Given that we can't turn the clock back, adults can still do plenty to help the next generation cope. At the top of the list is nurturing (培育) a better appreciation of the limits of individualism. No child is an island. Strengthening social ties helps build communities and protect individuals against stress.
    To help kids build stronger connections with others, you can pull the plug on TVs and computers. Your family will thank you later. They will have more time for face-to-face relationships, and they will get more sleep.
    Limit the amount of viral (虚拟的) violence your children are exposed to. It's not just radio games and movies; children see a lot of murder and crime on the local news.
 Keep your expectations for your children reasonable. Many highly successful people never attended Harvard or Yale.
    Make exercise part of your daily routine. It will help you cope with your own anxieties and provide a good model for your kids. Sometimes anxiety is unavoidable. But it doesn't have to ruin your life.

    It is easier to negotiate initial salary requirement because once you are inside, the organizational constraints(约束) influence wage increases. One thing, however, is certain: your chances of getting the raise you feel you deserve are less if you don't at least ask for it. Men tend to ask for more, and they get more, and this holds true with other resources, not just pay increases. Consider Beth's story:
    I did not get what I wanted when I did not ask for it. We had cubicle(小隔间) offices and window offices. I sat in the cubicles with several male colleagues. One by one they were moved into window offices, while I remained in the cubicles. Several males who were hired after me also went to offices. One in particular told me he was next in line for an office and that it had been part of his negotiations for the job. I guess they thought me content to stay in the cubicles since I did not voice my opinion either way.
    It would be nice if we all received automatic pay increases equal to our merit, but “nice” isn’t a quality attributed to most organizations. If you feel you deserve a significant raise in pay, you’ll probably have to ask for it.
    Performance is your best bargaining chip(筹码) when you are seeking a raise. You must be able to demonstrate that you deserve a raise. Timing is also a good bargaining chip. If you can give your boss something he or she needs (a new client or a sizable contract, for example) just before merit pay decisions are being made, you are more likely to get the raise you want. Use information as a bargaining chip too. Find out what you are worth on the open market. What will someone else pay for your services?
    Go into the negotiations prepared to place your chips on the table at the appropriate time and prepared to use communication style to guide the direction of the interaction.

    When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions dating back to Grandma’s generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes and silver, and the dress code will be Sunday-best.
    But in many other homes, this china-and-silver elegance has given way to a stoneware (粗陶)–and-stainless informality, with dresses assuming an equally casual-Friday look. For hosts and guests, the change means greater simplicity and comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hare times
    Last week Royal Doulton, the largest employer in Stoke-on-Trent, announced that it is eliminating 1,000 jots – one-fifth of its total workforce, That brings to more than 4,000 the number of positions lost in 18 months in the pottery (陶瓷) region. Wedgwood and other pottery factories made cuts earlier.
    Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing, the layoffs in Stoke have their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that the company “has been somewhat slow in catching up with the trend”" toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or they eat in front of television. Even dinner parties, if they happen at all, have gone casual. In a time of long work hours and demanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it's better to share a takeout pizza on paper plates in the family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a “real” dinner party. Too often, the perfect moment never comes. Iron a fine-patterned tablecloth? Forget it. Polish the silver? Who has time?
    Yet the loss of formality has its down side. The fine points of etiquette (礼节) that children might once have learned at the table by observation or instruction from parents and grandparents (“Chew with your mouth closed.” “Keep your elbows off the table.”) must be picked up elsewhere. Some companies now offer etiquette seminars for employees who may be competent professionally but clueless socially.

    Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.
    Located on the shore of Sullivan’s Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane (飓风) Hugo 10 years ago. In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.
    Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina’s shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement of building codes wasn’t strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. In Hugo’s wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house on Sullivan’s Island should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour.
    At first sight, the house on Sullivan's Island looks anything but hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble "a large party lantern ( 灯笼 )" at night, according to one observer. But looks can be deceiving. The house's wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods to give it extra strength.
    To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings -- long, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also elevate the house above storm surges. The pilings allow the surges to run under the house instead of running into it. "These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings," said Huff.
    Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house's ground-to-roof shell. "The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn't look like it's standing with its pant legs pulled up," said Huff. In the event of a storm surge, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.

    It’s an annual back-to-school routine. One morning you wave goodbye, and that (1) _______ evening you’re burning the late-night oil in sympathy. In the race to improve educational standards, (2) _______ are throwing the books at kids. (3) _______ elementary school students are complaining of homework (4) _______. What’s a well-meaning parent to do?
    As hard as (5) _______ may be, sit back and chill experts advise. Though you’ve got to get them to do it, (6) _______ helping too much, or even examining (7) _______ too carefully, you may keep them (8) _______ doing it by themselves. “I wouldn’t advise a parent to check every (9) _______ assignment,” says psychologist John Rosemond, author of Ending the Tough Homework. There’s a (10) _______ of appreciation for trial and error. Let your children (11) _______ the grade they deserve.
    Many experts believe parents should gently look over the work of younger children and ask them to rethink their (12) _______. But “you don’t want them to feel it has to be (13) _______." she says.
    That’s not to say parents should (14) _______ homework -- first, they should monitor how much homework their kids (15) _______. Thirty minutes a day in the early elementary years and an hour in (16) _______ four, five, and six is standard, says Rosemond. For junior-high students it should be “(17) _______ more than a hour and a half,” and two for high school students. If your child (18) _______ has more homework than this, you may want to check (19) _______ other parents and then talk to the teacher about (20) _______ assignments.

Directions: for this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter in reply to a friend’s inquiry about applying for admission to your college or university. You should write at least 120 words according to the outline given below in Chinese :
(1) 建议报考的专业及理由；
(2) 报考该专业的基本条件；
(3) 应当如何备考。

A Letter of Reply to a Friend

December 27th, 2003

Dear ××,