Legal Age for Marriage(1997)Throughout the United States,the legal age for marriage shows some difference./The most com mon age without parents’consent is18for both females and males./However,persons who are under age in their home state can get married in another state,and then return to the home stat e legally married./Each state issues its own marriage license./Both residents and non-residents a re qualified for such a license./The fees and ceremonies vary greatly from state to state./Most st ates,for instance,have a blood test requirement,but a few do not./Most states permit either a c ivil or religious ceremony,but a few require the ceremony to be religious./In most states a waitin g period is required before the license is issued./This period is from one to five days depending o n the state./A three-day-wait is the most common.In some states there is no required waiting p eriod.The Railways in Britain(1998)The success of early railways,such as the lines between big cities,/led to a great increase in railw ay building in Victorian times./Between1835and1865about25000kilometers of track were bu ilt,/and over100railway companies were created./Railway travel transformed people's lives./Trains were first designed to carry goods./However, a law in the19th century forced railway companies to run one cheap train a day/which stopped at every station and cost only a penny a mile./Soon working class passengers found they could a fford to travel by rail./Cheap day excursion trains became popular and seaside resorts grew rapi dly./The railways also provided thousands of new jobs:/building carriages,running the railways and repairing the tracks./Railways even changed the time./The need to run the railways on tim e meant that local time was abolished/and clocks showed the same time all over the country./ United Nations Day(1999)The24th of October is celebrated as United Nations Day./it is a day that belongs to everyone./A nd it is celebrated in most countries of the world./Some countries celebrate for a week instead o f a day./In many parts of the world,schools have special programs for the day./Boys and girls in s ome communities decorate a UN tree./In other communities,young people put on plays about t he UN./Some libraries exhibit children’s art works from around the world./Schools celebrate wit h the songs and dances of other countries/or give parties where foods of other countries are ser ved./No matter how the day is celebrated,/the purpose of these celebrations is to help everyon e understand the UN,/and the important roles it plays in world affairs./The UN encourages peop le to learn about other lands and their customs./In this way,people can gain a better understand ing and appreciation of peoples all over the world./What We Know About Language(2000)Many things about language are a mystery and will remain so./However,we now do know something about it./First,we know that all human beings have a language of some sort./No hu man race anywhere on earth is so backward/that it has no language of its own at all./Second,th ere is no such thing as a primitive language./There are many peoples whose cultures are undevel oped/but the languages they speak are by no means primitive./In all the languages existing in th e world today,/there are complexities that must have been developed for years./Third,we know that all languages are perfectly adequate./Each is a perfect means of expressing its culture./An d finally,we know that language changes over time,/which is natural and normal if a language is to survive./The language which remains unchanged is nothing but dead./ Characteristics of a Good Reader(2001) To improve your reading habits,/you must understand the characteristics of a good reader./First,the good reader usually reads rapidly./Of course,he does not read every piece of material at the same rate./But whether he is reading a newspaper/or a chapter in a physics text,/his re ading rate is relatively fast./He has learned to read for ideas/rather than words one at a time./N ext,the good reader can recognize/and understand general ideas and specific details./Thus he is able to comprehend the material/with a minimum of effort and a maximum of interest./Finally, the good reader has in his command/several special skills,/which he can apply to reading proble ms/as they occur./For the college student,/the most helpful of these skills/include making use of the various aids to understanding/that most text books provide/and skim-reading for a gener al survey./Disappearing Forests(2002)The world’s forests are disappearing./As much as1/3of the total tree cover/has been lost since agriculture began some10,000years ago./The remaining forests are home to half/of the world’s species,/thus becoming the chief resource for their survival./Tropical rain forests once co vered12%of the land of the planet,/as well as supporting at least half of the world’s species of p lants and animals./These rain forests are home to millions of people./But there are other deman ds on them./For example,much has been cut for timber./An increasing amount of forest land/ha s been used for industrial purposes/or for agricultural development/such as crop-growing./By t he1990’s less than half of the earth’s original rain forests remained,/and theycontinued to disappear at an alarming rate every year./As a result the world’s forests are now facing gradual extinction.Salmon(2003)Every year,millions of salmon swim from the ocean into the mouths of rivers and then steadily up the rivers./Passing through waters,around rocks and waterfalls,/the fish finally reach their origi nal streams or lakes./They dig out nests in the riverbed and lay their eggs./Then,exhausted by their journey,/the parent salmon die./They have finished the task that nature has given them./M onths,or years later,/the young fish start their trip to the ocean./They live in the salt water from 2-7years,/until they,too are ready to swim back to reproduce./Their life cycle helps man provid e himself with a basic food-fish./When the adult salmon gather at the river mouths for the annu al trip up the rivers,/they are in the best possible condition,/and nearly every harbor has its sal mon fishing fleet ready to catch thousands for markets.Money(2004)Money is accepted across the world as payment for goods or services./People use money to buy food,clothes and hundreds of other things./In the past,many different things were used as mo ney./People on Pacific islands once exchanged shells for goods./The Chinese used cloth and kni ves./In Africa,elephant tusks or salt were used./Even today,some people in Africa are still paid in salt./Coins were first invented by the Chinese./originally,they were round pieces of metal wit h a hole in the center,/so that a piece of string could keep them together./This made doing busi ness much easier,/but people still found coins inconvenient to carry/when they wanted to buy s omething expensive./To solve this problem,the Chinese again came up with the solution./They began to use paper money for coins./Now paper notes are used throughout the world. The Wrist Watch（2005）It is generally believed that wrist watches are an exception/to the normal sequence in the evolut ion of man's jewelry./Reversing the usual order,they were first worn by women,/and then ado pted by men./In the old days,queens included wrist watches among their crown jewelry./Later, they were worn by Swiss workers and farmers./Until World War I,Americans associated the wat ch with fortune hunters./Then army officers discovered that the wrist watch was most practical f or active combat./Race car drivers also loved to wear wrist watches,/and pilots found them mo st useful while flying./Soon men dared to wear wrist watches without feeling self-conscious./By 1924,some30percent of man's watches were worn on the wrist./Today,the figure is90percen t./And they are now worn by both men and women/for practical purposesrather than for decor ation.The Internet(2006)The Internet is the most significant progress in the field of communications./Imagine a book that never ends,a library with a million floors,/or imagine a research project with thousands of scien tists/working around the clock forever./This is the magic of the Internet./Yet the Internet has t he potential for good and bad./One can find well-organized,information-rich websites./At the s ame time,one can also find wasteful websites./Most websites are known as different Internet a pplications./These include online games,chat rooms(chatrooms)and so on./These application s have great power,too./Sometimes the power can be so great/that young people may easily become victims to their attraction./So we need to recognize the seriousness of the problem./We must work together to use its power for better ends.2007AdvertisingAdvertising has already become a very specialized activity in modern times./In today's business world,supply is usually greater than demand./There is great competition between manufacturer s of the same kind of product,/because they want to persuade customers to buy their particular brand./They always have to remind their customers/of the name and the qualities of their produ cts by advertising./The manufacturer advertises in newspapers and on the radio;/he sometimes employs sales girls to distribute samples of his products;/he sometimes advertises on the interne t as well./In addition,he always has advertisements put into television programs that will accept them./Manufacturers often spend huge sums of money on advertisements./We buy a particular product because we think that's the best./We usually think so because the advertisements say s o,/people often don’t ask themselves if the advertisements are telling the truth,/when they buy advertised products from the shops.2008Choosing a CareerWhen students graduate from college,/many of them do not know how they want to spend their working lives/and they sometimes move from job to job,/until they find something that suits th em/and of equally importance to which they are suited./Others never find a job in which they ar e really happy./They remain all their lives square pegs in round holes./When we choose our care ers,we need to ask ourselves two questions./First,what do we think we would like to be?/Secon d,what kind of people are we?/The idea,for example of being a painter or a musician may seem very attractive,/but unless we have great talent,and are willing to work very hard./We are certai n to fail in these occupations/and failure will lead to unhappiness in life./So it is important to ass ess our suitability for a certain career in job search./2009New Year’s EveFor many people in the west,New Year’s Eve is the biggest party of the year./It’s time to get toge ther with friends or family/and welcome in the coming year./New Year’s parties can take place i n different places./Some people hold a house party;others attend street parties,/while some jus t go for a few drinks with their friends./Big cities have large and spectacular fireworks displays./T here is one thing that all New Year’s Eve parties have in common,/the countdown to midnight./ When the clock strikes12,people give a loud cheer and sing songs./It’s also popular to make a pr omise in the New Year./This is called a New Year’s resolution./Typical resolutions include giving u p smoking and keeping fit./However the promise is often broken quite quickly/and people are b ack into their bad habits within weeks or days./2010Freshmen’s'WeekBritain has a well-respected higher education system/and some of the top universities and resea rch institutions in the world./But to those who are new to this system,it can sometimes be conf using./October is usually the busiest month in the academic calendar./Universities have somet hing called Freshmen's Week for their newcomers./It's a great opportunity to make new friends, /join lots of clubs and settle into university life./However,having just left the comfort of home a nd all your friends behind,/the prospect of meeting strangers in classrooms and dormitories can be worrying./Where do you start?And who should you make friends with?/Which clubs and so ciety should you join?/Luckily,there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you./They worry about starting their university social life on the right foot./So just take it all in slowly./Don' t rush into anything that you'll regret for the next three years/British holiday habits2011In the late1970s,air travel became affordable for the average family in the UK,and more people started travelling aboard for their summer holidays.After all,the British weather wasn’t very goo d even in summer.So a lot of people left the country for a vacation.In the1980s and the1990s,y oung people in the UK become well-fare on average.As a result,they started to go aboard in grou ps to places such as Spain and Greece.Once they arrived at their destination,they met with othe r groups of young people and had one long party.British holidaying habits have begun to change, however.Climate change means that the UK now has a hotter climate.So people do not need to go overseas to find good weather.Also,going aboard is more expensive.As a result,more British people are choosing to spend their summer holidays in the UK.Ecotourism2012Nowadays many of us try to live in a way that will damage the environment as little as possible. We recycle our newspapers and bottles;we take public transport to get to work;and we try to bu y locally produced fruit and vegetables.And we want to take these attitudes on holiday with us.T his is why alternative forms of tourism are becoming popular in the world.There are lots of name s for these new forms of tourism:responsible tourism,nature tourism,adventure tourism,educat ional tourism and more.Although everyone may have a different definition,most people agree th at these new forms of tourism should do the following:first,they should conserve the wildlife an d culture of the area;second,they should benefit the local people;third,they should make a prof it without destroying natural resources;and finally they should provide an experience that tourist s want to pay for.What are dreams for2013One theory is that we dream to release the deep, secret desires. We do not express these desires in real life because of the rules of polite society. Another theory is that dreams allow us to solve problems that we can’t solve in real life. We go to sleep with a problem and wake up with the solution. This may be a way to use our dreams rather than a purpose of dreaming. If you believe that your dreams are important then analyzing them may help you to focus on the problem and help you to find the solution.The modern image is that dreams are the brain’s way of cleaning up the computer’s hard disk. Dreams organize the events of the day into folders and delete what is not needed. But we all know that very little of what we dream is concerned with what happened to us that day.Limiting the growth of technology2014 Throughout history,man has changed his physical environment to improve his way of life.//With the tools of technology,//man has altered many physical features of the earth.//He has transfor med woodland into farmland.//He has modified the face of the earth//by cutting through moun tains to build roads and railways.//However,these changes in the physical environment//have n ot always had beneficial results.//Today,pollution of the air and water is a danger to the health of the planet.//Each day,thousands of tons of gases come out of the vehicles.//Smoke from fac tories pollutes the air of industrialized areas and the surrounding countryside.//The air in cities i s becoming increasingly unhealthy.//The pollution of water is equally harmful.//In the sea,poll ution from oil is killing a lot of sea plants and fish.//It is now necessary for man to limit the growt h of technology in order to survive on earth.//。