Passengers have been told: if you want to get up to that kind of business, do it in the car park.
The sign has gone up at the drop-off point at Warrington Bank Quay station in the town of Warrington,
between Liverpool and Manchester in northwest England.
A similar sign, this time permitting kissing, has been put up elsewhere in an area where kissing is
considered bearable.
"We have not forbidden kissing in the station," said a spokesman for operators Virgin Rail.
"But we have put the sign up at the drop-off point because it is not a very big area and it often gets busy
with lots of traffic."
"The sign is a light-hearted way of getting people to move on quickly."
"If people wish to spend a little more time with their loved ones before they leave, then they should park
in the short-stay car park nearby."
However, one station is trying to rescue love from the tracks.
High Wycombe, northwest of London, is having none of it and is actively encouraging passengers to enjoy
it.
"Kissing is welcome here!... we would never dream of banning kissing," says a poster of a cartoon couple
embracing (拥抱), circled by a pink heart.
"Railway stations are romantic places," insisted Kirsteen Robertson from Chiltern Railways.
"They are where fond farewells (告别) take place, where relationships start with a glance and even, in the
case of our Marylebone station last November, where one passenger will suggest to another over the public
address system."
"So our passengers are more than welcome to share a kiss in our stations."
B. avoid the crowdedness of the station
C. advise passengers to slow down
D. let passengers share a kiss at the station
B. the station welcomes it
C. the station considers it unbearable
D. the station forbids it
B. fond farewells are not allowed at the station
C. it"s better to go to the car park to stay with lovers
D. signs at Warrington Bank Quay station are useful
I work at a supermarket, and another girl and I share tasks we must finish before leaving. But she takes
half an hour to do something I can do in ten minutes. She always has a story to tell me and stops working
when she does. My boss is angry at both of us, but it"s not my fault. I don"t want to rat on her, but what
else can I do?
Flustered
Dear Flustered,
Let me propose a better way. Make a log of all the tasks you share, then suggest to your boss that for
efficiency your duties could be divided into two separate checklists. If he"s reluctant, go to plan B: the next
time this girl starts telling you a story, stop working to listen and call your boss over to hear what a great
storyteller she is. I"m sure he"ll take it from there.
Aunty
Dear Aunty,
I"m a college student in the Philippines who wants to be wise with money. I"m not an economics or
business major student and I don"t know anything about stocks. But I really want to buy assets and invest.
I receive about 15,000 pesos every school term from my educational plan. I don"t have any idea how I should
spend it. I don"t want to just buy new clothes, or hang out with my friends because it would not be wise. I
want my money to grow. Please enlighten me.
Fastbreakplay
Dear Fastbreakplay,
Being wise with money is the No. 1 thing to learn. Start with a disciplined and systematic savings plan.
When your savings reach a sizeable amount, then you may start investing. In the meantime, invest in yourself
by reading up on stock markets and capital markets. Follow the news. Before I started investing during my
senior high school years, I had already studied stock market data of the past century as I believe markets tend
to repeat themselves. If you master this skill, you will master your reading of the markets.
Aunty
B. invite the boss to listen to the girl
C. stop working or do other things
D. report to the boss on time
B. become an expert on stocks
C. get ways to grow money
D. study economics as his major
B. have a savings plan
C. study stock markets
D. master market reading
B. a name of a columnist
C. a famous singer
D. a lady in the community
Sunday, October 5
Clear, 69°F
My wife, Eleanor, and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and
guide. And the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way.
Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept.
After the other passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into
downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses.
Monday, October 5
Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69°F
We spent about two hours in Nancy, then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind of a lazy day.
Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, after dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat. Where we will visit tomorrow.
It was pleasant to sit out on deck (甲板) and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph.
Monday, October 7
Light rain, 64°F
This mourning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum and the church, which has this
unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lost of shopping, then walked across the
bridge to see a very, very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows.
We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down the eastern side Later we drove to
Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Marc Chagall-
24 feet wide by 40 feet high.
Wednesday, Ocrober 8
Cloudy.65 °F
Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went though two caves, an extremely unusual part
of the journey. This river scenery is very different. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side
and a forest beginning to show some color on the other.
Thursday, Ocrober 9
Cloudy, 66°F
Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their
separate ways. Our boating days are over until next time.
B. Strasbourg
C. Nancy
D. Barn
B. Tuesday and Wednesday
C. Wednesday and Wednesday
D. Monday and Wednesday
B. churches
C. museums
D. mountains
B. Expensive
C. Enjoyable
D. Quick
study. For men, getting married saves an hour of housework a week. "It"s a well-known pattern," said lead
researcher Frank Stafford at University of Michigan"s Institute for Social Research. "Men usually work more
outside the home, while women take on more of the housework."
He points out that differences among households (家庭) exist. But in general, marriage means more
housework for women and less for men. "And the situation gets worse for women when they have children,"
Stafford said.
Overall, times are changing in the American home. In 1976, women busied themselves with 26 weekly
hours of sweeping-and-dusting work, compared with 17 hours in 2005. Men are taking on more housework,
more than doubling their housework hours from six in 1976 to 13 in 2005.
Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework, about 12 weekly hours, while married women
in their 60s and 70s did the most-about 21 hours a week.
Men showed a somewhat different pattern, with older men picking up the broom more often than younger
men. Single men worked the hardest around the house, more than that of all other age groups of married men.
Having children increases housework even further. With more than three children, for example, wives took
on more of the extra work, clocking about 28 hours a week compared with husbands"10 hours.
B. does more housework
C. is the main breadwinner
D. is the master of the house
B. About 26.
C. About 13.
D. About 6.
B. An older married man.
C. A younger married man.
D. A married man with children.
B. Marriage has effects on job choices.
C. Housework sharing changes over time.
D. Having children means doubled housework.
"Two full inches in the first three days!"
These are the kinds of statements used in magazine, newspaper, radio and television ads, promising new
shapes and new looks to those who buy the medicine or the device. The promoters of products say they can
shape the legs, slim the face, smooth wrinkles, or in some other way to beauty or desirability.
Often such products are nothing more than money-making things for their promoter. The re they produce
are questionable, and some are dangerous to health.
To understand how these products can be legally promoted to the public, it is necessary? Understand
something of the laws covering their regulation. If the product is a drug, FDA (Food Drug Administration)
can require proof (证明) under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that safe and effective before it is put on
the market. But if the product is a device, FDA. has no author to require premarketing proof of safety or
effectiveness. If a product already on the marker danger to health, FDA. can request the producer or distributor
to remove it from the a voluntarily, or it can take legal action,including seizure (查封) of the product.
One notable case a few years ago involved an electrical device called the Relaxacisor, had been sold for
reducing the waistline. The Relaxacisor produced electrical shocks to the through contact pads. FDA. took
legal action against the distributor to stop the sale of the grounds that it was dangerous to health and life.
Obviously, most of the devices on the maker have never been the subject of court proceedings (法律诉
讼), and new devices appear continually. Before buying, it is up to the consumer to the safety or effectiveness
of such items.
B. costly
C. unreliable
D. illegal
B. New products are more likely to be questionable.
C. The production of a device must be approved by FDA.
D. The promoters usually just care about profits.
B. if it is a device
C. if its consumers make complaints
D. if its distributors challenge FDA"s authority
B. a product whose distributor was involved in a legal case
C. a successful advertisement of a beauty product
D. an example of a quality beauty product
B. show the weakness of the law on product safety
C. give advice on how to keep young and beautiful
D. introduce the organization of FDA.
of us, once we become adults, forget how to 2 it. Creativity isn"t always 3 with great works of art or ideas.
People at work and in their free time 4 think of creative ways to solve problems. Maybe you have a goal to
achieve, a tricky question to answer or you just want to expand your mind! Here are three techniques to help
you.
Making connections This technique involves taking 5 ideas and trying to find links between them. First,
think about the problem you have to solve or the job you need to do. Then find an image, word, idea or object,
for example, a candle. Write down all the idea/words 6 with candles: light, fire, matches, wax, night, silence,
etc. Think of as many as you can. The next stage is to relate the 7 to the job you have to do. So imagine you
want to but a friend an original 8 ; you could buy him tickets to match or take him out for the night.
NO limits! Imagine that normal limitations don"t 9 . You have as much time/space/money, etc. as you
want. Think about your goal and the new 10 . If your goal is to learn to ski, 11 , you can now practise skiing
every day of your life (because you have the time and the money). Now 12 this to reality. Maybe you can
practise skiing ever day in December, or every Monday in January.
Be someone else! Look at the situation from a 13 point of view. Good businessmen use this technique in
trade, and so do writes. Fiction writers often imagine they are the 14 in their books. They ask question: What
does this character want? Why can"t she get it? What changes must she make to get what she wants? If your
goal involves other people, put yourself in their 15 . The best fishermen think like fish!