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　　Reading is a good habit, but the problem is, there's too much to read these days, and too little time to read every word of it．There are hundreds of skills to help you read more in less time．Here are two skills that I think are especially good．

　　Preview--if it's long and hard．Previewing is especially useful for getting a general idea of heavy reading like long magazine articles and business reports．

　　Here's how to preview．

　　●Read the first two paragraphs and the last two paragraphs carefully．

　　●Then read only the first sentence of the other paragraphs．

　　Previewing doesn't give you all the details．It keeps you from spending time on things you don't really want--or need--to read．

　　Skim--if it's short and simple．Skimming is a good way to get a general idea of light reading --like popular magazines or the sports and entertainment of your daily paper．

　　Here's how to skim．

　　●Get your eyes to move fast．Sweep them across each line．

　　●Pick up only a few key words in each line．

　　Everybody skims differently．You and I may not pick up the same words when we skim the same piece, but we'll get a similar idea of what it's all about．

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　　Dinner customs(習(xí)慣)are different around the world．If you are a guest in Ghana(加納), this information will help you a lot．

　　In Ghana, dinner is usually from four in the afternoon to six in the evening．But there are no strict rules(規(guī)則)about time．Whenever a guest arrives, a family offers food．When you go to a home, the person who receives guests takes you to the living room first．At this time everyone welcomes you．Then you go to the dinning room．There you wash your hands in a bowl of water．All the food is on the table．

　　In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers．You eat from the same dish as everyone else．But you eat from one side of the dish only．It is not polite to get food from the other side of the dish．After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water．

　　Most meals in Ghana have a dish called fufu．People in Ghana make fufu from the powder(粉末)of some plants．Sometimes they cut the fufu with a saw(鋸子)because it is very hard．You must chew(咀嚼)fufu well, or you may get sick．You eat fufu with the fingers of your right hand only．

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　　One day Mrs Wilson went shopping with Tracy and Ben．They went to the supermarket in the new shopping center．

　　“Why do you buy things here?” Tracy wanted to know．

　　“Because they are cheaper here than at the corner store near our home．” Mrs Wilson said．“Help me check the prices, please．”

　　The wilsons were not rich and Mrs Wilson was always careful with her money．She looked carefully after the prices of things．She bought lots of things in the supermarket．When they got home, the children said, “We don't think you saved money by going to the supermarket．”

　　“Of course I did．” Mrs Wilson said．“Everything was cheaper there．” “We know,” the children said, “But we came home by taxi because we had too much to carry．The taxi fare was more than the money that you save．”

　　Mrs Wilson added everything up．Her children were right．

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　　Indonesia is my mother’s homeland and one of my favorite countries．Since I was young, I had learned a lot about the country and become interested in it．For a long time I had wanted to do something for the country and people there, and I thought volunteering would be a good and fun way to do so．

　　I received the greatest pleasure from being with the children．

　　Teaching my first English class in Aceh was exciting but I was rather nervous．As time passed by I learned how to be a better teacher．Teaching was actually the most enjoyable of my many　responsibilities(責(zé)任)．

　　Many children were shy at first．But when they relaxed, they would start talking and telling you a lot of funny things．I believe we were helping them build up their confidence．

　　For the children who are more in need, The Education Program(TEP)will collect donations from the public to help them．

　　As a volunteer, I had to visit the TEP children at home once a month and help them write a thank-you letter to their sponsors．This was a way for the children to communicate with their sponsors．Sometimes the sponsors would write back to the children．Seeing the children’s happy faces I had a great sense of pleasure．

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　　Bill Clinton was born in August in 1946．He took office on January 20th, 1993 and became the 42nd U．S．President(總統(tǒng))．He was the first president who was born after World War II(二戰(zhàn))in America．He was also one of the youngest presidents in the history of the USA．

　　Clinton was born in a poor(貧窮的)family．Three months before he was born, his father, William Blats, died(死)in a car accident(事故)．Then his mother married(嫁給)Norget Clinton, so the boy’s family name was changed(改變)．

　　In the summer of 1963, Clinton was asked to visit the city of Washington．During his visit, he met President Kennedy(肯尼迪)in the White House．At that time, he dreamed of becoming president．Thirty years later, his dream came true(實(shí)現(xiàn))！He was also one of the most successful presidents in America!

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　　It comes without warning．It destroys people’s bodies．It kills almost 5,000 people around the world every day．This is AIDS – one of the most dangerous human diseases on the Earth．

　　December 1 is World AIDS Day．This year’s theme is “Getting to Zero：zero new HIV infections(傳染), zero discrimination(歧視)and zero AIDS – related deaths”．

　　AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome(獲得性免疫缺陷綜合癥)．It is caused by HIV – a virus(病毒)．HIV travels in people’s blood and affects T cells(細(xì)胞), a type of cell that helps the body fight diseases．It may take years for the virus to harm enough T cells for the infected person to get sick and develop AIDS．

　　HIV and AIDS spreads through blood-to-blood contact, sharing needles or having blood transfusions．A mother with HIV can give the virus to her unborn baby．Unsafe sex can also spread AIDS．

　　Right now there is no cure(治療)for HIV or AIDS．However, new treatments can help people with the virus live longer．The “AIDS Cocktail(雞尾酒療法)”, uses several drugs mixed together like a cocktail．It can help people with HIV to live longer．

　　On World AIDS Day, people wear red ribbons to show they care about HIV and AIDS．American artists thought up the red ribbons in 1991．They chose red because it is bold and visible – symbolizing(象征)passion, a heart and love．

　　How much do you know about AIDS?

　　Q：Can you get AIDS from shaking hands with someone who has AIDS?

　　A：No．The HIV virus cannot live outside the human body．So social contact such as hugging(擁抱)or kissing an AIDS patient cannot give you AIDS, either．

　　Q：Can you get AIDS if mosquitoes(蚊子)bite(叮咬)you?

　　A：No．Mosquitoes do take blood from people but they do not exchange blood between people．

　　Q：If a dog bites someone with AIDS, and then bites you, can you catch AIDS?

　　A：No．AIDS only affects humans．Animals cannot catch this illness from people, and people cannot catch it from animals．

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　　Most of the people born after 1990 are still in school．But Singaporean pop girl group By2 has been working for more than three years．

　　Last month, the 19-year-old twin sisters released their fourth album 90’ Now．The songs, according to By2, show “the spirit of the 90’s generation(一代人)．”

　　Born in 1992, life for By2 is quite different from that of their peers(同齡人)．After winning a talent competition in 2007, the girls signed with a recording company and started to sing at 15．

　　The sisters had to give up their studies to realize their dream of becoming pop stars．Their success helps them support their family, since their father died of cancer in 2007．Some opportunities only knock once．

　　There is much more to be a singer than just singing．They had to leave home and work in Taiwan．They had to deal with different people．They were also faced with many misunderstandings．In fact, the sisters said they had hit a low point(陷入低谷)in life over the past two years．

　　“Maybe we were too young to take the sudden changes and challenges,” said By2．“We felt unsafe and we didn’t trust anyone．”

　　Fortunately it seems the dark time has gone．

　　“Bad things keep coming only if you keep thinking of them．Every young person could face the same problems; only we faced them earlier．” The joyful disco music in the new album tells of their attitude(態(tài)度)now, said By2．“The 90’s generation should not be afraid．Life is a long journey．We may seize(抓住)the moment．”

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　　Time changes when you travel．Strange things happen to time when you travel because the earth is divided into twenty-four time zones(時(shí)區(qū)), one hour a part．You can have das with more or fewer than twenty- four hours, and weeks with more or fewer than seven days．

　　If you make a five-day trip across the Atlantic Ocean, your ship enters a different day．As you enter each zone the time changes one hour．Traveling west, you set your clock back．Traveling east you set it ahead．Each day of your trip has either twenty-five or twenty-three hours．

　　If you travel by ship across the Pacific, you cross the international date line(國(guó)際日期變更線)．By agreement, this is the point where a new day begins．When you cross the line, you change your calendar one full day, backward or forward．Traveling east, today becomes yesterday．Traveling west, it is tomorrow．

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