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Unit 4

My Sister Liz

Some people are born lucky, some are not. And I believe my sister Liz falls into the first ca-tegory.

She has a beautiful smile which makes her popular among friends. When she does something bad, she smiles her smile and my parents are no longer angry. She eats a lot and never seems to get any fatter. Her favorite food is hamburger, French fries, and ice cream. She does not study hard but always gets good grades. After school she does her homework in five minutes while watching elevision at the same time. Once she went to a party until very late, completely forgetting about an important exam the next day. For the first time she became quite worried. Early the next morning,however, an unexpected snowstorm forced the school to cancel class that day, and of course the exam was cancelled along with classes. Liz is just that sort of lucky person.

Unit 5

A Memorable Meeting

It all took place in Lancaster one evening long ago. I had been looking for somewhere to learn Aikido, a Japanese form of self-defence. So one night I found myself entering a church hall where I had heard lessons took place. It was empty apart from a small frail-looking old man. He wore a workman's overall and I guessed he was the caretaker of the hall. We got chatting and I asked if this was where the Aikido club met. \

And, sure enough, the members soon started to arrive. As they got changed, none, I noticed, wore the traditional black belt of the teacher. Who was it to be? Then he appeared. It was the same man I had earlier mistaken for the caretaker. Before long he was throwing around opponents twice his size with ease despite his age and slight build.

Over the years he taught me many lessons, but I shall never forget that first one —appearances are deceptive!

Unit 6

Animal Intelligence as I See It

Are animals intelligent? It's a difficult question to decide.

Take the case of my dog, Sam. Whenever he does something wrong, eats the chocolates we left on the table, for example, Sam will hide. He clearly knows he has done wrong and is likely to get shouted at for it. Usually we find him hiding under one of the beds. Unfortunately, being a rather large dog, he can never fit all of him under, and so you can see the back half of him sticking out. Now, is he stupid enough to think \can't see you, so you can't see me\Or is he smart enough to be thinking, \

That his tail is always wagging at such moments leads me to suspect the latter explanation is nearer the truth.

Unit 7

A Near Thing

One afternoon when I was nine, I arrived home from school and found my younger brother

lying in bed. \around a bit after school. \

I could leave him in bed and wait until mom and dad came home from work. But I remembered hearing people say that there was an epidemic in the city. The disease developed rapidly and could cause damage to one's brain if not treated timely. \asked myself. I decided not to leave it to chance. So I called a taxi to take us to a nearby hospital.

An hour later, my brother was sleeping in the isolation ward. The doctors there told my parents that if my brother had arrived at the hospital two hours later, the disease might have seriously dam aged his brain.

Unit 8

The Use of Computers in Schools

There are numerous benefits that flow from the use of computers in schools. Interest in a subject can be stimulated by sound and visual illustrations superior to \and students are given easy access to a wealth of reference material. Internet access offers the chance to communicate with other students around the world. Programmed learning tailored to the speed of individual students can be adopted. Computer skills such as programming can be developed.

There is, however, a negative side. There is the danger that computers encourage \copying without a real understanding of what is being said. Also, for many purposes traditional teacher-centred classrooms remain more effective than time spent working alone. And, of course, computers always offer the temptation to play games rather than getting down to difficult learning tasks.

On balance, however, the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages.