Famousresorts(度假胜地)ontheearth

Maldives

Maldives is famed as the last paradise(乐园) on the earth. It's made up of more than 1,800 coral islands, spreading over a sea area of about 90,000 square kilometres on the Indian Ocean. People in Maldives believe in Islam. They must observe the religious rules strictly. However, tourists don't need to follow these customs inside hotels, but they must do as the locals when they enter the community of the local people.

Jeju Island

Jeju Island, also known as the “Island of the Gods”, is the biggest island of Korea. It is a volcanic island with a pleasant climate. Its yearly average temperature is 16℃, which makes it the most attractive vacation stop in North-east Asia. It has gained a fame as a shopping paradise. Here all the luxury(奢侈品) brands are free of duty. Every summer thousands of tourists come here to look for the gods, enjoy the coolness of the gentle sea breeze and buy cheap luxuries.

Phuket Island

Phuket Island, the biggest island of Thailand, is called a pearl on the Indian Ocean. It is world-famous for its beautiful beaches. Some are quiet and tourist-friendly, and some are as luxurious as personal vacation beaches. Some are famous for sea sports, and some are attractive to lovers of evening entertainments. Therefore, you'll have a good time here whether you're single or accompanied by your friends.

Hayman Island

Hayman Island, a secret vacation island, is one of the coral islands that make up the Great Barrier Reef. Every year thousands of tourists come here to admire the beauty of the tropic sea and the charming scene of the Great Barrier Reef. However, they seldom see any waiters or waitresses around as they work in and travel through a special tunnel(地下通道). This is why it's called the most secret resort.

With kids increasingly attached to their iPads, phones, and laptops how can we get them to read more books? It's easier than you think. In Michigan a barbershop is doing its part to encourage kids to read. Here's how it works: when children get their haircut at the Fuller Cut and read a book aloud to their barber during their haircut they get a $2 discount on the cut. Yes, it really is that simple: read your book aloud and you get a discount.

Griffin, who has been cutting hair at the Fuller Cut for twenty years, started the Read to Your Barber programme. He told the local media that parents love it, while the kids like getting the two dollars back—and that the two dollars often goes directly into the kids' pockets. Griffin says teachers love the initiative (创意)—they say that it does so much for the kids during the school year, for the Fuller Cut serves a diverse community with the books featuring positive images of African-Americans, which could be an astronaut, an athlete, or a writer.

This isn't the first barbershop to do this, though; Griffin said that he first read about a similar literacy (识字) programme in Harlem. Once he got the OK from his boss, the father of three began bringing his own books into the shop and soon people in the area began donating books. Griffin said, “And that's just how it started. It wasn't anything grand. I just wanted to be responsible.”

While the initiative has attracted new costumers to the barbershop, the best part, according to Griffin, is that little kids who don't know how to read watch the older kids—and then pick up a book for themselves. “When a kid thinks it's cool to read, that's a gift,” says Griffin. “If we can get kids to come back to the Fuller Cut as adults in college and they tell us, ‘Because you guys had us read here, it made me want to be a writer or journalist,’that's really the end goal.”

BEIJING, March 14 -- The language spoken by the Li ethnic group in the southernmost Chinese province of Hainan is now threatened with extinction due to the prevalence of putonghua, the standard and official Chinese language, experts have warned.

No more than 500,000 among the 1 million Li people in Hainan can speak authentic Li language or dialect, according to experts with the Hainan Provincial Committee of China Association for Promoting Democracy, which is mainly composed of intellectuals working in the fields of culture, education, publication and science.

Li dialect, a language unique to the island province, is also the most unique language in the Zhuang-Dong branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The latest studies show that it has a close relationship with languages of Malay in Malaysia, Tagalog in the Philippines, and Gaoshan dialect in China's island province Taiwan.

Research into the dialect will be of great help to study the immigration history of Hainan people, and their relationship with other ethnic groups in Southeast Asian nations, experts said.

Experts with the committee suggested linguists fully study the Li language by recording existing folk tales and songs of the ethnic group.

They also advised the local government to set up a special task force and allocate special funds to preserve the endangered Li dialect.

The Li people, together with the Zhuang, Bouyei, Dong and Dai ethnic groups, can trace their origins back to the ancient "Yue" people who inhabited the areas which are now South China's Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Yue people moved to the Hainan Island and became the Li ethnic group. However, the Li people's language is different from that spoken by other descendants of the Yue people, who live in other parts of the country. A written form for the Li language was worked out in 1957.

AWL is well known for its dictionaries and English language teaching materials. Some readers have written in to ask us for the latest information on high quality books on English, so here we introduce two texts that aim to improve spoken English fluency. 

Let’s Speak (Beginner)

By Bev Dusuya, Naoko Ozeki and Kevin Bergman

ISBN: 962001359X

Speak Up (Pre Intermediate)

By Kev Kusuya, Nako Zeki

ISBN: 058222805O

“Teach the students about your culture and help them talk about their own.” How often are these worthy goals kept from being achieved by the limitations of your beginner level learners? Students at all levels want to talk about culture. 

Topics include food, shopping, sports, fashion, the roles of men and women health, music and others. 

These are all chosen from surveys of over 15, 000 students about their own interests in cross cultural communication. 

“Let’s Speak” and “Speak Up” share a special but excellent way that allows all students to take part in. 

The series has questions which start thinking and help collect opinions about personal topics. Conversation practice is provided by using models of basic exchanges on the topic. Also, the cultural information presented in the series comes in the form of interesting, relevant facts and ideas from other countries through listening tasks and Culture Quiz exercises. 

“Let’s Speak” is fit for entry level students of all ages. “Speak Up” provides for the needs of higher level beginners, offering the same careful listening and speaking help, but with slightly more open ended discussion. 

For any information about AWL’s books, please get in touch with the following address:

Beijing Addison Wesley Longman Information Center

Room 2306, FLTRY Beijing

19Xi San Huan Beilu, Beijing 100081

Tel: (010) 68917488  (010) 68917788ext 2306

Fax: (010) 68917499

Email: zrh@public. Bat. Net. Cn

Which of the following is not mentioned about the two books in the passage? ______

How to Make a Budget（预算）

Most likely, you aren’t the family breadwinner. But doing a small job or getting a weekly allowance would put some money in your pocket. For kids and grown-ups alike, money is easy to spend. If you aren’t careful, it can be gone in no time.

Being responsible with your money is an important skill to learn－and the sooner you start the better. Whether you are tracking your spending or saving for something special, creating a budget can help you deal with your expenses and plan for the future. All you need are paper and a pencil－and some self-control.

First, take a look at our sample monthly budget. Then, use a separate sheet of paper to plan your own. In the first two columns, list your sources of income and how much you expect to earn form them. In the third and fourth columns, list what you expect to spend your money on and the amount.

The left-hand total should be more than or equal to the right-hand total. If it is, you have an effective budget.

Budgets are not complex, but sticking to them can be tough. When planning your budget, be realistic about your expenses. If you know that you drop $ 18 at a movie, don’t write $ 12 in that space simply because you wish you were spending less.

If you are eyeing a big purchase, such as a $ 150 skateboard, spend less and save more until you have the total amount. No matter how attractive it may be, avoid spending your savings. One day, you will thank yourself?

Long March(长征)exhibition

The Shanghai History Museum is putting on an exhibition to remember the Long March which took place 75 years ago. More than 220 photos and 40 other things are on show. All the exhibition is explained in Chinese. The show will end on November 20.

Time:10：00 a. m．－4：00 p．m.

Address:1286 Hongqiao Road

Ticket:8 yuan for Chinese/15 yuan for foreigners

Thai elephants

Eight elephants from Thailand are an attraction for visitors at Changfeng Park by riding bikes, playing basketball, dancing and blowing a musical instrument. The elephants give three shows a day at 9：30 a．m., 3：30 p．m. and 8：00 p．m, and there is an extra show at 1：30 p．m. at weekends. The show will end on November 15.

Address:189 Daduhe Road

Ticket:30－40 yuan

Dancing dolphins

Dolphins jumping from the water to touch a ball, dancing to music, kissing people and doing easy math problems, and seals and sea lions, also performing, have made a large part of the aquarium in Peace Park, which interests children greatly.

Time:10：30 a．m., 4：00 p．m., and 7：30 p．m.

Ticket:20 yuan for adults and 10 yuan for children