A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps.One should always live in the best company，whether it is of books or of men.

       A good book may be among the best of friends.It is the most patient and cheerful of companions.It always receives us with the same kindness，amusing and instructing us in youth， and comforting us in age.

       Men often discover their similarity to each other by the common love they have for a book just as two people sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third.There is an old proverb，“Love me，love my dog.” But there is more wisdom in this：“Love me，love my book.” The book is a truer and higher bond (纽带) of union.Men can think，feel，and sympathize with each other through their favorite author.They_live_in_him_together ， and_he_in_them.

A good book is often the best container of a life preserving the best that life could think out，for the world of a man's life is，for the most part，the world of his thoughts.Thus the best books are treasures of good words and the golden thoughts，which become our steady companions and comforters.

Books are by far the most lasting products of human effort.Temples and statues decay (腐朽)，but good books survive.Time is of no account with great thoughts，which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author's minds ages ago.

     The great and good do not die，even in this world.Preserved in books，their spirits walked abroad.The book is a living voice.It is an intellect (智者) to which one still listens.

       Talking plants might sound like characters in a fairy tale.But recent scientific studies have shown that plants communicate with each other and with other living things in a surprising number of ways.To understand them，scientists say，we just have to learn their language.Farmers are especially interested in what plants have to say.

   “Plants are able to communicate with all sorts of organisms (有机体)．They can communicate with giant bacteria，with other plants and with insects.They do this chemically，” said Cahill，an Ecology Professor of the University of Alberta in Canada.

Plant scientists are just beginning to understand this chemical “language”．Cahill says studies have shown，for example，that plants can evaluate conditions in their immediate environment and take appropriate actions.Plants have an ability，for example，to signal pain or discomfort caused by anything from temperature extremes to an insect attack.Jack Schultz，a professor of chemical ecology at the University of Missouri，says when a plant senses that it's being eaten，it cannot walk away from trouble；on the contrary，it will release a chemical vapor that alerts other plants nearby.

    “Their language is a chemical language，and it involves chemicals that move through the air that are easy to be changeable，and most of all are smells that we are familiar with，” Schultz explained.

    “All plants responded to the attack by changing their chemistry to defend themselves，” Schultz recalled.“But we were quite surprised to find that nearby plants also changed their chemistry to defend themselves，even though they were not part of the experiment.”

      Studies have also shown that plants under attack release pleasant chemicals.Those chemicals attract friendly insects that attack the pests eating the plant.

In the end，plants' ability to communicate their needs—and our ability to understand them—could help farmers reduce the use of poisonous chemicals，cut operating costs and limit damage to the environment.

— ________．                                                                       

       Oxford University has introduced confidence classes for female students to get them to compete for jobs in future and win chances to work in best companies.

       They may be young and gifted, but research at the excellent institution has found that female undergraduates(大学生)are shying away from applying for jobs in banking, finance, management consultancy(咨询), engineering and resource management. Partly as a result, starting salaries for women when they graduate are on average ￡2，000 to ￡3，000 lower than their male counterparts.

    “Women are earning less on leaving Oxford.It is ridiculous，”said Jonathan Black, the careers service director at the university.“We have high quality and high achieving students of both genders.But it appears that women are selecting lower paid jobs. They accept more prejudice in certain industries and are saying 'I won't struggle for that really high paid job'. We are not trying to push loads of women but we are trying to say, you should feel able to apply for these sorts of jobs.Boys seem to have more self­confidence and see the bigger picture generally, even though their self­belief is not necessarily based on any greater academic advantage.”

       The four­day programme at Oxford will help 45 female undergraduates improve their self­confidence and decision­making, think positively and build up their strengths. Confidence training will teach them how to deal with the opposition and challenging situations.

       Successful female employees from RBS and BP, which are supporting the course, will talk about their lives and careers. RBS's involvement follows a promise by the bank to increase its national percentage of female graduate applications from 35 percent to 50 percent by 2014.

       Sophie Kelley, 20, studying law at Oxford, is hoping the course will make her more confident in courses and interviews.“I am applying to London's law firms for vacation schemes and it is so competitive，”she said.“The rejection letters don't give any real feedback(反馈), so I'm expecting the programme might give me a hand and some advice.”

Notes：

①institution n ． 社会公共机构，制度，制定　②counterpart n ． 与对方地位、作用相当的人(或物)　③gender n ． 性别　④prejudice n ． 偏见，成见

★  Many children like to eat snacks ineveryday life, and some of them even have snacks during dinner. To maintain thenormal meals and stay healthy, it is necessary to regularly eat snacks forchildren in their spare time.

★Prepare healthy snacks in advance. When you make somethingyourself，youget to control the ingredients(原料)and put in what's good for you! You can also keep plenty of fresh fruit andvegetables at home to take on the go.Keep the servings in bags in the fridge, ready to grab and go.

★

Makeit a habit to store some fruit, whole­grain crackers, or baby carrots in yourbackpack so you always have some healthy food nearby. Half a cheese sandwichalso makes a great snack to have on standby (备用)．

★ 

Healthysnacking doesn't have to be boring as long as you give yourself a variety ofchoices.

Whole­wheatbiscuits with peanut butter or low­fat fruit yogurt are healthy, tasty, andeasy.

★Satisfy cravings (渴望)with healthier approaches.

 An 8­ounce mug of hot chocolate has only 140calories and 3 grams of fat. A chocolate bar, on the other hand, has 230calories and 13 grams of fat.

Eveningscan be a tempting time to have sugary, fatty snacks. If you're really feelinghungry, don't ignore it. Instead, pick the right snacks to fill the hunger gap.Whole­wheat bread, rice cakes, or popcorn can do the trick, so can fruit pairedwith cheese or yogurt.

A．Make it interesting.

B．Keep healthy snacks with you.

C．Read serving size information.

D．Cut up melons or vegetables inadvance.

E．Here are some ways to make healthysnacking part of your daily routine.

F．If you like to do some cooking aboutsnacks, you can follow the following ways.

G．If you're crazy for chocolate, try ahot chocolate drink instead of a chocolate bar.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

   Echo,my favorite teacher, is a pretty and slim lady. When she talks to us, she always has a smile on his face. I think Echo is gifted teacher because she hasa lot of good teach methods. Her classes are so full of funs that you will never feel bored. To improve our grades, she usually gave us some advice on how to learn English well . What's more, she spends much her time helping her students instead of staying with her family. Sometimes, she hardly has any timeto have the lunch. Whenever I ask her questions, she will spare no effort to make me understood, with patience or care. I have never seen so a good teacheras her before.