Living next to the Spellmans, our new neighbors, almost drove my mother crazy. If shewasn’t shaming them for not attending church, or complaining to her sister Jackie about theway the Spellman girls dressed, then she was shoeing the Spellman’s dogs out of our yard or filing noise complaints with the police, My mother had never been so busy.All she ever spoke of any more were the Spellmans and their wrongdoings.

One Sunday afternoon after church service, my mother was driving old Ms Parker home to her house on the hill when we got a flat tire. As far as changing the tire, let’s just say that we were at the mercy of the good Lord. Since old Ms. Parker lived so far up that hill, not a lot of traffic drove by us. It had been about fifteen minutes since the last car passed when we heard the rattling and puttering of an old pickup truck as it pulled over to assist us.

The Spellman boys ran up on our car like a NASCAR pit crew. Before my mother could even protest, they had taken the tire off. "Her spare is flat, " said the middle one to the big one. " Give her ours”replied the big one, barely acknowledging the sacrifice. My mother was stunned. "I don, t know what to say, "she stammered. The big one said, "Well, the Lord said love your neighbor, and we are neighbors, right?

The next day when the Spellman’s dogs went through my mother's flower garden, she put out a bowl of water for them. When she saw the Spellman girls walking out with nothing but a halter on, she lectured them about being upright ladies and offered them sweaters. And when she heard the Spellman's music through our walls, she tried to dance a little bit. She even invited the Spellmans to be part of the good neighbors committee. Now the neighborhood was a better place.

Ms. O'grady, the head of Britains Trades Union Congress, issued a challenge on September 10th. "We can win a four-day working week, "she told members. The demand is far from new. Shorter working weeks have been tried in New Zealand and Sweden, wherein happier, healthier and more motivated employees. Those who work shorter weeks are also reported to be more productive. Should weekends, therefore, be lengthened?

France’s experience suggests workers may not leap at the chance of working for fewer hours. The government reduced the full-time workers week to 35 hours in 2000. Last year the French worked 38.9 hours a week on average, seeming happy to labor above the required level and pocket the extra pay or holiday allowance.

And businesses may not seize the opportunity either. Working less may be linked to higher productivity (on a per-hour basis), but overall output could still fall because of the smaller number of hours worked. That will not get governments or employers excited.

Advocates of a four-day week could claim that improving people’s quality of life is more important than boosting the economy. In an essay published during The Great Depression,John Maynard Keynes wrote of an"age of leisure and abundance"in which technological advances would allow people to work 15-hour week.

Unfortunately for any readers working hard on a Friday aftemoon, Keynes jumped at his conclusion too soon. Even Ms. O'grady, now demanding a longer weekend, is pessimistic in her timescale. A four-day week is apparently achievable“in this century”.

Palaces are known for their beauty and splendor, but they offer little protection against attacks. It is easy to defend a fortress (堡垒),but fortresses are not designed with the comfort of a king or queen in mind. When it comes to structures that are both majestic and well-defended, the classic European castle is the best example of design. Across the ages castles changed, developed, and eventually fell out of use, but they still command the fascination of our culture.

Castles were originally built in England by Norman invaders. In 1066. As William the Conqueror advanced through England, he defended key positions to secure the land he had taken. The castles he built allowed the Norman lords to draw back to safety when threatened by English rebellion. Castles also served as bases of operation for offensive attacks. Troops were summoned to（召集）, organized around, and deployed (部署) from castles. In this way castles served both offensive and defensive roles in military operations.

Not limited to military purposes, castles also served as offices from which the lord would administer control over his kingdom. That is to say, the lord of the land would hold court in his castle. Those that were socially beneath the lord would come to report the affairs of the lands that they governed and pay tribute to the lord. They would address conflicts, handle business, feast, and enjoy festivities, In this way castles served as important social centers inmedieval England. Castles also served as symbols of power. Built on important and noticeable sites overlooking the surrounding areas, castles constantly appeared in the background of many peasants'lives and served as a daily reminder of the lords strength.

Now, castles no longer serve their original purposes. However, the remaining castles receive millions of visitors each year from those who wish to experience the glory of a time long passed.

Test anxiety is actually a type of performance anxiety-a feeling someone might have in a situation where performance really counts, It can be a real problem if you're so stressed out over a test that you can't get past the nervousness to focus on the test questions and do your best work.     11    

Use a little stress to your advantage.

Stress is a signal that helps you prepare for something important. So use it to your advantage. Instead of reacting to the stress with fear, take an active approach    12    Chances are that you' ll keep your stress under control. After all, nobody ever feels stressedout by thoughts that they might do well on a test

Ask for help.

Although a little test anxiety can be a good thing, too much of it is another story. If sitting for a test gets you so stressed out that your mind goes blank and causes you to miss answers that you know, then your level of test anxiety probably needs some attention.     13    Never let test anxiety get to be too much to handle

Be prepared.

Many students find that their test anxiety eases when they start to study better or more regularly. It makes sense-the more you know the material, the more confident you'll feel     14     When you expect to do well, you' ll be able to relax into a test after the normal first-moment nervousness passes.

Watch what you're thinking

If expecting to do well on a test can help you relax, what about if you expect you won’t do well? Watch out for any negative messages you might be sending yourself about the test.     15    

If you find yourself thinking negative thoughts( I’m never any good at taking tests" or It's going to be terrible if I do badly on this test "), replace them with positive messages. Not unrealistic positive messages, of course, but ones that are practical and true, such as"I’ve studied hard and I know the material, so I'm ready to do the best I can.”