【推荐1】Finances (经济) were low for many months after the Strike (罢工) .Mama decided to rent (出租) the front room Mr. Hyde called in answer to the "Roomer for Rent" sign in the window.

Mr. Hyde didn’t seem to have any regular hours of business, but he always spoke pleasantly(愉快地) to the children, and whenever he passed Mama in the hall he bowed (鞠躬) to her.

Only Aunt Jenny disagreed "When," she asked, "is he going to pay his rent?”

"ls hard,” Mama said, "to ask. Surely he will pay soon."

When the rainy weather came, Mama worried that Mr. Hyde's room was cold in the evenings, so she had Papa invite him into the warm kitchen to sit with us. Christine, Nels, and I did our homework under the big lamp, and Papa and Mr. Hyde smoked by the stove. Mams worked quietly at the sink

Mr. Hyde advised Nels on his high-school courses and sometimes helped him with his Latin. Nels became interested, his grades improved, and he stopped begging Papa to let him quit school and go to work. After we finished our schoolwork and Mama had settled down in the rocking chair with her mending, Mr. Hyde would tell us of his travels and adventures.

One night he began to read Dickens to us. Soon it became an accepted fact that after our homework was done, Mr. Hyde would bring down one of his bocks and read aloud. And strange new worlds were opened to us. After David Copperfield 《大卫科波菲尔》 and The Old Curiosity Shop《老古玩店》, Mr. Hyde gave us Shakespeare (莎士比亚). He had a fine deep voice and sounded as we imagined a great actor would sound.

Even when the warm weather came, we children don't beg to go out in the evenings to play. I think Mama was glad; she never liked us running the streets.

"I must go," he told Mama. "I shall leave the books for Nels and the Children. Here is my check for all I owe(欠) you, madam. and my sincere thanks for your hospitality(热情好客).” We were sorry to see Mr. Hyde leave, but it was with great excitement that we brought his books out to the kitchen. There were so many of them!

It was too bad that Aunt Jenny was still there when Mr. Kruper came. He was angry. “That man Hyde was a crook (骗子) !” he shouted. "Look at this check he gave me It's no good! The bank people tell me he cashed them all over the neighbourhood."

Aunt Jenny's triumphant (得意的) nod said as plainly as word—I told you so. Mama looked around at all of us. Her eyes rested longest on Nels. "Read," she told him, "read to us from Ivanhoe 《艾凡赫》.

【推荐2】Recently I’ve had two good roles on television. But when I was just getting started in theater work 17 years ago, I never thought I’d make it. Back then I was recovering from surgery and had been off work for six months. Even worse, as a single mother with three youngsters, I had no place to live in. I felt hopeless.

One Sunday morning I saw actor Robert Young on the television talking about his faith: Believe yourself! If we confidently take that first step, well take the next, until we reach our goal.

The first step was scary. After I went working part-time, I looked for an apartment. The ones I saw were either too expensive, or I couldn’t raise my children in them. I knew a house, not an apartment, was more suitable for me. However, after seeing several houses, my confidence was shaken. I found two seemed right, but when I was about to make an offer, someone else had ordered.

I remembered a saying, “When one door closes, a better one opens.” I wouldn’t just sit staring at the closed one but got up and struggled on. In a real estate (房地产) agent, I found a small house with proper price. To buy it, I had to borrow $ 3,000 for a down payment and get a mortgage (按揭). Common sense argued that a mortgage for a single mother working part-time was impossible. But I had enough self-confidence without following common sense.

After getting the house, my new self-confidence grew. Later , when I began filling small parts in television productions, that self-confidence showed. I'd always played the role as the director wanted. Now I find myself freer to interpret (演绎) it.

Self-confidence has made it through life. Trouble can be scary at first, but each time I take that step, I believe I will win the next.

【推荐1】Obviously television has both advantages and disadvantages.

In the first place, television is not only a convenient source of entertainment, but also a comparatively cheap one. With a TV set in the family people don't have to pay for expensive seats at the theatre, the cinema, or the opera. All they have to do is to push a button or turn a switch, and they can see plays, films, operas and shows of every kind. Some people, however, think that this is where the danger lies. The television viewers need do nothing. He does not even have to use his legs if he has a remote control. He makes no choice and exercises, no judgment. He is completely passive and has everything presented to him without any effort in his part.

Television, it is often said, keeps one informed about current events and the latest developments in science and politics. The most distant countries and the strangest customs are brought right into one's sitting room. It could be argued that the radio performs this service as well; but on television everything is much more living, much more real. Yet here again there is a danger. The television screen itself has a terrible, almost physical harm for us. We get so used to looking at the movements on it, so dependent on its pictures, that it begins to control our lives. People are often heard to say that their television sets have broken down and that they have suddenly found that they have far more time to do things and that they have actually begin to talk to each other again. It makes one think, doesn't it?

There are many other arguments for and against television. We must realize that television itself is neither good nor bad. It is the uses that it is put to that determine its value to the society.

【推荐3】Science and technology have advanced at such a rate that cloning has now become a reality. The possibility of cloning humans is a serious issue(争论点) and raises ethical(伦理的) questions. In my opinion, cloning is useful for research into cures for disease. However, I think that it needs to be approached with caution and carefully monitored by governments.

Research into cloning and stem(严格的) cell production is primarily aimed at finding new treatments for currently incurable illnesses. While this would improve the quality of life for many, not enough is understood about what effects cloning would have on the world in the future. This is primarily because we do not understand enough about the results of cloning and both the physical and psychological effects that it is likely to have on cloned humans and on the rest of the world. Furthermore, it is thought that a cloned human would be unlikely to survive birth and would suffer from complications(并发症) resulting from malformed(畸形) organs .

There are also serious ethical issues in danger. In essence(在本质上), those who are against cloning would argue that scientists have no right to play God and to interfere(干扰)with natural processes. Producing embryos for the purpose of harvesting stem cells for research presents important questions about the nature and status of the embryo being produced. It may also make us question whether throwing it away after use reduces the value we place on human life.

In conclusion, I do not agree that research into cloning using human embryos should continue. This is not only because it may reduce the value we place on human life, but also because not enough is known about the effects.However, I do think that if there is a way to produce stem cells using cloning which does not put human life at risk, then governments should continue to support it.