In America, square dancing has been the most popular form of folk dancing since the early days. In early times, when men and women worked in groups to build a barn or harvest crops, they danced when the work was done. The music came from the violin for the most part, but if there was no one to play a musical instrument, clapping was used to produce the rhythm to which people dance. The early settlers danced in a store, in a barn, or in a farm kitchen. A square is formed by four couples who stand facing the centre of the square. Each couple stand on one side of the square, the boy on the left and the girl on the right. The caller is an important part of the dance, since he tells the dancers which steps to do. If the dancers do not know the steps, he teaches them. It takes time to learn to be a good caller, and good callers are always in demand . These are the names of some of the steps the dancers do: Form a square; Circle; Honour your partner; Swing your partner; Form a star. There are many more. As the callers tell the dancers what to do next, they move to form the pattern he calls. Large or small numbers of people can dance at one time. Sometimes 800 or 1,000 people may be dancing at the same time. Or there may be only one square of eight people. Special clothes are worn by some when dancing. This makes the dance more colourful to watch. The special clothes are different from place to place. Women often wear full skirts of various colours with a pretty blouse. Men have coloured shirts and western trousers that they wear only when square dancing. In some country areas, everyone wears his best clothes. Today in some parts of the United States you will find some schools, clubs, or groups square dancing for fun. For what purpose do the American men and women dance? A) For money. B) To lose weight. C) For fun. D) To show their beautiful clothes.
C
Are there fastest ways to lose weight? Yes, there are! This is no magic trick or miracle. It just needs sensible actions. *Drink water No, you don't have to fill up like a tub, but ensure that you drink 8 to 10 glasses of water every day. Don't substitute for juice. With adequate water intake your body will be able to metabolize fat more effectively. And if you have a glass of water 10-15 minutes before your meal, you will feel full once you start eating. Another fun fact, did you know that you can lose 62 calories by drinking ice cold water? *Eat 5 times a day Start with breakfast. The more you eat for breakfast, the less food you will want to eat at night. Please don't skip this meal as you'll end up swallowing everything in sight for the rest of the day. You don't need to gobble up 5 large meals. Eat sensibly so your body doesn't crave for food. *Use weights Needless to say, exercise is crucial to weight loss. You can't expect to sit on the sofa all day, sip water and lose weight. Join a good gym that lets you work with _ It will help you build muscle and your metabolism rate will increase. You'll soon see the fat come off and in its place muscle will develop. *Smaller bowls It's better to substitute the huge bowls you usually use for small ones - when food starts to fall off, you'll know it's enough. Try to get these new bowls in dark colors. Dark blue will be your best choice since it is the number one color that fights off the appetite. Avoid red/orange/yellow colors in your dining area - they are the ones making your appetite go sky high. *Read between lines Food and drink products are all out to get you. They scream "Buy me! Buy me!" They could be "fat free" but they could still have a lot of calories. You need to analyze the nutrition label on the cover. Find out what's good for you and what isn't. Knowing in advance can help you stay away from products that are calorie-enriched. *Don't punish yourself Go easy on yourself at least one day in a week. If you begin to dislike your diet then there's... In order to lose weight quickly, you can do the following except _ . A) drinking juice instead of water B) working with weights to build muscle C) buying products that are not calorie-enriched D) eating proper amount of food
A
Strange it may sound, this is a true story about a lesson of honesty happening between a lucky thief and a worthy professor. Once a thief won a lottery ticket but left it at his crime scene when he stole a suitcase from a professor. To his great surprise, his victim, who picked up the ticket and took the prize money of PS25 000, managed to get in touch with him in order to return him the case. The robbery took place when John Smith, a math professor was changing a tyre on the motorway. The thief happened to pass by. He appeared to be a warm-hearted guy and stopped "to help". When the professor found his suitcase in the car missing, the thief had driven off as fast as he could. The professor picked up the dropped ticket on the floor and put it in his pocket before driving home. John Smith didn't realize it was a winner until he knew the lottery results on TV. He got the prize money and _ . At last,he decided not to keep the money although he just had been robbed of his suitcase by the owner of the ticket. He set out to advertise in newspapers and on radio for finding the owner, " Don't be surprised that I'm trying to find the man who robbed me in order to returned him the PS25 000--a lottery win. Please meet me without telling me your real name if you don't want to. ". Later John received tens of hundreds of calls from people around the country trying to trick him into handing them the cash. But he didn't arrange to meet the right person in the park until he recognized the voice. The robber, was moved into tears when he returned the suitcase. "Why didn't you keep the money?"he asked, not believing what was happening. The honest professor replied simply, "Because it's not mine." With these words, he walked off, _ the thief's offer of a reward. Hundreds of people phoned the professor because they _ . A) lost their lottery ticket B) hoped to take the money C) knew who the robber was D) wanted to make fun of him
B