country to another. Item four

The way you look at someone conveys important cultural messages. Without your even knowing it, your gaze speaks volumes. “The eyes are the window of the soul,” according to the old sayings. Staring is acceptable in some cultures but not in others. A wink can mean a compliment or an insult, depending on the cultures. A direct gaze can be a sign of honesty or an indication of disrespect and rudeness, according to the culture that surrounds the gazer. The way a person gazes thus expresses a strong message-but this message can be easily misunderstood if cultural norms are not shared. Item five

This time of the year Americans spend lots of time shopping for holiday gifts for their family members and friends. Many people visit a lot of stores in large shopping centers to buy their gifts. Others order goods by telephone from catalogues, the magazines that offer company’s products. And many are doing their holiday shopping on the Internet. Industry experts say American business should have about 184,000 million dollars in sales during November and December. 63% of people who use the Internet say they expect to buy at least some gifts there. Item six

IOC stands for International Olympic Committee, which governs the Olympics in general. It was founded in Paris on 23 June 1894. Its headquarters are in the Swiss city of Lausanne. Its official languages are English and French. IOC members come from five different continents-Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. They choose Olympic cities six years in advance. All the Olympic movement’s rules are contained in a book called The Olympic Charter. There is an Olympic Museum and Studies Center in Lausanne. It contains posters, documents, medals, books, photos, paintings, films and sculptures. Item seven

There are far too many road accidents in this country, too many deaths and too many people injured. One wonders who most to blame, drivers or pedestrians. Some people say that the blame can not be put fairly without considering the state of the roads and the whole transport system. On the other hand, many experts are convinced that the larger part of the blame for the death toll must be put on persons and persons alone. To be fair, pedestrians, drivers and road conditions are all to blame. One looks forward to the day when the motor-car has been replaced by some less dangerous means of transport. Item eight

Petroleum has been important since ancient times. In Latin, the name means “rock oil.” Petroleum is a fossil fuel. The liquid comes from the remains of plants and animals that died millions of years ago. These remains were buried deep below levels of rock over time and under great pressure. This geological process created complex molecules of hydrogen and carbon. Oil can also contain other elements. Crude oil, or unprocessed petroleum, is called sour when it contains a lot of sulfur, an impurity. Sour crude requires more refining than sweet crude, which is often more valuable. Item nine

In September of 2000, world leaders set eight goals for bringing millions of people out of poverty. These became known as the United Nations millennium development goals. Among them: cut in half the number of people living on less than one dollar a day and halt the spread of AIDS

53

and malaria. The goals also include improving survival rates for pregnant women and young children, and educating all children. Working for equality between women and men and dealing with environmental needs like safe water also are included. The target date for reaching the goals is 2015. Item ten

One way to think about time is to imagine a world without time. There could be no movement, because time and movement cannot be separated. A world without time could exist only as long as there were no changes. For time and change are linked. We know that time has passed when something changes. In the real world-the world with time-changes never stop. Some changes happen only once in a while, like an eclipse of the moon. Others happen repeatedly, like the rising and setting of the sun. Humans always have noted natural events that repeat themselves. When people began to count such events, they began to measure time. Item eleven

The World Future Society has published a special report about forces changing the world. One of them is population growth. The report says the world is expected to have more than nine thousand million people by the middle of this century. Population growth in many industrial nations, however, is expected to drop. But medical progress helps their people to live longer lives. International migration is also shaping the future. The report says there is some resistance, but also growing acceptance of cultural differences. The world economy is also becoming more integrated. On the issue of energy, the use of oil is expected to reach 110 million barrels a day by 2020.

54