Fishing
[00:26.98]Ond day a man was lying on a beautiful beach,
[00:32.86]with his fishing pole propped up in the sand
[00:37.41]and his line cast out into the sparkling blue surf.
[00:42.74]He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun
[00:47.70]and the prospect of catching a fish.
[00:51.75]About that time,a writer came walking down the beach,
[00:57.39]trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday at the desk.
[01:03.92]He noticed the man sitting on the beach,
[01:09.80]and out of curiosity he decided to find out why this man was fishing
[01:16.64]instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.
[01:22.91]"You aren't going to catch many fish that way,"said the writer to the man,
[01:29.44]"you should be working rather than lying on the beach!"
[01:34.59]The man looked at the writer,smiled and replied,
[01:39.87]"And what will my reward be?"
[01:43.63]The writer replied,"You will make money,and you'll be able to buy a boat,
[01:51.28]which will then result in larger catches of fish!"
[01:56.53]"And then what will my reward be?"asked the man again.
[02:02.10]The writer was beginning to get a little irritated with the man's questions.
[02:08.65]"Don't you undersatand?
[02:12.49]You can build up a fleet of fishing boats,
[02:17.53]sail all over the world,and let all your employees catch fish for you!"
[02:23.78]Once again the man asked,"And then what will my reward be?"
[02:29.84]The writer was red with rage and shouted at the man,
[02:35.61]"Don't you get it?
[02:38.96]You can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again!
[02:46.71]You can spend the rest of your life sitting on the beach,looking at the sunset.
[02:53.69]You won't have a care in the world!"
[02:57.82]"What do you think I'm doing now?"the man asked.
[03:02.67]At this time,a phone was ringing from underneath a towel on the beach,
[03:08.94]and the man took out his cellular phone.
[03:13.20]"Yes,"he answered the phone.
[03:16.96]"Great.I knew it.Wait till it hits the $32 mark and buy one million shares."
[03:25.92]The Olympic Games
[03:53.95]According to Greek legend,
[03:57.58]the Olympic Games were started by Hercules,son of Zeus.
[04:03.51]The first records we have are of games held in 776 B.C.
[04:11.38]on the plain of Olympia.
[04:14.93]They were held every four years for more than 1,000 years,
[04:22.50]until the Romans abolished them in 394 A.D.
[04:29.27]The games were an example of the Greek ideal that the body,
[04:35.02]as well as the mind and spirit,should be developed.
[04:40.37]Fifteen hundred years later a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin
[04:47.53]had the idea of reviving the Olympic Games.
[04:52.99]In 1894,following his suggestion,
[04:59.15]an International Congress of fifteen nations was held in Paris.
[05:05.63]This Congress unanimously agreed to revive the games
[05:11.80]and to hold them every four years.
[05:16.06]Two years later,in the rebuilt stadium at Athens,Greece,
[05:22.12]the first of the modern Olympic Games was held.
[05:26.87]The games today include many sports that didn't even exist in the ancient times,
[05:34.63]such as basketball,water polo,soccer,cycling,shooting,etc,
[05:44.89]The modern Olympics are governed by an International Olympic Committee,
[05:51.06]and each nation has its own National Olympic Committee
[05:57.30]which is responsible for its country's participation in the Olympics.
[06:49.65]The United Nations is an organization of governments.
[06:53.28]It was set up to prevent war
[06:57.33]and to build a better world for all by dealing with problems
[07:03.11]which can best be solved through international action.
[07:08.36]The UN constitution,known as the Charter,
[07:13.71]was signed in San Francisco on June 26,1945,by representatives of 50 nations.
[07:23.77]According to the Charter,the UN has four chief purposes.
[07:30.22]The first is to maintain peace by settling disputes peacefully
[07:36.57]or by taking steps to stop aggression,that is,armed attack.
[07:43.73]The second is to develop friendly relations among nations
[07:49.79]based on the equal rights of peoples and their own choices of government.
[07:56.34]The third is to achieve international cooperation in solving economic,
[08:03.40]social,cultural,and humanitarian problems.
[08:09.27]And the fourth is to serve as a center
[08:13.95]where the actions of nations can be combined in trying to attain these aims.
[08:21.00]The two most important working groups are the General Assembly
[08:26.96]and the Security Council.
[08:30.33]The first is made up of all the members,
[08:34.98]each with one vote,and it is the policy-making body of the UN.
[08:41.85]The second is responsible for the maintenance of peace.
[08:46.89]China,France,Great Britian,Russia,
[08:52.17]and the Untied States have permanent seats and special voting privileges.
[08:58.83]The other six members are elected by the General Assembly for terms of two years. |