閱讀理解

　　The United States is already one year into a depression That was the news this week from the Na-tional Bureau of Economic Research．The downturn is the longest since a depression that began in 1981and lasted sixteen months．

　　Economists generally wait for production to shrink for six months in a row before they declare a re-cession．But the bureau, a private group, uses a wider set of information to measure the economy．Thenews only confirmed what many people already knew：that the world's largest economy is weak and maynot recover soon．

　　Worsening conclitions have led to a big drop in spending, especially on costly products like new cars．Even Japanese automaker Toyota saw its sales fall thirty - four percent in the United States in November from a year ago．

　　The heads of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors retumed to Congress this week to again ask for federal aid．Congressional leaders denounced(指責(zé))them two weeks ago after they came in private jets with no clear plans for saving their industry．This time, the chiefs drove to Washington in fuel- saving hybrid vehicles．And their companies presented detailed restructuring plans．The reguest for aid has risen from twenty-five billion dollars two weeks ago to thirty-four billion in loans and credit lines．

　　G．M．wants almost half of that, and says it needs four billion dollars this month．It warned that without support it cannot continue to operate．

　　Ford is in a better position, But the sharing of suppliers means it could be affected if G．M．or Chrysler fails．Ford is asking for a nine billion dollar credit line in case it needs it．

　　Chrysler is the smallest and most trouble of America's Big Three．It says it needs a seven billion dollar loan by the end of the month．

　　Two days of congressional hearings began Thursday in the Senate Banking Committee．The chairman, Democrat Chris Dodd, said he would support helping the automakers for the good of the economy．

　　But the committee's top Republican, Richard Shelby, continued to express opposition to a bailout(賄政援助)．

　　A main root of the world financial crisis is the weak housing market in the United States．The Trea-sury Department has been under pressure to help troubled homeowners．Now comes news that the depart-ment is developing a plan aimed at reducing interest rates on mortgage loans(汽車貸款)for some buyers of homes．That could be good for homeowners trying to sell．

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閱讀理解

　　The United States is already one year into a depression．That was the news this week from the National Bureau of Economic Research．The downturn is the longest since a depression that began in 1981 and lasted sixteen months．

　　Economists generally wait for production to shrink for six months in a row before they declare a recession．But the bureau, a private group, uses a wider set of information to measure the economy．The news only confirmed what many people already knew: that the world's largest economy is weak and may not recover soon．

　　Worsening conditions have led to a big drop in spending, especially on costly products like new cars．Even Japanese automaker Toyota saw its sales fall thirty-four percent in the United States in November from a year ago．

　　The heads of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors returned to Congress this week to again ask for federal aid．Congressional leaders denounced(指責(zé))them two weeks ago after they came in private jets with no clear plans for saving their industry．This time, the chiefs drove to Washington in fuel-saving hybrid vehicles．And their companies presented detailed restructuring plans．The request for aid has risen from twenty-five billion dollars two weeks ago to thirty-four billion in loans and credit lines．

　　G．M．wants almost half of that, and says it needs four billion dollars this month．It warned that without support it cannot continue to operate．

　　Ford is in a better position．But the sharing of suppliers means it could be affected if G．M．or Chrysler fails．Ford is asking for a nine billion dollar credit line in case it needs it．

　　Chrysler is the smallest and most troubled of America’s Big Three．It says it needs a seven billion dollar loan by the end of the month．

　　Two days of congressional hearings began Thursday in the Senate Banking Committee．The chairman, Democrat Chris Dodd, said he would support helping the automakers for the good of the economy．But the committee's top Republican, Richard Shelby, continued to express opposition to a bailout(財政援助)．

　　A main root of the world financial crisis is the weak housing market in the United States．The Treasury Department has been under pressure to help troubled homeowners．Now comes news that the department is developing a plan aimed at reducing interest rates on mortgage loans for some buyers of homes．That could be good for homeowners trying to sell．

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　　Figuring out how to lose weight is a challenge for many of us, particularly considering that the quickest path to weight loss is different for everyone．Of course, the common method is always proper diet and exercise, which not only aid in(幫助) weight loss, but also keep a body healthy．Of course you've heard this before－the challenge is to follow through．Others have lost weight by following these simple guidelines, and so can you．

　　Set small, realistic goals．If you have a lot of weight to lose, try for 5 pounds, relax a bit and then go for 5 more．

　　Start a regular exercise program and stick to it．Don't be afraid of those sweat suits!

　　Sneak(偷偷地做) in extra exercise in addition to your regular program．Park at the far end of the parking lot and walk; take the stairs instead of the elevator．

　　Healthy foods are an important ingredient in losing weight．Eat low fat, high fiber foods such as salads and vegetable pastas．Choose foods that you like．Learn to prepare healthy, low calorie foods that taste good by checking healthy cook books for new recipes．

　　Eat smaller, more frequent meals．This way, your body starts to increase its metabolism(新陳代謝)so that calories are burned faster．Also, minimeals can prevent overeating．

　　Plan ahead and keep a food diary．Keep the fridge stocked with healthy food such as vegetables, and you'll be less likely to run out for high calorie, high fat junk food．This will help you pinpoint where you can improve your diet．

　　Once you discover your favorite snack time, be sure to have plenty of healthy options available．

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