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　　LONDON－British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced a growing rebellion over his leadership on Wednesday after reports he planned to stay in office until mid-2007 prompted seven former loyalists to quit their posts．

　　A junior minister and six government aides, part of a group of once-loyal Labour lawmakers now calling for Blair to step aside, resigned saying an urgent change of leader was needed to revitalise the Labour Party’s flagging fortunes．

　　The departures came the day British newspapers reported that Blair planned to quit on July 26, 2007, after more than a decade in power-effectively kick-starting a battle for leadership of his ruling Labour Party and the country．

　　Blair, 53, winner of a record three consecutive elections for Labour, has seen his popularity slide after a series of government scandals over sleazes and mismanagement, as well as controversy over wars in Iraq and Lebanon．

　　Finance Minister Gordon Brown is widely expected to take over and several political figures urged the two to map out a plan to ensure a smooth transition of power and avoid months of government paralysis．

　　Two senior ministers and Blair allies have said this week the prime minister would be gone within a year．

　　There has long been a vocal wing of hardline Labour left-wingers who are opposed to Blair’s move to the centre ground of British politics since he was first elected in 1997．

　　The latest doubters all first entered parliament in 2001 and have loyally backed his reforms and policies．But now they fear that unless Blair goes, Labour will lose the next general election, expected in 2009．

　　“DISLOYAL, DISCOURTEOUS AND WRONG”

　　Junior Defence Minister Tom Watson was the highest ranking Labour lawmaker to quit on Wednesday．

　　“I share the view of the overwhelming majority of the party and the country that the only way the party and the government can renew itself in office is urgently to renew its leadership, ” he said．

　　But Blair immediately said he had planned to sack Watson anyway, calling him “disloyal, discourteous and wrong” in signing a letter, along with 14 other previously loyal members of parliament, calling for the prime minister to quit．

　　Jaqcui Smith, the chief whip responsible for keeping parliamentarians in line, told Sky News：“Many of my colleagues are concerned that we have an orderly transition．”

　　“Bundling the most successful Labour prime minister out the back door in the next few weeks isn’t how we’re going to do that, ” she added．

　　Bets poured into bookmakers on Wednesday on whether Blair would quit this year or next, who will replace him and if the opposition Conservatives will win the next general election．

　　Opinion polls put Labour well behind the Conservatives, who have been revived by their new youthful leader, David Cameron．

　　Newspapers splashed summer 2007 departure dates across their front pages, saying Blair had caved in to increasing pressure from Labour parliamentarians demanding a clear timetable．

　　The Sun tabloid said Blair would step down as Labour leader on May 31－less than a month after his 10th anniversary in office－and resign as prime minister eight weeks later after an election to choose a party leader．

　　Blair’s Downing Street office described the reports as “speculation” but did not deny them．

　　Blair won his first term on May 1, 1997．A decade in power would leave him more than a year short of Margaret Thatcher’s record as the longest-serving leader in more than a century．

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　　“I sat-in at a restaurant for six months, and when they finally agreed to serve me, they didn’t have what I wanted”－so went a famous line．In reality, the sit-in movement was not a joke．It began in Greensboro, North Carolina, at 4∶30 PM.on the afternoon of February l, 1960．On that day, Ezell Blair Jr．Joseph McNeil, David Richmond, and Franklin McClain entered an F．W：Woolworth store．They sat down at a segregated(隔離的)lunch counter, ordered coffee, and then refused to leave when told,“We don’t sever Negroes．”

　　The four young men had expected not to be serve．What no one had expected, however, was that they w would sit there and politely, but firmly, refuse to leave．This was 1960, and throughout the South black people were not allowed to sit at the same lunch counters with whites swim at the same beaches, use the same water fountains, or worship at the same churches．Segregation was the law, and it meant separation of the races in every way．

　　The next day, the four returned to Woolworth’s－this time accompanied by sixteen other students．Again they sat at the lunch counter and requested service．Again they were refused．And again, they declined to leave．On Wednesday, February 3, seventy students filled the Woolworth’s store．This time, the group included white students as well as black．Many brought school books and studied while they waited．By this time, their protest had become known nation wide as a“sit-in”．

　　On Thursday, there was trouble．An angry group of white teenagers began shoving(推搡)and cursing them but were quickly removed by the police．By February 10, the sit-in movement had spread to five other states．

　　By September 1961, more than 70,000 people, both black and white, had participated in sit-ins at segregated restaurants and lunch counters, kneel-ins at segregated churches, read-ins at segregated libraries, and swim-ins at segregated pools and beaches．Over 3,600 people had been arrested, and more than 100 students had been driven away．But they were getting results．On June 10, 1964, the U．S Senate passed a major civil rights bill outlawing(宣布為非法)racial discrimination in all public places．President Lyndon Johnson signed it on July 2, and it begrime law．But the highest credit still goes to the four brave students from North Carolina who first sat-in and waited it out．

閱讀理解

　　“I sat-in at a restaurant for six months, and when they finally agreed to serve me, they didn’t have what I wanted”－so went a famous line．In reality, the sit-in movement was not a joke．It began in Greensboro, North Carolina, at 4∶30 P.M., on the afternoon of February 1, 1960．On that day, Ezell Blair Jr．, Joseph McNeil, David Richmond, and Franklin McClain entered an F．W．Woolworth store．They sat down at a segregated(分開的) lunch counter, ordered coffee, and then refused to leave when told,“We don’t serve Negroes．”

　　The four young men had expected not to be served．What no one had expected, however, was that they would sit there and politely, but firmly, refuse to leave．This was 1960, and throughout the South black people were not allowed to sit at the same lunch counters with whites, swim at the same beaches, use the same water fountains, or worship at the same churches．Segregation was the law, and it meant separation of the races in every way．

　　The next day, the four returned to Woolworth’s－this time accompanied by sixteen other students．Again they sat at the lunch counter and requested service．Again they were refused．And again, they declined to leave．On Wednesday, February 3, seventy students filled the Woolworth’s store．This time, the group included white students as well as black．Many brought school books and studied while they waited．By this time, their protest had become known nationwide as a“sit-in”．

　　On Thursday, there was trouble．An angry group of white teenagers began shoving and cursing them but were quickly removed by the police．By February 10, the sit-in movement had spread to five other states．

　　By September 1961, more than 70,000 people, both black and white, had participated in sit-ins at segregated restaurants and lunch counters, kneel-ins(祈禱示威) at segregated churches, read-ins at segregated libraries, and swim-ins at segregated pools and beaches．Over 3,600 people had been arrested, and more than 100 students had been expelled．But they were getting results．On June 10, 1964, the U．S Senate passed a major civil rights bill outlawing racial discrimination in all public places．President Lyndon Johnson signed it on July 2, and it became law．But the highest credit still goes to the four brave students from North Carolina who first sat-in and waited it out．

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　　Popular British author, Charles Dickens'(1812－1870)family could hardly make ends meet．They could only afford to send one of their six children to school．Dickens was not that child．His parents chose to send a daughter, who had a talent for music, to an academy．

　　His father was placed in prison for debts．And, being the oldest male at home, Dickens worked at a factory．His horrible experience there became the fuel for his future writing．His father was freed three months later, and Dickens was then sent to school．

　　From 1836 to 1837, he wrote a series of stories．Thus the Pickwick Papers came into being, which brought fame to him．His works are Oliver Twist, Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and Hard Times．

　　“I do not write bitterly or angrily, for I know all these things have worked together to make me what I am,”he once said．

　　His difficult childhood did indeed shape the person he became, as well as his writing career．There are shades of young Dickens in many of his most beloved characters, including David Copperfield and Oliver Twist．“Minds, like bodies, will often fall into an ill-conditioned state from too much comfort,”he once wrote．

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　　Let’s do some sleep math．You lost two hours of sleep every night last week because of a big project due on Friday．On Saturday and Sunday，you slept in，getting four extra hours．On Monday morning，you were feeling so bright-eyed that you only had one cup of coffee，instead of your usual two．But don’t be cheated by your energy．You’re still carrying around a heavy load of sleepiness，or what experts call “sleep debt”－in this case something like six hours，almost a full night’s sleep．

　　Sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep you should be getting and the amount you actually get．It’s a shortage that grows every time we skim some extra minutes off our nightly sleep．“People get more sleep debt gradually without being noticed，”says William C．Dement，founder of the Stanford University Sleep Clinic．Studies show that such short-term sleep lack leads to a foggy brain，worsened vision，and trouble remembering．Long-term effects include obesity(肥胖)，insulin(胰島素)resistance，and heart disease．A survey by the National Sleep Foundation reports that we’re losing one hour of sleep each night－more than two full weeks of sleep every year．

　　The good news is that，like all debt，with some work，sleep debt can be repaid．Adding an extra hour or two of sleep a night is the way to catch up．For the long-term lack of sleep，relax for a few months to get back into a natural sleep pattern．Go to bed when you are tired，and allow your body to wake you in the morning(no alarm clock allowed)．You may find yourself catatonic(有緊張癥的)in the beginning of the recovery cycle：Expect to have ten hours’ shut-eye per night；As the days pass，however，the amount of sleeping time will gradually decrease．

　　So earn back that lost sleep and follow the rules of your innate(固有的)sleep needs．You’ll feel better．“When you put away sleep debt,you become a superman,”says Stanford's Dement，talking about the improved mental and physical capabilities that come with being well rested．