Lesson 19

nita tion Bureau in 1989.
    But at the we:tern gate of the chinese History Museum near Tian'anmen. Square, there is an unusual "luxury" toilet of ahout 300 square metrea, in wltich there are rockeries, fountains, fresh flowers, a sofa and piped music. The standard of cleanliness is extremely high.

    But visitors have to pay 0.3 yuan. Some say the clean toilet is worth the price, but others complain that they can not afford it.
    In Beijing there are now 40 such toilets at tourist sites.
    On the opposite side of the museum, by the southern gate of Zhongshan Park, is situated another fairly clean pay toilet. Since last March, Liu Zhaomin, a retired sanitation worker from the West City District Cleaning Team, and his wife have contracted to keep the facility clean, and the once dirty and foul-smelling toilet has become one of the cleanest in Beijing.

    The old couple charge 0.03 yuan per person, but disabled people and students are admitted free. Outside the toilet they also provide water and help people take care of their belongings-all for free.
    Their service not only earns the old couple about 800 yuan monthly, but it also saves the government money. The toilet fees pay for maintenance
    There are no public toitets in some areas of the city. About 200 WCs in downtown area have to have soil carried away manually, mostly by old workers who are near retirement, and it is now very difficult to recruit young people to do this job. Because of a shortage of manpower, tools and disinfectant, it's very hard to keep those public toilets clean.

    "WC service in Beijing has four key problems," said Xue. "There are no places and money for building public toilets. And most of them are in a very poor condition, and are badly managed."
    Xue also said that the users should take care of public toilets. Many newly-
painted walls in WCs are already dirty.

　

                         6. The Countryside in Spring

    We need never feel dull in the country. No matter how often we walk down the same road, over the same fields, or through the same woodland paths, there is always something new, somthing fresh to see.It may be a little plant that has come up since last we visited the place: a hedge that was just a lot of brown sticks may now be covered with flowers. We may find a bird's nest deep in a bush, and, if we are careful not to frighten the birds, as the days pass, see first the little eggs, and then the baby birds.

    We never know what we may see, or find, when we start out for a country walk. But we must learn to use our eyes, keep them wide open, or we shall pass by many a pretty or interesting plant, or miss the sight of some little wild animal, who sees us well enough, and will keep perfectly still and quiet so that we should not notice him, until we are quite out of sight. The wild children of the woods and fields are easily frightened, and if we want to get to know them, we must do as they do, and learn to be quiet and keep very still when watching them at work or play. All the year round, from the first warm breath of Spring till the last icy wind of Winter, we shall always find something to please and interest
us in the country.

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