Since the day of its birth, the United Nations has been the subject of much debate.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Others think that it is too weak. We can better understand this debate if we learn more about the U.N. and its history.

        The U.N. was started for two reasons. First, when the idea wasborn, people all over the world were tired of war. They felt that there must be peaceful answers to the world's problems.

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        The second reason was that modern science had developed newbombs and airplanes.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} National borders were beginning to lose theirmeaning. Science would develop even more dangerous weapons in the future. Onlyan international organization would be able to control modern science.

        Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. President at the time, believed thatthe Allies (联盟) should plan for peace before the war ended. On December 1, 1943, Roosevelt, Britain's Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin from Soviet Union agreed to start anorganization for world peace.

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        During the next year and a half, the idea of such anorganisation was debated around the world. Then came the big day. On April 11,1945, the first international meeting of the United Nations took place in SanFrancisco. The goal of the meeting was to write the U.N. Charter (宪章). All of thefifty-one nations at the meeting had their own ideas to offer for the Charter.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Every nation present voted for the Charter. Noone voted against it.

A. The U.N. Charter is a beautiful piece of writing.

B. After a long debate, a final Charter was agreed upon.

C. Even the smallest country on earth can have its voice heard.

D. They asked all countries, large and small, to join theorganization.

E. These weapons made it almost impossible for a country todefend itself.

F. Some people attack the organization because they think it istoo powerful.

G. They also felt that only an international organization couldkeep world peace.

    On a Sunday morning, I was driving down a road and saw something I couldn't believe. A little girl, less than two, was pushing her stroller (婴儿车) across the road. It was Sunday morning and traffic was not heavy.

    I stopped my car at once and ran toward her. This little girl knew enough to run from a stranger. I tried to catch her in order that I could get her out of the road. Suddenly her father came running down a hill across the road from where I had parked my car. He ran right to her and caught her up, saying “bad girl” to her. I picked up the stroller and gave it to him. The father grabbed（抓住） the stroller and walked toward where he came from without a word. I went back and sat in my car for a few minutes with my son. My hands were shaking and tears were about to run out of my eyes. “Do you feel cold, Mom?” asked my son. I just shook my head.

    After this happened, I thought about how thankful I am. Even though the father didn't say thank you, I feel that I did something good. Doing something for someone else is pleasing, even when it's only a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I didn't really “save” her, but I feel like it was important that I happened to be there. It is sad that I was the only one who stopped. It really made me a little disappointed that no one else stopped to help.

    You may need to give first aid. First aid is defined(下定义) as the emergency care given to a sick or injured person. The goals of first aid are to prevent death and to prevent injuries from becoming worse.

    Each emergency condition is different. However, the following rules apply to any kind of emergency.

    Be aware of your limitations. Do not try to do more than you are able to. Nor should you do things if you are unfamiliar with them. Do what you can under the conditions at the time.

    Stay calm. Acting calmly will help the victim feel safe.

    Take a quick look to see if the victim is bleeding, and if there is a pulse.

    Keep the victim lying down and do not move him or her.You could make an injury worse if you move the victim.

    Take necessary emergency steps.

    Call for help or ask someone to make the EMS system（急救系统）start.

    Do not remove clothing unless you have to.If clothing must be removed,tear the clothes along the seams（线缝）.

    Keep the victim warm. Cover the victim with a blanket. Coats and sweaters can be used if a blanket cannot be found.

    Reassure the victim. Explain what is happening and that help has been called.

    Do not give the victim any food or fruits.

    Keep the bystanders away from the victim. Bystanders want to have a look, offer advice, and say something about the victim's condition. The victim may believe that the condition is worse than it really is.

    Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.

    However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap. Parents can see that their children's skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today's children lack self-respect and self-confidence. The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.

    Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.

    Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence.

    Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.

An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away

    Dr. Tim Johnson discusses evidence of a daily dose of aspirin's benefits. That's not the saying, but doctors have agreed, for about a generation, that an aspirin a day is good for you. It may reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes by 20 percent or more.

    The US Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group convened by the Department of Health and Human Services, has published guidelines that it says should end the confusion.

    The key points:

    ⒈Men should start a daily aspirin at age 45, mainly to protect against heart attacks.

    ⒉Women should start at 55, mainly to protect against stroke.

    ⒊For both sexes, a baby aspirin-typically 81 milligram a day-will do the job. There is no evidence that a large dose makes a difference.

    ⒋And both sexes should stop by age 80, unless their doctors say otherwise. As you get older, there's a greater risk of bleeding in the brain or the digestive system, a risk that is small but can be deadly in some cases.

    If people start taking aspirin as the guidelines, doctors say their risk of heart attacks will drop by about 20 percent. "People may ask themselves 'Am I at risk for a heart attack or a stroke?'" said Dr. Randal Thomas, director of cardiovas-cular health at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota "If you are age 45 and male, if you're above age 55 and female, the answer is most likely yes, and you will most likely benefit from taking a small dose of aspirin a day.

    Rock climbing is not just for grown-ups. Your children can also enjoy this fun-filled activity as well as getting its advantages. Aside from its heart-health benefit, it is also known to increase their self-confidence and esteem(尊重). While it may not be an impromptu(即兴的) activity like running or biking, there are many climbing walls that are now available, especially with the development of fitness centers and camps.

    The great thing about having your kids join these activities is that it follows up on their natural quality. As you know, children are natural climbers. You can see them going up on trees or climbing tall ladders. With rock climbing, you can satisfy their urges to be a climber.

    What's more, it is fairly easy for the kids compared with adults. With a high strength-to-weight rate, they have less body weight to pull up, and they are more flexible(灵活的).

    It is also a low-impact workout that tests your children's endurance(耐性). It's easy on their joints(关节) as they burn energy during their ascent. In addition, climbing walls are like giant puzzles begging to be solved. Not only does it test the physical aspects of your children's development, but it also wakes their mental abilities.

    This exercise also helps develop your children's essential strength and flexibility. Kids are challenged physically as they pull, lift, stretch, and twist their way up. This activity also develops their eye-hand coordination(协调) as they perform their climb.

    Almost anyone can do it although it may vary in skill level, namely beginner, intermediate, or advanced. But despite its reputation as an extreme sport, children can do this. One does not need to be super-fit to join a rock climbing class. However, good technique is more necessary than strength when doing this sport.