Technology is the application of knowledge to production. Thanks to modern technology, we have been able to increase greatly the efficiency of our work force. New machines and new methods have helped cut down time and expense while increasing overall output. This has meant more production and a higher standard of living. For most of us in America, modern technology is thought of as the reason why we can have cars and television sets. However, technology has also increased the amount of food available to us, by means of modern farming machinery and animal breeding techniques, and has made our life span longer via medical technology.

    Will mankind continue to live longer and have a higher quality of life? In large measure, the answer depends on technology and our ability to use it widely. If we keep making progress as we have over the past fifty years, the answer is definitely yes. The advancement of technology depends on research and development, and the latest surveys show that the united States is continuing to put billions of dollars annually(每年) into such efforts. So while we are running out of some limited resources, we may well find technological substitutes (代用品) for many of them through our research programs.

    Therefore, in the final analysis, the three major factors of production (land, labor and capital) are all influenced by technology. When we need new skills or techniques in medicine, people will start developing new technology to meet those needs. As equipment proves to be slow or inefficient, new machines will be invented. Technology responds to our needs in helping us improve our standard of living.

The healthy adolescent boy or girl likes to do the real things in life,to do the things that matter. He would rather be a plumber's mate and do a real job that requires doing than learn about hydrostatics(流体静力学)sitting at a desk, without understanding what practical use they are going to be. A girl would rather look after the baby than learn about child care. Logically we should learn about things before doing them and that is probably why the experts enforce this in our educational system.But it is not the natural way—nor, in my view, the best way. The adolescent wants to do things first for only then does the appreciate the problems involved and want to learn more about them.

    They do these things better in primitive life,for there at puberty(青春期) the boy joins his father in making canoes,patching huts,going out fishing or hunting.He is serving his apprenticeship in the actual accomplishments of life.It is not surprising that anthropologists(人类学家) find that the adolescents of primitive communities do not suffer from the same neurotic(神经质的) “difficulties” as those of civilized life.This is not,as some assume,because they are permitted more sexual freedom,but because they are given more natural outlets for their native interests and powers and are allowed to grow up freely into a full life of responsibility in the community.

    In the 19th century this was recognized in the apprenticeship system,which allowed the boy to go out with the master carpenter,or ploughman,to engage in the actual work of carpentry or roof-mending,and so to learn his trade.In some agricultural colleges at the present time young men have to do a year's work on a farm before their theoretical training at college.The great advantage of this system is that it lets the apprentice see the practical problems before he sets to work learning how to solve them,and he can therefore take a more intelligent interest in his theoretical work.

    Since more knowledge of more things is now required in order to cope with the adult world, the period of growing-up to independence takes much longer than it did in more primitive community,and the responsibility for such education,which formerly was in the hands of the parents,is now necessarily undertaken by experts at school. But that should not make us lose sight of the basic principle, namely the need and the desire of the adolescent to engage responsibly in the real pursuits of life and then to learn how—to learn through responsibility, not to learn before responsibility.

    Do you ever dream about climbing Mount Everest, which is 8,848 meters high? If so, you're not alone. Every year, thousands of people try to climb the world's highest mountains or walk across deserts. Let's take a look at some of the 21st century's greatest adventurers (冒险家).

    Ed Stafford

    Ed Stafford from the UK is the first person to walk along the Amazon River from the mountains of Peru to the mouth of the river in Brazil. There are many dangerous animals in the rainforest, but he was only bitten by ants and mosquitoes. On his trip, Ed had to find fruit and nuts or catch fish each morning. He used a radio to ask the people of the rainforest for food and help. Many people came to meet him and guide him through the rainforest. While he walked, Ed wrote a blog to tell the world about climate change and destruction (破坏) of the rainforest.

    Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner

    Gerinde Kaltenbrunner from Austria is one of the world's greatest climbers and has climbed all the world's mountains over 8,000 metres. It's very difficult to climb in the cold weather and storms, but Gerlinde loves it. Now she spends her time climbing and helping a charity for poor children in Nepal.

    Meagan Mcgrath

    Some adventurers are always looking for a new challenge. Meagan Mcgrath from Canada has climbed mountains, ridden a bike across Canada and run races in the desert to raise money for the disabled.

    Erik Weihenmayer

    Erik Weihenmayer from the United States has climbed mountains and ridden a bike through deserts. Amazingly, Erik is blind and he wants other blind people to have active lives too. He has taken groups of young blind people climbing in Nepal.

    People with an impulsive personality refer to those who tend to do things without considering the possible dangers or problems first. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia, such people may be more likely to have food addiction. The study found that people exhibiting impulsive behavior weren't necessarily overweight, but impulsiveness was related to a direct relationship with food, and therefore, less healthy weight.

    Food addiction has been compared to addictive drug use. Studies have linked the dopamine (多巴胺) release that occurs after tasting delicious food to the dopamine release that happens when people consume other addictive substances.

    Impulsive behavior involves several personality traits (特点). Two of these traits, known as negative urgency and lack of perseverance, were particularly associated with food addiction and high BMI (身体质量指数) during the study.

    Negative urgency is characterized by the tendency to behave impulsively when experiencing negative emotions. Some people might drink alcohol or take drugs. For others, it could mean eating to feel better. Lack of perseverance is when a person has a hard time finishing hard or boring tasks. People with a lack of perseverance might have difficulty attempting to change addictive eating behavior, which could also cause obesity.

    “Impulsiveness might be one reason why some people eat in an addictive way despite motivation to lose weight,” said Dr. Ashley Gearhardt, a clinical psychologist. He was involved in developing the Yale Food Addiction Scale in aid of those people. “We are theorizing that if food addiction is really a thing, then our measure, the Yale Food Addiction Scale, should be related to helping control impulsive action,” said Gearhardt.

    Clinical psychologist Dr. James MacKillop, whose lab was conducting the study, believes that therapies used to treat addictive drug behavior could help people who suffer from addictive eating habits.

    “Most of the programs for weight loss at this point focus on the most obvious things, which are clearly diet and exercise,” MacKillop said. “It seems that managing strong desires to eat would naturally fit in with the skills a person would need to eat healthily.”

    March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.

    SongKran--Thailand

    Dates: 13th-15th, April

    In Thailand, it's time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran，when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray(喷，洒）everyone who walks past. If you walk on the streets where the festival is celebrated, prepare to get soaked!

    Naghol--Vanuatu

    Dates: Every Saturday from April to May

Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the people's diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land diving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines(藤条) attached to their ankles(脚踝). The divers' heads have to lightly touch the ground when they jump—something very dangerous if the vines are not measured properly.

Cherry Blossom Viewing —Japan

    Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.

    The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣）fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. This is one of the most beautiful things to see. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.

    I admire my father for as long as I can remember. I loved the way he treated people with such respect and kindness.

    On Sundays we usually took the bus into Manhattan, where we would do interesting things, like riding the Circle Line. He would point out every landmark and tell us the history behind it. He loved to take us on the subway to Nathan's in Coney Island. Once there, he would give my sister and me each a five-dollar bill and then he would enjoy himself for the afternoon with his newspapers.

    In 1968, we went to see the movie “Oliver”, a Charles Dickens' classic story of a young orphan(孤儿) boy called Oliver. On the way home from the theater that afternoon he told us how he was raised in an orphanage(孤儿院) in New York after both of his parents died. He told us the nuns(修女) were wonderful to him and loved him like a mother would. As he grew older, he was placed in a few foster(寄养) families before he joined the Army.

    When we were teenagers, he still took us out each weekend and he would ask us to invite specific friends to join us and he would pay for them. We often went to Yankee Stadium to watch the baseball game and he bought us tickets in the least expensive seats. To keep the cost down, he waited for us in the car where he read his newspapers and then took a nap(小睡).

    He was always happy and appreciated everything he had. He loved his two little girls and later his two granddaughters. He gave so much, yet he had so little. He thought he was the richest man in the world.