Since the first Earth Day in 1970, Americans have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment. “We didn't know at that time there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it,” says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.

    But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement .Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. “The understanding has increased many， many times,” says Gaylord Nelson, the former governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first. According to US government reports, emissions (排放)from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 tons .The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9. Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with, the world is a safer and healthier place. A kind of “Green thinking” has become part of practices.

    Great improvement has been achieved. In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs; today in 1995 there are about 6,600. Advanced lights, motors, and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution.

    Twenty –five years ago, there were hardly any education programs for environment. Today, it's hard to find a public school, university, or law school that does not have such a kind of program. “Until we do that, nothing else will change!” say Bruce Anderson.

    It's a little hard to figure out the rules for sure,  but the baby African buffalo( 水牛) seems to have the upper hand. The two stand a couple feet apart, staring at each other. Behind them, their mothers look on with the kind of indifference(不关心) of mothers  everywhere who see their kids playing a harmless game.

    The alarm went off about half an hour ago, the second time tonight. Here, one bell means “elephant”, two, “rhino” (犀牛), and three and four, 1 really can't remember for what, because when you're awoken by bells in the middle of the night, your first thought won't be “Animal! ”.But as soon as I realized it was the rhino alarm.

    I was running for the stairs. Yet I'm the only one watching the animals stare-down. Either everyone else died of a heart attack when the bells went off, or l was the only one in the entire hotel who didn't turn the alarm switch to off before going to bed.

    The Ark, a hotel shaped like the biblical ark(圣经的方舟) , lies in the highlands of Kenya's Aberdare National Park, about 100 kilometers north of Nairobi. At the Ark's prow(船首) are huge windows overlooking a waterhole. Earlier tonight, I'd watched a pack of wolves, buffalos and elephants. And now, at three or so in the morning, I'm down for rhino bells. The first time, 2.5 hours ago, it was a single black rhino, which came down, got a drink, and left. I'd have been sorry for the lost sleep.  I've already arranged with a guide to take me out at sunrise for the so-called “should never miss” bird-watching, where we'll get to see 30 species, but really, how many times in your life will you get to wake up and say, “Wow! Rhino!”? Isn't that the definition of a pretty good night? Last week we went from Uganda into Kenya.  Before I left home, 1 thought I'd be happy with ten elephants and five or six giraffes on the whole trip. I didn't dare to dream the rhino.

    DESIGN-A-LOGO CONTEST

    We need a logo that will be the perfect sign of our great new Wellsville Skate Park. We would like those of you who are counting the days until the grand opening to design a perfect logo that can be used on stationery, business cards, fliers, brochures, posters and T-shirts. A well-designed logo will provide an opportunity for young artists to receive recognition as well as great prizes. If you are interested, here are the things you need to know:

    Logo Requirements

    Your design mustn't have copied anyone else's.

    Your design must include no more than two colors.

    The words “Wellsville Skate Park” must appear in the logo.

    The logo should be presented on 8×11 paper in every shape.

    Submission(提交) Details

    Your name and address must appear on the back of the logo design.

    You need to include a one-page written explanation of the design.

    Deadline

    Mails will be accepted between July 10 and August 15.

    Winning designs will be posted on our website at www. wellsville. skatepark. com on August 20.

    Prizes

    First Prize: a digital camera

    Second Prize: a one-year pass to Wellsville Skate Park

    Honorable Mention: a T-shirt with the prize-winning logo

    MAIL DESIGNS TO:

    Wellsville Skate Park Logo Contest

    Riverside Recreation Center

    1295 New Rockford Hwy, Riverside, VA 23226

    James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9. There, a school teacher asked the youth his name.

    "J.C. "he replied.

    She thought he had said "Jesse", and he had a new name.

    Owens ran his first race at age 13. After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time so as to pay for his education. As a second year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.

    A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try. He did try, and the results are in the record book.

    The stage was set for Owens' victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic but also political. Hitler did not congratulate any of the African American winners.

    "It was all right with me," he said years later. "I didn't go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway."

    Having returned from Berlin, he received no telephone calls from the president of his own country, either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.

    Owens' Olympic victories made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles and dogs.

    "Sure, it bothered me," he said later. "But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat."

    In time, however, his gold medals changed his life. "They have kept me alive over the years, "he once said." Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard."

    When I was growing up, Mother's Day was as important as Christmas.

    The energy around the house was always positive（积极的）, mostly thanks to my father who made sure that his kids appreciated their mother, We would clean the house, and Mum got breakfast in bed in the morning and didn't have to lift a finger all day. And in the evening, we went to a restaurant for a traditional Mother's Day dinner.

    What I learned from my father over the years, was that no matter what, he always put my mother before himself. He absolutely loved her and never let her forget that. And from my parents, I learned a thing or two about how to love.

    I maintain（保持） my father's Mother's Day tradition with my wife. Growing up, I learned that showing affection to the woman you love or who gave birth to you is an important part of life. You see, it goes both ways, and the love you have for your mother comes back to you again and again.

    Believing that and feeling it when you can may keep you from being lonely, even if your mum isn't close by or has passed away. There are a number of us who no longer have a mother in our lives, and truth be told, there are often times when I wish my mum were still here to comfort me. So instead, I remember the times she did just that. It makes me smile, and somehow, those memories of a more simple and loving life give me the comfort I'm looking for.

    My wife's mother is still around, however, and it's great to have that "mother energy" in my life still. Having this relationship with my mother-in-law is nice because it gives me someone to be there for on Mother's Day, and any other day of the year.

    If you are mum-less, you too should find a deserving woman in your life and celebrate Mother's Day with her. If you don't know anyone, there are plenty of lonely mums in rest homes who would enjoy your company for a couple of hours. The visit will make both of your days, and perhaps your lives, a little bit better.

    Supercomputers which can analyse blood samples and predict which patients are likely to become seriously ill could save tens of thousands of lives a year, it was revealed last night, according to The Daily Express.

    The artificial intelligence (AI) system, developed at University College London and set to be piloted in NHS hospitals later this year, will screen "at risk" patients so doctors can take early action to prevent death or serious illness. Prof Young, a consultant surgeon at Southend University Hospital, said: "I am so excited about this form of technology." Instead of people getting sick or dying because they are not picked up in time, this will allow us to step in earlier which will save lives and an enormous amount of money. "I think the potential of AI in healthcare like this is as big as the Industrial Revolution was—and signals a completely new example in the way we manage healthcare."

    The technology is the brainchild of Dr Vishal Nangalia, a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital in London. He used AI to analyse a billion stored blood samples from 20 different UK hospital trusts dating back up to 12 years. Computers assess blood test results by picking up subtle changes in red and white blood cells, suggesting a patient is going downhill.

    He found the technique forecast outcomes of patients with kidney problems with up to 95 per cent accuracy. Traditional methods highlighting serious patient concerns picked up as few as 16 percent of patients who went on to die. "This gives us the opportunity not only to save lives but to prevent serious illness, making the health service not only safer but more efficient." Prof Young said, "Instead of waiting for people to get worse, we will be able to treat them earlier."