A Special Appointment

    Years ago I moved to Woodland Hills to take a job in a small hospital's emergency department. No one wanted to work on Christmas Eve, so the shift (轮班) went to me. I kissed my family goodbye and went off to spend the night in the hospital. It was a thankless job.

At 9 pm, the ambulance brought in a man in his 60s who was having a heart attack. His face was pale, and he was frightened. The whole night I did my best to save his life. Before I left in the morning to spend Christmas with my family, I stopped by to see how he was doing. It was still tough, but he had survived the night and was sleeping.

    The following year I got Christmas Eve duty again. At 9 pm sharp, the ward clerk told me there was a couple who wanted to speak with me. When I approached them, the man introduced himself as Mr. Lee and said, “You probably don't remember me, but last Christmas Eve you saved my life. Thank you for the year you gave me.” He and his wife hugged me, handed me a small gift, and left.

    The following year a new doctor had joined the group, but I wanted to see if Mr. and Mrs. Lee would return. This time, I volunteered for the shift. I kept an eye on the door. Once again, at exactly 9 pm, the Lees appeared, carrying a warmly wrapped bundle. It was their new grandchild. Mr.Lee, his family and I spent 13 Christmas Eves together. In the later years the staff all knew about the story and would work to give me time with him in the break room, where we spent a half-hour each Christmas Eve.

    The last year I saw him, he brought me a gift. I carefully opened the package and found a crystal (水晶) bell inside. It was engraved (镌刻) with a single word: Friendship. Now, my family, friends and I ring that bell every Christmas Eve at exactly 9 pm and offer our best wishes to the man who we won't forget.

根据短文理解，选择正确答案。

    Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October, 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.

    Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people's home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old woman in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120^th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.

         So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercise every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.

    A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday, Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying: Sorry, I'm still alive!

D

    Give yourself a test. Which way is the wind blowing? How many kinds of wildflowers can be seen from your front door? If your awareness is as sharp as it could be, you'll have no trouble answering these questions.

    Most of us observed much more as children than we do as adults. A child's day is filled with fascination, newness and wonder. Curiosity gave us all a natural awareness. But distinctions that were sharp to us as children become unclear; we are numb(麻木的）to new stimulation(刺激), new ideas. Relearning the art of seeing the world around us is quite simple, although it takes practice and requires breaking some bad habits.

    The first step in awakening senses is to stop predicting what we are going to see and feel before it occurs. This blocks awareness. One chilly night when I was hiking in the Rocky Mountains with some students, I mentioned that we were going to cross a mountain stream. The students began complaining about how cold it would be. We reached the stream, and they unwillingly walked ahead. They were almost knee-deep when they realized it was a hot spring. Later they all admitted they'd felt cold water at first.

    Another block to awareness is the obsession(痴迷) many of us have with naming things. I saw bird watchers who spotted a bird, immediately looked it up in field guides, and said, a "ruby-crowned kinglet" and checked it off. They no longer paid attention to the bird and never learned what it was doing.

    The pressures of "time" and "destination" are further blocks to awareness. I encountered many hikers who were headed to a distant camp-ground with just enough time to get there before dark. It seldom occurred to them to wander a bit, to take a moment to see what's around them. I asked them what they'd seen. "Oh, a few birds," they said. They seemed bent on their destinations.

    Nature seems to unfold to people who watch and wait. Next time you take a walk, no matter where it is, take in all the sights, sounds and sensations. Wander in this frame of mind and you will open a new dimension to your life.

    The idea of turning recycled plastic bottles into clothing is not new. During the last five years, a large number of clothing companies, businesses and environmental organizations have started turning plastics into fabric to deal with plastic pollution. But there's a problem with this method. Research now shows that microfibers could be the biggest source of plastic in the sea.

    Dr. Mark Browne in Santa Barbara, California, has been studying plastic pollution and microfibers for 10 years now. He explains that every time synthetic (合成的)clothes go into a washing machine, a large number of plastic fibers fall off. Most washing machines can't collect these microfibers. So every time the water gets out of a washing machine, microfibers are entering the sewers and finally end up in the sea.

    In 2011, Browne wrote a paper stating that a single piece of synthetic clothing can produce more than 1, 900 fibers per wash. Browne collected samples from seawater and freshwater sites around the world, and used a special way to examine each sample. He discovered that every single water sample contained microfibers.

    This is bad news for a number of reasons. Plastic can cause harm to sea life when eaten. Studies have also shown that plastic can absorb other pollutants.

    Based on this evidence, it may seem surprising that companies and organizations have chosen to turn plastic waste into clothing as an environmental "solution." Even though the science has been around for a while, Browne explains that he's had a difficult time getting companies to listen. When he asked well-known clothing companies to support Benign by Design—his research project that seeks to get clothes that have a bad effect on humans and the environment out of the market, Browne didn't get a satisfying answer. Only one women's clothing company, Eileen Fisher, offered Browne funding.

    Do you like to show off your expensive items? You could find yourself without friends! Scientists prove that expensive status symbols make you look less socially attractive.

    Items such as a fancy car and a Rolex watch are often thought to increase our social standing(地位) and often come with a high price tag(标签).According to the latest research, however, it has the opposite effect and people would prefer to be friends with someone who places less value on material objects.

    "Often we think that status symbols will make us look more socially attractive to others," says Stephen Garcia, the study's leading author from the University of Michigan. He adds, "However, our research suggests that these status signals actually make us look less socially attractive.

    The researchers conducted six studies which assessed how people presented themselves and how people viewed strangers. People who chose to wear higher status items tended to get a negative response, but people wanted to be friends with people who preferred lower status symbols.

    The study took the role of the luxury(奢侈) item to see if it was possible that the expensive item itself played a part in people's reactions. The definition of a status symbol changed based on a person's socioeconomic status, but the same effect of keeping off potential friends was seen regardless of social position.

    "At a social level, we may be wasting billions of dollars on expensive status symbols that finally keep others from wanting to associate with us, "says Kimberlee Weaver Livnat at the University of Haifa. She says, "And to the extent that close friendships are important to well-being, and we may be unintentionally hurting ourselves."

    However, Patricia Chen of the National University of Singapore said this does not necessarily mean status symbols are a bad thing. She says, "Our findings right now only apply to the formation of new friendships. Status symbols may be beneficial at other times and in other settings, such as when trying to establish new business contacts."

    I was given the book Running on Faith written by Jason Lester as a birthday gift last month. After I started reading, I really couldn't keep my eyes off it. It is always inspiring to read a story of someone who has gone through obstacles to reach his goals.

    Jason Lester is a disabled (残疾的) extreme athlete. When he was twelve years old, a fast car ran a red light and hit him. Then he was sent into the hospital with twenty broken bones and. a famous baseball player, but at that a seriously injured arm. Jason had always wanted to become a time that dream was gone.

    However, Jason loved sports and he still wanted to be a good athlete. He began running and taking part in duathlons(铁人两项) in high school. Years later in 2004, he decided to start training for the Ironman, and has competed in many extreme races since then. In 2008, Jason became the first disabled athlete to complete the Ultraman (320 miles of biking, swimming and running) ,and it led him to an ESPY award (奖项) for Best Male Athlete with a Disability in 2009.

    If you are in a bad situation and don't know what to do now, Running on Faith is a good book for you. If you love running and want to reach some race goals, this book is good for you, too. Anyway, this book is worth reading for everyone who loves reading and wants to turn dreams into reality.