I Am A Pencil

    Children's book author Sam Swope took a job teaching writing to third-graders in the New York City. His students were immigrants （移民） or the children of immigrants from 21 countries，speaking 11 languages and having many different beliefs. But there were a few things they had in common：family troubles，money struggles and poetry.

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    What It Takes To Help Me Out

    An editor for US News & World Report，David L. Marcus takes us inside a boarding （寄宿）school for troubled teens. He shows the great stresses that are put on these teens and make them lose their confidence. This should cause us to think hard about troubled teens.

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    The Most Scenic Drives in America

    Published again and again and translated into several languages beginning in 1997，this travel book includes over 200 brand-new photographs of the wonderful places along 120 selected routes.

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    Our Brother's Keeper

    Author Jedwin Smith tells what happened when he met several of his brother's old friends. They make a journey to Vietnam，to visit the place where Jeff，his brother，died. Surprisingly，their Vietnamese guide was the former commander （海军中校）carrying out the attack that killed Jeff. A powerful story of brotherhood，bravery and understanding carried out.

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    After Mom died, I began visiting Dad every morning before I went to work. He was frail and moved slowly, but he always had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice on the kitchen table for me, along with an unsigned note reading, "Drink your juice." Such a gesture, I knew, was as far as Dad had ever been able to go in expressing his love. In fact, I remember, as a kid I had questioned Mom "Why doesn't Dad love me?" Mom frowned, "Who said he doesn't love you?" "Well, he never tells me," I complained. "He never tells me either," she said, smiling. "But look how hard he works to take care of us, to buy us food and clothes, and to pay for this house. That's how your father tells us he loves us."

    I nodded slowly. I understood in my head, but not in my heart. I still wanted my father to put his arms around me and tell me he loved me. Dad owned and operated a small scrap (片) metal business, and after school I often hung around while he worked. Dad fed scrap steel into a machine which looked like a giant pair of scissors with blades thicker than my father's body. If he didn't feed those terrifying blades just right, he risked serious injury. "Why don't you hire someone to do that for you?" Mom asked Dad one night as she bent over him and rubbed his aching shoulders . "Why don't you hire a cook?" Dad asked, giving her one of his rare smiles.

    Many years later, during my first daily visit, after drinking the juice my father had squeezed for me, I walked over, hugged him and said, "I love you, Dad." From then on I did this every morning. My father never told me how he felt about my hugs, and there was never any expression on his face when I gave them.

    English teenagers will receive cooking lessons in schools. The idea is to encourage healthy eating to solve the problem that many people are overweight. Also, it worries people that basic cooking and food preparation skills are being lost because parents use too much pre-prepared fast food.

Cooking was once regarded as an important part of education in England—even if it was mainly for girls. In recent years cooking has become less important in schools. But the rising level of obesity has led to rethink about the food that children are given and the skills they should be taught.

    “What we want is to teach young people how to do basic, simple meals, which they can use now at home and then in their life,” said Ed Balls, an education expert.

    The new lessons will start in September, but some schools without kitchens will be given a longer time to prepare. Also, there may be a shortage of teachers with the right skills, since schools have been teaching food technology rather than practical cooking. Besides, the lessons for hand-on cooking will only be one hour a week for one term. But the well-known cookery writer, Pru Leith, believe it will be worth it.

    “If we'd done this thirty years ago we might not have to face the problem about obesity and lack of knowledge about food and so on. Every child should know how to cook, not just so that they'll be healthy, but because it's a life skill which is a real pleasure.”

    The renewed interest in cooking is an effort to reduce the obesity rate, which is almost the highest in Europe, and according to the government, half of all British people will be obese in 25 years if present trends are not halted.

    The world's first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system, was born.

    The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30，000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels(隧道) with ash and soot(煤灰), as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.

    Employers and managers must never ignore the need for an office or industrial first aid kit. The federal government says that every workplace should be equipped with first aid kits and that employees should be taught first aid.

    Good preparation can prevent unnecessary injury, lose of productivity(生产效率), or even law suits when a workplace emergency occurs.

    An employer must first provide the proper number of first aid kits for his workers. Many kits are available for sale online by industrial first aid kit suppliers. Kits designed for ten workers cost about $15 and kits designed for fifty workers cost about $80. There are kits also available for a small office，a vehicle，or work sites. Kits should be stored in a portable(轻便的), durable, watertight container. Fix the kit to the wall so that it is easily seen and reached in an emergency. Include a list of kit's contents to ensure it is always fully stocked.

    Show each worker where the kit is located and what tools it contains. Educate each worker about possible injuries and which ones will require immediate medical attention from professionals.

    The American Red Cross sells industrial first aid kits that meet the United States' Occupational Safety and Health Administration's requirements. Several types of kits are available. The Personal Protection Kit contains gloves, gowns, and masks to protect workers from dangers like blood and bodily fluids. It costs about $15. The American Red Cross also sells industrial first aid kits for 25 or 50 workers that are both very cheap.

    We've all fantasized about it—after a rough day at work, stuck in traffic with commuters (上下班的人) we'd rather not have in our personal space, and bills to pay, plus the sound of the crying baby in the apartment next door. How nice would it be to go solo and live on an island of one, population: me?

    Well, this is the reality for 84 year old Elsie Eiler of Monowi, Nebraska. She is the sole resident of her hometown, which is the smallest recognized locality in the United States.

    Looking back at the 2000 census (人口普查), the town used to have another resident: Elsie's husband Rudy. Since he died in 2004, Elsie has lived in the town by herself. She considers herself to be the mayor, treasurer, and town librarian. Her main source of income is the bar that is frequented by truckers and other people passing through—the Monowi Tavern, which she founded with her late husband back in 1971 . She received a lot of public attention after it was discovered that she was the sole resident of Monowi, and in an interview she stated that many visitors from around the world have come to meet her in Monowi.

    When asked if she ever gets lonely, she said "I know I could always move closer to my children or stay with them whenever I want, but then I'd have to make all new friends again. Hopefully I will be able to stay here. It's where I want to be."