Breathing in polluted air on busy roads is as harmful as passively smoking ten cigarettes a day, new research has found. The drop in pollution had the same effects as avoiding four cigarettes a day. One of the researchers, Saskia van der Zee, explained why they compared the effects of pollution lo passive smoking. “We thought that passive smoking would be easier to understand,” she told The Times. "You don't want your neighbors to come into your house and smoke three cigarettes every day."

    Earlier this week, doctors warned that Britain is facing a major health emergency unless diesel(柴油)cars are taken off the roads. Emissions (排放物) from diesel cars arc already contributing to smog which has been linked to the deaths of 40,000 people a year. Health charities, medical leaders and environmental groups have called for a modern Clean Air Act lo bring pollution under control. Separately, more than 300 doctors in the Doctors Against Diesel group have written to Theresa May, calling for a diesel reduction.

    Professor John Middleton, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said, “Diesel is the primary source of nitrogen dioxide(二氧化氮)in urban areas and is linked to health effects that begin before birth and extend throughout life, from childhood lung development to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. It is high lime lo handle the problem.”

    London is already planning to introduce an “emission zone” which diesel drivers would be charged to enter, and other cities are set to follow. But exerts are desperate to find new ways to control the damage done by pollution. Diesel drivers in Westminster have been told they may soon be charged 50 percent extra for on-street parking. And Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London，submitted a £ 3,500 plan to encourage drivers to switch to petrol or electric cars.

    “Cutting diesel emissions would therefore have an immediate effect on children's personal exposure, and improve their long-term health.” A government spokesman said.

Lisa: My best teacher is my geography teacher in 10th grade. Why? Because we did school projects! Back then I wrote about India and never forgot what I had learned. He brought the culture to life by letting me become part of it. He also listened to us and was always ready with a kind word.

David: My best teacher is my high school social studies and history teacher, Thomas Ladenburg. He respected us, though we were just teenagers. His class was never boring because he often asked us to discuss in class. He used his own materials which made the class very interesting.

Henry: My best ever teacher is my biology teacher in high school. I really liked her class. She explained everything very clearly. She also checked our notebooks to make sure we had written down what she said. Now, many years later, I can still remember a large part of the things she taught!

Susan: The best teacher I have ever had is my 10th grade social studies teacher. She was always in a good mood and kept us laughing. She was really young, so she acted like us teenagers, which made learning fun. If we needed to talk to an adult about a problem, we would always come to her because we knew she could help us.

Tom: My favourite teacher is Mr. Yelle. He taught us math, science and music. He spoke to us “at eye level”, and was very patient and kind. We did great projects for the science fairs. Forty years later, I still remember his lessons very well. By the way, though he was called Mr Yelle, he didn't yell(喊叫).

When I was nine yean old, I loved to go fishing with my dad. But the only thing that wasn't very fun about it was that he could catch many fish white I couldn't catch anything. I usually got pretty upset and kept asking him why. He always answered, "Son, if you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish", I remember being even more upset then because, "I'm not a fish!"I didn't know how to think like a fish. Besides, I reasoned, how could what I think influence what a fish does?

    As I got a little older I began to understand what my dad really meant. So, I read some books on fish. And I even joined the local fishing club and started attending the monthly meetings. I learned that a fish is a cold-blooded animal and therefore is very sensitive to water temperature. That is why fish prefer shallow water to deep water because the former is warmer. Besides, water is usually warmer in direct sunlight than in the shade. Yet, fish don't have any eyelids(眼皮)and the sun hum their eyes... The more I understood fish, the more I became effective at finding and catching them.

When I grew up and entered the business world, I remember hearing my first boss say, "We all need to think like salespeople." But it didn't completely make sense. My dad never once said, "If you want to catch a fish you need to think like a fisherman." What he said was, "You need to think like a fish." Years later, with great efforts to promote long-term services to people much older and richer than me, I gradually learned what we all need is to think more like customers. It is not an easy job. I will show you how in the following chapters.

    Kettle's Yard, Cambridge

    This modern-art gallery in a Victorian house was founded in the 1950s by Tate Jim and reopened in February following a two-year redevelopment by Jamie Fobert Architects, the team behind the 2017 Tate Steves extension. This means a new cafe, a four-floor education wing and improved gallery space that can accommodate more visitors. The gallery's permanent collection includes works by Joan Miró, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

    Being Brunel, Bristol

    To celebrate the life and work of famous civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunei, Being Brunei will open in March on Bristol's harbourside. The museum will include a range of interactive and entertaining exhibits, including talking portraits of his friends and family and personal possessions, including an 1821 school report. It is a good place for families to strengthen connections.

    Royal Academy of Arts, London

    The RA reopens on 19 May for its 250th anniversary, following a £50m renovation (翻新) with a gallery and expanded exhibition programme. These will include three day-lit galleries, which will host exhibitions with a focus on contemporary art and architecture. The grand frontwall of the Burlington Gardens building has also been restored—possibly the first time it's had a proper clean in its 150 year history.

    V&A, Dundee

    One of the most significant new openings of the year will be Scotland's first design museum and also the first V&A anywhere outside of London on 15 September. The museum building sits on the river Tay. It will celebrate Scottish design and objects in its collection.

The best books of the year

    We human beings haven't been good friends to animals. For thousands of years, we have been polluting the environment, making it hard for animals to live on the planet. We have been killing animals for their fur, feathers or meat, or simply because they are dangerous. As a result, many kinds of animals have disappeared forever. Hundreds more are on the endangered list today.

    Should we care about animals? Of course we should. If animals of a certain kind all disappear, they will never come back again. Animals are more than just resources of things we need. Every kind of animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying any kind of animal can lead to many problems. For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(鹰), the corn and grain that the farmers stored were destroyed by rats and mice. Why？Because hawks eat rats and mice. With less and less hawks to keep down their numbers, rats and mice multiplied quickly. And if people kill too many birds, the fields will be bothered with insects. It is because birds eat insects. When there are less and less birds, more and more insects will eat the crops.

    Luckily, we've realized that we shouldn't kill animals any more. And people are working hard to save those animals that would disappear soon. The government also passed laws to protect the endangered animals. In fact, quite a few countries have passed such laws. These laws forbid the killing of any kind of animal on the endangered list. We should try our best to protect and save the endangered animals.