Dear Sir,

    I am writing to express my concern about the plans to build a motorway near our village.

    Haldersham is one of the loveliest villages in England. It is peaceful and quiet, and it is situated in a very attractive valley. There are also several beautiful countryside walks in the surroundings, with a view of many rare trees and plants.

    Most of the people who live in Haldersham have moved here from other places, often from London and other big cities. They have bought houses here to live in a place far away from the noise and the stress of the big city. They paid a lot of money for their houses, but they knew they would get a high quality of life for it.

    If the planned motorway is built, life in Haldersham will change greatly. There will be a lot of noise around us, and nobody will want to go on the walks. House prices will certainly go down, because nobody will want to buy houses in a place close to a motorway. Haldersham will become an ugly place.

    I don't think any of the people living in this beautiful village want that, and we all believe exposure to noise pollution can have a direct influence on our health. So, let's all tell the politicians who support the motorway plans what we think about them!

Yours faithfully,

Hilary Riley

    The Asian country announced yesterday that China was putting tariffs or taxes on about $3 billion worth of imports from the U.S. The tariffs are on 128 American-made products, ranging from pork and fruit to steel pipes. This will make it more expensive for America businesses to sell those products in China. And China says this was done as a response to the tariffs that the U.S. recently put on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum.

    Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump says more tariffs, new ones worth as much a $50 billion are being planned by the U.S. on additional goods from China. So, one big question is, will all this cause a trade war, when countries take turns putting tariffs on each other 's goods, causing prices to rise?

    We don't know yet. The U.S. and China ship hundreds of billions of dollars of goods back and forth every year. So, the tariffs we've seen so far are a tiny part of that. And America's treasury secretary says the U.S. and China are talking behind the scenes about how to prevent a possible trade war.

    But a number of experts are concerned this could turn into one and so are some stock investors. The Chinese tariffs were a major factor in a drop of the U.S. stock market yesterday when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 459 points. But just like it's hard to tell if a trade war is on the horizon, it's also hard to tell what kind of effects one could have decades down the road.

    Planning to get away? Think passport first

    If you're planning to get away from it all this year, you should think passport first. Checking you have a valid passport before you book your trip takes minutes but could save you the trouble and cost of not being able to go.

    Renewing (更新) your passport before it runs out

    You can renew your passport up to 9 months before it can no longer be legally used. So take the time now and save the tears later.

    Applying for a passport for the first time

    Our eligibility (资格) checks mean that it takes a minimum of one week to issue (颁发) a passport. So make sure you don't leave it to the last minute, and apply in plenty of time.

    Help with your application is just around the corner

    Selected Post Office branches and Worldchoice travel agents offer a Check and Send service that helps you with your application. It's convenient and you should receive your passport within 2 weeks.

    If you need to apply for or renew a passport, you can either:

    Pick up a Passport Application Form at Selected Post Office branches and Worldchoice travel agents.

    Or call the Application Form Request line on 0901 4700 100 or visit www.passport.gov.uk

    If your need is urgent, call 0870 521 0410 for an appointment at one of our offices. We can't guarantee to see customers without an appointment.

    From 14th January a guaranteed same day (passport renewals only) or one week service will be available from passport public counters.

    Calls will be charged 60p per minute and the cost per call should not normally be more than 90p.

    Calls are charged at national rates.

    With more and more people swimming at beaches every year, the problem of sharks (鲨鱼) takes on new importance. There are people who still insist that sharks never attack human beings unless they are bleeding or wounded, but this belief has not been clearly proved. In the past few years, on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, there have been cases of shark attacks which resulted in death. And just how many of the swimmers who have disappeared were victims of shark attacks will never be known. Clearly, these violent fish can be dangerous. Several species are known to attack human beings, and it is believed by some experts that certain sharks, once having tasted human blood, develop a taste for it.

    The chances that one will come across a shark are small, but certain precautions should be taken by everyone. (A precaution is something you do in order to prevent something dangerous or unpleasant from happening.) Putting hands or legs over the side of a boat in warm waters is to be avoided. Swimming far out from beaches is inviting trouble. No swimmer should go great distances from shore alone, or go into the water when nobody else is about. Skin divers, particularly those who go deep down in the water or among rocks and ledges (暗礁) that serve as hiding places for sharks, are taking unnecessary risks.

    If one is in a boat that is rubbed against by a shark, he should remember the creature is not trying to upset his boat; it is probably trying to rub off sea lice (海虱). A blow, especially on the nose, will drive it off. If a swimmer comes across a shark, he should swim away as quietly as possible, trying to avoid making it angry. He should also head for shore (岸) as quickly as possible.

Gene technology to benefit people

    Among all the fast growing science and technology, the research of human genes, or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Sometimes it is a hot topic discussed by people.

    The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. And to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied, not only these two diseases can be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved, therefore it benefits the economy as well. In addition, human life span(寿命) can be prolonged.

    Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and clever children. Some families, with the English imperial(皇室) family being a good example, have hereditary(遗传的) diseases. This means their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing about hereditary diseases. But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly. The scientist just need to find the wrong gene and correct it and a healthy child will be born.

    Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to manufacture human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in cloning a sheep; therefore these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned. But I believe cloned babies will not come out in large quantities, for most couples in the world can have babies in very normal way. Of course, the governments must take care to control gene technology.

    A traditional Chinese cough syrup (糖浆), called Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa (念慈庵川贝枇杷膏), is flying off the shelves in New York stores this flu season, following a US news report.

    According to a report in The Wall Street Journal last week, Mr. Alex Schweder, a professor of design at Pratt Institute suffering a cough for about 10 days, felt better 15 minutes after he drank a bottle of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa. It had been recommended by his girlfriend, who first learnt about the cough syrup 30 years ago when she was living in Hong Kong.

    Mr. Schweder was shocked by the magical effects of the cough syrup, and recommended it to many people. This, together with other factors, soon made the Chinese medicine popular in New York City.

    A 300ml bottle is now sold at US$13.29 on Walmart's website. This is more than double the former price in some pharmacies (药店) in Manhattan's Chinatown, selling at about US$6 per bottle. "The number of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa we sold over the past few days was much more than usual," said Winnie, a sales staff member of Buy-rite pharmacy in Chinatown. "More and more Westerners are accepting this medicine because it is effective," she said.

    According to the Kingworld Medicines Group's official website, Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa is made of "valuable Chinese herbs and honey, and has surprising effects in treating coughs." However, experts warn that taking the cough syrup can carry health risks, including when it is used with other medicines, used too much or taken instead of prescription medication (处方药).

    Dr. Keith Brenner, a specialist in pulmonary medicine at Columbia University Medical Centre New York Presbyterian Hospital, said, "I think people who use these things may not even tell the doctor about them, and it's a problem."