In the late 1950s, a Russian geneticist called Dmitry K. Belyaev attempted to create a tame (驯化的) fox population. Through the work of a breeding programme at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics at Novosibirsk, in Russia, he sought to find the evolutionary pathway of tame animals. His test subjects were silver-black foxes, a melanistic (带黑色的) version of the red fox that had been bred in farms for the color of their fur.

    He selected the animals based on how they responded when their cage was opened. About 10% of the foxes displayed a weak “wild-response”, meaning they were docile around humans. Those that hid in the corner or made aggressive voices were left in the farm. Of those friendly foxes, 100 females and 30 males were chosen as the first generations of parents.

    When the young foxes were born, the researchers hand-fed them. They also attempted to touch or pet the foxes when they were two to two-and-a-half months old, for strictly measured periods at a time. If the young foxes continued to show aggressive response, even after significant human contact, they were thrown away from the population—meaning they were made into fur coats. In each selection, less than 10% of tame individuals were used as parents of the next generation.

    By the fourth generation, the scientists started to see dramatic changes. The young foxes were beginning to behave more like dogs. They wagged their tails and “eagerly” sought contact with humans. By 2005-2006, almost all the foxes were playful, friendly and behaving like domestic dogs. The foxes could “read” human hints and respond correctly to gestures or glances.

    In every British town, large and small, you will find shops that sell second-hand goods. Sometimes such shops deal mostly in furniture, sometimes in books, sometimes in ornaments（装饰） and household goods, sometimes even in clothes.

    The furniture may often be "antique", and it may well have changed hands many times. It may also be very valuable, although the most valuable piece will usually go to the London salerooms, where one piece might well be sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds. As you look around these shops and see the polished wood of chests and tables, you cannot help thinking of those long-dead hands which polished that wood, of those now-closed eyes which once looked at these pieces with love.

    The books, too, may be antique and very precious; some may be rare first printings. Often when someone dies or has to move house, his books may all be sold, so that sometimes you may find whole libraries in one shop. On the border between England and Wales, there is a town which has become a huge bookshop as well. Even the cinema and castle have been taken over, and now books have replaced sheep as the town's main trade.

    There are also much more humble shops, sometimes simply called "junk shops", where you can buy small household pieces very cheaply. Sometimes the profits（利润）from these shops go to charity. Even these pieces, though, can make you feel sad; you think of those people who once treasured them, but who have moved on to another country or to death.

    Although the British do not worship（崇拜）their ancestors, they do treasure the past and the things of the past. This is true of houses as well. These days no one knocks them down; they are rebuilt until they are often better than new. In Britain, people do not buy something just because it is new. Old things are treasured for their proven worth; new things have to prove themselves before they are accepted.

    Do you ever wonder why trees begin to bud (发芽) earlier in some cities? Scientists finally found the answer but it's not very pleasant. New science suggests a relationship between light pollution and the timing when trees produce buds, which signals the arrival of the spring season.

    Light pollution is defined by the Lighting Research Center as the unwanted consequence of outdoor lighting such as street lights. Excessive (过多的) man-made light at night results in disturbed natural cycles, and also prevents the observation of stars and planets at night. But its effect on the environment goes beyond that.

    By studying some trees, researchers found out that trees that are more exposed to artificial lighting at night bud up to 7.5 days earlier than those at the natural nighttime setting. And they found out that light had a more significant effect than temperature when the buds came out. The early budding may cause problems for insects, which feed on leaves, and the birds which then feed on them in turn. Professor Richard French Constant, who helped lead the research, explained that more than the budding of trees, the study implies the danger to the balance of the ecosystem. “At the moment, caterpillars (毛毛虫) are timed to hatch to make the most of the opportunities to feed on freshly budded leaves, and birds hatch in time to feed on the young caterpillar,” he said.

    Migratory (迁徙的) birds are also negatively affected by light pollution. The glare might confuse them and make them lose their flying sense. The phenomenon might explain why some birds accidentally knock into buildings.

    Such results stress the need to pursue studies that aim to measure the effect of light pollution. If the issue were left to continue, it is estimated that by 2100, spring would begin almost a full month earlier than it does today.

    Babies have an astonishing talent that adults entirely lose. By the age of one, they can recognise the significant noises around them and group them into a language. When we have lost this capacity as adults, it becomes enormously difficult to distinguish between sounds that are glaringly different to a native speaker. It all sounds Greek to us. This is because the range of possible sounds that humans use to convey meaning may be as high as 2,000, but few languages use more than 100 and even then the significant noises－the phonemes (音素) of a language－each cover a range of sounds and so vague distinctions which would change the meaning of a word in other languages.

    But where do these phonemes come from and why do they shift over time? New research suggests that the apparently arbitrary distribution of some sounds around the world may be partially explained by diet. This is unexpected. We'd rather think of language as product of our thought  rather than of the arrangement of our teeth. In reality, though, any given language must be both.

    Hunter gatherer languages very seldom use the sounds known as labiodentals (唇齿音)－those such as f and v－that are made by touching the lower lip with the upper teeth. Only two of the hundreds of Australian aboriginal languages use them, for example. But in cultures that have discovered farming, these consonants (辅音) are much more common. The argument goes that farmers eat more cooked food and more dairy than hunter gatherers. Either way, they need to chew mush less, and to bite less with their front teeth. So farmers grew up with smaller lower jaws and more of an overbite than their ancestors who had to bite through harder foods. It became easier for them to make the labiodental consonants instead of purely labial (唇音) ones: one example is that f come to take the place of p. Romans said "pater" but English speakers (unless they're Rees－Moggs) say "father".

    Beyond these particular changes, the story highlights the way in which everything distinctively human is both material and spiritual: speech must combine sound and meaning, and the meaning can't exist or be transmitted without a real object. But neither can it be reduced to the purely physical, as our inability to understand or even to recognise foreign languages makes clear. The food we eat shapes our jaws, and our jaws in turn shape the sounds of our language. The ease with which we eat probably shapes our thought too, as anyone who has suffered toothache could testify. What we eat may have shaped the sounds of our language, but how we eat changes how we feel and what we use language to express. A family meal is very different from a sandwich at the office desk, even if the calorie is the same. Food has purposes and meanings far beyond keeping us alive and pleasing the Palate (味觉).

Dear Mr.ing,

    I'm Bob Watson, one of the customers in your grocery store. I'm writing to express my idea about your goods.

    Your Supermart is outstanding in many ways. First I enjoy the selection of produce and fresh bakery items. Second your low prices and excellent customer service keep me coming back to Supermart. I have found, however, that I must make a separate shopping trip to one of your competitors because there are many items your store does not carry. This becomes inconvenient for me, as my time is valuable, and I don't like to make two trips. I have been a long time Supermart shopper and hope to continue for many years. If I could find all the items I need in one place, I would be a more satisfied customer.

    Specifically, I have never been able to purchase nacho cheese soup at your store. I can find other flavors (味道) of soup, but your store does not carry nacho cheese soup, a common ingredient (原料) in many of my recipes. In addition, I can only find large wonton wrappers, while many other stores carry both large and small and offer a more varied selection for their customers. Another example is Regent Brand Chili Seasoning. Though it is not a leading brand, it is still common on the shelves of other grocery stores in this area and is superior in flavor to its competitors.

    I sincerely hope to continue a relationship with your store, and I hope that you will consider the possibility of expanding your goods to be more competitive.

Yours truly,

Bob Watson