The deadliest Ebola(埃博拉病毒) outbreak inrecorded history is happening right now. The outbreak is unprecedented(空前的) both in the number of people who have gotten sick and in the geographic scope. And so farit's been a long battle that doesn't appear to be slowing down.

    Ebola is both rare and very deadly. Since the first outbreak in 1976, Ebola viruses have infected thousands of people and killed roughly killed 60 percent of them. Symptoms can come on quickly and kill fast.

    The current outbreak started in Guinea sometime in late 2013 orearly 2014. It has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia, including somecapital cities. And one infected patient traveled on a plane to Nigeria, where he spread the disease to several others and then died. Cases have also popped up in various other countries throughout the world, including in Dallas and NewYork City in the United States.

    The Ebola virus has now hit many countries, including Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, and the United States. The virus, which starts off with flu-like symptoms and sometimes ends with bleeding, has infected about 6,500 people and killed more than 3,000 since this winter, according to the World Health Organization on September 30, 2014.

    There are some social and political factors contributing to the current disaster. Because this is the first major Ebola outbreak in WestAfrica, many of the region's health workers didn't have experience or trainingin how to protect themselves or care for patients with this disease.

    Journalist David Quammen put it well in a recent New York Timesarticle, “Ebola is more dangerous to humans than perhaps any known virus on Earth, except rabies(狂犬病) and HIV. Andit does its damage much faster than either.”

    Hopefully, researchers are working to find drugs, including a recent $50 million push at the National Institutes of Health. And scientists are working on vaccines(疫苗), including looking into ones that might be able to help wild chimpanzees, which are also susceptible to the disease. The first human Ebola vaccine trial is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015.

When milk arrived on the doorstep

    When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr.Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn't take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.

    Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note-"Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery"—and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.

    All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn't freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.

    There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practiced to have a delivery service.

    Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch. Every so often my son's friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.

    Far out in the lake was a large wooden platform(平台) on which stood an improbably high diving board- a kind of wooden Eiffel Tower. It was, I'm sure, the county's tallest wooden structure (结构) and no one had ever been known to jump from it. So it was quite a shock when our teacher, Mr. Milton, announced that he would dive off the high board that very afternoon.

    Word of his questionable plan was already spreading through town as Mr. Milton swam out to the platform. He was just a tiny, stick figure when he got there but even from such a distance the high board seemed almost to touch the clouds. Once at the top, he paced the enormously long board , then look some deep breaths and finally stood at the edge. He was going to do it.

    Several hundred people had gathered at the shore to watch. Mr. Milton stood for quite along time ;then he raised his arms, took one bounce(弹跳) and launched himself into ;perfect dive. He fell with perfect style for what seemed minutes. The crowd fell silent. But about three quarters of the way down he seemed to have second thoughts and began suddenly to panic(惊慌)，waving his arms and legs like someone having a bad dream. When he was perhaps thirty feet above the water, he gave up on waving and spread his arms and legs wide, obviously hoping that it would somehow slow his fall. It didn't. He hit the water at over six hundred miles an hour, making birds fly out of their trees three miles away. I don't think he entered the water at all. He just bounced off it, about fifteen feet back into the air. After that, he lay still on the surface , like an autumn leaf.

    He was brought to shore by two passing fishermen in a rowboat and placed on an old blanket where he spent the rest of the afternoon. Occasionally he accepted a little water, but otherwise was too shocked to speak.

    It was the best day of my life.

    On a cool morning, Wilson Kasaine heads out along a dirt path in southern Kenya. His calmness makes it easy to forget that he's tracking one of the most dangerous animals in the world. Kasaine is tracking lions—especially one lion called Marti, who is the real-life Lion King of Selenkay Conservancy.

    Tracking lions on foot may sound like a death wish, but Kasaine has been doing it for most of his life. Born into a traditional Maasai family he quickly grew to understand the beauty and danger of wildlife. Living with big wild animals forces him to develop a good sense of where they have been and where they may be going. During his 12-kilometer walks to and from school, he learned how to tell the paw prints (爪印)of a lion from those of other animals.

    Growing up, Kasaine knew that improving his tracking abilities would help him avoid surprise meetings with dangerous animals. For many Maasai, tracking is mainly a matter of self-protection. But Kasaine is tracking lions to meet them and to protect them. He leads a small group of wide-eyed tourists over the red sandy path, searching for the lion that has left upon it his prints.

    Each year, thousands of tourists crowd Kenya's national parks to try to have a look at the “big five”; elephants, rhinoceros, leopards, buffaloes and lions. The international draw of these animals matters a lot because the nation's economy is tied to the protection of its wildlife. If Kenya's wildlife disappears, so does its second-largest source of income.

    Wildlife protection efforts in Kenya meant marking off land exclusively (专门地) for animals. But it also meant that the people who had originally lived in the area were forced to leave their land and into smaller surrounding areas. They are also finding it increasingly hard to keep a traditional Maasai lifestyle. But people are glad that it really makes a difference to wildlife protection.

    My kids lifted the Christmas ornaments (饰品) out of a wooden box in Gee's living room. They were so happy and excited to see tiny stuffed cats and cartoon characters. Gee stood beside them, quietly explaining each treasure. She told me that she and Tom built their Christmas ornament collection piece by piece each year. She smiled as we left with the box, because her precious heirlooms, gathered over a life time, had found a new home.

    We first met Tom and Gee in the early days of our marriage. Someone had been returning our garbage cans to the garage, and Jim and I had wondered who One day we spotted him: a man who lived across the street. I baked cookies and left them on a bench outside the garage with a thank-you note. We then found a typed letter from Tom, explaining that he had begun returning cans for people he hardly knew, because neighbors had done this for Gee when he was in hospital. Now he paid it forward by doing the same for all of us.

    A few years after we'd moved in, Tom died, much to our sorrow. Gee told us she still talked to Tom every day. When we left her house with the precious box, I realized how hard it must be for Gee to part with that box, a piece of Tom.

    These days, we're planning a move. The house that seemed so huge six years ago is filled with furniture, books, toys and, of course, people. We know it's time to go, but soon realize gaining a third bedroom seems like a bad trade for all we stand to lose.

    This Christmas, we'll decorate our tree with Gee and Tom's ornaments. Maybe I'll talk to Tom just as Gee still does. Thank you, I'll say For teaching us what it means to be a neighbor.

The Moon Festival is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(eight) month of the lunar calendar. It's a day to get together with your relatives, admire the moon, and enjoy mooncakes. Here is one way to enjoy a Chinese Moon Festival—cook for the Moon Festival.

Treat your relatives and friends with mooncakes. No Moon Festival is complete{#blank#}2{#/blank#}mooncakes. You can buy them from a Chinese bakery or make them on your own if you have time. You will send them to relatives and friends as{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (present), so prepare enough mooncakes!

Make mooncake biscuits for a sweet treat. Mooncake biscuits aren't as well-known as mooncakes,{#blank#}4{#/blank#}they can still be a tasty dessert for the Moon Festival. They're cookies made from the same dough (生面团) as you use to form{#blank#}5{#/blank#}outside of the mooncakes. You need to wait for 1-2 days{#blank#}6{#/blank#}you can eat them.

Plan a dinner of tasty and{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(tradition) dishes. A Moon Festival dinner{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(offer) delicious for the whole family to enjoy. Think about how many people you{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (invite) over and start to plan your meal. Many families also choose to eat out for the Moon Festival in order not{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(make) a meal-it's up to you!