In ancient Egypt, a shopkeeper discovered that he could attract customers to his shop simply by making changes to its environment. Modern businesses have been following his lead,with more tactics（策略）.

One tactic involves where to display the goods. Foe example, stores place fruits and vegetables in the first section. They know that customers who buy the healthy food first will feel happy so that they will buy more junk food（垃圾食品）later in their trip. In department stores, section is generally next to the women's cosmetics(化妆品) section：while the shop assistant is going back to find the right size shoe, bored customers are likely to wander over cosmetics they might want to try later.

Besides, businesses seek to appeal to customers' senses. Stores notice that the smell of baked goods encourages shopping, they make their own bread each morning and then fan the bread smell into the store throughout the day. Music sells goods, too. Researchers in Britain found that when French music was played, sales of French wine went up.

           When it comes to the selling of houses, businesses also use highly rewarding tactics. They find that customers make decision in the first few second upon walking in the door, and turn it into a business opportunity. A California builder designed the structure of its houses smartly. When entering the house, the customer would see the Pacific Ocean through the windows, and then the poll through an open stairway leading to the lower level. The instant view of water on both levels helped sell these $10 million houses.

    In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. Now this is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters who have never been close by during of the birth a baby and have never experienced the death of a family member.

    Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we send them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit terminally （晚期的）in patients— even when those patients are their parents. This deprives（剥夺）the dying patient of family members during the last few days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience.

    Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed about 500 terminally in order to find out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential（潜在的）outcome.

    It is important for family members, and doctors and nurses to understand these patients' communication in order to truly understand their needs, fears and fantasies （幻想）. Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them shared with us their great need to be informed, to be kept up —to —date on their medical condition and to be told when the end was near. We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were better able to cope with the coming of detach and finally to reach a true stage of acceptance before death.

    Your glasses may someday replace your smartphone, and some New Yorkers are ready for the switch. Some in the city can't wait to try them on and use the maps and GPS that the futuristic eyewear is likely to include.

    “ I'd use it if I were hanging out with friends at 3 a. m. and going to the [bar and wanted to see what was open,” said Walter Choo, 40, of Fort Greene.

    The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between $250 and $600, the Times said, possibly including a variation of augmented(增强的) reality, a technology already available on smartphones and tablets (平板电脑) that overlays information onto the screen about one's surroundings. So, for example, if you were walking down a street, indicators would____showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you.

    "As far as a mainstream consumer product, this just isn't something anybody needs,” said Sam Biddle, who writes for Gizmodo.com.  “ We're accustomed to having one thing in our pocket to do all these things,” he added, “and the average consumer isn't gonna be able to afford another device (装置) that's hundreds and hundreds of dollars.”9to5Google publisher Seth Weintraub, who has been reporting on the smartphone-like glasses since late last year, said he is confident that this type of wearable device will eventually be as common as smartphones.

    “It's just like smartphones 10 years ago,” Weintraub said. “A few people started getting emails on their phones, and people thought that was crazy. Same kind of thing. We see people bending their heads to look at their smartphones, and it's unnatural,” he said. “ There's gonna be improvements to that, and this a step there.”

    The year 2018 will mark the 100th anniversary of the deadliest influenza outbreak in history. It is estimated that the influenza pandemic(瘟疫) of 1918 killed more than 50 million people around the world. Other estimates go much higher. Because of a lack of medical record—keeping, we may never know the exact number.

    The influenza was a fast killer. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others died after a few days. “Their lungs filled with liquid and they choked to death. ”The 1918 flu pandemic was also different from other outbreaks. It struck many young, healthy people. Viruses usually affect sick or old people.

    Although modem medicine effectively controls many diseases, influenza remains difficult to protect against, The World Health Organization estimates that every year influenza kills 250, 000 to 500, 000 people around the world. Each year, medical scientists develop flu vaccines(疫苗) which offer immunity(免疫)from some influenza viruses. But they can only guess which form of the virus will spread.

    Health officials remain concerned about another flu pandemic. New forms of the flu virus appear regularly. One example was the “swine flu”or H1N1outbreak in 2009. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Infectious diseases in the United States says that virus caused a true pandemic.

    To stop the next pandemic, scientists are now researching how to create a universal influenza vaccine. In October 2017, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the U. S. announced the Universal Influenza Vaccine Initiative. The university said researchers are leading an international effort to develop a universal influenza vaccine that will protect everyone against all forms of the flu anywhere in the world. The university added that researchers will begin tests in early 2018, the Human Vaccines Project, a public—private partnership, is funding the project. However, until a universal influenza vaccine is available, today's seasonal flu vaccine remains important.

    The koala is an unusual creature. Native to Australia and a bit bigger than a rabbit, it spends most of its time in eucalyptus trees（桉树）, feeding on leaves that are poisonous to nearly every other animal on the planet.

    The koala sleeps about 22 hours a day and spends the remainder of its time eating and resting. It might spend 10 minutes a day moving, experts say, usually from one tree to another. It has a soft pad at the end of its spine and extra thick fur on its rear end to make the effort, of sitting more comfortable.

    Threats and protective measures

    The unique lifestyle of the koala has helped it prosper, but today the cute and iconic creature is facing threats from habitat loss, disease and a changing climate. Koala populations are expected to decline by 50 percent in the next 20 years according to the Australian Museum.

    To help protect these animals, which bring in an estimated $1.1 billion to Australia each year through koala-related tourism, an international team of researchers has published the first complete genome（基因组）of the koala. Their hope is that the keys to the marsupial's（有袋动物）long-term survival might be planted in its genetic code.

"The ultimate goal is that we won't have to…rescue them from the edge of extinction," said Rebecca Johnson of the Australian Museum Research Institute in Sydney, who led the work.

    "Now we have a really good understanding of the koala genome, and we are in a fantastic position to use that knowledge to help us manage them."

    Early findings

    An elementary analysis of the koala's genome, published in Nature Genetics, has already yielded some interesting findings.

    For example, the authors found that, compared to other mammals, the koala's DNA includes an expansion in the number of genes that encode for enzymes involved in anti-poison. That allows them to have a diet that depends almost entirely on eucalyplus leaves which are unusually high in poison. However, it also means that koalas metabolize（代谢）medicines like anti-chlamydia antibiotics faster than other animals.

    The koala genome also revealed why koalas are such famously picky eaters. They are known to consume leaves from just 20 of Australia's 60 known eucalyplus species. And even when they are in one of their preferred trees, koalas take leaf selection very seriously.

    Information waiting to be discovered

    Johnson said that the information encoded in the koala's DNA is already being included in management strategies by conservation groups. However, she said the findings described in the new paper represent the early stages of what can be gleamed from the marsupial's genome.

    "The data is public, and I would love for anyone to start mining it and see what other amazing things they can find," she said." Once you have a genome of this quality, the sky's the limit with what you can do with it."

    One cold morning in winter, I went alone to a hillside to do some hunting. I sat there waiting for about an hour. Suddenly, a big beautiful deer appeared less than 20 feet away from me. There was no cover near him. Surely I could shoot him.

    To my surprise, he came toward me! He was curious, I suppose, or maybe he was stupid. For this was not a young deer, but a fully grown-up one. He must have known about men and their guns. But this deer came closer, and I still waited. His big eyes never moved away from my face. His wonderful head with a set of antlers (鹿角) was clearly in sight.

    I was getting a bit nervous as he walked closer. A big deer can do a lot of damage. Well, he walked right up to where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me.

What happened next was hard to believe. But it all seemed quite natural. I held out my hands and touched his head right between the antlers. And he liked it. The big, wild, beautiful deer bent his head.

    I touched his head and body. His nose touched my shoulder. I fed him with my last sandwich.

    Well, he finally went his way, down the hill. Shoot him? Not me. You wouldn't, either. Not after that. I just watched him go, a strong deer carrying a proud head.

    I picked up my gun, and started walking back. Suddenly, I heard two shots, one after another. If you have hunted much, you will know what two shots mean. They mean a kill. I had forgotten that there were other hunters around.

    You will now understand why I gave up hunting from that day on.