For hundreds of millions of years, turtles (海龟) have struggled out of the sea to lay their eggs on sandy beaches, long before there were nature documentaries to celebrate them, or GPS satellites and marine biologists to track them, or volunteers to hand-carry the hatchlings (幼龟) down to the water's edge lest (for fear that) they become disoriented by headlights and crawl towards a motel parking lot instead. A formidable wall of bureaucracy has been erected to protect their prime nesting on the Atlantic coastlines. With all that attention paid to them, you'd think these creatures would at least have the gratitude not to go extinct (die out).

    But Nature is indifferent to human notions of fairness, and a report by the Fish and Wildlife Service showed a worrisome drop in the populations of several species of North Atlantic turtles, notably loggerheads, which can grow to as much as 400 pounds. The South Florida nesting population, the largest, has declined by 50% in the last decade, according to Elizabeth Griffin, a marine biologist with the environmental group Oceana. The figures prompted Oceana to petition the government to upgrade the level of protection for the North Atlantic loggerheads from "threatened" to "endangered"— meaning they are in danger of disappearing without additional help.

    Which raises the obvious question: what else do these turtles want from us, anyway? It turns out, according to Griffin, that while we have done a good job of protecting the turtles for the weeks they spend on land (as egg-laying females, as eggs and as hatchlings), we have neglected the years spend in the ocean. "The threat is from commercial fishing," says Griffin. Trawlers (which drag large nets through the water and along the ocean floor) and longline fishers (which can deploy thousands of hooks on lines that can stretch for miles) take a heavy toll on turtles.

    Of course, like every other environmental issue today, this is playing out against the background of global warming and human interference with natural ecosystems. The narrow strips of beach on which the turtles lay their eggs are being squeezed on one side by development and on the other by the threat of rising sea levels as the oceans warm. Ultimately we must get a handle on those issues as well, or a creature that outlived the dinosaurs (恐龙) will meet its end at the hands of humans, leaving our descendants to wonder how creature so ugly could have won so much affection.

Electric Cars

    Where do cars get their energy from? For most cars, the answer is petrol. But some cars use electricity. These cars have special motors that get their power from large batteries.

    Most people tend to think of electric cars as a new invention, but they have been around for a long time. They were popular when the technology for petrol engines was not very advanced. Recently, electric cars have again become popular because people want cars that pollute less.

    Electric cars are better than petrol cars in several ways. The biggest benefit is reduced pollution. In areas where there is a high percentage of electric cars, there is less pollution. But it is important to understand that electric cars still cause pollution. Remember that the electricity to power electric cars has to come from somewhere, which is most likely a power station. Unless these power stations run on solar or wind energy, they are most likely burning coal and oil to make electricity. The second benefit of electric cars is a reduction in the dependence on foreign oil.

    There are several countries, including the United States, which don't want to rely on oil coming from other countries to power their transportation systems. They want the power to come from within their country, and since electric cars can run on electricity from coal or nuclear power stations, there is less of a need to import oil.

    Despite the benefits of electric cars, there are some problems with them as well. One disadvantage is that electric cars are more expensive than petrol cars. This is mostly due to the high cost of the batteries these cars need. Electric cars run on batteries, just like a mobile phone does. But unlike a mobile phone, you cannot charge your electric car's battery by plugging it into a wall. They need to be charged in special places. Now, there is a lack of places where people can charge the batteries. Another problem is that electric cars cannot travel as far as petrol cars. Some people are afraid that the battery will run out of electricity (and the car will stop) before they reach their destination.

    Despite these problems, many people, including automobile industry experts, believe that the percentage of electric cars will increase in the future.

    “Don't tell anyone”. We hear these words when someone tells a secret to us. But it can be hard to keep a secret. We5re often tempted to “spill the beans"，even if we regret it later.

    According to Asim Shah, professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, US, keeping a secret may well "become a burden”. This is because people often have an “obsessive and anxious urge to share it with someone”.

    An earlier study, led by Anita E. Kelly, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted (受委托的)with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.

    But with secrets so often getting out, why do people share them at all? Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other. "Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either gaining or losing the trust of someone,” according to Shah.

    He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out (泄露). But this doesn't mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret.

    Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you'd better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn't give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone's secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn't so secret anymore.

    Nisha Pradhan is worried. The recent college graduate just turns 21 and plans to live on her own. But she's afraid she won't be able to stay safe. That's because she isn't able to smell.

    Back home, her family do her smelling for her. She's moved in with them for now, but she's looking for a place of her own. “Now that I'm searching for ways or place to live as an independent person, I find that the sense of smell is important to how we live our lives,” Pradhan says.

    She says when she was a child she liked to eat and ate a lot. But there came a point where she lost interest in food.

    “One of the first things that people notice whenever they have a smell problem is that food doesn't taste right any more,” says Beverly Cowart, a researcher. That's because eating and smell go hand in hand. How food tastes often rely on what we smell. “When you lose your sense of smell, your whole sense of food flavors changed and reduced,” Cowart says, “You can still taste the basic tastes. What you're missing are the small distinctions.”

    “When I go out to eat I have often found that food is very tasteless to me. I never feel full,” she says. “I think a lot of us today like to pretend to be food lovers and we all like to talk about 'Oh, I think this could use a little bit more flavor,' or ‘I think this has a hint of meat,' I can't really participate in those conversations,” she says.

    Pradam thinks her smell loss also may have affected her memory. Pradhan may be on to something, according to biologist Paul Moore. “When smell signals come in, you feel about them first. And then you think about it and then the memory is laid down. So without the feel part, the thinking about its part doesn't come. And that means no new smell memory gets created.”

    Black Friday

    The day after Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday shopping season. Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday, so the day after is a Friday. This day has come to be known as Black Friday. It has been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005.

    Most stores offer great deals on Black Friday. They open their doors in the small hours of the morning. They try to attract shoppers with big discounts. Some items like TVs are much cheaper than usual. Stores may even lose money on these items. They hope that shoppers will buy gifts for other people while they are in the store.

    Black Friday is a great time to get good deals. The problem is that there are not enough low-priced items to go around. Each store may only have a few. These items are in high demand. People stand in long lines to get such great deals. They may line up hours before a store opens. They may be hoping to get a low price on a TV or laptop, but not everyone who wants one will get one. Some people leave disappointed.

    The situation can be tense(紧张的). Some Black Friday events have been violent. Large, eager crowds have trampled(践踏) workers. Fights have broken out over toys or people cutting in line. People have shot one another over parking spots. But most Black Friday events are safe and fun. Still, if you plan on going, expect large crowds and a bit of pushing and shoving.

    So where does the name "Black Friday" come from? It was first used in Philadelphia in the 1950s. The police called this day Black Friday because of the heavy traffic it drew. In the 1960s, spread across the country. It seems that it is here to stay.

    Now people all over the country take part in the event known as Black Friday. It is even spreading to other parts of the world. Stores have held Black Friday events in the U.K., Australia, and Brazil since 2012. In Costa Rica Black Friday is known as "Viernes Negro." And in Mexico, stores offer an annual weekend of discounts. They call it "El Buen Fin," which means "the good weekend" in Spanish. I guess the language of savings is universal.

    On October 23, 2016, David Pologruto, a high school physics teacher, was stabbed by his smart student Jason Haffizulla. Jason got straight A's and was determined to study medicine at Harvard, yet this was his downfall. His physics teacher gave Jason a B, a mark Jason believed would undermine his entrance to Harvard. After receiving his B, Jason took a butcher knife to school and stabbed his physics teacher.

    How can someone as smart as Jason do something so dumb? Studies show there is little or no connection between IQ and emotional intelligence.

    During my early university years, I regarded myself as an intelligent guy. I got good marks in mathematics, physics, and other subjects. I thought such skills would surely give me a bright future. After one year of study with decent marks, I began to see two major classes of students. The first category of students turned up to few lectures, partied every weekend, enjoyed a great social life, and did minimal work to pass courses. The second category of students were intelligent and hard workers who got good grades and were very focused on their studies. Surely would these intelligent and hard-working students find the great jobs before the other lazier class of students?

    Not so. Students are often shocked upon graduation that their qualifications are not as important as they once thought. Graduates enter the workforce only to realize that co-workers hate them and less intelligent people are the ones receiving promotions (晋升).

    Educational skills are useless in some industries when interpersonal skills are absent. You can have great ideas, theories, and solve complex problems, but if you cannot effectively communicate with your colleagues, you will face difficult situations. It's not that people dislike you because of your intelligence; it's that people dislike you because you're rude and not understanding. The intelligent person with poor communication skills is unaware of others' emotions.