An environmental group called the Food Commission is unhappy and disappointed because of the sales of bottled water from Japan. The water, it angrily argues in public, has traveled 10,000 “food miles” before it reached Western customers. Transporting water halfway across the world is surely the extremely stupid use of fuel when there is plenty of water in the UK. It is also worrying that we were wasting our fuel by buying prawns from Indonesia (7,000 food miles ) and carrots from South Africa (5,900 food miles).

        Counting the number of miles traveled done by a product is a strange way of trying to tell the true situation of the environmental damage due to industry. Most food is transported around the world on container ships that are extremely energy efficient. It should be noticed that a ton of butter transported 25 miles in a truck to a farmers' market doesn't necessarily use less fuel on its journey than a similar product transported hundreds of miles by sea. Besides, the idea of “food miles” ignores the amount of fuel used in the production. It is possible to cut down your food miles by buying tomatoes grown in Britain rather than those grown in Ghana. The difference is that the British ones will have been raised in heated greenhouse and the Ghanaian ones in the open sun.

       What is the idea of “food miles” does provide, however, is the chance to cut out Third World countries from First World food markets. The number of miles traveled by our food should, as I see it, be regarded as a sign of the success of the global trade system, not a sign of damage to the environment.

    People aren't walking any more—if they can figure out a way to avoid it.

    I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn't in any hurry, either, I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.

    It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune（免疫的）, for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day's walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced—and beat—a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty.

    Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercises. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise—the most familiar and natural of all.

    It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world, He cannot learn in a car.

    The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don't dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat.To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

    I say that the green of forests is the mind's best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.

    A middle-aged man with a long beard was caught by the police for bad behavior and property damage. The man, Bill Wild, checked into a hotel last night, telling the clerk he would pay cash in advance and would be staying for four nights. He then asked her where the nearest store was and she told him it was John-Johns.

    Wild went to the store and bought three gallons of honey and four gallons of chocolate syrup (糖浆). The cashier asked him why he wanted these things and he replied, "I'm trying to become a sweeter person." The cashier smiled at the joke. Wild drove back to the hotel. He opened all bottles and poured them into the bathtub. He added warm water to the mix. He tuned the radio to an opera music station, took off his clothes, jumped into the tub, and started singing loudly with the music.

    Fifteen minutes later, the neighbor phoned the clerk complaining about the noise. The clerk knocked on Wild's door, but he just kept singing. She phoned his room, but he didn't answer. Then she called the police, who arrived quickly. They broke into the room. The floor was covered in water and the bathtub was full of chocolate and honey. "He seemed so nice and friendly. Who'd have thought he was a bathtub-singing nut?" said the clerk. The police said this was the third time that Wild had been arrested for this kind of behavior.

    The world's first robot police officer has started working. Its name is 'RoboCop' and it went into service for the Dubai Police earlier this week. Robocop's first official duty was to greet guests at the opening of a security conference in Dubai. Apart from greeting visitors' its job was to answer questions and give directions. RoboCop has a built — in tablet for people to interact with. People can use the tablet to pay traffic fines and use other smart police services. The tablet is linked to a police station, so people can talk to human police officers. In addition, RoboCop can speak six languages, including English and Arabic. The 170 - centimetre - tall robot can also shake hands, salute people and recognize people's emotions and facial expressions.

    Dubai Police says RoboCop is the first of many robot police officers for the city. A spokesman said that by 2030, 25 per cent of the Dubai Police force will be robots. He said: “We are looking to make everything smart in Dubai Police. By 2030, we will have the first smart police station which won't require human employees.”

    “The RoboCop is the latest smart addition to the police force and has been designed to help us fight crime, keep the city safe and improve happiness levels,” He added. He also said that RoboCop would, “assist and help people in the malls or on the streets”. An official at the security conference commented that the future is here now, saying: “The age of the robots is no longer coming. It has arrived.”

    Earthquakes happen without warning(前兆). They can happen any time of a day, at any point during the year. But don't worry because most are so weak that they cannot be felt. Only a few big ones hurt people. However, it's important to know what to do when an earthquake is happening.

    Do NOT go outside. You could get injured from falling glass or parts of buildings. If you are outside, stay away from buildings and power lines (输电线).

    Stay under a desk, table, or other strong furniture. Hold on to it. Or stay in a corner of the building. Cover your face and head with your arms and cover your mouth with a towel or clothing. Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside.

    Keep away from windows, pictures or advertisements on the wall or the building, and anything else that could fall and hurt you. Most people get injured by falling things during an earthquake, not by the shaking itself.

    Also keep away from a fire. You could fall down and burn yourself on the fire.

    If you are driving when an earthquake happens, stop the car if it's safe. Stay inside your car until the earthquake stops, and don't drive near bridges. Try not to stop by power lines or trees. These could fall and hurt you.

    Teenagers in America know that they'll possibly need technical skills to find good jobs, but a new survey reveals that interest in technology-related careers may be decreasing.

The percentage of boys aged 13 to 17 who are interested in science, technology, engineering and math —or STEM —careers dropped from 36 percent in 2017 to 24 percent this year, according to a survey by Junior Achievement USA. The amount of girls interested in STEM careers stayed unchanged at II percent.

    But the 1, 000 survey participants still named technology as one of two key skills that will be necessary to prepare them for their future careers.

    "Kids don' t understand how technology can be applied to careers in addition to computers, and maybe robotics, "said Tammera L. Holmes, president of aviation consulting firm AeroStar Consulting （航空资询公司）.“That's all they know, so they can't really translate that interest to career pathways."

    When Holmes was in high school, her mom sent her to an event that featured (以......为专题)the pilots from World War II. One of the pilots took her for a ride and let her take the wheel immediately that was the career for me." she said.

    Women remain outnumbered(超过) by men in fields like technology. For people working to increase the number of women in these areas, the lack of growth in girls interest in STEM careers is concerning.

    Teenage girls are more interested than their male classmates in running after careers in which they can help others, said Ed Grocholski from Junior Achievement. Even with all the programs aimed at increasing girls' interest in STEM, "I don't think we really talk that much about how we improve people's lives through STEM," Grocholski said.

    Society needs to do better at making those connections for kids, said Katherine Latham, founder of an engineering firm. She used civil engineering as an example of a career that will continue to be important.

    However, the fact that students know they will need tech skills in their future careers is encouraging.

    The second skill they said they need is relationship-building.

    "That's going to be the new type of engineers," Latham said.