B

     If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

     Dreaming about whether you would want to read minds, see through walls, or have superhuman strength may sound silly, but it actually gets to the heart of what really matters in your life.

     Every day in our work, we are inspired by the people we meet doing extraordinary things to improve the world.

     They have a different kind of superpower that all of us possess: the power to make a difference in the lives of others.

We're not saying that everyone needs to contribute their lives to the poor. Your lives are busy enough doing homework, playing sports, making friends, seeking after your dreams. But we do think that you can live a more powerful life when you devote some of your time and energy to something much larger than yourself. Find an issue you are interested in and learn more. Volunteer or, if you can, contribute a little money to a cause. Whatever you do, don't be a bystander. Get involved. You may have the opportunity to make your biggest difference when you're older. But why not start now?

     Our own experience working together on health, development, and energy the last twenty years has been one of the most rewarding parts of our lives. It has changed who we are and continues to fuel our optimism about how much the lives of the poorest people will improve in the years ahead.

    YOUR mom might cook a bowl of noodles for you on your birthday. But in the US, a mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday.

    Cupcakes are small, round cakes topped with frosting (糖霜). It has been an American tradition that moms bring cupcakes to the classroom to celebrate their child's birthday. But recently some doctors have called for this to be banned. They believe cupcakes contribute to child obesity. Despite their good intentions, however, some people believe that experts are interfering (妨碍) with American culture. The cupcake is seen as American as apple pie — only prettier.

    According to Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, the cupcake is the most democratic (民主的) of desserts. As they are small enough for one person, you don't have to share your cupcake with anyone — it's all yours. They are also all of the same size, so there can't be any cries of  “she got the bigger piece!”

    Each bite can taste different depending on how much icing you have. It is a lesson in self-determination. Some people eat only a little of the frosting every time, others have it all in just one bite.

    In recent years, eating a cupcake has become as trendy as having a cup of Starbucks coffee.

    Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton jokingly promised on a talk show that if she was elected president, she would give everyone a cupcake on her birthday. Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, explains that the rise of the cupcake is very much about going back to American national identity in food, which is all about comfort. “People want to think about when they and their country were innocent,” she said.

    If you are human, you can't help but experience times when everything seems to be going wrong and you feel as if your life is completely out of control. It is during those “down times” that words of encouragement from family, friends, co-workers or even strangers can lighten your spirits. It is also during those times that destructive(有害的) words can sink you deeper and deeper into depression(沮丧).

    For example, consider this story about a group of frogs who were traveling through the woods when two of them fell into a deep pit（坑）. All of the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two unfortunate frogs they would never get out.

    The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump out of the pit. The other frogs kept telling them to stop. Finally, one of the frogs took heed of what the other frogs were saying and simply gave up. He fell down and died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again the crowd of frogs shouted at him to stop the pain. The more they shouted, the harder he jumped and finally he made it to safety.

    When he got out, the other frogs asked him why he continued to jump when they were all shouting at him to simply quit. The frog explained to them that he was a little bit deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

    Every time you have a chance to say either something positive or negative to another human being, do choose the chance to say something positive! Don't let those opportunities get away from you. Your words have a large amount of power. Use them wisely. You really never know just how much they can mean to someone else.

Learning to Run

    An article published in the scientific journal Nature discusses an important aspect of human evolution. According to Bramble and Lieberman, Professors at the University of Utah, humans possess a number of features that make them surprisingly good runners. “We are confident that the selection for running was important in the origin of the human body form,” says Bramble.

    Traditional thinking has been that humans are poor runners compared to such animals as horses. However, this is only true if we consider running at high speed, especially over short distances. Even an athlete can hardly run as quickly as a horse does, and can only keep up a top speed for 15 seconds or so. But when it comes to long-distance running, humans will do astonishingly well. They can keep a steady pace for many kilometres, and their speed is at least at the same level with that of horses.

    Bramble and Lieberman examined 26 parts of human bodies. One of the most interesting of these is the nuchal ligament (韧带). When we run, it is this ligament that prevents our head from moving back and forth or from side to side. Therefore, we are able to run with steady heads, held high. Then there are Achilles tendons at the backs of our legs, forming the mechanical links between the muscles to the bones. They act like strong strings and help to push us forward when we run. Besides, we have low, wide shoulders, a development which allows us to run more effectively. Add to this our light forearms, which swing in co-operation with the movement of our legs to assist balance, and one begins to appreciate the point that Bramble and Lieberman are trying to make.

    But what advantage is gained from being good long-distance runners? One theory is that this ability may have permitted early humans to obtain food more effectively. Some scientists guess that early humans may have run after animals for great distances to make them tired before killing them. Running would also have shown another advantage: early humans might have eaten the meat left over from a kill by other large animals. They may have been warned of the existence of a freshly killed animal by vultures (秃鹰), and the faster they got to the scene of the kill, the better.

    “Research on the history of human ability of running has traditionally been controversial,” says Lieberman. “At the very least, I hope this theory will make many people have second thoughts about how humans learned to run and why we are built the way we are.”

    I was disheartened recently when I turned on the news to hear a story about a family who is petitioning (请愿) the Hampton School Board to receive out-of-district compensation to place their daughter in an out-of-district school due to racial bullying. I was disheartened because I know that even if this family wins their petition, the root of the problem will still continue.

    While there are many contributing factors to the rapid increase of the bullying, I believe that the root of this problem lies within the restrictions of schools, or rather the teachers and administrators who allow bullying to happen while feeding the line "We have a no-tolerance policy" to students and parents.

    This family can move their daughter to a new school where she will feel safe to learn and grow, but they will leave behind the problem of the educators at this school who let the racial bullying happen.

    My son went to a private school in Concord. He was bullied on the play yard. The administration gave us the "No tolerance" line, but did nothing to stop the bullying or change the climate of the school.

    We pulled our son out of this school and placed him in another school. This school truly understands how to guide students' acceptance of differences and embrace teachable moments so that bullying is a non-issue.

    I truly hope that this family gets the out-of-district placement for their daughter. However, I am doubtful that the school district will address the root of the problem.

Poetry{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (communicate) in words. To do that{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (successful), it must have something important to say, expressing it in a unique way. Whether you are writing poetry yourself or analysing (分析) poems {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (write) by someone else, you should be thinking about these two broad categories: what is being said, and how it is being expressed.

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