In the middle of the 20th century people were worried about whales.The number of whales killed worldwide came up to 66,000 per year.However,people weren't worried about the whale as an endangered animal.Instead,they were worried about the whale industry,which would disappear if there were no whales.In 1946,the International Whaling Commission was established.It limited the whale hunting for every country and controlled the whale industry.But the commission recognized that the limitation wasn't enough.They set a worldwide law against hunting whales with only two exceptions: the hunt for scientific research and "aboriginal whaling".Aboriginal whaling allows some countries to hunt a limited number of whales because it is a part of their culture.Some countries like Japan and Norway don't care about the law;they make excuses to hunt whales and sell the products.They only care about the money.

    Many fishermen complain that dolphins,also a kind of whale,steal their fish.Therefore,they kill thousands of them.In fact,this is not the truth.In reality there are so many fishermen who steal the fish from each other.Some whale hunters say that they catch the animals for scientists.They have to research what whales are eating.For that, they kill them and look into their stomach.The truth is that they only want to sell the meat.Today scientists want to observe live whales for their research.

    Many whale families are not protected and thousands of them are killed.Nobody knows if all whale families would survive,even if humans end all whale hunting today.The pollution of the oceans increases fast and the poison gets into the bodies of the animals.Many of them get sick and die.The human being has killed 90%-95% of many whale families.Others are already extinct.

    Today some international organizations try to protect whales.They make reports to explain how important and endangered whales are.Now people are becoming more interested in whales and a complete new industry has developed,whale watching,which you may want to learn about.

    One of the most important ways to learn and master the English language is to read, read, and read. It is said that a good reader is also a good writer and a good speaker. However, in today's world, reading is something that most children dislike doing.

    There are simply so many distractions (分心的事物) that books, magazines, and newspapers are often ignored and they are in favor of video games and movies. And while video games and movies also play a role in helping the child learn the English language, they still can't quite compare to reading.

    And as a result, kids are learning less and less. Take a look at an elementary level text book. You'll notice that the books for elementary students are filled with pictures and colors. Those pictures and colors in the elementary level text books aren't there just for the sake (缘由) of design. Colors and pictures make us more engaged in the act of learning grammar. They catch our attention and help us retain (保留) more of what we read. This is especially true for little children who enjoy fun English.

    Children are quite easily distracted. When you ask them to sit down and read quietly, their minds will often wander and it won't take long before you find them doodling (涂鸦) and not doing what you told them to do. But if a book is colourful enough to catch a kid's attention, then you'll have a better chance at getting the kid to sit down long enough to learn English.

    The same principle holds true for interactivity (互动). Like colors and pictures, interactive reading materials like English songs for kids also get the child engaged in what he or she is learning. Interactive reading materials get the child to focus since using them is almost like playing.

    On Sunday 23 April, most than 30,000 people participated in the 2017 London Marathon, running 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometres)around the city center.

    The London Marathon has taken place every year since 1981. At the first one, just 6, 225 people completed the course, and since then it has grown into one of the biggest sporting events in the world. It is one of the 'World Marathon Majors', which is a competition made up of six global marathon events. The overall male and female winners receive $1 million in prize money between them. There are eleven people who have run every London Marathon since it began—they call themselves the 'Ever Presents.

    This year, the winners of the London Marathon were surprisingly both from Kenya—Daniel Wanjiru, who finished in 2 hours and 5 minutes, and Mary Keitany, whose time was 2 hours and 17 minutes.

    However, most marathon runners are not professional athletes. They are amateurs who have trained for months to raise money for charity or just as a personal challenge. For example, Tom Harrison took three days just to reach the run's halfway point, as he is crawling the course on his hands and knees dressed as a gorilla(大猩猩), trying to raise money and attention for the charity 'The Gorilla Organisation'.

    Matthew Rees was another runner to encourage people, as he stopped just before the finish line to help David Wyeth run the last 200m.They did not know each other before, but Matthew saw that David was exhausted and possibly close to collapsing, and wanted to help him finish.

    Every year there are lots of touching stories like this from the London Marathon, and it is a huge achievement even to run the 26.2 miles!

    March 21 has been declared World Sleep Day, a time to recognize and celebrate the value of sleep. Many sleep experts hope it will be a wake-up call.

    According to a poll (民意调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, nearly 4 in 5 Americans don't get as much sleep as they should during the workweek. On average, adults are thought to need at least eight hours of sleep a night, although some can manage with less and some won't do well without more. But the survey found that, on weekdays, only 21% of Americans actually get a full eight hours of sleep, and another 21% get less than six hours.

    To many of us, the thought of spending more time sleeping is, well, a big yawn. On the other hand, the thought of being smarter, thinner, healthier and more cheerful has a certain appeal. And those are just a few of the advantages that can be ours if we consistently get enough sleep, researchers say. Also on the plus side: We're likely to have better skin, better memories, better judgment, and, oh, yes, longer lives.

    “When you lose even one hour of sleep for any reason, it influences your performance the next day,” says Dr. Alon Avidan, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center.

    A study published last year found the same to be true even of children. When kids aged 8 to 12 slept for just one hour less for four nights, they didn't function as well during the day.

    But sleeping has an image problem.“We see napping or sleeping as lazy,” says Jennifer Vriend, a clinical psychologist in Ottawa, Canada, and the leading author of the study with children.“We put so much emphasis on diet, nutrition and exercise. Sleep is in the back seat. In fact,”she adds,“no matter how much we work out, no matter how well we eat, we can't be in top physical shape unless we also get plenty of sleep.”

    Breathing dirty air comes at a high price. Air pollution lowers the average life spans (寿命) by a year worldwide and in more polluted parts of Asia and Africa, dirty air shortens lives up to twice that much. Scientists shared their new findings in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The study used data gathered in 2016 as part of a project known as the Global Burden of Disease and was the first major country-by-country look at the connection between the length of life and what's known as fine PM.

    Air pollution has been linked to many health problems. Most earlier studies had looked at how tiny air pollutants affected rates of illness or death. Joshua Apte is an environmental scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. By looking at life expectancy (预期寿命), his team had hoped to make the threat easier to understand. PM2.5 is what scientists call tiny particles (颗粒) of pollution in the air. Higher levels of PM2.5 can cause health problems and cut months, if not years, from the average length of life. This analysis shows how pollution affects life expectancy in different parts of the world.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting PM2.5 to 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Apte's group calculated how holding pollution to this low level would help people. In countries with very dirty air, meeting this standard would lengthen people's lives. However, in countries whose air already meets this standard, the study shows no gain in life expectancy. In other words, meeting the WHO standard won't reduce health costs resulting from dirty air because even below 10 micrograms per cubic meter, pollution still causes serious risks. Meanwhile, the scientists compared how other threats including smoking and cancer shorten the length of life across the globe.

    Charity Cycling UK has recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of dooring after discovering that many people don't know what it is and those that do seem to think it's a joke. Dooring happens when a driver or passenger opens the door into another road user - typically a cyclist - without looking for other road users.

    Cycling UK's chief executive Paul Tuohy told Gloucestershire Live, "Some people seem to see car dooring as a bit of a joke, but it's not and can have serious consequences. Cycling UK wants to see great awareness made about the dangers of opening your car door, and people to be encouraged to look before they open."

    The charity says 2,009 of the 3,000 injuries were sustained(遭受) by cyclists, resulting in five deaths but says this might not be the full extent of the dangers.

    Cycling UK says not all car dooring incidents will be attended by police, so the charity has written to transport minister Jesse Norman calling for a public awareness campaign urging all drivers to look before opening vehicle doors. One of the ways that the charity suggests could prevent injuries through dooring is the "Dutch Reach", where people leaving a vehicle reach over and use the non-door side hand to open the door.

    Cycling UK also suggests serious laws and advice on safer road positioning for people who cycle.

    Mr Tuohy said, "In the Netherlands they are known for practising a method, known sometimes as the 'Dutch Reach', which we think could be successfully encouraged in the UK."

    "Cycling UK has written to the Department for Transport asking them to look into this, and stress the dangers of 'car dooring' through a public awareness THINK style campaign."

    If you're really concerned about opening a door into the path of a cyclist coming behind you, consider using what's known as the "Dutch Reach" to open the door. That will naturally turn you in your seat and give you a much better view of what's coming up alongside the car.