Be a Green Child

    What does it mean to be green? “Green” is more than just a color.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Why green? Plants are green, and without them the Earth wouldn't be such a lovely home for us human beings. What can we do? Here's a four-step guide to being green.

    Reduce It!

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For instance, a shorter shower means you used less water and less fuel since your house uses to run the heater that warmed up the water.

    Reuse It!

    Sometimes people call ours a “throwaway society”. It means that we're a little to willing to throw away old stuff (东西) and buy new stuff.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    For instance, if your baby brother becomes older and loses interest in his plastic basketball hoop (篮圈), why not give it to another family who has a little kid?

    Recycle It!

    Recycling has never been easier. Many communities will pick it up right in front of your house and some towns even require it. Recycled goods go to a recycling center, where they can be turned into new cans, bottles, and paper.

    Enjoy It!

    It's true that rubbish and pollution are problems, but the Earth remains a huge and beautiful place that's ready for you to explore.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Go for a hike, visit local nature centers and gardens, and climb up mountains.

    But before you travel the globe, take a look at your own backyard. Is there a spot where you could plant a tree or put in a little fruit or vegetable garden? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It also means taking special steps to protect the environment.

B. Many times, even if you no longer need something, someone else just might.

C. You can start locally by visiting the naturally beautiful spots in your city.

D. Turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth.

E. Get out there and get your hands dirty.

F. You can watch with pride as your tree takes root and your garden plants grow.

G. When you use less of something, you do a good thing for the Earth.

Can zoos ever be animal-friendly?

    The topic of our last class discussion was “How can zoos provide animals with a good life?” Everyone believed it was impossible for zoos to give animals a caring environment. Our teacher suggested that visiting a modern zoo might give us a new point of view.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In our discussion, many people said that zoos were full of smelly cages with unhappy animals living in. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, however, was set in an attractive, open environment. Trees and flowers had been planted around the park. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    At school, some people accused（指责）zoos of exploiting（剥削）animals for money but at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, as I see it, nothing could be further from the truth. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Before I visited Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, I wasn't sure about the rights and wrongs of zoos. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I feel that, although zoos can't provide the freedom of the wild, they can be animal-friendly by giving animals a safe and caring environment. As long as they do this well, to my mind they make a good contribution（贡献）to animal health. They also play an important part in educating us about wildlife. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    On the bus back to school, we all agreed that what we liked most was the zoo's environment and we would recommend（推荐）it for next year's group.

A. It is difficult for the zoo to raise animals.

B. More and more animals enjoy their wild homes.

C. I think lots of my friends changed their minds, too.

D. Most of the money is used to improve conditions at the zoo.

E. I went to the zoo and was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

F. In my opinion, the animals, rather than seeming upset, were pleased.

G. It was difficult to say how a zoo could really make up for animals' loss of freedom.

They Just Can't Help It

    My theory is that the female brain is mainly built for empathy — the ability to understand other people — and that the male brain is mainly built for building systems. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} For example, women are more likely to read magazines on fashion and parenting, while men will choose magazines that feature computers and sport.

    You may think that these preferences are influenced by the way people are taught to behave when they are growing up. However, this is not the case. A new study carried out at Cambridge University shows that newborn girls look longer at a face, and newborn boys look longer at a mobile. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It has also been observed that girls are better at noticing signs of changes in other people's feelings. Boys, however, seem to enjoy building toy towers and playing with toys which have clear functions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} People whose jobs are in the construction industries are almost male. Math and engineering, which require high levels of systems-thinking, are also male-chosen disciplines. Why do men and women have the difference? Actually women have four times as many brain neurons (神经) that connect the right and left part of their brains. Because of it, women have a better ability to multitask than men. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Men tend to focus on a limited number of problems at a time. They will separate themselves from problems and view tasks as independent from one another.

    Some people may worry that I am suggesting one gender (性别) is better than the other, but this is not the case. My theory says that males and females differ in the kinds of things that they find easy, but that both genders have their strengths and weaknesses. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It is not true. The study simply looks at males and females as two groups, and asks what differences exist, and why they are there.

A. Generally speaking, there are clear differences.

B. Their preference for building systems may change over time.

C. You can see the same kind of pattern in the adult workplace.

D. They will consider many sources of information at the same time.

E. It is important to stress that the female brain may be built more for empathy.

F. That suggests certain differences between male and female brains are biological.

G. Others may think the theory creates a belief of what a particular type of person is like.

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

    New discoveries suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road probably began many centuries earlier than once thought. The findings add a fascinating new page to the epic(史诗）of the Silk Road, which spread far and wide in no time.

    The latest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1,000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the moving of human ancestors into eastern Asia

    The official origin of East-West trade along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wudi returned from a dangerous secret mission across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, traveled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians(历史学家）have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world's two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to Central Asia for war horses, was soon finding its way to the markets of Rome through a network of businessmen.

    But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk apparently existed in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery(谜) of just how and when Europe first realized the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.

    The memory of Dad flooded into my mind. In the morning when I was nine years old, he would come home from working 18 hours at his bakery and wake me up at 5 a.m. by scratching my back with his strong, powerful hand and whispering, “Time to get up, son.” By the time I was dressed and ready to roll, he had my newspaper folded and stuffed in my bicycle basket. Recalling his generosity of spirit brings tears to my eyes.

    When I was racing bicycles, he drove me 50 miles each way to Kenosha, Wisconsin, every Tuesday night so I could race and he could watch me. He was there to hold me if I lost and share the euphoria when I won.

    Later, he accompanied me to all my local talks in Chicago when I spoke to Century 21, Mary Kay and various churches. He always smiled, listened and ______ told whomever he was sitting with, “That's my boy!”

    In my dad's last telephone call to me, he said, “I am going home to Denmark, son, and I want to tell you I love you.” He repeated that line seven times in half an hour. I wasn't listening at the right level. I heard the words, but not the message, and certainly not their profound intention.

    Two days later, Dad passed away. My heart was in pain because Dad was there for me but I wasn't there for him. Please always, always share your love with your loved ones, and try to be invited to that important period when physical life transforms into spiritual life. Experiencing the process of death with one you love will give you a deeper understanding of life.

    How do you prove you really are who you say you are? Maybe you have many ways to prove your identity: a birth certificate, a driver's license, a Social Security card, or a passport.

    But imagine that you are one of the one billion people in the world­most of them among the poorest­who have no official identification. No birth certificates. No official ID documents. Nothing. Without a way to prove who you are, you would face huge problems: going to school, seeing a doctor, getting a bank account...

    For the last decade, NandanNilekani has been working to make the world's invisible people visible by giving them access to official identification. One of India's leading technology experts, Nandan joined the government to lead the launch of India's national biometric ID system, which uses fingerprints and other biological characteristics to check the identities of the country's more than 1.3 billion residents. This ID system, known as Aadhaar (Hindi for "foundation"), is the world's largest biometric identification system and has become a valuable government platform for delivering social welfare programs and other government services.

    Now, Aadhaar has enrolled nearly all residents of India. With a trustworthy system to check identities of beneficiaries for everything from pensions to food moneies, the government has been able to save billions of dollars because of reduced cheating and dishonesty.

    Of course, India's ID system has not been without controversy. There were many privacy concerns, including criticism that the Aadhaar system was a mass monitoring tool and that personal data would be misused. Last year, a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of India found that the program did not violate the privacy rights of the country's residents. But in order to prevent misuse of personal data, the court placed tight limits on how the ID system could be used and shared.

    According to the latest data by the World Bank, there are one billion people in the world without an official proof of identity, including 45 percent of the population in sub­Saharan Africa and 17 percent of South Asia's population.

    Thanks to the work Nandan is doing, the world is moving closer to the day when everyone will have access to an official ID. The sooner we can achieve this goal, the sooner the world's poorest residents will not only be able to prove who they are, but also realize their dreams for better lives.