Americans love cars. They go everywhere in them. 85% of people in the US go to and form work by car. And most adults have driving licenses. Why does this car culture exist?

How it started

America's love of cars started after the war when soldiers returned home from World War Π to rebuild their lives. They borrowed money from the government to buy houses and cars which became the symbols of status（地位）. The more money they had, the bigger their cars were.

Making of roads

During the war, President Eisenhower noticed what good roads Germany had. He decided to build new four-lane（四车道）roads in America. He said is something happened suddenly, the two-lane roads wouldn't be able to carry all the cars that would suddenly leave the cities. Car and oil companies liked his idea and building started.

Car lovers

Not just teenagers are crazy about cars. Some Americans love their cars so much that they paint their cars beautifully. These are called Art Cars. Every April there is an activity in Houston, Texas, where they show their cars.

Pollution

Cars have polluted the environment. American President Bush refused a worldwide law that is against pollution. Many countries were angry about it. Bush said he had to think of the American economy（经济）and all the American people that make money from cars. Factories say they want to make cars that pollute less. But others say making cars that pollute less will never be as good as having fewer cars.

    You can be proud of yourselves, even if you can only make one or two of these green changes. The goal here is to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are closely connected to the big problem of global-warming (全球变暖).

    WAY 1: Bring your own cup to Starbucks. You'll get a 10-cent discount, and it's one less paper cup to end up in a dustbin. The store won't create more waste when they throw away a cup.

    WAY 2: Turn off your computer. When in standby mode, your PC is still using energy. Turning off a monitor (显示器) for 40 hours a week may only save $ 5 a month, but it reduces CO₂ by 750 pounds.

    WAY 3: Reuse plastic bags. Instead of throwing away 100 billion plastic bags a year, try and get a second, third, or tenth use out of them. Better yet, next time you shop, try a reusable bag. The amount of oil it would take to make just 14 plastic bags would run your car for one mile.

    WAY 4: Use recycled paper in the bathroom. Most of the toilet paper we use is made from trees found in forests. If every family replaced(替换)one roll of toilet paper with a recycled one, 424,000 trees would still be standing.

    WAY 5: Plant a tree. Adding green to your garden is beautiful and earth-pleasing. Just one tree will help make cleaner air and save the environment from 5, 000 pounds of hot carbon dioxide each year.

    How much sleep do we need? We are all different. Some people need only three hours of sleep a night. Others need ten hours of sleep a night. Most Americans sleep an average(平均) of seven to eight hours a night. After the age of fifty, the average sleeping time goes down to 6.5 hours a night.

    Most people have a bad night when they cannot fall asleep(睡着). The name of this problem is called insomnia.

    This isn't a new problem .Many famous people in history had insomnia .Some of these people had special ideas to make them sleep .Benjamin Franklin, the famous inventor had four beds. He moved from one to another to fall asleep .King Louis XIV(国王路易十四)of France had four hundred and thirteen beds and hoped to fall asleep in one of them .Mark Twain, the famous American writer, had a different way. He lay on his side across the end of his bed.

Life in 2060

    Let us suppose the life in A. D. 2060. It is fifty years later. Of course, things have changed and life is very different. Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built. The hotels are air- conditioned, naturally. In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window. Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment of the young and old. What are people eating now? People are still eating food. They haven't yet started to take on heir(继承) supply of energy directly like electrical current or nuclear power.

    But many foods now come in pill forms, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants. Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet's surface has to be filled. The deserts irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good. Farming, of course, is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then. Such would be our life in 2060.

Everyone has a better self in their hearts. But for many people，it is hard for them to make a change for that，especially a big one. Once we fail in that，and failure repeats failure. But by taking small steps，we all can be a better one. Here are three practical examples. 

Tidying your house. No matter how large or small a house you have，you may often delay the "spring clean" again and again until the summer comes. A big clean is seldom enjoyable，but you can tell yourself，"Today，and nothing more. " Or，"I will do the chairs this morning，but it gets done. 

Sporting achievement. To many people around the world，running a marathon（马拉松） is usually something impossible. But anything is simply one small step after another. Those great runners often repeat，" or， "Just one more mile

Changing your character （性格）. There's a lot of truth in the power （力量） of habit. When we do a thing over and over，try to do one kind thing before lunch. Do another one before you go to bed. Over time，you will easily and habitually do kind things one day. You've become kind. 

Rome was not built in a day and so does making changes. Slowly，slowly and over great time，great things can be done.