When we talk about stars, especially women stars, it seems that they are always young, pretty and own charming body shapes. But recently a Britain's Got Talent（英国达人）star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely.

    Simon Cowell, one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyle's voice. "This lady came up, and I'm thinking, 'This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea'. That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed to Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face through -it was one of my favorite moments," Cowell said.

    The performance was posted on line and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world.

    Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hasn't thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. "I mean, that's hardly a makeover（改头换面）," she added. Ms Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal talents, "I was kind of slow at school, so getting like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence."

    At UMOM New Day Centers, volunteers are the heart of our mission. We exist entirely through the generosity of individuals within the community. Through the giving of their time and talents, volunteers help homeless men, women and children find hope in the future.

    Child Development Center

    Type of help needed: Assist teachers with art projects, reading, singing, games and play projects for children aged one to five.

    Requirements: Ages 16+ only, must obtain an Arizona state fingerprint card, and must obtain a TB Test.

    Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm.

    T.A.P. (Teen Activities Program)

    Type of help needed: Assist TAP coordinator (协调员) with weekly activities. Coordinate and help with field trips, 5ports, cooking, music and other forms of entertainment. We welcome your ideas for teen activities,

    Requirements: Ages 21+ only, have graduated from high school, and must obtain an AZ state fingerprint card.

    Hours: Monday-Friday, 3:00pm-6:00pm and Saturday & Sunday 1:00pm-4:00pm.

    Summer hours: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:00pm and Saturday & Sunday 1:00pm-4:00pm.

    In-Kind Donation Assistant

    Type of help needed: Moving, repairing, organizing furniture and other donated items.

    Requirements: Must be comfortable with physical labor, being outdoors, and be able to lift at least 50 lbs (磅).

    Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9:00am-3:00pm.

    Docent (讲解员)

    Type of help needed: Help screen visitors and volunteers and answer questions provide directions. Offer non-program-related assistance to residents to enhance customer service needed. Accept donations, event assistance and other projects as assigned.

    Requirements: Ages 18+ only, must obtain an AZ state fingerprint card, and be able to lift 50 lbs.

    Hours: Monday-Friday, l:00pm-4:00pm. Tuesday evening, 5:00pni-9:00pm.

    Saturday& Sunday, 9:00am-5:00pm.

    Kitchen Helper Program

    Type of help needed: Support kitchen staff in food preparation, serving and other duties as needed.

    Requirements: Volunteers must be 13 years and older to volunteer in the kitchen.

    Hours: Dinner: 7 days a week from 4:00pm-7:00pm;    Lunch: Monday Friday from 10:30am-1:00pm; Brunch: Saturday & Sunday from 9:30am-12:00am.

    Most of us have quite good memories, but our memories are limited. For example, we cannot remember everyone we have ever met or what we did on every single day of our lives. However, there are some people who do have prodigious memories. These people have a rare condition known as savant syndrome（学者症候群）. Savants suffer from a developmental disorder, but they also exhibit great talents that contrast（显出差异）sharply with their physical and mental disabilities.

    Kim Peek (1951-2009) was a savant who lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. He was born with damage to parts of his brain, but it seemed that other parts of his brain, particularly those relating to memory, became over-developed.

    Peek's unique abilities appeared at a very early age. When he was just 20 months old, he could already remember every book that was read to him. Peek could read two pages of a book at the same time-one page with the right eye and one with the left-in less than 10 seconds and remember everything he read. By the time he died, Peek had memorized more than 9,000 books. He could remember all the names and numbers in a variety of telephone books. He could remember thousands of facts about history, literature, geography and sports.

    Dr. David Treffert, an expert on savant syndrome, once described Peek as “a living Google” because of his astonishing ability to memorize and connect facts. However, at the same time, Peek was unable to carry out simple tasks, such as brushing his hair or getting dressed, and he needed others to help him. In 1989, the movie Rain Man won the Oscar for best Picture. The main character in the movie, played by Dustin Hoffman, was based on Kim Peek's life. He started to appear on television, where he would amaze audiences by correctly answering difficult questions on different topics. Peek-became world famous, and he and his father began touring widely to talk about overcoming disabilities. He inspired a great many people with his words. “Recognizing and respecting differences in others, and treating everyone in the way you want them to treat you, will make our world a better place for everyone. Everyone is different.”

    Sports can help us a lot. Taking exercises can make us strong. In collective（集体的）sports like basketball, volleyball or football, we will learn the importance of cooperation(合作). And sports can also help us relax after work or study.

    However, as the saying goes, "there are two sides of everything." Sometimes we may hurt other players or ourselves if we are not careful enough when participating(参加) in sports activities. What's more, too much or hard practice can be bad for our health.

    Sports can make us healthy both physically and psychologically(心理地). It is also a good way for people to know each other and can improve friendship between people. So long as we are careful enough, sports can do us nothing but good.

Dear Miss Hanff,

    You will be glad to know that the two boxes of eggs and the tins of tongue have all arrived safely and once again we all wish to thank you most sincerely for your extreme generosity. Mr. Martin, one of the older members of our staff, has been on the sick list for some time and we therefore let him have the lion's share of the eggs, one whole boxful in fact, and of course he was delighted to get them. The tins of tongue look very inviting and will be a welcome addition to our larders (食物橱) and in my case will be put on one side for a special occasion.

    I enquired at all the local music shops but was unable to get the Messiah or Bach's St. Matthew Passion in stiff covers in clean, secondhand copies, and then I found they were available from the publisher in new editions. Their prices seemed a bit high, but I thought I had better get them and they have been sent by Book Post a few days ago, so should arrive any day now. Our invoice, total $4.20, is enclosed with the books.

    We are sending you a little gift for Christmas. We do hope you will not have to pay any duty on it. We will mark it "Christmas Gift" and keep our fingers crossed. Anyway, we hope you will like it and accept it with our sincere best wishes for Christmas and the coming year.

    My name is certainly not of Welsh origin. As it is pronounced to rhyme with the French word "Noel", I think there may be a possibility that it originated in France.

Yours sincerely,

Frank Doel

Nowadays, countries are eager to get more electric cars on the road because moving away from gas-powered vehicles is vital to fighting climate change. China says that most new vehicles sold by 2035 will be electric. The United Kingdom will ban new gas-powered cars in 2030. One of the world's major automakers, General Motors (GM), announced that it would stop selling gas-powered cars by 2035. 

The key to an electric future is batteries. Automakers are racing to pack the most energy into the smallest one. The lithium-ion battery is what powers our mobile devices, which can be recharged again and again. Making these batteries has an environmental cost. Lithium is taken from the earth, like the oil used to make gasoline. But the long-term cost is much smaller. "Once you burn gasoline, you can't recycle it," says Jessika Trancik, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "But when you use up a battery, you can still recycle the material."

It's up to governments to make electric cars accessible to everyone. National policies can help. In the United States, an electric Chevy Volt costs about $35, 000. Trancik says charging stations must also be made widely available. As part of an effort to fight climate change, America plans to build half a million of them in the US by 2030. She hopes enough charging stations will be built soon. "It's important to put chargers where many different people can have access to them," she says, "not just wealthier people."

Last year, almost 5% of approximately 67 million new cars sold world widewere electric. For Venkat Viswanathan, a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, green electricity is part of the solution to climate change, and electric cars are just the beginning. He sees a future of solar powered homes and electric flying cars. "Soon, a plug in vehicle might be as cheap as a gas-powered car. It is now abundantly clear that electric is the future," he says. "It will be a totally new world."