We already know the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change: Use less energy. With a little effort, and not much money, most of us could reduce our energy diets by 25 percent or more—doing the Earth a favor while also helping our wallets.
Not long ago, my wife, PJ, and I tried a new diet—not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change. Scientists have reported recently that the world is bending up even faster than predicted only a few years ago, and that the consequences could be severe if we don't keep reducing emissions(排放) of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and other greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in our atmosphere.
We decided to try an experiment. For one month we recorded our personal emissions of CO2. We wanted to see how much we could cut back, so we went on a strict diet. The average US household(家庭) produces about 150 pounds of CO2 a day by doing common-place things like turning on air-conditioning or driving cars. That's more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average, mostly because Americans drive more and have bigger houses. But how much should we try to reduce?
For an answer, I checked with Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing the Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth. In his book, he had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping points, such as the melting(融化) of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica. "To stay below that point, we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent," he said.
Good advice, I thought. I'd opened our bedroom windows to let in the wind. We'd gotten so used to keeping our air-conditioning going around the clock. I'd almost forgotten the windows even opened. We should not let this happen again. It's time for us to change our habits if necessary.
One day a rich man took his son on a trip to the country so he could have his son see how poor country people were.
They stayed one day and one night in the farm-house of very poor farm. the way back home at the end of the trip the father asked the son, “ did you think of the trip?”
The son (reply), “Very nice, Dad.”
The father then asked, “Did you notice how poor they were?”
The son said, “Yes, I guess so.”
The father then added, “What did you learn?”
To question, the son thought for a moment and answered (slow), “I learned that we have one dog and they have four. We have a fountain in the garden and they have a small river has no end. We have brightly colored (lantern) in our garden, while they have the stars. Our garden (go) to the edge of our yard, but for their back yard they have the whole horizon.”
At the son's reply, the rich father was speechless (无语的). His son then said, “Thanks, Dad, for (show) me how poor we really are.”
What's On?
Trouble in Mind
Alice Childress won an Off-Broadway award in 1956 for this story of a black actress rehearsing（排练） a play with a white director who increasingly finds it impossible for the show to go on. Tanya Moodie and Joseph Marcell star in the play directed by Laurence Boswell.
8.30p.m.—10.30p.m., Theatre Royal. Box office: 01225 448844.
Lazarus
Inspired by the sci-fi (science fiction) novel and movie, The Man Who Fell to Earth, this musical deals with a hero, Thomas Newton. Likely to be the autumn's hottest ticket, the score includes new songs composed by Bowie.
7.00p.m.—9.00p.m., King's Cross theatre. Box office: 0844 871 7604.
The Gaul
On the night of 8 February 1974, a fisherman FV Gaul disappeared off the coast of Norway. For people on board, waiting for news was great suffering. Theories began to come up, including the possibility that the boat had fallen victim to cold war. Even when he was discovered, many still felt there were questions that remained unanswered. Mark Babych directs Janet Plater's play.
8.00p.m.—11.00 p.m., Royal Shakespeare theatre. Box office: 01482 323638.
The Suppliant Women
It is a new version of Aeschylus's 2,500-year-old play about a group of women seeking shelter who make the long journey to escape forced marriage. It was written by David Greigand directed by Ramin Gray. An ancient piece asks a contemporary question: when we are introuble, who will open their doors and give us a harbor?
8.30p.m.—10.00p.m., Hampstead theatre. Box office: 0131 248 4848.
On a cold winter morning, an old man sat against a wall at Sydney's Circular Quay station. I glanced his way for a moment but disregarded him and walked on.
On my way home that afternoon, I saw the same man in the same place. Two ambulance attendants were beside him. This time my step paused. He was old and in rags.
Shame rocked me. He must have suffered a lot in such cold weather. No one stopped. No one cared. Out of sight, out of mind.
A different season and I again came across an old man half lying on the footpath. Caught in the familiar rush, I barely glanced at him. However, the memory of the old Winter Man came back to me. I walked back to the man on the ground. He was dressed in smart clothes. I knelt down to ask if he was OK.
A flow of people kept walking by. He regained consciousness, though weakly, and it might be a good idea to call an ambulance, which I did.
He said to me, "Nobody stopped. Thank you. "Fighting back tears, I asked his name. "Greg, "he said. We looked into each other's eyes for a moment. As the approaching ambulance's siren proclaimed the arrival of help, a number of emotions rushed at me. I felt sadness pulling my heart for the Winter Man and shame that I had almost walked past another person in need. I was amazed that it had been so easy to be helpful.
When I was little, I always wanted a luxurious house. That was my idea to be successful. I took all the classes with full carefulness and tried to do well in the exams with my mind set on going to a key school. I just knew that I would somehow become famous and be able to afford the dream house. All the way through junior years, my mind was planning this wonderful future.
Then in the tenth grade, many losses changed my mind. First, one of my friends died at 16. Soon after, my great-grandmother passed away, followed by my beloved fourth-grade teacher. These events left me not knowing what to do or where to go. Death had never touched me so closely.
After a long period of emptiness, it finally struck me: Life is not promised and neither is future success. Though I was attempting to achieve material success, I was not enjoying my daily life. I realized that finding inner peace, purpose and happiness will stick with me forever and that is real success.
Enjoying life's precious quirks(偶发事件) makes an ordinary person more successful than a wealthy person who isn't content and takes everything for granted. The summer before senior years, my attitude changed greatly. Instead of memorizing facts, I began learning skills. Instead of focusing on the future, I focused on today and the many blessings and successes that came with it.
I still get excellent grades, but now I devote weeks to studying instead of struggling for exams, and I think about the future with a deeper sense of meaning. For me, being successful means truly living life each day.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1）、每处错误极其修改均仅限一词；
2）、只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I'm a student from Chongqing, China. I am write to keep you informing of something about the severe situation that finless porpoises, a kind of rare and lovely animal, are facing with presently.
It's because of human activities that finless porpoises are endangered. It's terrible that there are merely less than 1,000 finless porpoises live in China. However, it's high time that immediate measures must be taken. Don't you think so? If possible, how I hope you can help us by funding your project aiming at protecting finless porpoises! Under your financial aid, I am convinced fewer finless porpoises will survive. I would appreciate greatly if you could consider my application.
Looking forward to your early reply.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1）. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；2）. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Sam went to the cinema the other night. Entered the cinema, he thought of taking off his coat. But the cinema was very cold and he has to keep his coat on. As there weren't much space between the rows, his legs began to ache shortly after he took up his seat. Worse still, they found it difficult to breath easily. Looking around, he saw a lot of people smoking. At last the film started. That made him angry was that the person in front was wearing so big hat that he could hardly see the screen. To top it all, people all around him either told jokes nor laughed loudly. However, Sam missed most of the dialogue.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1—20各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
I was required to read one of Bernie Siegel's books in college and was hooked on his positivity from that moment on．The stories of his unconventional1 and the exceptional patients he wrote about were so2 to me and had such a big3 on how I saw life from then on．
Who knew that so many years later I would look to Dr．Bernie and his CDs again to4 my own Cancer experience ？
I'm an ambitious5 , and when I started going through chemo( 化疗 )，even though I'm a very6 person, I lost my drive to write．I was just too tired and not in the7 ．One day, while waiting to go in for 8, I had one of Dr．Bernie's books in hand．Another patient 9 what I was reading and struck up a conversation with me10 he had one of his books with me as well．It11that among other things, he was an eighty-year-old writer．He was12a published author, and he was currently13on a new book．
We would see each other at various times and14friends．Sometimes he wore a duck hat, and I would tell myself, he was definitely a ( n ) 15 of Dr．Berline．He really put a16 on my face．He unfortunately17last year due to his cancer,18 he left a deep impression on me and gave me the19 to pick up my pen again．I20 to myself, “If he can do it, then so can I．”
Nuclear power's danger to health, safety, and even life itself can be summed up in one word: radiation.
Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery about it, partly because it cannot be detected by human senses. It can't be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around us but we can't detect them, sense them, without a radio receiver. Similarly, we can't sense radioactivity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things.
At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being immediately by killing masses of cells in vital organs. But even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no levels of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be serious. This is the case when only a few cells are hit, and if they are killed immediately. Your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years.
This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the victim being aware at the time that damage has occurred. A person can be irradiated(辐射)and feel fine, then die for cancer five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. Or a child can be born weak as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents.
Radiation can hurt us. We must know the truth.
Do not skip our breakfast
Recently, the number of the students in our school who skip breakfast has increased greatly.
……
About twenty years ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a disabled young woman. Not only was she good at maths and science, but she was also extremely talented in art. She could draw and paint beautifully. When Audrey graduated from university she got two degrees, one in fine arts and one in chemistry. Not too many people do well in two such different areas of study.
Just before her high school graduation, Audrey gave me a wonderful gift. It was a watercolour painting of a mother and her baby. A tear fell from the mother's eye as she looked lovingly at her child. Beneath the painting, Audrey had written these words, "The deep love from Mother, through me, touches another. " What a beautiful gift! I had the piece of art framed(给……做框)and hung in my office.
Years passed with many moves from one office to another and I lost the painting. Last year, after about eight years of not knowing where it was, I received a phone call from a former colleague who said she had something of mine. It was the picture Audrey had painted for me 18 years earlier. When cleaning out a storage room she had discovered my gift.
I was struck that the precious gift came back. I knew Audrey very well. When she was four years old, Audrey had a serious disease. What's worse, her father left the house. It was her mother who brought her up with much trouble. She survived the disease but was disabled.
To any other it is just a painting, but to me it shows how a mother's love has helped develop a talent and how its power pushes me ahead.
While it is impossible to live completely free of stress, it is possible to prevent stress as well as reduce its effect when it can't be avoided.
When you are nervous, angry or upset, try releasing the pressure through exercise or physical activity. Running, walking, playing tennis, and working in your garden are just some of the activities you might try.
Take care of yourself If you easily get angry and can't sleep well enough,or if you're not eating properly, it will be more likely that you will fall into stressful situations. If stress repeatedly keeps you from sleeping, you should consult a doctor.
Make time for yourself Schedule time for both work and entertainment. Don't forget, play can be just as important to your overall well-being as work.Gowindow-shopping or work on a hobby. Allow yourself at least a half hour each day todo something you enjoy.
Make a list of things to do Stress can result from disorganization and a feeling that “there's so much to do,and not enough time” Therefore, you may not achieve anything.Instead,make a list of everything you have to do,then do one thing at atime, checking off each task as it is completed. Set out to do the most important task first.
A. Try physical activity.
B. Do whatever you like and want to do.
C. Trying to take care of everything at once can be too much for you.
D. You could smile to yourself in front of a mirror every day.
E. The following are suggestions for ways to deal with stress.
F. You should make every effort to eat well and get enough rest.
G. You need a break from your daily routine to just relax and have fun.
— Yes, they are.
“Who can ever have imagined that someone like me would make it this far?” asked Chad Wood last week during his high school graduation speech as the best student. Chad offered 1 to his fellow classmates to never give up-and the words 2much more to himself. That's because Chad is deaf, and he told the story of the serious troubles he 3 to graduate first in his class at Harrison High school in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Chad didn't start to 4 until he was 5, according to his mother, Pam Wood. Although her son was 5 a disadvantage, she was determined not to treat him6.“I've expected him to do everything every other kid does, and I saw no 7 why he couldn't,” she told ABC News.“And if he 8the first time, we just tried again.”
Chad, 17, worked hard throughout school, 9 no special treatment but sitting at the front of the class and using a special audio system so he could hear the teacher. All his hard work 10. He received full school fare to Vanderbilt University. “Deafness had taught me a lesson to never11 ,” he said in the speech. ”Not when the experts tell you it cannot be done. Not when you have 12 so far behind that escaping seems the only way 13. Not when achieving your dreams seems an entire 14.”
Chad spoke for about four minutes, after which he received a standing applause from the class and 15 messages from family, friends and strangers. “They've been sending me messages on Facebook, email; they've been talking to me in person telling me how it had a 16 on their lives and how they're really 17 by it,” Chad told ABC News. “It feels 18. Seeing that my words 19 have a power on someone and that they want to work harder 20 my words makes me feel wonderful.”
