阅读理解More than 200 organizations are preparing to bring their teams of robots to RoboCup 2003 next month in Padua, Italy, an event where researchers test out the latest artificial intelligence techniques in games of football or rescue simulations. Event organizers said last week that 183 teams from around the world, mostly from universities, have registered for rescue simulation competitions and various leagues of foot ball, while another 80 groups are to show off robots aimed at children. The event is expecting more than 50,000 visitors. While RoboCup has its lighter side, it is one of the most prominent events in the world for both artificial-intelligence researchers and for companies such as Honda and Sony wishing to show off their latest robotics technology. In recent years, advances in robotics and computer technology have led to renewed interest in robots. Several companies have produced humanoid robots capable of walking on two legs, even up stairs or across uneven surfaces, while Sony has virtually single-handedly created a consumer-robot market with its Aibo dog, released in 1999. Robot technologies such as vision and mobility systems have also made their way into the broader world of IT. Hewlett-Packard is even testing robots that could attend meetings in place of a human, in order to cut down on business travel. Ahead of RoboCup, another European university has signed up to integrate its Aibo robots into their research curriculum. RoboCup''s "four-legged league" uses Aibo robots, while the "humanoid league" pits two-legged robots such as Honda''s AMmo against one another. The event says its ultimate goal is to develop a team of fully autonomous robots by the year 2050 that can win against .the human world soccer champion team.

阅读理解We all know there exists a great void (空白) in the public educational system when it comes to【C1】______ to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses

阅读理解Which of the following is characteristic of boys according to Abigail James' report?

阅读理解What does the author say is the general view about health care?

阅读理解Absenteeism In Nursing: A Longitudinal Study Absence from work is a costly and disruptive problem for any organization. The cost of absenteeism (矿工) in Australia has been put at 1.8 million hours per day or $1400 million annually. The study reported here was conducted in the Prince William Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, where, prior to this time, few active steps had been taken to measure, understand or manage the occurrence of absenteeism. Nursing Absenteeism A prevalent attitude amongst many nurses in the group selected for study was that there was NO reward or recognition for Not taking paid leave entitled to them in their employment conditions. Therefore, they believed they may as well take the days off-sick (病假) or otherwise. Similar attitudes have been Noted by James (1989), who Noted that sick leave is seen by many workers as a right, like annual holiday leave. Miller and Norton (1986), in their survey of 865 nursing personnel, found that 73 percent felt they should be rewarded for Not taking sick leave, because some employees always used their sick leave. Further, 67 per cent of nurses felt that administration was Not sympathetic to the problems shift work causes to employees'' personal and social lives. Only 53 per cent of the respondents felt that every effort was made to schedule staff fairly. In another longitudinal study of nurses working in two Canadian hospitals, Hackett, Bycio and Guion (1989) examined the reasons why nurses took absence from work. The most frequent reason stated for absence was minor illness to self. Other causes, in decreasing order of frequency, were illness in family, family social function, work to do at home, etc. Method In an attempt to reduce the level of absenteeism amongst the 250 Registered and Enrolled Nurses in the present study, and Prince William management introduced three different, yet potentially complementary, strategies over 18 months. Strategy 1: non-financial (material) incentives (激励) Within the established wage and salary system it was Not possible to use hospital funds to support this strategy. However, it was possible to secure incentives from local businesses, including free passes to entertainment parks, theatres, restaurants, etc. The nurses with the lowest absence rate would win the prize. Strategy 2: Flexible fair schedual Where possible, staff were given the opportunity to determine their working schedule within the limits of the needs of their hospitals. Strategy 3: Individual absenteeism and counseling Each month, managers would analyze the pattern of absence of staff with excessive sick leave (greater than ten days per year for full-time employees). Characteristic patterns of potential ''voluntary absenteeism'' such as absence before and after days off, excessive weekend and night duty absence and multiple single days off were communicated to all ward(病房) nurses and then, as necessary, followed up by action. Results: Absence rates for die six months prior to the incentive scheme ranged from 3.69 per cent to 4.32 per cent. In the following six months they ranged between 2.87 per cent and 3.96 per cent. This represents a 20 per cent improvement. However, analyzing the absence rates on a year-to-year basis, the overall absence rate was 3.60 per cent in the first year and 3.43 per cent in the following year. This represents a 5 per cent decrease from the first to the second year of the study. A significant decrease in absence over the two-year period could Not be demonstrated. Discussion The non-financial incentive scheme did appear to assist in controlling absenteeism in the short term. As the scheme progressed it became harder to secure prizes and this program finally had to cease. There were mixed results across wards as well. (For example, in wards with staff members who had long-term genuine illness, there was little chance of winning, and to some extent the staff on those wards were disempowered. Our experience would suggest that the long-term effects of incentive awards on absenteeism are questionable. Over the time of the study, staff were given a larger degree of control in their duty arrangement. This led to significant improvements in communication between managers and staff. A similar effect was found from the implementation of the third strategy. Many of the nurses had Not realized the impact their behaviour was having on the organisation and their colleagues but mere were also staff members who felt that talking to them about their absenteeism was '' picking'' on them and this usually had a negative effect on management—employee relationships. Conclusion Although there has been some decrease in absence rates, no single strategy or combination of strategies has had a significant impact on absenteeism per se. In spite of the disappointing results, it is our contention that the strategies were Not in vain. A shared ownership of absenteeism and a collaborative approach to problem solving has facilitated improved cooperation and communication between management and staff. It is our belief that this improvement alone, while Not obviously measurable, has increased the ability of management to manage the effects of absenteeism more effectively since this study.

阅读理解What can we infer from Martin Reimann's finding?

阅读理解How Global Warming Works Gases in the Earth''s atmosphere act like glass in a greenhouse-trapping heat and making life on Earth possible. But there is a delicate balance. Burning coal, oil and natural gas increases atmospheric concentrations of these gases. Over the past century, increases in industry, transportation, and electricity production have increased gas concentrations in the atmosphere faster than natural processes can remove them leading to human-caused warming of the globe. The Sources Of Global Warming The major source of global warming is carbon dioxide pollution from power plants, auto mobiles, and industry. Another source is global deforestation. ●Power plants are responsible for more than a third of U. S. CO2 emissions, yet there are no caps on CO2 emissions from power plants or any other industry. ●Gas guzzling cars and light trucks are also responsible for a third of U.S. CO2 emissions. Current regulations allow for very inefficient vehicles which spew tons of CO2. ●Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air as they grow. When they are cut and burned that CO2is released back into the atmosphere. Massive deforestation around the globe is releasing large amounts of CO2 and decreasing the forests'' ability to take CO2from the atmosphere. Solutions The U. S. , with only four percent of the world''s population, is responsible for 22 percent of the world''s greenhouse gas emissions. Fortunately, solutions exist to cut our global warming emissions. Decision makers in the United States should take the following steps. ●Increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks would cut millions of tons of CO2 pollution as well as decreasing dependence on foreign oil. ●Putting a cap on CO2 from power plants would cut millions of tons of CO2 pollution as well as decreasing pollution that causes acid rain, smog, and respiratory illness. ●Shifting investment from fossil fuels like coal and oil to renewable energy and energy efficiency would allow cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy to take their rightful place as market leaders. ●Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol would be a modest but important first step to ward international emissions reductions. The Evidence Recently, alarming events that are consistent with scientific predictions about the effects of climate change have become more and more commonplace. The global average temperature has increased by about 0.5°C and sea level has risen by about 10 inches (25cm) in the past century. Official confirmation came in 1995, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an officially appointed international panel of over 2,500 of the world''s leading scientific experts, found that evidence suggests a human influence on the global climate. The following are events which consistent with scientists predictions of the effects of global warming: ●The past two decades have witnessed a stream of new heat and precipitation re cords. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1980, the hottest year ever on record is 1997, and the hottest January through July on record occurred in 1998. ●Glaciers are melting around the world. Alaska''s Columbia Glacier has retreated more than eight miles in the last 16 years while temperatures there have increased. A section of an Antarctic ice shelf as big as the District of Columbia broke off. ●Severe floods like the devastating Midwestern floods of 1993 and 1997 are becoming more common. ●Infectious diseases are moving into new areas as seen in the recent outbreaks of Dengue fever in Texas and Malaria in New Jersey. The Opposition The Global Climate Coalition, a powerful coalition of oil, power, and auto companies has followed the lead of tobacco companies by denying the harm they cause. They have spent millions of dollars trying to discredit the scientific consensus of the IPCC and slow steps to combat global warming. The public has not fallen for their deception, but the Global Climate Coalition appears to have had some impact on members of Congress. Health Risks Rates of infectious disease will rise, with the spread of mosquitoes and other disease carrying organisms that thrive in warm, wet climates. More frequent and more severe heat waves will pose a threat to public health, with children and the elderly especially vulnerable. In the 1990s, outbreaks of malaria have occurred in Michigan, Texas, Florida, Georgia, California, New Jersey and New York. Two major heat waves-in Chicago in 1995 and Dallas in 1998-killed more than 600 people. Environmental Destruction Rising global temperatures and melting of glaciers will directly impact ocean and coast al habitats. Ecosystems will, be destroyed and species will die off, as sea levels rise, sea sons shift, and glaciers and polar ice caps melt. Polar bears are threatened with starvation as melting sea ice keeps them from their food. Catastrophic Weather Warmer temperatures will speed evaporation, leading to drought in some places and heavy downpours and flooding in others. Extreme weather events as well as El Ninno events may become more intense and more frequent. In 1999, the U. S. experienced one of the most extreme droughts ever recorded, and Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Delaware faced their driest growing seasons on record. That same year, the Pacific North west experienced its second wettest year on record. Nevada, California and Iowa all experienced deadly floods. Recent years have seen record hurricanes, including the most destructive ever. Clean Energy Agenda A rapid transition to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources will combat global warming, protect human health, create new jobs, protect habitat and wildlife, and ensure a secure, affordable energy future. In contrast, our reliance on coal, oil and nuclear power imperils the world''s climate, fouls the environment, harms human health, and results in the proliferation of nuclear materials. We can meet our energy needs without threatening our children''s future using commonsense ways to mobilize American ingenuity and re sources for a rapid transition to renewable energy sources. It will eliminate energy waste, phase out fossil fuels and nuclear power, and help the United States lead the world into a sustainable energy future, Clean Power In the next decade, increase fourfold the amount of energy obtained from non-hydro renewable sources such as the sun and wind. By 2020, produce at least one-third of the nation''s energy from renewable sources, and double the efficiency of energy use in homes, buildings, transportation and industry. Clean Air Clean up our power plants by setting progressively tighter limits on all power plant pollution-including carbon dioxide, the major cause of global warming. Close the loophole that allows old coal-fired power plants to pollute much more than newer plants. Clean Cars Hold sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and minivans to the same air pollution standards as cars. Improve the fuel efficiency of new cars and light trucks to a combined average of 45 miles per gallon (MPG) by 2010 and at least 65 MPG by 2020. Offer incentives that build strong markets for renewable fuels and for clean vehicles powered by hybrid motors and fuel cells. Clean Investments Quadruple federal investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency within five years, and continue this momentum over the long term Stop spending taxpayer dollars to subsidize the coal, oil and nuclear industries. Provide adequate resources and job training for affected workers and communities to ensure a just transition to a sustainable energy economy.

阅读理解When one of your car tires goes flat, there are two things you can do. Groan and change it or, if you don''t have a spare, stand helplessly beside the road and hope someone comes to your rescue. Now comes a third alternative, called Quickwheel. It is designed to get disabled motorists rolling again as quickly as possible. Quickwheel is essentially a tiny emergency trailer—complete with three tough little wheels of its own—that supports the flat tire and enables the motorist to drive to a service station without losing much time or expending much energy. The product is manufactured in the Netherlands but is owned and marketed by a U. S. company, Quickwheel Inc. of Greenwich, Connecticut. According to the firm''s president, Robert Bockweg, the product meets each of the major concerns that consumers associate with flat tires: safety, lost time and physical exertion. To use it, motorists simply unfold the product to its fully extended position, set it in front of the disabled tire, drive the car onto the Quickwheel''s ramp and attach a special safety strap (皮带) over the tire, the tire is then locked, or cradled in Quickwheel''s metal frame. The device''s three wheels do the rest of the work. According to Quickwheel Inc. , its product can be driven "for miles" at speed of up to 45 miles per hour "without any noticeable change in the vehicle''s braking or steering operation". The company also claims that it can be used on just about any type of car, jeep, mini-van or trailer. Bockweg says that Quickwheel will be sold initially in the United States, at a price of $ 150. Distribution agreements now being negotiated should make the product available in Japan, Canada and Western Europe in the near future.

阅读理解Passage Four It is curious how much one despises and condemns the vices which one　does not happen to possess

阅读理解It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997, to support he Red Cross''s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriving in Angola, television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. "I knew the statistics," she said. "But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13-year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her." The Princess concluded with a simple message: "We must stop landmines." And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message. But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press. They described her as "very ill-informed" and a "loose cannon (乱放炮的人)." The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms: "This is a distraction (干扰) we do not need. All I''m trying to do is help." Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To make matters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess''s trip had been approved by the Foreign Office, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British government''s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government. To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, claimed that the Princess''s views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was "working towards" a worldwide ban. The Defense Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was "a misinterpretation or misunderstanding." For the Princess, the trip to this war-torn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems.

阅读理解Oscar award The Academy Awards Oscar presentation for excellence in the film industry has a long and rich history. In 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) was formed by 36 of the film industry''s most prominent individuals, choosing film actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. as its first president. In 1929, AMPAS presented the first Academy Award. This award was for recognition of excellence in the motion picture industry. This award has remained the ultimate industry standard of recognition. Voting members of AMPAS represent fourteen branches of the film industry to determine who receives the coveted (垂涎) awards. The Oscar voting process begins in November of each year. Movie studios, publicists and film distributors begin their attempts to coax the voting members of AMPAS to view their film offerings. These attempts are regulated in the interest of fairness. The following January, the Academy Awards ballots are distributed to voting members, who have one month to make their nominations and return these nominations to the offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers, formerly Price Waterhouse, a professional service used to tabulate the votes. PricewaterhouseCoopers guarantees the security of the balloting. Only two people employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers know the results of award balloting before the ceremonies. The nominations for the award are made by members of the craft (行业) categories for each of the rewards. In the Best Picture category, however, all voting members are allowed to submit nominations. In February, PricewaterhouseCoopers announces the result of the nominations. Voting members then receive ballots to cast their votes to select winners in each category. They are then returned to the tabulating service. Although many of the fourteen Oscar categories have been broadened or changed since 1927, the awards still fall within the main branches of the Academy. This includes actors, producers, directors, writers and technicians. Even the names of some of the awards have changed. For example, the Best Picture award was known as the Best Production award prior to 1933. In that year, two Best Picture awards were given. One, to "Wings" for the Best Production and another to "Sunrise" for the Best Unique and Artistic Picture. After that year''s awards the latter category was dropped. Until 1939, the award was called the "Academy Award of Merit" and was not a statuette but a plaque. The first Oscar statuette was awarded to actor Emil Jannings, who was named Best Actor for his role in "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Things". How the awards statuette came to be known as "Oscar" is not known but it is generally accepted that Katherine Herrion, a future Academy Executive Director, remarked upon seeing the statue that it reminded her of her uncle Oscar and began referring to it by that name. Academy staff followed her lead and the name Oscar has been used ever since. The Oscar itself is a statuette, made by the R.S. Owens Company of Chicago. It is approximately 13.5 inches high and weighs 8. 5 pounds. It is made from a copper, silver and nickel alloy and covered with 25-Carat gold. During World War II, the statues were made of plaster. Recipients turned in these plaster statues after the war for golden Oscars. In the 1930''s juvenile recipients of the award were given miniature versions and there is one instance where a wooden Oscar was awarded to ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Walt Disney received seven miniature Oscar statuettes for the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first all-animated feature film. The statue was designed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer art director Cedric Gibbon and sculptor George Stanley. The Oscar depicts a knight holding a sword, standing atop a reel of film. The film reel has five spokes, representing the five original branches of AMPAS. 1949 marked the first year that the Oscar statuettes were numbered, beginning with number 501. In a surprising turn of events, 55 Oscars vanished before the awards program in March, 2000. Later 52 of the statues were found in a Los Angeles dumpster. The first awards presentations were actually large banquet-type dinners. Anyone who wished to attend could simply purchase a ticket. These affairs were first held in the larger hotels such as the Ambassador and the Biltmore in Los Angeles. As public interest and crowds increased, the affairs were moved to larger theaters, where the ever-growing crowds could be accommodated. While awards programs are now watched by millions on television, the first awards were broadcast live through radio. The first televised ceremonies took place in 1953, at the 25th annual presentation. The Academy Awards have been held annually without fail except on three occasions. In 1938, Los Angeles floods delayed the event for one week. Thirty years later, in 1968, the program was delayed two days so as not to coincide with the funeral of Martin Luther King. The last postponement to date was in 1981 when the attempted assassination of US President Ronald Reagan took place, when the awards were delayed for 24 hours. The suspense that is now an accepted part of the Oscar ceremony did not always exist. The results of the Oscar poll was released to the press in advance of the awards ceremony and could be found in the late edition newspapers on the night of the awards. The tradition of revealing the results on camera at the awards was not adopted until 1941. As well as the suspense involving the winners, the Oscar awards programs have had their share of unexpected excitement. In 1973, a nude streaker (裸奔者) ran across the stage of the televised proceedings. In 1972, in a surprise move, winner Marlon Brando sent an actress who identified herself as Sacheen Littlefeather to read a political statement and refuse his award. The awards also broke some barriers. Actress Hattie Mcdaniel received the first Oscar awarded to a Black actor in any category for her supporting role in Gone with the Wind, a movie which received a record-breaking 13 nominations and 8 wins. The Academy Awards continues to evoke the same excitement and intensity that it had at the beginning.

阅读理解While traveling abroad, Mr. Jackson Frank ran'' short of money. So he wrote to his brother, asking for $ 500. "Send the money by telegram, "he wrote, "to the Fisher Bank in P..." After a week he began calling at the Fisher Bank. He showed his passport. "Nothing has come for you, "he was told. This went on for two weeks and Mr. Frank got very worried. He sent a telegram to his brother, asking where the money was. There was no reply, and no money arrived for him. In the fourth week Mr. Frank was .arrested for failing to pay his hotel hill. His passport was taken from him. He tried to explain the problem, but no one believed him. He was sent to prison for six days. When he came out, he went immediately to the Fisher bank. The clerk he spoke to was a nevi man. "Have you received $ 500 for me? "he ask, "My name is Jackson Frank." The clerk checked his books. "Yes, Jackson, it''s here. It came by telegram. --let me see--oh, more than two months ago. We wondered where you were. "He showed Mr. Frank the order. The order read: "Pay Mr. Frank Jackson the sum of $ 500..." "But my name is Jackson Frank, not Frank Jackson." "Oh, that'' s all right, sir. It was in our books under the letter ''J'' , but it''s your money. "The clerk laughed, "A human mistake, sir! We'' re all human beings, aren''t we? And so we all make mistakes. A family name like Frank sounds strange to me." Mr. Frank was silent. He really wanted to hit somebody. At last he said, "A human mistake——is that what you call it? I think some humans need kicking."

阅读理解PassageTwo Female applicants to postdoctoral positions in geosciences were nearly half as likely to receive excellent letters of recommendation, compared with their male counterparts

阅读理解Car Pollution Jump in the car, start your engine and you''re off. But do you give any thought to what''s coming out of the tailpipe as you go about your drive? Carbon dioxide is the dominant greenhouse gas that causes global warming. The effects of global warming are uncertain, but they potentially include disruption of global weather patterns and ecosystems, flooding, severe storm, and droughts. Carbon monoxide, when inhaled, combines with haemoglobin in our blood, impairing the flow of oxygen to our brain and other parts of the body. Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and poisonous even to healthy people (at high levels). It can seriously affect people with heart disease, and can affect the central nervous system. Motor vehicles are the main source of carbon monoxide pollution in many countries. Sulphur oxides contribute to respiratory illness, particularly in children and the elderly, and aggravate existing heart and lung diseases. It contributes to the formation of acid rain, which damages trees, crops, and buildings; and makes soils, lakes, and streams acidic. Nitrogen oxide is a noxious pollutant. It is a lung irritant and reacts with compounds in the air to cause acid rain and ozone (the main reason for smog). Nitrogen oxide is one of the main ingredients involved in the formation of ground-level ozone (which can trigger serious respiratory problems), and contributes to global warming. Particulate matter, consisting of tiny particles of smoke, soot and dust primarily from engines, car parts, tires, and diesel exhaust, are an established cause of lung problems, from shortness of breath to worsening of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, damage to lung tissues, and cancer. The EPA estimates that particulate pollution kills more than 60,000 people per year. In addition, particulates are associated with increased hospital ad missions and emergency room visits for people with heart and lung disease, as well as work and school absences. Particulates can travel deep into the lungs, or in smaller form, directly into the bloodstream. Hydrocarbons, in their many forms, are directly hazardous, contributing to what are collectively called "air toxics." These compounds directly irritate the lung and other tissues, can cause cancer, contribute to birth defects, and cause other illnesses. Lead damages organs, affects the brain, nerves, heart, and blood. Although overall blood lead levels have decreased since 1976, urban areas with high levels of traffic or industrial facilities that burn fuel may still have high lead levels in air. In 1999, ten areas of the country did not meet the national health-based air quality standards for lead. Hybrid cars use less gas, and therefore produce fewer emissions, than conventional cars. Take a look at the statistics below (based on a car travelling 14,000 miles per year). ●A conventional car produces 11,100 pounds of CO2 per year, compared with the 4,800 pounds of CO2 produced by a hybrid car. ●A conventional car produces 330 pounds of carbon monoxide per year, compared with the 230 pounds produced by a hybrid car. ●A conventional car produces 49 pounds of nitrogen oxide per year, compared with the 17 pounds produced by a hybrid car. ●A conventional car produces 670 grams of particulate matter per year, compared with the 240 grams produced by a hybrid car. ●A conventional car produces 29 pounds of hydrocarbons per year, compared with the 8 pounds produced by a hybrid car. Rolling Up Your Window Won''t Help Exposure to some car pollutants may be much higher inside your car than outside. Commuters driving in rush hour get the highest exposure, often from pollutants emitted by vehicles ahead of them. You are basically driving in and through -- and contributing to -- a lethal cocktail of air pollution. Other Impacts on the Environment When you think of pollution from cars, the first thing that comes to mind is noxious fumes. But the ,problems don''t stop with air pollution. The environmental consequences associated with cars are much wider. Water Pollution Runoff of oil, automotive fluids, and roadway chemicals are estimated at hundreds of thousands of tons per year, and are considered the leading source of impairment to rivers. In addition, hundreds of thousands of potential leaks from underground fuel storage tanks threaten groundwater, and improperly disposed of used motor oil ends up in waterways. Noise Pollution Noise from car traffic, and loud car stereos and alarms, has become so ubiquitous that we barely notice it anymore -- but it''s taking its toll. Recent census data indicates that 1 in 8 American households suffer from bothersome noise from the street or traffic. Problems related to noise include hearing loss, stress, high blood pressure, sleep loss, distraction, and lost productivity, and a general reduction in the quality of life and opportunities for tranquility. Solid Waste Over 10 million automobiles are scrapped every year, creating approximately seven billion pounds of unrecycled scrap and waste every year. Approximately 800 million tires are stockpiled in dumps around the country, creating a serious fire hazard and an ongoing environmental hazard. Every stockpiled tire sheds rubber each year, spewing minute grains of rubber into the atmosphere and back down into the water supply and human lungs. Wildlife The Humane Society estimates that around a million animals die on U. S. roads every day. Agriculture Air and water pollution from vehicles compromises the growth, reproduction and over all health of plants, which are susceptible to disease, pests, and environmental stress. It reduces agricultural yields for many economically important crops, such as soybean, wheat, and cotton. The Built-up Environment During the last century, an area roughly equal to all the arable land in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania was paved in the United States -- requiting maintenance costs of over $ 200 million a day and trapping us in large, sprawling and undesirable concrete jungles. Approximately one-third of an average city''s land is devoted to roads and other car-related elements. Interstate highways cut through and divide countless neighborhoods, taking homes and destroying businesses. We add more and more roads, encouraging wider use of private cars and ever-increasing traffic congestion.

阅读理解A soccer referee suspended (吊销执照) for scoring a goal while taking charge of a game has resigned after being found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute by the Essex County Football Association. The Essex County Football Association said that they were disappointed by the decision of Savill, who hit the headlines last year when his sympathy for a team getting beaten 18-1 went too far. "It is a pretty unique case and hopefully it won''t happen again," said Essex County FA chief executive Phil Sammons. Brian Savill was taking charge of a Great Bromley Cup game in the south of England between Earls Colne Reserves and Wimpole 2000. With 10 minutes remaining and Wimple getting beaten 18-1, Savill found the ball at his feet in front of the Earls Coine goal and immediately banged it into the net, before signaling a goal. The laws of the game state that the referee is part of the playing area and that the game con tinues if the ball strikes him. There is no item in the laws to differentiate between an accidental or deliberate (故意的) touch of the ball. Savill''s bizarre (匪夷所思的) goal made little difference to the outcome as Earls Coine went on to win 20-2, but the officials were impressed. The Essex County Football Association finally found 47-year-old Savill guilty of bringing the game into disrepute and suspended him for seven weeks. Savill, a referee with 18 years'' experience, resigned after finding out about the decision. "They haven''t got a sense of humor," he told The Times newspaper. "It brought enjoyment to everyone'' s lives. It shows refereeing can be enjoyable and that we are not Hitlers running blowing whistles all the time." However, he advised other referees against following his example.

阅读理解Wisdom Teeth Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to erupt. This occurs usually between the ages of 17 and 25. There remains a great deal of controversy regarding whether or not these teeth need to be removed. It is generally suggested that teeth that remain completely buried or un-erupted in a normal position are unlikely to cause harm. However, a tooth may become impacted due to lack of space and its eruption is therefore prevented by gum (齿龈), bone, another tooth or all three. If these impacted teeth are in an abnormal position, their potential for harm should be assessed. What are the Indications for Removing Wisdom Teeth? Wisdom teeth generally cause problems when they erupt partially through the gum. The most common reasons for removing them are: Decay Saliva(唾液), bacteria and food particles can collect around an impacted wisdom tooth, causing it, or the next tooth to decay. It is very difficult to remove such decay. Pain and infection will usually follow. Gum Infection When a wisdom tooth is partially erupted, food and bacteria collect under the gum causing a local infection. This may result in bad breath, pain, and swelling. The infection can spread to involve the cheek and neck. Once the initial episode occurs, each subsequent attack becomes more frequent and more severe. Pressure Pain Pain may also come from the pressure of the erupting wisdom tooth against other teeth. In some cases this pressure may cause the erosion of these teeth. When is the Best Time to Have Wisdom Teeth Removed? It is now recommended by specialists that impacted wisdom teeth be removed between the ages of 14 and 22 years whether they are causing problems or not. Surgery is technically easier and patients recover much more quickly when they are younger. What is a relatively minor operation at 20 can become quite difficult in patients over 40. Also the risk of complications increases with age, and the healing process is slower. Should a Wisdom Tooth be Removed When an Acute Infection is Present? Generally, no. Surgery in the presence of infection can cause infection to spread and become more serious. Firstly, the infection must be controlled by local oral hygiene (卫生) and antibiotics (抗生素). The Pro’s and Con’s of Wisdom Tooth Removal Some Pro’s of Removing a Wisdom Tooth: Wisdom teeth may be hard to access with your toothbrush. Over time, the accumulation of bacteria, sugars and acids may cause a cavity to form in the tooth. If it is not restored with a filling, the cavity(洞) may spread and destroy more tooth structure causing severe consequences to the tooth and surrounding supportive structures. Due to the difficulty of keeping these teeth clean with your daily home care, bacteria and food debris remaining on the wisdom teeth may present a foul smell — causing bad breath. A wisdom tooth that is still under the gums in a horizontal position (rather than a vertical position) may exert pressure to the surrounding teeth, causing crowding and crooked teeth. This also may occur if there is not enough space in the mouth for the wisdom tooth. This may warrant braces to repair the damage. Some Con’s of Removing the Wisdom Teeth: Depending on the size shape and position of the tooth, removal can vary from a simple extraction to a more complex extraction. With a simple extraction, there is usually little swelling and/or bleeding. More complex extraction will require special treatment which may result in more bruising, swelling and bleeding. However, your dental professional will provide you with post treatment instructions to minimize these side effects. Following an extraction, a condition called “dry socket” may occur. If the blood clot (凝结) that formed in the extraction area becomes removed, it exposes the underlying bone. This condition is very painful, but resolves after a few days. It is preventable by following the post treatment instructions provided by your dental professional. The longer you wait and the older you get, there is the potential for more problems to occur. This is because as you get older, the bone surrounding the tooth becomes more dense, making the tooth more difficult to remove. The healing process may also be slower. Post Operative Care: Do Not Disturb the Wound In doing so you may invite irritation, infection and/or bleeding. Chew on the opposite side for the first 24 hours. Do Not Smoke for 12 Hours Smoking will promote bleeding and interfere with healing. Do Not Spit or Suck Through a Straw This will promote bleeding and may remove the blood clot, which could result in a dry socket. Control of Bleeding If the area is not closed with stitches, a pressure pack made of folded sterile (消毒的) gauze (纱布) pads will be placed over the socket. It is important that this pack stay in place to control bleeding and to encourage clot formation. The gauze is usually kept in place for 30 minutes. If the bleeding has not stopped once the original pack is removed, place a new gauze pad over the extraction site. Control of Swelling After surgery, some swelling is to be expected. This can be controlled through the use of cold packs, which slow the circulation. A cold pack is usually placed at the site of swelling during the first 24 hours in a cycle of 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. After the first 24 hours, it is advisable to rinse (漱口) with warm saltwater every two hours to promote healing, (one teaspoon of salt to eight ounces of warm water). Medication for Pain Control Pills such as Aspirin can be used to control minor discomfort following oral surgery. Stronger medicines may be prescribed by the dentist if the patient is in extreme discomfort. Diet and Nutrition A soft diet may be prescribed for the patient for a few days following surgery. Following the removal of your wisdom teeth it is important that you call your dentist if any unusual bleeding, swelling or pain occurs. The first 6-8 hours after the extraction are typically the worst, but are manageable with ice packs and non-prescription pain medication. You should also plan to see your dentist approximately one week later to ensure everything is healing well. It is very important to talk to your dentist about extraction procedure, risks, possible complications and outcomes of the removal of these teeth. The actual extraction may be done by a dentist or it may be referred to an oral surgeon, who is a specialist. This decision is based on the dentist’s preference and the unique features of each individual case. If you are unsure about whether or not to proceed with the treatment suggested by your dental professional, it is a good idea to get a second opinion. If you decide after consulting with a dentist not to have any teeth extracted, they should be monitored at every dental visit.

阅读理解SAVING LANGUAGE There is nothing unusual about a single language dying. Communities have come and gone throughout history, and with them their language. But what is happening today is extraordinary, judged by the standards of the past. It is language extinction on a large scale. According to the best estimates, there are some 6, 000 languages in the world. Of course, about half are going to die out in the course of the next century: that''s 3,000 language in 1,200 months. On average, there is a language dying out somewhere in the world every two weeks or so. How do we know? In the course of the past two or three decades, linguists all over the world have been gathering comparative data. If they find a language with just a few speakers left, and nobody is bothering to pass the language on to the children, they conclude that language is bound to die out soon. And we have to draw the same conclusion if a language has less than 100 speakers. It is not likely to last very long. A 1999 survey shows that 97 per cent of the world''s languages are spoken by just four percent of the people. It is too late to do anything to help many languages, where the speakers are too few or too old, and where the community is too busy just trying to survive to care about their language. But many languages are not in such a serious position. Often, where languages are seriously endangered, there are things that can be done to give new life to them. It is called revitalization. Once a community realizes that its language is in danger, it can start to introduce measures which can genuinely revitalize. The community itself must want to save its language. The culture of which it is a part must need to have a respect for minority languages. There need to be funding to support courses, materials, and teachers. And there need to be linguists to get on with the basic task of putting the language down on paper. That''s the bottom line: getting the language documented—recorded, analyzed, written down. People must be able to read and write down. People must be able to read and write if they and their language are to have a future in an increasingly computer-literate civilization. But can we save a few thousand languages, just like that? Yes, if the will and funding were available. It is not cheap getting linguists into the field, training local analysts, supporting the community with language resources and teachers, compiling grammars and dictionaries, writing materials for use in schools. It takes time, lots of it, to revitalize an endangered language. Conditions vary so much that it is difficult to generalize, but a figure of $ 900 millions, is not only stopping its steady decline towards extinction but showing signs of real growth. Two language Acts protect the status of Welsh now, and its presence is increasingly in evidence wherever you travel in Wales. On the other side of the world, Maori in New Zealand has been maintained by a system of so-called "language nests", first introduced in 1982. These are organizations which provide children under five with a domestic setting in which they are all intensively exposed to the language. The staff are all Maori speakers from the local community. The hope is that the children will keep their Maori skills alive after leaving the nests, and that as they grow older they will in turn become role models to a new generation of young children. There are cases like this all over the world. And when the reviving language is associated with a degree of political autonomy, the growth can be especially striking, as shown by Faroese, spoken in the Faroe Islands, after the islanders received a measure of autonomy from Denmark. In Switzerland, Romansch was facing a difficult situation, spoken in five very different dialects, with small and diminishing numbers, as young people left their community numbers in the German-speaking cities. The solution here was the creation in the 1980s of a unified written language for all these dialects. Romansch Grischun, as it is now called, has official status in parts of Switzerland, and is being increasingly used in spoken form on radio and television. A language can be brought back from the very brink of extinction. The Ainu language of Japan, after many years of neglect and repression, had reached a stage where there were only eight fluent speakers left, all elderly. However, new government policies brought fresh attitudes and a positive interest in survival. Several "semispeakers" —people who become unwilling to speak Ainu because of the negative attitudes by Japanese speakers — were prompted to become active speakers again. There is fresh interest now and the language is more publicly available than it has been for years. If good descriptions and materials arc available, even extinct languages can be revived. Kaurna, from South Australia, is an example. This language had been extinct for about a century, but had been quite well documented. So, when a strong movement grew for its revival, it was possible to reconstruct it. The revised language is not the same as the original, of course. It lacks the range that the original had, and much of the old vocabulary. But it can nonetheless act as a badge of present-day identity for its people. And as long as people continue to value it as a true marker of their identity, and are prepared to keep using it, it will develop new functions and new vocabulary, as any other living language would do. It is too soon to predict the future of these revived languages, but in some parts of the world they are attracting precisely the range of positive attitudes and grass roots support which are the preconditions for language survival. In such unexpected but heart-warming ways might we see the grand total of languages in the world increased.

阅读理解Professor Smith recently persuaded 35 people, 23 of them women, to keep a diary of all their absent-minded actions for a fortnight. When he came to analyze their embarrassing lapses (差错) in a scientific report, he was surprised to find that nearly all of them fell into a few groupings. Nor did the lapses appear to be entirely random(随机的). One of the women, for instance, on leaving her house for work one morning threw her dog her earrings and tried to fix a dog biscuit on her ear. "The explanation for this is that the brain is like a computer,'' explains the professor. "People programme themselves to do certain activities regularly. It was the woman''s custom every morning to throw her dog two biscuits and then put on her earrings. But somehow the action got reversed in the programme." About one in twenty of the incidents the volunteers reported were these "programme assembly failures." Altogether the volunteers logged 433 unintentional actions that they found themselves doing -- an average of twelve each. There appear to be peak periods in the day when we are at our zaniest (荒谬可笑的). These are two hours some time between eight a. m. and noon, between four and six p. m. with a smaller peak between eight and ten p.m. "Among men the peak seems to be when a changeover in brain ''programmes'' occurs, as for instance between going to and from work." Women on average reported slightly more lapses -- 12.5 compared with 10.9 for men -- probably because they were more reliable reporters. A startling finding of the research is that the absent-minded activity is a hazard of doing things in which we are skilled. Normally, you would expect that skill reduces the number of errors we make. But trying to avoid silly slips by concentrating more could make things a lot worse -- even dangerous.

阅读理解All the wisdom of the ages, all the stories that have delighted mankind for centuries, are easily and cheaply available to all of us within the covers of books — but we must know how to avail ourselves of this treasure and how to get the most from it. The most unfortunate people in the world are those who have never discovered how satisfying it is to read good books. I am most interested in people, in meeting them and finding out about them. Some of the most remarkable people I''ve met existed only in a writer''s imagination, then on the pages of his book, and then, again, in my imagination. I''ve found in books new friends, new societies, new worlds. If I am interested in people, others are interested not so much in who as in how. Who in the book includes everybody from science-fiction superman two hundred centuries in the future all the way back to the first figures in history; How covers everything from the ingenious explanations of Sherlock Holmes to the discoveries of science and ways of teaching manners to children. Reading is a pleasure of the mind, which means that it is a little like a sport: your eagerness and knowledge and quickness make you a good reader. Reading is fun, not because the writer is telling you something, but because it makes your mind work. Your own imagination works along with the author''s or even goes beyond his. Your experience, compared with his, brings you to the same or different conclusions, and your ideas develop as you understand his. Every book stands by itself, like a one-family house, but books in a library are like houses in a city. Although they are separate, together they all add up to something; they are connected with each other and with other cities. The same ideas, or related ones, turn up in different places; the human problems that repeat themselves in life repeat themselves in literature, but with different solutions according to different writings at different times. Books influence each other; they link the past, the present and the future and have their own generations, like families. Wherever you start reading you connect yourself with one of the families of ideas, and, in the long run, you not only find out about the world and the people in it, you find out about yourself, too. Reading can only be fun if you expect it to be. If you concentrate on books somebody tells you, you "ought" to read, you probably won''t have fun. But if you put down a book you don''t like and try another till you find one that means something to you, and then relax with it, you will almost certainly have a good time — and if you become, as a result of reading, better, wiser, kinder, or more gentle, you won''t have suffered during the process.

阅读理解The word conservation has a thrifty meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials; most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were "limit less" and "inexhaustible". Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others. Fifty years ago nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; timber was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; nobody had yet studied long term climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word "conservation" had nothing of the meaning that it has of us today. For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about repairing the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation should, therefore, be made a part of everyone''s daily life. To know about the water table in the ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic arithmetic formulas. We need to know why all watersheds(流域)need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to yield their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, mature trees, because living space for most of man''s fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic volume above the earth. In brief, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.