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　　Is the world warming up? According to many reports the answer is yes．Eleven of the hottest years since 1850 appeared between 1995 and 2006．Last year, the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)reported the earth was about 0.75℃warmer than it was in 1850．While this doesn’t sound like a lot, a small difference in average(平均)temperature can make a big difference in climate(氣候)．During the last ice age, the planet was only about five degrees colder than now．

　　It’s all about the speed at which temperatures are changing．In the past, temperatures moved up or down step by step．But in the 20^th century, especially since 1976, temperatures have likely risen more quickly than during any century in the last 1,000 years．Warming may bring improved harvests(收獲)to northern countries such as Canada and Russia．However, many species(物種)won’t like these conditions．They begin moving towards cooler places and cause lots of trouble to human world．

　　The IPCC reported that human activity is very likely responsible(負(fù)責(zé)任的), by increasing the greenhouse effect(效應(yīng))．Some gases cause the air to take in heat energy．Without the greenhouse effect, the earth’s average temperature would be -18℃ rather than the present comfortable 14.6 degrees．The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide(CO₂), water vapor(蒸汽)and some other gases．Burning oil, coal and waste adds to the Carbon dioxide, and it has increased 35％since 1850．

　　Many researchers have found that natural forces alone don’t explain the temperature increases over the last 30 to 40 years．Their study shows that as carbon dioxide goes up, temperatures will rise too．But some scientists don’t agree．They think the effect of human produced greenhouse gases is very small compared to the normal changes that the climate causes．

　　When asked whether humans are causing the world warming, Carl Wunsch, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says,“It seems very likely from what I’ve seen．Is it 100％sure?No．There’s something to do with natural changes．”Does that mean we should have a“wait and see”attitude(態(tài)度)?Not according to Wunsch．He points out we buy house insurance(保險)not because we are sure our homes will be on fire, but because it’s a danger we’d rather avoid．

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　　When she turned ten, my daughter decided I was no longer good enough to provide input on anything useful．Then, in high school she took a parenting class．

　　“Mum, I need your idea,” she told me．“What are the skills you need to be a good parent?” she asked, pencil pointed over her homework．

　　Skills? I’d always thought of parenting as requiring patience, understanding and kindness．And I was pretty sure those were characteristics(性格), not skills．

　　“Hang on, I know this one,” I told her, thinking fast．Looking at the wall calendar(日歷), I noted that my next seven days included two appointments(約會), 20 minutes each, three forms to hand in at two different schools and a cover for the pool to pick up．“Organizational(組織的)skills,” I answered．“It also helps if you can drive－and have the ability to be in two places at once．”

　　“Got it,” she said．“What else?”

　　I thought about the school year：school fees(學(xué)費), class pictures, running shoes．Not to mention weekly shopping－the bill for which was growing as fast as the kids．

　　“Financial(理財?shù)?skills,”I said．“You’ll have to plan your money－especially if you end up with two birthdays in one pay period．You must be good at math, too．”

　　“Money and math make sense,”she said．“Anything more?”

　　“You also need a good memory,”I continued．“At any given time, you may remember birthdays, names of people and who likes apples or who can’t stand grape juice．”

　　I talked and talked．My daughter’s pencil moved quickly as she tried to keep up with what I was saying．Her homework finally finished．My daughter told me about a new parenting-skill project(項目)．“We’re getting dolls programmed to cry from time to time．We have to keep them with us all the time and take care of them．It’s to show us how hard it is to be a parent．”

　　I thought if students would come up with a doll that throws things around and shouts at the top of its voice, that might give them an idea of the patience, understanding and kindness that parenting requires．

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　　With school back in the new term, here are some suggestions from Oxford Learning for students to pass the exams．

　　(1)Pay attention to class．Take notes on the main ideas．If you don’t understand something, make a note and ask others for help．

　　(2)Use a planner to enter homework as soon as it’s assigned(布置)．Pick a comfortable place to do homework．

　　(3)Divide material(材料)into units and assign each unit a day．Give yourself a three-day rest before the test．Study in short classes－15 minutes at a time－then take a five-minute break to exercise．

　　(4)Use Oxford’s SQRCRC method to study:

　　Search introductions, headings and summaries(總結(jié))for main idea．

　　Question：“What do I hope to learn by reading this?”

　　Read for details(細(xì)節(jié))．

　　Cover the work．

　　Recite what you’ve read．

　　Check how well you have done．

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　　Jeanne Calment took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age114．a(chǎn)nd held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121 st birthday．

　　When it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s recordholder．She lived to the ripe old age of 122．So is 122 the upper limit(限制)to the human life span(壽命)?If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150－or beyond?

　　Researchers don't entirely agree on the answers．“Calment lived．to 122, SO it wouldn't sul33rise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135,”says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas．

　　Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees．“People can live longer than we think．”he says．“Experts used to say that humans couldn’t live past 110．When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 1 20．So why can’t we go higher?”

　　The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it’s all just guessing．“Anyone can make up a number．”says Rich Miller at the University, of guessing

　　　Michigan．“Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine．”

　　Won’t new anti－aging techniques keep us alive for centuries?Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of HS living until about 120．Researchers are working on treatments that make the life span of mice longer by 50 percent at most．

　　So, if the average(平均)human life span is about 80 years, says Miller,“adding another 50 percent would get you to 120．”

　　So what can we learn from this little disagreement among the researchers?That life span is flexible(有彈性的), but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington．“We can get flies to live 50 percent longer．”he says．“But a fly'snever going to live 150 years．”O(jiān)f course, if you became a new species(物種), one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story, he adds．

　　Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve(進(jìn)化)their way to longer life?“It’s pretty cool to think about．”He says with a smile．

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　　It seems school children all over the world complain about their school food．Cherie Blair, the wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, said that she would prepare a packed lunch for her son if school dinners do not improve．So what do students of your age eat for lunch at school?

　　Japan

　　High schools have canteens, which serve everything from noodles to rice, but not burgers and chips．Other children bring food from home such as cold rice balls, meat or fish, pickles and vegetables．

　　The United States

　　A typical menu from a US school is made up of a hamburger with fried potatoes or roast chicken, lettuce and pickles, fruit and cookies．School lunches must also provide at least one－third of the daily dietary allowances(定量)of protein, vitamin A．vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories(卡路里)．

　　Australia

　　Meat pies, sausage rolls and hotdogs are all traditional dishes in Australian school shops．But as the nation pays more attention to children’s health, healthier foods have started to find their way onto school menus．

　　Many schools have used a traffic light system．The sale of red．1abelled foods．including pastries, chocolate and soft drinks, is served only twice a week．Healthier green-labelled foods such as sushi, sandwiches, corn and watemelon, however．a(chǎn)re served every day．

　　In some schools．students have a choice of up to 89 foods to choose from, including popcorn and rice．

　　South Africa

　　Most of South Africa’s schools do not serve meals at all．Classes end at 1∶30 p.m and students．get their own lunches．Many students bring food from home, usually sandwiches．

　　Fast flood and fried food sell the best among students, which has led to a rise in obesity among children．But as more people began to realize the fact that being too fat may cause different diseases, some schools in towns have led the way towards better nutrition．Now students at these schools are provided with lunches of porridge with vegetables, such as cabbages, onions, beans, carrots and tomatoes．

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remind：tell someone to remember to do something

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　　Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference．Our feelings of well-being at any moment are decided to a certain degree by genes．However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two．

　　Money can buy a degree of happiness．But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference．

　　Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier．But the link between money and happiness is complex(復(fù)雜的)．In the past half-century, the average income(平均收入)has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same．Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues．

　　“Dollars buy status(social position), and status makes people feel better,”say some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways, scientists or actors, for example, may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs．

In his research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires(欲望), not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health, rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap(差距)．Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone．“The gap measures just blow away the measures of only income．”says Michalos．

　　Another factor that has to do with happiness is age．Old age may not be so bad“Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?”asks Professor Laura Carstensen．In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotion questionnaire．She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people．Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their time running out．Older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t．

　　“People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,”she says．“A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20．”

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　　Ever since I was a child, my mouth has caused me trouble．I’m not a bad person; I have a hard time learning when to keep my mouth closed．

　　My mom has told me again and again,“Robert, your constant bad words are hurting me．If you continue to be this rude, you will get into big trouble．”

　　It’s been a problem at school several times too when teachers have told me something I didn’t want to hear．I used to feel it was my duty to stand up for myself．

　　One day in English class I began working on my homework until I heard a classmate talking behind me．It was Nathaniel, talking to himself as usual．

　　I said ever so nicely,“Nathaniel, would you be quiet?”

　　Nathaniel continued talking to himself．I quickly shouted“Nathaniel, shut up!”

　　For the next five minutes, we threw hurtful words back and forth at each other．

　　“At least I don’t have an ugly lazy eye like you!”I shouted．

　　I knew this would upset him deep inside．It would hurt his feelings and shut him up．

　　What I said filled him with anger．He tried to reach over my seat and grab me as he shouted,“That’s it!That’s it!”

　　Surprised at his reaction, I sat back in my seat．Never had I seen Nathaniel act like this before．

　　Later on, we were taken to the principal’s office．

　　There, Mr．Black, the principal, told us to discuss the matter．It wasn’t until then that I finally found that when I hurt someone physically, the wounds eventually heal．But when I hurt them with my words, sometimes the pain(痛苦)never goes away．

　　At the end of the discussion, I said sorry to Nathaniel．

　　When I headed back to my room, I spent some time praying．I began to think about how often what I said hurt others．But I believe that as I keep praying and asking God to help me he’ll tell me when to keep my mouth closed．

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　　Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are two big national holidays in many western countries．

　　And it’s interesting because they are not the same in every country．In England, Mothering Sunday is in March．In America and Germany and other countries, it’s one Sunday in May．Father’s Day is in the middle of June．How do you celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day?Let’s learn something more about it from the following introduction．

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　　Humans have always dreamed of finding a way to leave traffic jams(交通堵塞)behind．Well, dream no longer．The flying car and pod car(豆莢車)can help cut down on traffic jams．

　　The world’s“first flying car”, called the Terrafugia Transition, has made its first flight in the skies of the US．It can fly 640 km through the air without adding more gas, the car maker, Terrafugia Inc, says．

　　As a light airplane, it is not easy for the Terrafugia Transition to fly in poor weather．However, it has the advantage of being able to continue the journey by road if conditions take a turn for the worse．

　　This is the first proven flying car with foldable wings．These allow it to perfectly transfer from air to road．

　　However, there are a few problems．The car/plane, which is expected to go on sale as early as 2011, will cost about ＄194, 000(1.33 million yuan)．Drivers will also need a driver’s and pilot’s license．

　　For those afraid of heights, or who don’t want to fly, the pod car is a great way to travel．Imagine using a button to stop the small pod-shape car．The doors open, you climb into the passenger seat, and enter your personal number．Minutes later, the doors slide open and you have reached the place where you’re going．

　　Cities around the world are looking into pod-car systems, as pod cars do not need human drivers．They are designed for one person or small groups traveling together．Passengers simply type their place into the pod car’s computer and the pod car takes them directly there．

　　Because pod cars do not make unnecessary stops and use electricity, they save a lot of energy and do not pollute the air．Pod cars also provide passengers with faster service and more privacy than a subway or bus．

　　While flying cars and pod cars may be a dream available to a few, many humans are still dreaming bigger dreams, such as teleportation(瞬間位移術(shù))．It is most widely found in works of science fiction．

　Telep ortation is a method of transportation, in which, objects or information are dematerialized(使消失), and then recreated in another place．Maybe one day, teleportation could become a reality and people could avoid traffic jams for ever!

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