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　　Accidental discoveries have often opened the door to beauty and wonder．The rock paintings in France that date back 15,000 years, for example, were discovered by two boys who were looking for shelter from the rain．The paintings later became the “find of last century”．

　　Or, the Sanxingdui Ruins(三星堆遗址), known by historians as the“Ninth Wonder of the World”, were discovered in Sichuan Province by a farmer．

　　In the spring of 1929, Yan Qingbao, then a 43-year-old farmer, discovered a circular piece of jade(玉)while digging a hole．Driven by curiosity, he dug deeper and found a group of about 400 colourful jade pieces．

　　At the time, he had no idea his discovery would be as important as other wonders of the world such as, China's Great Wall and Egypt's pyramids．

　　Since then, more than 10,000 relics(文物), dating back to between 5,000 and 3,000 BC have been unearthed at Sanxingdui．

　　These relics include gold, pottery(陶器), bone tools and ivory(象牙)objects．

　　They prove that Sanxingdui contains the ruins of an ancient city that was once the political, economic and cultural centre of the ancient Shu Kingdom－the old name for Sichuan．

　　It has helped modern historians realize that Sichuan's human history goes back more than 5,000 years．And, located on the upper part of the Yangtze River, the site challenges the common idea that Chinese civilization(文明)rose from a single source－the Yellow River valley．

　　Sanxingdui was named the Scientific Education Base for China's Youth in March this year．

　　But still, only four of the Sanxingdui Ruins' 12 square kilometres have been uncovered．Who knows what other big surprises are waiting to be shown to the world?

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　　How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments－mostly for entertainment purposes－is fair and respectful?

　　Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals．However, most zoos remain “collections”of interesting“things”rather than protective habitats(栖息地)．Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes．

　　Zoos claim(声称)to educate people and save endangered species(物种), but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty．Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range(分布区)．The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs．

　　The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise．This results in unusually and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis．A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages．Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain．

　　Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered．Captive breeding(圈养繁殖)of endangered big cats．Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild．Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out．In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers．Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?

　　Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them．Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats．

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　　A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps; for there is a companionship of books as well as of men; and one should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men．

　　A good book may be among the best of friends．It is the same today that it always was, and it will never change．It is the most patient and cheerful of companions．It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress．It always receives us with the same kindness, amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age．

　　Books possess an essence of immortality．They are by far the most lasting products of human effort．Temples and statues decay, but books survive．Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author’s minds ages ago．What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page．The only effect of time has been to sift out the bad products; for nothing in literature can long survive but what is really good．

　　Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived．We hear what they said and did; we see them as if they were really alive; we sympathize with them, enjoy with them, grieve with them; their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we were, in a measure, actors with them in the scenes which they describe．

　　The great and good do not die even in this world．Embalmed in books, their spirits walk abroad．The book is a living voice．It is an intellect to which one still listens．Hence we ever remain under the influence of the great men of old．The imperial intellects of the world are as much alive now as they were ages ago．

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People born in the autumn live longer than those born in the spring．They are less likely to fall chronic(长期的)ill when they are older, according to an Austrian scientist．Using census(人口普查)data for more than one million people in Austria, Denmark and Australia, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in the northern German town of Rostock found the month of Birth was related to life expectancy(估计寿命)over the age of 50．Seasonal differences in what mothers ate during pregnancy, and infections occurring at different times of the year could both have an impact on the health of a new-born baby and could influence its life expectancy in older age．“A mother giving birth in spring spends the last phase of her pregnancy in winter, when she will eat less vitamins than in summer,”said Gabriele Doblhammer, one of a team of scientists who carried out the research．“When she stops breast-feeding and starts giving her baby normal food, it’s in the hot weeks of summer when babies are prone(容易的)to infections of the digestive system．”In Austria, adults born in autumn lives about seven months longer than those born in spring, and in Denmark adults with birthdays in autumn outlived those born in spring by about four months．In the southern hemisphere, the picture was similar．Adults born in the Australian autumn lived about four months longer than those born in the Australian spring．The study focused on people born at the beginning of the 20th century, using death certificates and census data．

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　　Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own．My mom was one of those people．

　　My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen．While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life．We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love．Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life,“Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it．”

　　At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again．Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough．She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her．A year later, I returned to school－walking on my own!

　　When the Great Depression(大萧条)hit, my mom lost her job．Then I left school to support the both of us．At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again．

　　Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success．But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951．I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra ＄2 for each child．That was too expensive for the average American family．I told my wife that I was going to open a motel(汽车旅馆)for families that would never charge extra for children．There were plenty of doubters at that time．

　　Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters．She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style．As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges．But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed．Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world－Holiday Inn．In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of ＄1 billion a year．

　　You may not have started out life in the best situation．But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you．

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　　But I wonder about my Momma sometimes, and all the other Negro(blacks)mothers who got up at 6 a.m. to go to the white man’s house with sacks over their shoes because it was so wet and cold．I wonder how they made it．They worked very hard for the man, they made his breakfast and they scrubbed his floors and they took care of his babies．They didn’t have too much time for us．

　　I wonder about my Momma, who walked out of a white woman’s clean house at midnight and came back to her own where the lights had been out for three months, and the pipes were frozen and the wind came in through the holes in the wall．She’d have to make deals with the rats：leave some food out for them so the wouldn’t bite the doors or the babies．The roaches(蟑螂)?Oh, they were just like part of the family!

　　I wonder how she felt telling those white kids she took care of to brush their teeth after they ate, to wash their hands after they finish bathroom．She could never tell her own kids because there wasn’t soap or water back home．

　　I wonder how my Momma felt when we came home from school with a list of vitamins and pills the school nurse said we had to have．Momma would cry all night, and then go out and spend most of the rent money for pills．A week later, the white man would come for his eighteen dollars’ rent and Momma would beg him to wait until tomorrow．She had to lie to him that she had lost her wallet or the relief check was coming soon or the white people had some money for her．Tomorrow I’d be hiding in the closet because there was only supposed to be two kids in the flat, and I could hear the rent man shout at my Momma and call her a cheat．And when he finally went away, Momma put the sacks on her shoes and went off to the rich white man’s house to dress the rich white kids so their mother could take them to a special baby doctor．

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How Do Animals Catch Their ZZZ’s?

　　Different creatures have developed some pretty creative ways to get their rest and stay safe．The lizard(蜥蝎)likes to sleep at the far end of small branches hanging out over a pond or lake in the rain forest．If a snake tries to slither up the branch to eat it, it will shake the branch and knock the lizard off, and the lizard will fall safely into the water．Chameleons can change color to match their surroundings in order to hide even while sleeping．

　　Corillas(大猩猩)like to sleep high in the trees．They build a new bed every night, sometimes taking up to half an hour to pile branches, twigs, and leaves into a comfortable bed．Birds also find it safe to sleep in the trees, but unless they have eggs or young chicks, they don’t use a nest．They just lock their feet around a branch and hang on．A special tendon(腱)in their legs in automatically tight when they are at rest, so they won’t let go and fall．

　　Dolphins live underwater, but must come to the surface to breather．Scientists now believe that dolphins may sleep with only half their brain, while the other half stays awake to keep them safe and breathing．Seals also do this, lying on their sides on the surface of the water with one flipper underwater paddling to keep their noses above the surface．Some ducks may also have this ability, and actually sleep with one eye closed and one eye open．

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　　My grandfather grew up in war-torn Europe．When German soldiers occupied his hometown, the thriving city of Tarow, Poland, he refused to obey them and eventually joined the Soviet army to fight for his country’s freedom．“Stand straight, stand tall,”he told himself．

　　After the war, in 1947, he boarded a boat for Manhattan．He was hungry and suffering from seasickness．All alone in a new country, he was frightened about his future．Still, he marched head-on into the hustle and bustle of the streets of New York．Soon he met other European immigrants, each of them trying to find his or her own way．If they could do it, why couldn’t he?“Stand straight, stand tall,”he would remind himself．

　　Thanks to the help of a loyal and trusting friend, my grandfather gained a jewelry booth on Canal Street, New York City．He once told me how nervous he was on that first day of work．He was not only trying to learn this tough new business, but also a new language．

　　To his surprise, the men in neighboring booths－who could have taken advantage of him－offered their help and advice．Within months, my grandfather was commanding his spot behind the counter, selling diamonds and cultured pearls as if he’d been doing it his whole life．

　　Stand straight and stand tall．

　　In later years, my grandfather would take both my mother and her sister down the aisle at their weddings．As he stood with each of them, he thought about their new beginnings, and of the adventures and journeys they would experience together．He also thought about the children who would one day carry on his family name．

　　I am so proud to be one of those children．Listening to my grandfather’s remarkable experiences has changed the way I view my own life．

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　　In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord(房东)can charge for an apartment．Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartments．Their rent cannot increase; therefore, they are not in danger of losing their homes．However, the critics say that after a long time, rent control may have negative effects．Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits．Therefore, they invest(投资)in other businesses where they can increase their profits．They do not invest in new buildings which would also be rent- controlled．As a result, new apartments are not built．Many people who need apartments cannot find any．According to the critics, the end result of rent．control is a shortage of apartments in the city．

　　Some theorists argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way．The federal government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers．The minimum helps people who generally look for unskilled, low-paying jobs．However, if the minimum is high, employers may hire fewer workers．They will replace workers with machinery．Therefore, other things being equal, the number of workers that employers want decreases．Thus, critics hold the opinion that an increase in the minimum wage may cause unemployment．Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum wage．

　　Supporters of the minimum wage say that it helps people keep their dignity(尊严)．Because of the law, workers cannot sell their services for less than the minimum．Furthermore, employers cannot force workers to accept jobs at unfair wages．

　　Economic theory predicts the results of economic decisions such as decisions about farm production, rent control, and the minimum wage．The predictions may be correct only if“other things are equal”．Economists do not agree on some of the predictions．They also do not agree on the value of different decisions．Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it．Economists do agree, however, that there are no simple answers to economic questions．

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