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　　With the National College Entrance Examination drawing closer, Senior 3 students will do almost anything to ensure success–even change what they eat．More than 70 percent of high–scoring students in last year’s exam admitted taking“brain food”, according to a survey conducted by the Shanghai Hercules Teens Research Center last August．However, only 30 percent of them said they would do this again．

　　Experts say that, as long as they eat properly, teens will have no problem getting enough nutrition from their daily food．

　　So what should you be eating?A good start is to eat foods that give you a variety of nutrients．For each meal, choose several kinds of food from each of these groups：

　　*Vegetables;

　　*Fruits;

　　*Bread, cereals, noodles and rice;

　　*Milk, yogurt and cheese;

　　*Meat, poultry, fish, fried beans and peas, eggs and nuts．

　　You can eat healthily without giving up your favourite foods, but you should limit the fat you eat to keep your cholesterol(胆固醇)low．Only animal fat provides cholesterol, which is known to cause heart problems．Most people like the taste of table sugar, so there are sweeteners“hidden”in many foods like soft drinks, cookies, and so on．

　　If you have high–energy needs, sweets can be a useful source of calories but they contain limited nutrients and can cause tooth decay (腐坏)．

　　When eating out, look for boiled or baked rather than fried foods．And try eating milk–based high–calcium (钙) foods instead of creamy items to reduce the fat and calories you take in．The teenage body changes quickly, so your attitude towards nutrition now can make a big difference to your health in years to come．

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　　Death comes quickly in the mountains．Each winter holidaymakers are caught unawares as they happily ski away from the fixed runs, little realizing that a small avalanche can send them crashing in a bone-breaking fall down the slope and leave them buried under tons of crisp white snow．There are lots of theories about how to avoid disaster when hit by an avalanche．Practice is normally less cheerful．

　　The snow in the Salzburg of Austria where a recent disaster took place was typical avalanche material．For several days before the incident I had skied locally．Early winter snow was wearing thin and covered with ice．On top of that new, warmer flakes were gently falling to produce a dangerous carpet．To the skier who enjoys unmarked slopes it is tempting stuff, deep new power snow on a hard base-the skiing that dreams are made of．And sometimes nightmares．

　　Snow falls in sections like a cake．Different sections have different densities because of the temperatures at the time of the fall and in the weeks afterwards．Problems come when any particular section is too thick and not sticking to the section beneath．The snow of the past few weeks had been falling in rather higher temperatures than those of December and early January．The result of these conditions is that even a slight increase in the temperatures sends a thin stream of water between the new snow and the old．Then the new snow simply slides off the mountain．

　　Such slides are not unexpected．Local citizens know the slopes which tend to avalanche and the weather in which such slides are likely．Traps are set to catch the snow or prevent it slipping; bombs are placed and exploded from time to time to set off small avalanches before a big one has time to build up; and above all, skiers are warned not to ski in danger areas．

　　In spite of this, avalanches happen in unexpected areas and, of course, skier ignore the warnings．The one comfort to recreational skiers, however, is that avalanche incidents on the marked ski slopes are quite rare．No ski resort wants the image of being a death trap．

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　　Going home for Christmas is a tradition of the holiday season．No matter where you may be the rest of the years, being at“home”with your family and friends for Christmas is a“must”．The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are the busiest times of the year at airports, train stations and bus stations．It seems that all America is on the move and Americans are on their way to spend the holidays with their loved ones．

　　This means that the house will be full of cousins, aunts and uncles that might not see each other during the year．Everyone joins in to help in the preparation of the festival．Some family members get to choose a Christmas tree to buy and bring home．Others decorate the house on wrap presents．And of course, each household needs to make lots of food!

　　At Christmas Eve gatherings adults have eggnog, which is made of cream, milk, sugar beaten eggs and brandy．Plenty of eggnog or hot cocoa is on hand in colder climates for carolers, or people who go from house to house sing Christmas carols to their neighbors．

　　Long ago, each child hung a stocking, or sock, over the fireplace．Santa entered down the chimney and left candy and presents inside the socks for the children．Today the tradition is carried on, but the socks are now large red sock-shaped fabric bags still called stockings．Each child can’t wait to open his or her eyes to see what Santa has left in the stocking．

　　Giving gifts is a Christmas tradition．However, in recent years, more and more people have complained that Christmas is too commercialized(商业化) especially in large cities．Store owners begin advertising and decorating very early in hopes of selling more goods．Some people believe that the origin of Christmas has been lost．

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　　More than two thirds of the nation want to see the launch of Chang’e Ⅰ, China’s first lunar orbiter live on TV, according to a survey．

　　According to the survey by China Youth Daily and www.qq.com, almost the entire nation want to catch images of the event at some point, with 99 percent of the 10,358 respondents saying they expected to witness the satellite launch and 68.9 percent saying they were certain to watch the live broadcast of the launch．

　　On www.qq.com and www.sina.com, two popular web portals in the country, internet users have contributed some 2,000 poems and 5000 drawings on the theme of Chang’e Ⅰ．

　　“The satellite launch means much more than just saying’ hello’ to the moon．Maybe in the future we could also send some people to accompany sister’ Chang’e’,”said a college student in the survey．

　　Remarkably, many people expect to visit the moon one day, with 93.4 percent of respondents saying they expected to do so．

　　Chang’e Ⅰ is named after Chang’e, a famous character from Chinese mythology．She ascended from earth to live on the moon as a celestial being after drinking an elixir (灵丹妙药)．

　　The satellite will be launched between Wednesday and Friday, with 6 pm today being the best choice, a spokesman for the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Monday．Preparations are almost completed for the launch of the country’s first lunar orbiter, according to a spokesman for the Xichang Satellite Launch Center．

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　　I’m sure many of you have seen Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Multiplicity, or many of the other movies that describe cloning．Most of what you see in these movies is false．What you don’t know is that cloning could be dangerous, to the clone and to our society as a whole．It’s immoral to have a human clone．

　　What about identity?Humans are promised the right to their own personality．What would happen if we ignore those rights by giving them someone else’s genetic identity?True, personality is not fixed in someone’s genes, but the clone would share any physical appearance or genetic fault of the cloned．

　　Also, there is a large power struggle here．Cloning means a degree of power and control over another person’s physical identity and that ignores their rights and their only personality．The person doing the cloning would have more power than any parent would have．

　　Cloning would also deal with killing embryos(胚胎)．You might not have known, but Dolly, the sheep that was cloned in 1996, was one of over 200 sheep embryos and hers was the only embryo that survived．The rest died or were thrown away．Imagine if the failure rate was that high when we started to clone humans．More than 200 embryos, the start of 200 human beings, would die for the sake of just one embryo that would have the same DNA as someone else．

　　Cloning someone, at this present time, would be extremely dangerous to the birth mother and the clone．In studies done on cows, 4 out of 12 birth mothers died．There is a very high failure rate, which is showed in the cloning of Dolly．Even if you had a few good embryos, failures have been noticeable in animal tests．

　　So, should we work ahead in the world of cloning?I say no．The risks are greater than the benefits．It’s dangerous to the clone and to the birth mother．We would be killing human lives in the process．It would also be a violation(侵害) of the clone’s right to its own genetic identity and personality．

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　　In ancient Greece athletic festivals were very important and had strong religious associations．

　　The Olympian athletic festival, held every four years in honor of Zeus, eventually lost its local character, became first a national event, and then, after the rules against foreign competitors had been waived, international．No one knows exactly how far back the Olympic Games go, but some official records date from 776 B．C．

　　The Games took place in August on the plain by Mount Olympus．Many thousands of spectators gathered from all parts of Greece, but no woman was admitted even as a spectator．Slaves, women and dishonored persons were not allowed to compete．The exact sequence of events is uncertain, but events included boys’ gymnastics, horse racing, field events such as discus and javelin throwing, and the very important foot races．There was also boxing and wrestling and special tests of varied ability such as the pentathlon, the winner of which excelled in running, jumping, discus and javelin throwing and wrestling．The evening of the third day was devoted to sacrificial offerings(祭品)to the heroes of the day, and the fourth day, that of the full moon, was set aside as a holy day．

　　On the sixth and last day, all the victors were crowned with holy garlands(花冠)of wild olive from a sacred wood．So great was the honor that the winner of the foot race gave his name to the year of his victory．Although Olympic winners received no prize money, they were, in fact, richly rewarded by their state authorities．The public honor also made the strict discipline of the ten month training period worthwhile．In spite of the lengthy training, however, runners were known to drop dead from tiredness at the winning post．

　　After an uninterrupted history of almost 1,200 years, the Games were abolished in A．D．394, the Christian era, because of their pagan(异教的)origin．It was over 1,500 years before there was another such international athletics gathering．

　　The Greek institution was brought back in 1896 and the first small meeting took place in Athens．After the 1908 London Olympics, success was reestablished and nations sent their best representatives．In times of peace, the Games have taken place ever since at four yearly intervals．

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　　In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord 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 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．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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　　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．Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural zones．Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, 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．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 unusual 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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　　Americans are proud of their variety and individuality, yet they love and respect few things more than a uniform, whether it is the uniform of a lift operator or the uniform of a five-star general．Why are uniforms so popular in the United States?

　　Among the arguments for uniforms, one of the first is that in the eyes of most people they look more professional than civilian clothes．People have become used to expecting excellent quality from a man who wears a uniform．The repairman who wears a uniform tends to increase more trust than one who appears in civilian clothes．Trust in the skill of a garage repairman is increased by a uniform．What easier way is there for a nurse, a policeman, or a waiter to lose professional identity than to step out of uniform?

　　Uniforms also have many practical benefits．They save on other clothes．They save on washing bills．They are tax-deductible．They are often more comfortable and more durable than civilian clothes．

　　Primary among the arguments against uniforms is their lack of variety and the continuous loss of individuality experienced by people who must wear them．Though there are many types of uniforms, the wearer of any particular type is generally stuck with it, without change, until retirement．When people look alike, they tend to think, speak, and act similarly, on the job at least．

　　Uniforms also give rise to some practical problems．Though they are long lasting, often their cost is greater than that of civilian clothes．Some uniforms are also expensive to keep, requiring professional dry cleaning rather than the home washing possible with many types of civilian clothes．

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　　While the threat of a reappearance of SARS is still there, it is reassuring to learn about the latest developments in vaccine research．

　　More than 1,400 vaccine shots for SARS have been produced in China, and an application for clinical tests has been referred to the State Food and Drug Administration(SFDA), according to a Xinhua report on Sunday．

　　“If everything goes smoothly, conducting of clinical experiments will be agreed before the end of December,”said Ying Hongzhang, head of Biological Product Section of the SFDA．

　　So far, China is far ahead of other countries in the search for a SARS vaccine, claimed Yin．At that time, volunteers will be sought in Beijing and Guangzhou to take part in experiments using the new vaccine．However, while cheering for the research breakthrough, voices of reason should also be heard．

　　What medical workers should always maintain is a cool head and careful attitude, which are essential in any scientific research．This is especially true when conducting experiments on human beings, because they are directly concerned with the volunteers’ health and even their lives, and also because knowledge of the deadly virus(病毒)still too limited．

　　Media reports indicate that members of the public are reacting actively to the news of selecting volunteers and are expressing their readiness．Their courage is well worth our admiration．The trust they are placing in these medical researchers is the biggest support of their work．

　　The researchers have no other choice but to be highly cautious in the expected experiments．The safety of volunteers should always be the first consideration．Scientists from different countries have been put in a race in uncovering the mystery surrounding the virus．But to play a leading role should by no means be the ultimate pursuit(最终目的)of the scientific workers．It is people’s safety and health that remain the biggest concerns．

　　While there are still so many mysteries to be solved, it is too early to celebrate．

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