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　　January 1,2002 was a day that would be remembered for year to come．On the day, the euro became the official currency of twelve European countries, replacing currencies as famous as the German mark and the French franc．

　　But the change from the old currencies to the new one was only a success after lots of problems were solved．

　　The first problem was what to call the new currency．People in different countries had different suggestions．After a long discussion, the name“euro”was finally accepted by all of the countries involved．

　　The next problem was the design．A normal bill or coin has a design related to the country concerned, like the picture of a famous person of monument．So how could they design something that was representative of twelve different countries and their traditions?The final answer was a compromise．Every euro coin has a standard European face on one side, but each Member State is allowed to decorate the other side with an image linked to their own country．For example, Spanish coins have the image of the Spanish king, and German coins have pictures of Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate．So even though you can spend the coins in any of the twelve counties, you can tell which country they originally came from．Euro bills will be uniform throughout the euro area．

　　The final problem was how to introduce the money．Imagine how complicated it was to change the kind of money you use, not just for ordinary people, but also for companies：Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines．(自动售货机)to accept the new coins．To help people get used to the idea, stores started publishing prices in both the old and the new currency from January 2000．

　　The final change from the old currencies to the new euro was a huge success．People in Europe are now using the euro bills and coins as easily as Americans use dollars．

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　　Eleven-year-old Evan green doesn’t want to save just tree－he wants to save a whole rainforest!

　　In the Redwood City, Calif, a boy started a group called the Red Dragon Conservation Team four years ago to do just that．So far, the team’s members have raised ＄4,500．That’s enough to purchase and protect more than 16 acres of rainforest in Costa Rica through the Center for Ecosystem Survival．

　　Every year, thousands of square miles of rainforest are destroyed worldwide．Logging(伐木)and farming are mostly likely to blame, scientists say．The loss is terrible news for animals and people．Even though rainforests cover less than 2 percent of the earth, they are home to half the world’s plants and animals．Rainforests also provide water and help control the earth’s climate．

　　Evan’s work to save the rainforests recently earned him a Barron prize for Young Heroes．The prizes are given to children or teenagers who have made a positive difference in the world．Evan’s goal is“to save enough rainforests to last forever”．He won’t have to do it alone．His actions have already inspired other kids to chip in．one girl asked for donations instead of presents on her birthday．She raised ＄850．Other kids are starting their own conservation teams．

　　Evan says everyone can help the planet-even by taking small steps such as recycling．He and his family try to make a difference every day．“We recycle, we try to limit our garbage……we’ve been walking a little more, and we buy local food,”Evan said．

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　　What happens when human beings are not allowed to sleep for long periods of time?To answer this question, a New Yorker, Peter Tripp, offered to stay awake 200 hours．During that time Tripp was observed by a group of doctors, who reported on his progress．

　　After three days of staying awake, he began to show signs of his mental breakdown．He laughed at things that were not funny, and wept(哭泣)at things that were not sad．Complaining of pressure caused by a hat on his head, he tried repeatedly to take it off．Tripp, of course, was not wearing a hat．

　　On the fifth day he cried out that a doctor's jacket looked like crawling worms．Then he imagined he was in another city; he tried to run away from the building, insisting it was on fire; and he thought the 200-hour mark had been passed but that the doctors were still trying to keep the experiment going．After 200 hours without sleep, Tripp, said the doctors, was“suffering from mental illness．”He was nearly mad．

　　Hardly able to stand, Tripp was helped across the street to a room in a hotel．There, after being awake for 201 hours and thirteen minutes, he fell asleep．The doctors predicted(预言)he would sleep for twenty or thirty hours．“Peter Tripp will sleep the deepest sleep in history”, said the doctors．Tripp slept all right-for nine hours and eleven minutes．When he awoke, his first words were：“I feel fine．”After a medical check, his greatly surprised watchers said that he was sound and well．

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　　My wife passed away seven and a half years ago, and I went through a huge depression(消沉), the worst time in my life．I even wanted to end my life．I continued to work as a small-town doctor at my medicine clinic in Kilauea, Hawaii．My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone．On a family trip, we turned to the TV and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center．I said to my kids,“I’m going to Afghanistan．”International Medical Crops sent me to set up 20 clinics in some provinces where people had no health care．Eventually, the clinics were serving 27,000 patients a month．I had such a sense of accomplishment, a sense of purpose．My depression went completely away．

　　I go wherever disasters strike：Indonesia after the tsunami, Pakistan after the earthquake．I was just in Kenya．After their presidential election, at least a thousand people were killed and hundreds of thousands were forced out．We set up mobile clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees(难民)．Measles broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire．Water and medical equipment were also problems．

　　When my wife passed away, I thought my life was done．But really, it was just getting started．At the end of her life, my wife fell into a coma(昏迷)．I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit, the exciting adventures we would have．I think about this moment many times during my“adventures”．I didn’t know then how prophetic(先知的)those words would be．She is with me still．

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(TV programmes in Beijing Sunday, May 15,2008 CCTV)

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What is language for?Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words——the longer the lists, the better．That's wrong．Language is for the exchange of ideas and information．It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely．Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently(流利地)．They are afraid of making mistakes．One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language．Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too．Bernard Shaw once wrote,“Foreigners often speak English too correctly．”But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make．They're English mistakes in the English language．And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule．What used to be wrong becomes right．People not only make history, they make language．But a people can only make its own language．It can't make another people's language．So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo it．They should put communication first．

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　　Every day we go to school and listen to the teacher, and the teacher will ask us some questions．Sometimes, the classmates will ask for your opinions of the work of the class．When you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics, remember that they must be able to hear what you are saying．You are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends－you are in a slightly unnatural situation where a large group of people will remain silent, waiting to hear what you have to say．You must speak so that they can hear you－loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force yourself．

　　Remember, too, that it is the same if you are called to an interview whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet you．The person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease(not worried)but the situation is somewhat different from that of an ordinary conversation．You must take special care that you can be heard．

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　　Tourism wasn’t as important as it is today．In the past, only people with a good deal of money could travel on holidays to other countries．More people travel today than in the past because there is a growing middle class in many parts of the world; that is to say, people now have more money for travel．Special plane fares(费用)for tourists make travel less expensive and more attractive than ever before．One person doesn’t travel for the same reason as another．But most people enjoy seeing countries that are different from their own．They also like to meet new people and to taste new food．

　　Tourism causes many changes in a country and in people’s lives．People build new hotels and restaurants and train native men and women as guides to show visitors interesting places．There’re new nightclubs and other amusements．International tourism is clearly a big business．

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　　Senior citizens are permitted to travel cheaply on a bus if they have a special card．Women may get cards when they are sixty．

　　Mrs．Matthews lived in the country but she went into town once a week to buy food and other things for the house, and she usually went by bus．She always had to pay the full price for her ride．

　　Then she reached the age of sixty and got her senior citizen’s card, but when she used it for the first time on the bus, it made her feel very old．

　　The bus driver had often seen her traveling on the bus before, and he noticed that she was feeling unhappy, so after she had paid her money, he winked at her and whispered,“Don’t forget to give your mother’s card back to her when you see her again．”

　　Mrs．Matthews was very happy when she heard this．

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