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　　Many animals recognize their food because they see it．So do humans．When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat．You can also use other senses when you choose your food．You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good．You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice．Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food．A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense．

　　Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type．The giant panda(大熊猫)eats only one particular type of bamboo(竹子)．Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice．A kind of white butterfly(蝴蝶)will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden．However, most animals have a more varied diet(多样化饮食)．The bear eats fruits and fish．The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits．The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season．

　　Humans have a very varied diet．We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us．In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar．This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health．Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health．Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life．

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　　It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005．While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work．On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does．After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone．

　　The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport．Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family．And the bike was also used to get groceries(食品杂货), saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live．

　　I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story．Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help．One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up．Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job．It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before．

　　People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so．This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity(人性)as a whole．And it has influenced(影响)us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others．No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares．And the results can be everlasting．

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　　It is natural for customers to be interested in lower prices．But what are lower prices? Could we really have lower prices while charging(收费)more for food products?

　　Economists frequently furnish data(提供数据)on the relationship of prices and income．But since most customers are not interested in economic reports, they do not understand why they see food prices going up each week．Prices are a result of costs plus profit(利润)．If the total cost of food products goes up, it stands to reason that at least some of this increase must be passed on to the customer．

　　Let's consider some of these costs．The farmer must pay more for fertilizers, tools, farm labor, and so on; the processor must increase salaries and wages, pay more for machinery, chemicals, power, containers, and plant maintenance; the trucking company, the distributor, the wholesaler(批发商)also have higher costs．By the time food products reach the store to be sold to customers, all the small increases that have been added along the way must be passed on to the food merchant(商人)or the consumer(消费者)．To the extent(限度)that the price charged for food increase less than the increases in disposable(可任意处理的)income, prices can be considered to be lower, not higher．

　　Customers want and desire to know why prices are going up．It would greatly help the food merchant to have the figures ready in order to speak wisely when customers raise the question of prices．Most customers really do not know why prices are what they are, and seldom do they know anything about the small margin(赚头)of profit that is made by food markets．If these two things were understood, not only would customers enjoy the service that is provided, but they would also understand the reason for higher prices．This information can be given to customers at no cost to the merchant．

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　　I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek．Others came too, and we made these little grey log houses that you see, and they are square．It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square．

　　You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round．In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich．The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it．The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power．This knowledge came to us from the outer world．Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle．The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars．Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs are the same as ours．The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle．The moon does the same, and both are round．Even the seasons from a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were．The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves．Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children．

　　But the Wasichus(Indian word for “white people”)have put us in these square boxes．Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more．You can look at our boys and see how it is with us．Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should, boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age．But now it takes them very much longer to be full－grown．

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　　Answer the following questions by using the information taken from a dictionary page．(You may read the questions first．)

　　jaguar：n．a type of large, yellow-colored cat with black markings found in the southwestern region of the U．S．and in Central and South America．

　　jargon：1．n．speech that doesn't make sense．2．n．an unknown language that seems strange or impossible to understand．3．n．a language made up of two or more other languages：His jargon was a mixture of French and English．4．n．the special vocabulary of a field or profession：Her report on computers was filled with jargon．

　　jaunt：1．n．a trip taken for fun．2．v．to go on a brief pleasant trip：We jaunted to the country last Saturday．

　　javelin：1．n．a spear most commonly used as weapon or in hunting．2．n．a lightweight metal or wooden spear that is thrown in track-and-field contests．3．n．the contest in which a javelin is thrown 4．v．to strike, as with a javelin．

　　jazz：1．n．a type of music that originated in New Orleans and is characterized by rhythmic beats．2．n．popular dance music influenced by jazz．3．n．empty talk．4．ad．of or like jazz：a jazz band, jazz records．

　　jennet：n．a small Spanish horse．

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　　Motorola set out a special training program for children last week with the aim of developing children's business skills and preparing them for a future as entrepreneurs．

　　Eighty-seven children aged between 12 and 16 from Beijing and Tianjin attended the one-week training program called “Youth Discovery” directed by Motorola University's(MU)instructors and marketing specialists．The children learned about dealing with a practical problem－marketing and worked out a marketing plan by themselves．Last week 26 children of Motorola employees in Tianjin completed their training in the MU－Tianjin Learning Center．

　　Through the training program, children learnt how to get information through different kinds of sources(源), determine end－user needs, make up messages of value to customers, and communicate using various means and equipment．

　　Educators acted only as team “directors”, directing children to discover their own answers．The children gave their solutions(解决办法)to Motorola's management and their parents on the last day of the program．

　　The children, most of whom were primary and middle school students, presented themselves freely．

　　The students said that they preferred the open and practical way of learning．

　　“Youth Discovery”, started by Motorola's former president Robert Galvin, designed and carried out by Motorola University, aimed to bring the talents(才能)of young people into full play and encouraged them to discover how their skills can contribute to a team to help it reach an aim．

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　　A new period is coming．Call it what you will：the service industry, the information age, the knowledge society．It all translates to a great change in the way we work．Already we're partly there, the percentage of people who earn their living by making things has fallen sharply in the Western World．Today the majority of jobs in America．Europe and Japan(two thirds or more are in many of these countries)are in the service industry, and the number is on the rise More women are in the work force than ever before．There are more part-time jobs．More people are self-employed．But the breath of the great change can't be measured by numbers alone, because it also is giving rise to a new way of thinking about the nature of work itself．Long-held opinions about jobs and careers, the skills needed to succeed, even the relation between workers and employers－all these are being doubted．

　　We have only to look behind us to get some sense of what may lie ahead．No one looking ahead 20 years possibly could have seen the ways in which a single invention, the chip(芯片),would change our world thanks to its uses in personal computers, and factory equipment．Tomorrow's achievements in biotechnology or even some still unimagined technology could produce a similar wave of great changes．But one thing is certain：information and knowledge will become even more important, and the people who own it, whether they work in factory services, will have the advantage and produce the wealth．Computer knowledge will become as basic a requirement as the ability to read and write．The ability to deal with problems by making use of information instead of performing regular tasks will be valued above all else．If you look ahead 10 years, information service will be leading the way．It will be the way you do your job．

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　　Kincaid looked at his watch：eight-seventeen．The truck started on the second try, and he backed out, shifted gears, and moved slowly down the alley under hazy sun．Through the streets of Bellingham he went, heading south on Washington 11, running along the coast of Puget Sound for a few miles, then following the highway as it swung east a little before meeting U．S Route 20．

　　Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades．He liked this country and felt unpressed stopping now and then to make notes about interesting possibilities for future expeditions or to shoot what he called “memory snapshots．” The purpose of these causal photographs was to remind him of places he might want to visit again and approach more seriously．In later afternoon he turned north at Spokane, picking up U．S Route 2, which would take him halfway across the northern United States to Duluth, Minnesota．

　　He wished for the thousandth time in his life that he had a dog, a golden retriever, maybe, for travels like this and to keep him company at home．But he was frequently away; overseas much of the time and it would not be fair to the animal．Still, he thought about it anyway．In a few years he would be getting too old for the hard fieldwork．“I must get a dog then．” He said to himself．

　　Drives like this always put him into a sentimental mood．The dog was part of it．Robert Kincaid was alone as it's possible to be－an only child, parents both dead, distant relatives who had lost track of him and he of them, no close friends．

　　He thought about Marian．She had left him nine years ago after five years of marriage．He was fifty–two now, that would make her just under forty．Marian had dreams of becoming a musician, a folksinger．She knew all of the Weavers' songs and sang them pretty well in the coffeehouse of Seattle．When he was home in the old days, he drove her to the shows and sat in the audience while she sang．

　　His long absences－two or three months sometimes－were hard on the marriage．He knew that．She was aware of what he did when they decided to get married, and both of them had a vague(not clear)sense that it could all be handled somehow．It couldn't when he came from photographing a story in Iceland and, she was gone．The note read, “Robert, it didn't work out, I left you the Harmony guitar．Stay in touch．”

　　He didn't stay in touch．Neither did she．He signed the divorce papers when they arrived a year later and caught a plane for Australia the next day．She had asked for nothing except her freedom．

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　　Against the supposition that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space．

　　This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions．Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade．Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over the next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season．Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling．

　　This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate．Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat．

　　Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming．Ozone(臭氧)levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in．The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground．Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling．

　　“We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere．” Scientists tracked the change in the amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature．Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years．Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results．Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicted, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space．The net effect is cooling．Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth．

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　　A little under one-third of U．S．families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday．

　　Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U．S．families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe(预订)to an Internet service over the next 12 months．The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost．

　　Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed．The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe．The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and You Tube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks．Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes．

　　The study found U．S．broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005．Roughly half of new subscribers converted(转变)from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access．

　　"The industry continues to chip(击破)away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates．"Entertainment applications will be the key．If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted．