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　　Disposing(处理)of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it．As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult．

　　During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site．Residents or trash haulers(垃圾拖运者)would transport household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site．Periodically some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried．The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by．Factories, mills, and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of．Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water．Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem．

　　Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society．The first problem is space．Dumps, which are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas．Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose．Property is either too expensive or too close to residential neighborhoods．Long distance trash hauling has been a common practice, but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is nonexistent．Awareness(意识)of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal．Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people cannot longer pay to get rid of waste．The amount of waste, however, continues to grow．

　　Recycling efforts have become common place, and many towns require their people to take part．Even the most efficient recycling programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city's reusable waste．

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　　Wild animals seem to have escaped the Indian Ocean tsunami(海啸), adding weight to the idea that they possess a “sixth sense” for disasters, experts said on Thursday．Sri Lanka wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed over 24,000 people along the Indian Ocean Island's coast seemingly missed wild beasts, with no dead animals found．

　　“No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit．I think animals can sense disaster．They have a sixth sense．They know when things are happening,” H．D．Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka's Wildlife Department said on Wednesday．

　　The waves washed floodwaters up to 3 km(2 miles)inland at Yala National Park in the southeast, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve(自然保护区)and home to hundreds of wild elephants．“There has been a lot of evidence about dogs barking or birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes．But it has not been proved,” said Matthew van Lierop, an animal behaviour specialist at Johannesburg Zoo．“There have been no specific studies because you can'treally test it in a lab or field setting,” he said．Other authorities agreed with this conclusion．“Wildlife seems to be able to pick up certain phenomenon, especially birds．There are many reports of birds detecting coming disasters,” said Clive Walker, who has written several books on African wildlife．

　　Animals certainly rely on the known senses such as smell or hearing to avoid danger such as predators(食肉动物)．The idea of an animal's “sixth sense” is a lasting one that the evidence on Sri Lanka's damaged coast is likely to add to．

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　　Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest lived human being on record．A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days．

　　Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people's home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died．She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old woman in good health than someone of 120．She still has a lively sense of humor．When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied：A very short one．She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her．

　　So what is the key to a long life?According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors．Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips．She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115．However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke(now only a little)．Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes(基因)from her parents．Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86．

　　A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death．It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house．Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying：Sorry, I'm still alive!

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　　The key to happiness is how quickly you can get back your focus on what's important．

——Anonymous

　　Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab．Here's what happened．I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station．We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us．My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches!

　　The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, started yelling bad words at us．My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy．And I mean, he was friendly．So, I said, "Why did you just do that?This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call "The Law of the Garbage Truck．"

　　Many people are like garbage(rubbish)trucks．They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment．As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it．And if you let them, they'll dump it on you．When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally．You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on．You'll be happy you did．

　　I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me?And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets?It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do anymore．"

　　Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting．Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses．Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about．The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day．What about you?What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?Here's my bet．You'll be happier．Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets．So, Love the people who treat you right．Forget about the ones who don't．

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　　Three Central Texas men were honored with the Texas Department of Public Safety's Director's Award in a Tuesday morning ceremony for their heroism in saving the victims of a fiery two-car accident．

　　The accident occurred on March 25 when a vehicle lost control while traveling on a rain-soaked State Highway 6 near Baylor Camp Road．It ran into an oncoming vehicle, leaving the passengers trapped inside as both vehicles burst into flames．

　　Bonge was the first on the scene and heard children screaming．He broke through a back window and pulled Mallory Smith, 10, and her sister, Megan Smith, 9, from the wreckage．

　　The girls' mother, Beckie Smith, was not with them at the time of the wreck, as they were traveling with their baby sitter, Lisa Bowbin．

　　Beckie Smith still remembers the sickening feeling she had upon receiving the call informing her of the wreck and the despair as she drove to the scene．

　　Bozeman and Clemmons arrived shortly after Bonge and helped rescue the other victims and attempted to put out the fires．

　　“I was nervous,” Bozeman said．“I don't feel like I'm a hero．I was just doing what anyone should do in that situation．I hope someone would do the same for me．”

　　Everyone at the accident made it out alive, with the victims suffering from nonlife-threatening injuries．Mallory Smith broke both femurs(股骨), and Megan had neck and back injuries．Bowbin is still recovering from a broken pelvis(骨盆), ankle and foot．

　　The rescuers also were taken to the hospital and treated for cuts and smoke breathing, Bonge said．

　　In addition, Bozeman got to meet accident victim Anthony Russo in the hospital after the accident, where Russo presented him with a glass frame inscribed(刻；雕)with “Thank you,” Bozeman said．Those involved in that fateful encounter on Highway 6 credited God blessing for bringing them together．

　　“Whatever the circumstances, Tuesday's ceremony provided a time to be grateful for those who put their lives on the line for the lives of complete strangers,” Beckie Smith said, “We're calling it The Miracle on Highway 6．”

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　　Jamie Oliver has been invited by Gordon Brown to prepare a banquet at No．10 for President Barack Obama and other leaders of the G20, offering a cut-price menu to reflect times when trade and industry are far from prosperous and the rate of employment is decreasing．

　　Downing Street sources say Oliver, the well-known chef, will cook using “honest high-street products” and avoid expensive or “fancy” ingredients(材料)．

　　The prime minister is trying to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment last year when he sat down to an 18-course banquet at a Japanese summit to discuss world food shortages．

　　Obama, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and other leaders will be served by apprentices(学徒)from Fifteen, the London restaurant Oliver founded to help train young people in poverty in order to make a living by mastering a skill．

　　Brown wants the dinner to reflect the emphasis of the London summit, which he hopes will lead to an agreement to lift the world out of recession．“To be invited to cook for such an important group of people, who are trying to solve some of the world's major problems, is really a privilege,” said Oliver．

　　“I'm hoping the menu I'm working on will show British food and produce is some of the best in the world, but also show we have pioneered a high-quality apprentice scheme at Fifteen London that is giving young people a skill to be proud of．”

　　The chef has not yet finalized the menu, but is expected to draw inspiration from his latest book, Jamie's Ministry of Food, which has budget recipes for beef and ale stew(啤酒炖菜)and “impressive” chocolate fudge cake．

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　　The following are the results of the tests done by “Family and Home Magazine” on some Pocket Tape-Recorders on the market now．

　　Pearlcorder S702 ＄64

　　This simple model at the bottom of the Olympus range scored the most points for its excellent quality of recording．Background noise hardly affects the sound and recording from a pocket is perfectly possible, but it doesn't turn off automatically．

　　Tape length：30minutes per side．Weight：240 g．

　　Small and very good looking, Sony's latest offering scored most for its appearance．Sounds clear, but there is slight machine noise．The big control buttons are a great improvement on some of the complicated little controls on other tape-recorders．It doesn't switch off automatically, but a red light shows if the machine is still running．

　　Tape length：60minutes per side．Weight：195 g．

　　Lots of little control buttons that make a noise are difficult to use．Recording is good but machine noise loses points．Tape counter and automatic switch-off when tape has finished recording or rewinding are useful．

　　Tape length：60 minutes per side．Weight：230 g．

　　Imperial OEM MC7　＄29.95

　　Cheap and simple compared with the rest, but recording is good as long as there is no background noise．Use only its own-make of cassette．No light to show it is on; no fast-forward button and the record button makes a loud noise．

　　Tape length：30 minutes per side．Weight：285 g．

　　Handsome and simple to use, but recording is very poor at more than the recommended distance of 5 cm-designed for dictation．No recording light．

　　Tape length：15 minutes per side．Weight：220 g．

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　　If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis．From there, you might move on to the automakers in Detroit．

　　But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee(被提名)：public education．

　　At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world．Yet in terms of its core mission(核心使命)-turning teenagers into educated college graduates…much of the system is failing．

　　The United States does a good job enrolling(招生)teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor's degree．

　　So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world's largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called “Crossing the Finish Line” tries to do precisely that．Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos．The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching．It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into．They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive．About half of the low-income students with an average of at least 3．5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have．“I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched,” said Mr．Bowen．

　　In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates．Meanwhile, lower-income students-even when they are better qualified－often go to colleges that excel(擅长)in producing drop-outs．“It's really a waste,” Mr．Bowen said, “and a big problem for the country．” As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students．Instead, it appears to have fallen．

　　What can be done?Money is clearly part of the answer．

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　　One day Bob took two of his friends into the mountains．They put up their tents and then rode off to a forest to see how the trees were growing．

　　In the afternoon when they were about ten kilometers from their camp(营地), it started to snow．More and more snow fell．Soon Bob could hardly see his hands before his face．He could not find the road．Bob knew there were two roads．One road went to the camp and the other went to his house．But all was white snow．Everything was the same．How could he take his friends back to the camp?

　　Bob had an idea．The horses!Let the horses take them back!But what would happen if the horses took the road to his house?That would be a trip of thirty-five kilometers in such cold weather!

　　It was getting late．They rode on and on．At last the horses stopped．Where were they?

　　None of them could tell．John looked around．What was that under the tree?It was one of their tents!

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　　“Depend on yourself”is what nature says to every man．Parents can help you．Teachers can help you．Others still can help you．But all these only help you to help yourself．

　　There have been many great men in history．But many of them were very poor in boyhood, and had no uncles, aunts, or friends to help them．Schools were few and low．They could not depend on them for an education．They saw how it was, and set to work with all their strength to know something．They worked their own way up to fame．

　　One of the most famous teachers in England used to tell his pupils,“I cannot make worthy men of you, but I can help you make men of yourselves．”

　　Some young men have no ambitions(雄心)to do anything, and they are to be pitied．They can never succeed unless they see their foolishness, and change their courses．They are nothing now, and will be nothing as long as they live, unless they accept the advice of parents and teachers and depend upon their own honesty and serious efforts．