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　　Electric cars will not be really much cleaner than autos powered by mineral fuels until they rely less on electricity produced from usual coal-fired power plants．“For electric vehicles to become a major green alternative, the power fuel has to move away from coal, or cleaner coal technologies have to be developed,”said Jared Cohon, the chairman of a National Research Council report released on Monday．About half of US power is produced by burning coal, which gives off many times more of traditional pollutants than natural gas, and about twice as much of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide．Nuclear and renewable power have to generate a larger portion of US power for electric cars to become much greener compared to gasoline-powered cars, Cohan, who is president of Carnegie Mellon University, said in an interview．Advances in coal burning, like capturing carbon at power plants for permanent burial underground, could also help electric cars become a cleaner alternative to vehicles powered by fossil fuels, he said．Pollution from energy sources did ＄120 billion worth of damage to human health, agriculture and recreation in 2008, and electricity was responsible for more than half of the damage, said the NRC report．

　　Electric cars have their benefits such as reducing imports of foreign oil．But they also have hidden costs．Materials in electric car batteries are hard to produce, which adds to the energy it takes to make them．In fact, the health and environmental costs of making electric cars can be 20 percent greater than usual cars, the report said．

　　The report estimated that electric cars could still cost more than gas-powered cars to operate and manufacture in 2030 unless US power production becomes cleaner．

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　　Matches made over the Internet often do not last long because people end up choosing unsuitable partners and forming emotional bonds before meeting face-to-face, an Australian university researcher has found．

　　Women may especially find Mr．Wrong, as they tend to be attracted by fine comments or clever emails, said psychologist Matthew Bambling from the Queensland University of Technology．

　　“You can never assume things are the way they seem online,”Bambling said．“The fact that they can write a clever comment or a witty email doesn't mean they will be Mr．Right, that's for sure,”he said, adding some men use the concept of“netting”, sending emails to dozens of women and hoping one might respond．Bambling said you can find a partner online, but warned those using the Web to find love to be aware of the traps．“There's definitely an uncontrolled effect online,”he said, with people more likely to exaggerate their good points while hiding anything negative．“Few guys for example would say ‘look, I'm a middle aged alcoholic who's been married five times, pick me'．They're going to present themselves as a good catch．”He said it was easy for people to quickly invest too much emotionally in an online relationship because they don't see the full picture of the person they are emailing．

　　Bambling said people can avoid many of the problems by meeting early in the actual relationship, rather than by getting to know each other only by email．He suggests couples arrange to meet over coffee after a few emails, which will help people from building up a fantasy image of their match．“The main thing to remember is to make real life contact as soon as possible if you are interested in someone, because then you will know contact as soon as possible if you are interested in someone, because then you will know if a relationship is a possibility．”He said．

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　　My daddy doesn't know how to express love．It is my mum that makes everyone happy and calm in our family; while Daddy only works day and night, never looking us in the face．But Mum makes a wrongdoing list of us for Daddy scolding us．She was a spy!

　　Once, I stole a candy．Daddy asked me to put it back and told the shopkeeper I would like to carry loads for her．Well, Mum told him I was jut a child．

　　I broke my leg on the playground．It's still Mum that held me tightly in her warm arms．Daddy drove us right to emergency room．He was asked to move the car away for that space was for ambulance．Daddy got angry,“What do you think of it?A touring car?”

　　On my birthday party, it was, again, my mum that took over the cake for me．And my dad was busy with blowing balloons and setting the table and doing the housework．

　　While looking over our album, my friends always ask,“What does your father look like?”God knows．He photos others all the time．So there are many photos of my mum and me, pretty and lovely photos．

　　And I still remembered the day when dad taught me riding．I asked him not to let his hands away, but he did the opposite．And I certainly fell onto the ground．I got angry and decided to get on the bike and rode．But he smiled again．

　　Mum wrote every letter to me while I was in college．He, except checks, did write a letter, but extremely short, just a few words, saying,“Without your playing on the lawn, my son, my lawn grows prettier than before．”

　　Every time I phoned, it seemed that he wanted to talk, but he would say,“I will get your mum．”

　　On the day of my wedding, Mum cried as if we would never meet again, while dad went out with a nasal sound．

　　From very young, I heard him saying,“Where have you been?”“When do you go home?”“Did you get oil for your car?”“…”Dad really knows nothing about showing love．Unless…

　　Maybe he showed while I didn't notice．

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　　Earlier this month, the United States Library of Congress named Katherine Paterson the national ambassador for young people's literature．

　　She is only the second person to hold the position．She replaces writer Jon Scieszka, who had served since two thousand eight．

　　The librarian of Congress, James Billington, said Miz Paterson“represents the finest in literature for young people”．He spoke of the importance of reading in the lives of America's young people．Miz Paterson has written more than thirty books．She is among only five writers to have won two Newbery Medals．These are among the most important children's book awards in the United States．

　　“Bridge to Terabithia”won a Newbery Medal in nineteen seventy-seven．Her book“Jacob Have I Loved”won the award in nineteen eighty-one．

　　Katherine Paterson's books for children are often quite complex．“Bridge to Terabithia”includes adult themes like depression and death．The book has caused debate because of its place on school library bookshelves．Some parents think it is too adult for young children．Miz Paterson says the idea for the book came from a real life experience．Her son's best friend died in nineteen seventy-four when she was struck by lightening．

　　Katherine Paterson is seventy-seven．She began writing as a young mother with three children．But she says her interest in writing came as a surprise．As a child she had thought about becoming a Christian religious worker in foreign countries like her parents were．

　　Katherine Paterson spoke to a gathering of children when she was named ambassador on January fifth in Washington．She said：“Read for your life．Read for your life as a member of a family, as a part of a community, as a citizen of this country and a citizen of the world”．

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　　A new study in West Africa shows how farm irrigation systems powered by the sun can produce more food and money for villagers．The study in Benin found that solar-powered pumps are effective in supplying water, especially during the long dry season．

　　Sub-Saharan Africa is the part of the world with the least food security．The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more than one billion of the world's people faced hunger last year．Around two hundred sixty-five million of them live south of the Sahara Desert．Lack of rainfall is one of their main causes of food shortages．

　　Jennifer Burney from Stanford University in California led the study．The research team helped build three solar-powered irrigation systems in northern Benin．

　　The solar-powered irrigation systems produced an average of nearly two metric tons of vegetables per month．

　　They sold the surplus(过剩的)produce at local markets．The earnings greatly increased their ability to buy food during the dry season which can last six to nine months．

　　People in the two villages with the systems were able to eat three to five more serving of vegetables per day．But making the surplus available at markets also had a wider effect．

　　The study compared the villages with two others where women farmed with traditional methods like carrying water in buckets．The amount of vegetables eaten in those villages also increased, though not as much．

　　The researchers note that only four percent of the cropland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated．Using solar power to pump water has higher costs at first．But the study says it can be more economical in the long term than using fuels like gasoline, diesel or kerosene．And solar power is environmentally friendly．

　　Solar energy for your home is coming．It can help you as a single home owner．It can help the whole country as well．Whether or not solar energy can save your money depends on many things．Where you live is one factor．The type of home you have is another．Things like insulation(绝缘)present energy costs and the type of system you buy are added factors．

　　Using solar energy can help save our precious fuel．As you know, our supplies of oil and gas are very limited．There is just not enough on hand to meet all our future energy needs．And when Mother Nature says that's all, the only way we can delay hearing those words is by starting to save energy now and by using other sources, like the sun．

　　We won't have to worry about the sun's running out of energy for another several billion years or so．Besides begin an endless source of energy, the use of the sun has other advantages as well．The sun doesn't offer as many problems as other energy sources．For example, fossil fuel plants add to already high pollution levels．With sola energy, we will still need sources of energy, but we won't need as much．That means we can cut down on our pollution problems．

　　With all these good points, why don't we use more solar power?There are many reasons for this．The biggest reason is money．Until now, it was just not practical for a home owner to put in a solar unit．There were cheaper sources of energy．All this is changing now．Solar costs are starting to equal the costs of oil and electricity．Experts say that gas, oil and electricity prices will continue to rise．The demand for electricity is increasing rapidly．But new power plants will use more gas, oil or coal．Already in some places the supply of electricity is being rationed．Solar energy is now in its infancy．It could soon grow to become a major part of our nation's energy supply．

　　Runners in a relay race pass a stick in one direction．However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction．They earned their living by travelling the famous Silk Road．

　　The Silk Road was not a simple trading network．It passed through thousands of cities and towns．It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea．It was used from about 200B．C to about A．D．1300, when sea travel offered new routes．It was sometimes called the world's longest highway．However, Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path．They passed through what are now 18 countries．The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles．Only experienced traders could return safe．

　　The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product．Silk could be used as money to pay taxes or buy goods．But the traders carried more than just silk．Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia．Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China．Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods．Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West．Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome．The Chinese had learned to graft(嫁接)different trees together to make new kinds of fruit．They passed this science on to others, including the Romans．The Romans used grafting to grow the apple．Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web．

　　The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods．They also share their beliefs．The Silk Road provided pathway for learning, diplomacy(外交), and religion．

　　Far from the land of Antarctica, a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean．At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod．

　　For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish．How does it live where most fish would freeze to death?It must have some secret．The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow．Now it seems we have an answer．

　　Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish．Scientists studied the fish's blood and measured its freezing point．

　　The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of－1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it．The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to－2.05℃．That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture．

　　The scientists' next research job was clear：Find out what in the fish's blood kept it from freezing．Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein(蛋白质)never before seen in the blood of a fish．When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature．When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point．

　　Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein．It has many small sugar molecules(分子)held in special positions within each big protein molecules．Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein．So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein, or AFGP．

　　Michelle Obama is the first lady of American fashion, appearing on the cover of the March issue of Vogue．

　　Every first lady since Lou Hoover－except Bess Truman－has been appeared in the high-fashion magazine, but Mrs．Obama is only the second to appear on the cover．She appears wearing a silk dress by Jason Wu．

　　Vogue's editor Andre Leon Tally recalled his interviews with Mrs．Obama ahead of US president Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony(就职典礼)．“One of the best experiences of my life．”“She is so easily reached, natural and normal．”he said．

　　Mrs．Obama described her role as“Mom in chief”to 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha．“I'm going to try to take them to school every morning, as much as I can,”she said．“But there's also a measure of freedom．And clearly there will be time I won't be able to drop them off at all．I like to appear in my kids' school．I want to know the teachers; I want to know the other parents．”

　　Being in Vogue, though, the chat finally turns to clothes．“I'm not going to pretend that I don't care about it,”she said．“But I also have to be very practical．Someone will always not like what you wear－people just have different tastes．”

　　Most cover models have their clothes chosen for them by Vogue, or at least editors work as advisers．Not this time．“She doesn't need any help．She loves fashion and knows what works for her,”Talley said．“She has never had a talk with me about,‘What do you think?'or‘How does this like?'And I'm glad for that．”

　　One night when my wife was preparing dinner, our little son took a piece of paper to her which read：

　　For washing the car　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＄5.00

　　For making my own bed this week　　　　　　　　　　　＄1.00

　　Going to the provision shop　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＄0.50

　　Playing with little sister　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＄0.25

　　Taking out the rubbish　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＄1.00

　　Getting a good report card　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＄5.00

　　And for sweeping the common corridor　　　　　　　　　＄2.00

　　Total　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＄14.75

　　His mother looked at him standing there expecting payment．I could see a thousand memories flashed through her mind．So she picked up the pen and turning the paper over, this is what she wrote：

　　For nine months I carried you, growing inside me　　　　　　No Charge

　　For the nights I sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you　No Charge

　　For the toys, food and clothes and wiping your nose　　　　　No Charge

　　When you add it all up, the full cost of my love　　　　　　　No Charge

　　Well, when he finished reading, he had big tears in his eyes．He looked at his mother and said,“Mummy, I love you．”Then he took the pen and in great big letters wrote on the“bill”“All paid．”