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　　Domestic(驯养的)horses now pull ploughs, race in the Kentucky Derby, and carry police．But early horses weren't tame(驯服的)enough to perform these kinds of tasks．Scientists think the first interactions humans had with horses were far different from those today．

　　Thousands of years ago, people killed the wild horses that lived around them for food．Over time, people began to catch the animals and raise them．This was the first step in domestication．

　　As people began to tame and ride horses, they chose to keep those animals that had more desirable characteristics．For example, people may have chosen to keep horses that had a gentle personality so they could be ridden more easily．People who used horses to pull heavy loads would have chosen to keep stronger animals．Characteristics like strength are partly controlled by the animals' genes．So as the domesticated horses reproduced, they passed the characteristics on to their young．Each new generation of horses would show more of these chosen characteristics．

　　Modern-day horse breeds(种类)come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes．This variety didn't exist in the horse population before domestication．The Shetland horse is one of the smallest breeds－typically reaching only one meter tall．With short, strong legs, the animals were bred to pull coal out of mine shafts(矿井)with low ceilings．Huge horses like the Clydesdale came on the scene around 1700．People bred these heavy, tall horses to pull large vehicles used for carrying heavy loads．

　　The domestication of horses has had great effects on societies．For example, horses were important tools in the advancement of modern agriculture．Using them to pull ploughs and carry heavy loads allowed people to farm more efficiently．Before they were able to ride horses, humans had to cross land on foot．Riding horses allowed people to travel far greater distance in much less time．That encouraged populations living in different areas to interact with one another．The new form of rapid transportation helped cultures spread around the world．

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　　Margaret, married with two small children, has been working for the last seven years as a night cleaner, cleaning offices in a big building．

　　She trained as a nurse, but had to give it up when her elder child became seriously ill．“I would have liked to go back to it, but the shifts(工作班次)are all wrong for me, as I have to be home to get the children up and off to school．”

　　So she works as a cleaner instead, from 9 p.m.till 6 a.m.five nights a week for just ￡90, before tax and insurance．“It's better than it was last year, but I still think that people who work ‘unsocial hours' should get a bit extra．”

　　The hours she's chosen to work mean that she sees plenty of the children, but very little of her husband．However, she doesn't think that puts any pressure on their relationship．

　　Her work isn't physically very hard, but it's not exactly pleasant, either．“I do get angry with people who leave their offices like a place for raising pigs．If they realized people like me have to do it, perhaps they'd be a bit more careful．”

　　The fact that she's working all night doesn't worry Margaret at all．Unlike some dark buildings at night, the building where she works is fully lit, and the women work in groups of three．“Since I've got to be here, I try to enjoy myself——and I usually do, because of the other girls．We all have a good laugh, so the time never drags．”

　　Another challenge Margaret has to face is the reaction of other people when she tells them what she does for a living．“They think you're a cleaner because you don't know how to read and write,”said Margaret,“I used to think what my parents would say if they knew what I'd been doing, but I don't think that way any more．I don't dislike the work though I can't say I'm mad about it．”

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　　Like most people, I've long understood that I will be judged by my occupation, that my profession is a standard people use to see how smart or talented I am．Recently, however, I was disappointed to see that it also decides how I'm treated as a person．

　　Last year I left a professional position as a small-town reporter and took a job waiting tables．As someone paid to serve food to people, I had customers say and do things to me I suspect they'd never say or do to their most casual acquaintances(泛泛之交)．One night a man talking on his cell phone waved me away, then asked me back with his finger minutes later, complaining he was ready to order and asking where I'd been．

　　I had waited tables during summers in college and was treated like a peon(勤杂工)by plenty of people．But at 19 years old, I believed I deserved inferior treatment from professional adults．Besides, people responded to me differently after I told them I was in college．Customers would joke that one day I'd be sitting at their table, waiting to be served．

　　Once I graduated, I took a job at a community newspaper．From my first day, I heard a respectful tone from everyone who called me．I assumed this was the way the professional world worked．

　　I soon found out differently．I sat several feet away from an advertising sales representative with a similar name．Our calls would often get mixed up and someone asking for Kristen would be transferred to Christie．The mistake was immediately evident．Perhaps it was because money was involved, but people used a tone with Kristen that they never used with me．

　　My job title made people treat me politely．So it was a shock to return to the restaurant industry．

　　It's no secret that there's a lot to put up with when waiting tables, and fortunately, much of it can be easily forgotten when you pocket the tips．The service industry, by definition, exists to satisfy others' needs．Still, it seemed that many of my customers didn't get the difference between server and servant．

　　I'm now applying to graduate school, which means someday I'll return to a profession where people need to be nice to me in order to get what they want．I think I'll take them to dinner first, and see how they treat someone whose only job is to serve them

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　　“The pen is more powerful than the sword(刀)．”There have been many writers who used their pens to fight things that were wrong．Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of them．

　　She was born in the U．S．A．in 1811．One of her books not only made her famous but has been described as one that excited the world, and was helpful in causing a civil war and freeing the enslaved race．The civil war was the American Civil War of 1861, in which the Northern States fought the Southern States and finally won．

　　This book that shook the world was called Uncle Tom's Cabin．There was time when every English-speaking man, woman, and child has read this novel that did so much to stop slavery．Not many people read it today, but it is still very interesting．The book has shown us how a warm-hearted writer can arouse(唤起)people's sympathies．The author herself had neither been to the Southern States nor been a slave．The Southern Americans were very angry at the book, which they said did not at all represent true state of affairs, but the Northern Americans were wildly excited over it and were so inspired by it that they were ready to go to war to set the slaves free．

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　　Are you one of those who always fear whenever a dog is approaching?If you are, you have got phobia(a very strong feeling of being afraid of something)．Of all human fears, phobias may be the most uncontrollable．They are most often caused by a particular situation or object．In general, phobias can mainly be divided into three varieties．To begin with, agoraphobia is a fear of staying in strange surroundings, for example, an unfamiliar place, or an open area．Social phobia refers to the anxiety people show when they have to stay or perform on social events, for instance, speaking in front of the class．Lastly, there are a wide range of specific phobias．People suffering from this kind of phobia are terrified of specific objects or creatures．such as spiders, perhaps to your surprise, clowns．Besides, there are about six hundred and fifty phobias having been listed by psychologists(心理学家)as yet．

　　Faced with their phobias, many people choose to do nothing but just escape the situations or objects they fear．Psychologists, however, warn that if not treated properly, this kind of anxiety will get worse, so that it may disturb the sleep pattern, cause physical symptoms, and finally affect their daily activities．As for treatment, clinical research has discovered that medicine for anxiety is not successful in curing phobias．However．the anxiety disorders can be efficiently treated through cognitive behavioral therapy(认知行为疗法), through which patients are led to inspect the connections between their own fear und the situation or object, and then actively choose the acceptable treatments．Also, other treatments proved effective in reducing phobias are Meditation(quiet thought that can help people relax), listening to calming music, and so on．

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　　When Ben delivered milk to my home one morning before Christmas, he wasn't his usual sunny self．He told me a customer had left without paying the bill, ＄79, nor leaving her new address．So it meant that he had to cover the loss．

　　“She was a pretty woman,”he said,“with six children and another on the way．She was always saying．'I'm going to pay you soon when my husband gets a second job．'I believed her, but she left．Isn't it annoying?”

　　“Give her the milk．Make it a Christmas present to the kids who need it．”I said．

　　The holidays came and went．On a sunny January morning two weeks later, Ben was rushing to deliver milk when he saw a woman running down the street, waving money．He recognized her immediately－the woman who didn't pay her bill．

　　“I'm so sorry．”she said．“I really have been meaning to pay you．”

　　She explained that her husband had come home one night and announced he'd found cheaper apartment．He' d also got a new job．With all that happened, she'd forgotten to leave the new address．“But I've been saving,”she said．“Here's ＄20 toward the bill．”

　　“That' s all right,”Ben replied．“It's been paid．”

　　“Paid!”she exclaimed(惊叫)．“What do you mean?Who paid it?”

　　“I did,”Ben said,“It went to the children as a Christmas present!”

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　　Malaria, the world's most widespread parasitic(寄生虫引起的)disease, kills as many as three million people every year－almost all of whom are under five, very poor, and African．In most years, more than five hundred million cases of illness result from the disease, although exact numbers are difficult to assess because many people don't(or can't)seek care．It is not unusual for a family earning less than two hundred dollars a year to spend a quarter of its income on malaria treatment, and what they often get no longer works．In countries like Tanzania, Mozambique, and the Gambia, no family, village, hospital, or workplace can remain unaffected for long．

　　Malaria starts suddenly, with violent chills, which are soon followed by an intense fever and, often, headaches．As the parasites multiply, they take over the entire body．Malaria parasites live by eating the red blood cells they infect(感染)．They can also attach themselves to blood vessels in the brain．If it doesn't kill you, malaria can happen again and again for years．The disease passed on to humans by female mosquitoes infected with one of four species of parasite．Together, the mosquito and the parasite are the most deadly couple in the history of the earth－and one of the most successful．Malaria has five thousand genes, and its ability to change rapidly to defend itself and resist new drugs has made it nearly impossible to control．Studies show that mosquitoes are passing on the virus more frequently, and there are more outbreaks in cities with large populations．Some of the disease's spread is due to global warming．

　　For decades, the first-choice treatment for malaria parasites in Africa has been chloroquine, a chemical which is very cheap and easy to make．Unfortunately, in most parts of the world, malaria parasites have become resistant to it．Successful alternatives that help prevent resistance are already available, but they have been in short supply and are very expensive．If these drugs should fail, nobody knows what would come next．

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　　When I met him, I had a lot of anger inside of me．I've lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem, but in my neighborhood, there are shoot-ups all the time．I know kids who have been shot or beaten up．I have friends who ended up in prison．I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr．Clark wouldn't let that happen．

　　Mr．Clark worked long hours, making sure I did my work．My grades rose．In fact, the scores of our whole class rose．One day, he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem．Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full．We did not want to let him down．

　　Mr．Clark was selected as Disney's 2000 Teacher of the Year．He said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him to Los Angles to get the award．But when the time came to draw names, Mr．Clark said,“You're all going．”

　　On graduation day, there were a lot of tears．We didn't want his class to end．In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in touch．He started giving lectures about education, and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55．In 2003, Mr．Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit orphanages(孤儿院)．It was the most amazing experience of my life．It's now my dream to one day start a group of women's clubs, helping people from all backgrounds．

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　　That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco．There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theater．With opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines．I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time．As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco．City life had become too much for me．

　　As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold．I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away any possible robbers(抢劫犯)．Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets．

　　About a block from my apartment, I heard a sound behind me．I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun．The street was empty．All I saw was a shining streetlight．Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster．Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been．It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk．

　　Suddenly I wasn't cold or tired anymore．I ran out of the door and back to where I'd heard the noise．Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found．

　　Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck(垃圾车)pull up to the sidewalk next to me．When a voice called from the inside,“Alisa Camacho?”I thought I was dreaming．How could this man know my name?The door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eyes．“Is this what you're looking for?”he asked, holding up a small square shape．

　　It was nearly 3 a.m.by the time I got into bed．I wouldn't get much sleep that night, but I had got my wallet back．I also had got back some enjoyment of city life．I realized that the city couldn't be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other．