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　　Not all memories are sweet．Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences．Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars．Often they relive these experiences in nightmares．

　　Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories．The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience．They hope it might reduce, or possibly wipe out, the effect of painful memories．

　　In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France．The drug stops the body releasing(释放)chemicals that fix memories in the brain．So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are wiped out．They are not sure to what degree people's memories are affected．

　　The research has caused a great deal of argument．Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it．Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war．They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories．

　　“Some memories can ruin people's lives．They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare．They usually come with very painful emotions,”said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School．“This could relieve a lot of that suffering．”

　　But those who are against the research say that maybe the pills can change people's memories and changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity(特质)．They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past．

　　“All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were terrible at the time but make us who we are．I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out,”said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist．

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　　Youth volunteers from Beijing University visited Songtang Hospital, a care clinic for the aged and dying patients, during the second Global Youth Service Day on April 21．

　　Thirty student volunteers from the university's School of International Studies sat at the beds of the patients in their specially-decorated“care huts”．They talked with them and gave massages(按摩)to patients kept in their beds．

　　I felt sorry that I could not offer more to these people than talking with them and trying to cheer them up．said Deng Yetao, 20, a third-year student．“But it occurred to me that they need more care and love than babies．They are afraid of the coming death．Their loneliness is worse than physical pains．”

　　“Even though they are suffering a lot, the majority of the elderly people want to talk to us．”Each of them has a lot of life experiences and philosophies to share．Instead of doing them a favor, I felt I was gaining a valuable lesson．Said Mao Xiaohua, another third-year student．

　　Mao talked with two elderly patients for a whole afternoon．The fact that most of the patients in the 80-room clinic are aged people with diseases which will lead to death soon made the volunteers' hearts heavy．

　　Ninety-one percent of the patients will spend the last days of their lives in the clinic, according to a survey by the hospital．

　　Daily visits and services by social workers and youth volunteers are a very important part of their programmer．A total of 330, 000 Beijing students from 119 universities and colleges have visited the hospital．Many continue to offer services in their spare time．Some of them volunteer to hold the hands of dying patients during the last minutes of their lives．

　　Yin Hang, a student from Beijing Medical College, said he felt“the glory of life”as he saw the fading smile on the face of the old man who passed into a deep unconsciousness(昏迷)while he was holding his hands．

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　　What's your dream vacation?Watching wildlife in Kenya?Boating down the Amazon?Sunbathing in Malaysia?New chances are opening up all the time to explore the world．So we visit travel agents, compare packages and prices, and pay our money．

　　We know what our vacation costs us．But do we know what it might cost someone else?It's true that many poorer countries now depend on tourism for foreign income．Unfortunately, though, tourism often harms the local people more than it helps them．

　　It might cost their homes and lands．In Myanmar, 5,200 people were forced to leave their homes among the pagodas(佛塔)in Bagan so that tourists could visit the pagodas．

　　Tourism might also cost the local people their livelihood and dignity．Local workers often find only menial(卑微的)jobs in the tourist industry．And most of the profits do not help the local economy．Instead, profits return to the tour operators in wealthier countries, When the Maasai people in Tanzania were driven from their lands, some moved to city slums．Others now make a little money selling souvenirs or posing for photos．

　　Problems like these were observed more than 20 years ago．But now some non-government organizations, tour operators and local governments are working together to begin correcting them．Tourists, too, are putting on the pressure．

　　The result is responsible tourism, or“ethical tourism．”Ethical tourism has people at its heart．New international agreements and codes of conduct can help protect the people's lands, homes, economies and cultures．The beginnings are small, though, and the problems are complex．

　　But take heart．The good news is that everyone, including us, can play a part to help the local people in the places we visit．Tour operators and companies can help by making sure that local people work in good conditions and earn reasonable wages．

　　They can make it a point to use only locally owned hotel, restaurants and guide services．They can share profits fairly to help the local economy．And they can involve the local people in planning and managing tourism．

　　What can tourists do?First, we can ask tour companies to provide information about the conditions of local citizens．We can then make our choices and tell them why．And while we're abroad, we can：

　　Buy local foods and products, not imported ones．

　　Pay a fair price for goods and services and not bargain for the cheapest price．

　　Avoid flaunting wealth．

　　Ask before taking photographs of people．

　　They are not just part of the landscape!

　　Let's enjoy our vacation and make sure others do, too．

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　　Increasingly, over the past ten years, people－especially young people－have become aware of the need to change their eating habits, because much of the food they eat, particularly processed foods, is not good for the health．As a result, there has been a growing interest in natural foods：foods which do not contain chemical fertilizers, widely used in farming today．

　　Natural foods, for example, are vegetables, fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic(有机的)matter．In simple terms, this means that the soil has been nourished by unused vegetable matter, which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals．This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers, the main purpose of which is to increase the amount－but not the quality－of food grown in commercial farming areas．

　　Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy grassland for cattle．Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry(家禽)：there are battery farms, for example, where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish．Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins．

　　There are other things of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet．Take, for example, the question of sugar．This is actually a non-essential food!Although another natural food, such as honey, can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary, we can in fact do without it．It is not that sugar is harmful in itself．But it does seem to be addictive ：the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year!Yet all it does is provide us with energy, in the form of calories．There are no vitamins in it, no minerals, and no fibre．

　　It's very important that nowadays fibre is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet．In white bread, for example, the fibre has been removed．But it is present in unrefined flour and of course in vegetables．It is interesting to note that in countries where the national diet contains large quantities of unrefined flour and vegetables, certain diseases are comparatively not often seen．For this reason, the importance is placed on the eating of wholemeal(没有去麸的面粉)bread and more vegetables by modern experts on“healthy eating”．

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　　The Fourth“21st Century Cup”National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai．

　　Organizers：China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network．

　　Co-ordinater：China University English Speaking Association(CUESA)．

　　Co-sponsors(联办单位)：English Speaking Union(ESU), Lotus Software(China)Co．Ltd．, Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press．

　　Date：March 26(Friday), 1999．

　　Place：Hilton Shanghai．

　　Competition Format(形式)：Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three minute off hand speech and a three-minute question and answer period with the judges．

　　Prepared speech period：six minutes．

　　Q & A period：three minutes．

　　Speech topic：People and Nature：In search of harmony(和谐)in a new age＋your personal opinion．(Topics for the off-hand speech will be given on the day of competition)．

　　Prizes：Besides books and certificates(证书), the top two winners will be offered scholarships(奖学金)to travel to the annual international English-speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999．The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group．The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes．All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press．The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one-year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language(IATEFL)

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　　This is the VOA Special English Education Report．A few weeks ago, we talked about the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL．A listener in Cambodia named Thida asks if American colleges and universities also accept the IELTS exam．IELTS is the International English Language Testing System．It was developed by the University of Cambridge ESOL examiners．

　　Cambridge ESOL says the test measures true-to-life ability to communicate in English for education, immigration or employment．The IELTS tests listening, reading, writing and speaking skills．It uses a mixture of accents and spellings, including British English and American English．

　　The test is used by government agencies, schools and professional organizations in one hundred and twenty countries．And, yes, that includes the United States．The many American schools that accepted the IELTS can be found on the Web at felts.org．

　　Some schools accept both the TOEFL and the IELTS, but the graduate school at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, for example, says it prefers the IEITS．

　　The listening and speaking parts are the same for everyone who takes the IELTS, but people have a choice of reading and writing tests－either academic or general training．

　　The listening test takes thirty minutes．There are forty questions based on a recording．The reading test takes sixty minutes．Students answer forty questions based on three written passages．

　　The writing test also takes sixty minutes．Students have to write two essays．One essay has to be at least one hundred and fifty words long and the other at least two hundred and fifty words．The shorter one is description of something; the longer one has to support and argument．

　　The speaking test takes less than fifteen minutes．The score is based on a recorded talk between the student and a test examiner．

　　And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach．If you have a general question for our series, write to special@voanews.com．I'm Barbara Klein．

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　　Looking back on my childhood, I believe that naturalists are born and not made．Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and my sisters soon gave up their flowers and insects．Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages．I was not an early reader and I could not do maths well．

　　Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary．I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys．Nor do I remember clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door．But I do have a crystal clear memory of the dogs, farm animals, local birds, and above all, insects．

　　I am a naturalist, not a scientist．I have a strong love for the natural world and my passion has led me into varied explorations．I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other people's observations and discoveries．Then something brings these observations together in my mind．This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books．

　　But curiosity, a keen(敏锐的)eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist．A scientist, up to a point, can be made．A naturalist is born．If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds．

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　　In 1883, an imaginative engineer named John Roebling decided to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with Long Island．However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was a pipe dream．It was not practical．It had never been done before．

　　But Roebling refused to listen to them．He thought about the bridge day and night and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done．After much discussion and persuasion he convinced his son Washington, who was a promising engineer himself, that the bridge in fact could be built．

　　Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished．With great excitement, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge．

　　The project started well, but several months after it began, a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling．Washington was so seriously injured that he was never able to walk, talk or even move again．

　　“We told them so”,“Crazy men and their crazy dreams”,“It's foolish to chase wild visions”, the critics said and most thought the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built．In spite of his handicap Washington still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever．

　　Washington's wife tried to inspire and pass on her husband's enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task．As he lay in his hospital room, an idea suddenly hit him．All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it．By moving this finger and tapping it on his wife's arm, he slowly developed a code to communicate with her．Then he used this method to tell his wife what the engineers should do．It seemed crazy but the project was under way again．For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed．

　　Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances．

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　　Studies show that walking several times a week can lower, or reduce, the danger of many diseases．Walking also can help you lose weight．

　　Fast walking is good for the heart．It lowers the blood pressure．Researchers say walking can reduce the danger of suffering a heart attack by as much as fifty percent．

　　Studies have shown that walking for thirty minutes a day can delay and possibly prevent the development of Type Two Diabetes．It can prevent diabetes among people who are overweight and at danger for the disease．

　　Studies show that women who walk and take calcium reduce their danger of thinning of the bones．Walking also helps lower the pain of arthritis in areas where bones are joined by strengthening the muscles around the bones．

　　Walking several times a week is a good way to control your weight and even lose body fat．Studies show it also helps lower feelings of sadness．

　　Experts say walking is one of the safest ways to exercise．There is a low danger of injuries．So it is good for people who are starting an exercise program for the first time and for older people．

　　A walking program is easy to start．You should wear loose clothes and good shoes．Shoes designed for walking are best．

　　How fast should you walk?You should be breathing hard while you are walking．Yet, you should be able to talk．

　　Let your arms move back and forward at your sides while you walk．

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　　Only two countries in the advanced world provide no guarantee for paid leave from work to care for a newborn child．Last spring one at the two, Australia, gave up the bad distinction by setting up paid family leave starting in 20ll．I wasn't surprised when this didn't make the news here in the United States－we're now the only wealthy country without such a policy．

　　The United States does have one explicit family policy, the Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993．It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks' unpaid leave for care of a newborn or dealing with a family medical problem．Despite the modesty of the benefit, the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups fought it bitterly, describing it as“government-run personnel management and a”dangerous precedent(先例)．“In fact, every step of the way, as(usually)Democratic leaders have tried to introduce work-family balance measures into the law, business groups have been strongly opposed．”

　　As Yale law professor Anne Alstott argues, justifying parental support depends on defining(定义)the family as a social good that in some sense, society must pay for．Parents are burdened in many ways in their lives：there is“no exit”when it comes to children．Society expects－and needs－parents to provide their children with continuity of care．And society expects－and needs－parents to persist in their roles for 18 years, or longer if needed．

　　While most parents do this out of love, there are public punishments for not providing care．What parents do, in other words, is of deep concern to the state, for the obvious reason, that caring for children is not only morally urgent but important to the future of society．To classify parenting as a personal choice for which there is no collective responsibility is not merely to ignore the social benefits of good parenting：really, it is to steal those benefits because they accrue(累积)to the whole of society as today's children become tomorrow's citizens．In fact, by some estimates, the value of parental investments in children, investments of time and money, is equal to 20－30％ of GDP．If these investments bring huge social benefits－as they clearly do－the benefits of providing more social support for the family should be that much clearer．

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