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　　Feeling blue about world ? “Cheer up．” Says science writer Matt Ridley．”The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and got nature．”

　　Ridley calls himself a tat ional optimist－tactical．because he’s carefully weighed the evidence optimistic．because that offence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good．And this is what he’s set out to prone from unique point of view in his most recent book．The Rant anal Opting．He views mankind as grand enterprise that．on the whole．has done little but progress for 100, 000 years．He backed his finding with hard gathered though years of research．

　　Here’s how he explains his views．

　　1)Shopping fuels invention

　　It is reported that there are more than ten billion different producers for sale in London alone．Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty．our own generation has access to more nutritious food．more convenient transport．bigger houses, better ears．and of course, more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us．This will continue as long as we there things to make other things, This more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be．

　　2)Brilliant advances

　　One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ener before is that the four most basie human needs -food, clothing, fuel and shelter- have grown a lot cheaper．Take one example．In 1800 a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work．In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for．In 1950 it was eight seconds．Today it’s half second．

　　3)Let’s not kill ourselves for climate change

　　Mitigating(减轻)climate change could prove just as damaging to human welface as climate change itself．A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fassil-fuel(化石燃料)electrieity is forhidden by well meaming members of green polucal movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that mes in a flood caused by climate change．If chmaic change proves to be xxxx, but cutting carbon canses realparn, we may well find that we have stopped a nose bleed by putting a tournquet(止血带)around our necks．

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　　In today’s throw away society, dealing with the city’s growing mountain of waste is an inereasing challenge for the city countil(市议会)。

　　Recently．Edinburgh is faced with the problem of dssposing of(处理)about250,000

　　Million tons of waster a year．Despite different ways to dispose of much of it in a green manner－largely through encouraging tecycling－its aging facilities such as the Powderhall landfill do not have the ability to deal with it．

　　The European Union(EU)has issued a new policy, regulating how such mountains of waster are to hr disposed of．The five councils(Edinburgh．East Lothian．West Lothian．Midlethian and Borders)face fine around ＄18million a year from 2013 it they don’t inerease recycling levels and rely less on landfill．With this in mind, the coumlls got together with the idea of building a lage incinerator plant(垃圾焚烧厂)to burn half of the waste produced in their districts．But the plan fell apart after the change of target levels by a new UK government waste policy which required that no more than 25％ of the city’s waste should be disposed of in this way by 2025．

　　After the plan was abandoned, a private company which already transported millions of tons of the city’s wast by train to a landfill site near Dunbar, offered an alternative soution when it suggested opening a huge waste site near Portobello．

　　Since Powderhall is supposed to close in 2015, it seemed necessary for the members of the Edinburgh Council to accept the suggestion．But soon they turned it down－after 700 local objections reached them－because it would have meant hundreds of lorries a day making loud noise through heavily populated areas．

　　That still leaves eth council with a problem．By 2013,only50％of 1995 levels of waste will benllewed to be sent to landfill．Even if recveling large are met, there will still be a large amount of rubbish to be burnt up．Due build an Edinburgh and Midlothian councils have now decided to work together to build an ineinerator plant as time to find a solution is fast running out．

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　　Howling is a behavior commonly observed among a wolf nark．An animals, wolves work together to hunt and rely on howling was an important means of communication each other．There are different explants of a wolf’s howl and it appears that there may be more to discover．

　　One theory is that wolves howl to bend better together．It’s almost as if howling together helps the pack stay together．Perhaps something similar to people feeling a sense of involvement with each other when singing a song together．But this theory may be wrong, explains Fred H．Harington, a professor who studies wolf behavior．

　　Indeed, there have been tines when wolves have been seen one moment howling in a exhorts, and the next, quarreling anions each other．It appears that usually the lowest-tanking menthes of the pack may actually be “punished” for

　　Joining in the churs at times．So is howling a way to strcagthen a social boad or just a way to reconfirm status among its members?－Why do welves howl for sure?

　　What is cleat, however, is that howling is often used among packmates to locate each other．Hunting grounds are distant and it happens that woloves may separate from one another at times．When this happens, howling appcars to be an ercellent means of gathering．

　　Howling, interestingly, is a contagious behaviour．When one wolf starts to howl, very likely others will follow．This is often seen to occat in the morning, as if wolves were doing some sotr of “roll rall”where wolves all howl togeter to howl, very likely others will follow．This is often seen to occar in the morning, as if wolves were doing w some sotr of “roll call”where wolves all howl together to repotr their pteence．

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　　Honesty, my mum always used to tell me, is the best policy．Of course, this didin’t include her when she told me that if I didn’t eat all my vegetables Father Christmas would find out and wouldn’t give me any presents．

　　But when it comes to medicine, I had assumed it was important to always be honest with my patients．After all, the doctor patient relationship is based on trust, and therefore honesty is essential, Or so I thought．

　　I had just started working in geriatrics(老年病科)．Mr．McMahon was brought in when his baby was faound very swollen．I took a medical history from his daughter would accompanied him in the ambulance．She’d been his main carer for years．I stood looking at him as she gave a detailed history．“Has he lost any weight recently?” I asked, “Well, it’s funny you should mention that, but yes．” She said slowly．There was silence for a few moments．“Why? What are you worried about?” she asked, I hesitated．She was obviously very involved in his care and it was only fair that I told her the truth．“Well, we need to prove it’s not cancer．” I said and talked briefly about some of the tests I was going to order．

　　Half an hour later, a nurse called me：“Mr．McMahon’s daughter broke down－she said you told her he had cancer．” My heart sank．By the time I arrived at the ward, my consultant was already there, explaining that we still had to run lots of tests and that it was by no means confirmed that he had cancer．I stood silently at the end of the bed．My consultant was obviously angry with me and as we left Mr．McMahon, she turned to me．“Why on carch did you do that?” she asked to disbelief．I looked at her andbit my hp．“She asked me what I was worried about and I told her．” I said, hanging my head．“And give her more to worry about?” replied my consultant．“You don’t say the word ‘cancer’ until it’s confirmed．Even if you suspect it, think very carefully before you tell people．”

　　As it turned out, it wasn’t cancer．But I did learn that when somecone is stressed and worried about their loved one they’re sometimes selective in what they hear－and as a doctor it’s important to be mindful of this．In being truthful, I’d made the situation worse．

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　　Some of the planet's most precious animals and plants are disappearing, according to the World Conservation Union(IUCN)．The group, based in Switzerland, works with governments and experts to protect threatened species．On September 12, the IUCN released its Red List, a list of species at greatest risk of extinction．

　　The list includes 41,415 animals and plants．The IUCN says that habitat destruction, hunting and other causes threaten one in four mammals, one in eight birds and one in three amphibians(两栖动物)．

　　Who is to blame?

　　Scientists believe that 99 percent of threatened species are at risk because of human activity．“We are losing animals and plants at a high rate,” says Julia Marton-LefEevre, director general of the IUCN．“We need to change our behavior．” Warmer oceans and over-fishing are changing sea life．This year for the first time corals(珊瑚)made their appearance on the list．The gharial, a crocodile living in India and Nepal, has lost almost 60 percent of its population in the last 10 years．It is a victim(受害者)of habitat destruction．

　　Still, the news is not all bad．Thanks to efforts made to protect it, the Mauritius echo parakeet, a bird once endangered, has seen an increase in its population．“This shows that protection methods can work,” says Marton-LefEevre．“That's the message we want to send to young people．”

　　In China the new reserve(保护区)itself is part of green efforts that have seen more than 2,400 nature reserves of various kinds being set up, covering more than 15 percent of the nation's land area, official figures showed．

　　"The country's natural resources(资源)have benefited from conservation," said Lei Guangchun, director of the nature reserve department of Beijing Forestry University．"It is a big increase nowadays compared with other countries．" Lei said．

　　The total areas of China's natural reserves have covered 1.38 million km2, which accounts for 15.4％ of China's area, higher than both the world average(平均水平)of 11％ and the rate in most developed countries．

　　Li Zhong, an official in charge of the nature reserves office with the State Forestry Administration, thought it was important to increase investment(投资)in such reserves at all levels．

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　　Try and see inside your mind a wide open blue sky and a wide green sea far away．Breathe in as you circle your hands high above your head, then bend back a little．Breathe out as you circle your arms back down to your sides…"

　　Following the yoga teacher's gentle instructions, Bai Yunuo,15, from the High School attached to Beijing Normal University tried to get each of her poses correct．

　　Bai's school offered 24 elective courses(选修课)for Senor 1 students this term and she chose two．It was her first yoga class．

　　"I'm happy that I can learn yoga at school．I love dancing but I had some injuries on my knees when I was a kid．So I decide to try something soft．Simply stretching into different poses makes me feel free and quiet．And the music is quite comforting．The class is relaxing after a whole day's work," Bai said．

　　Liu Zehao,15, found his interest was Junior Achievement(企业经营模拟)．The course brought students into the real world of business．In their first class, Liu and his group members named their company "Vision"．Liu was elected as CEO of the company．

　　"Here we learn to think like an adult．We have to make our company get more money．It's new and different from other courses," he said．

　　Liu and Bai take their elective courses twice a week with students from other classes who share the same interest．The students will get two credits(学分)from each course at the end of this term．They have to achieve eight credit points from electives to graduate from high school．

　　If you are interested in more about elective courses, please CLICK HERE to register for general elective courses．

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　　It is possible that the majority of the teenagers accepted the advantages of the iPad．In most cases they were expressing strong opinions about it．But today we already know that another three high-end computer tablets(平板电脑)are going on sale, with the aim of taking a bite out of the iPad's market．For tablet computer fans, iPad may not be the only choice, as the Motorola Xoom, the HP Touchpad and the BlackBerry PlayBook will have been launched(推出)by this summer, according to foreign media reports on Tuesday．Here is Product Information Guide as follows．We would like to listen to your reviews later．

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　　I know what you're thinking：pizza(比萨饼)? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night's leftovers in the a．m．if you want to

　　I know lots of women who skip breakfast(不吃早餐), and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it．Some say they don't have time, others think they're “saving” calories(卡路里), and still others just don't like breakfast food．

　　But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you're trying to lose weight．“Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking, R, D, who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year's “SELF CHALLENGE”．And even pizza can be healthy if it's loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece．

　　Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories．Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day．Researchers at the University of Southem California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal．

　　So eat something in the morning, anything．I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice．I say, try heating up last night's leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, “You can always eat it tomorrow,” I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night．Try it,and then you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories．And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects．

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　　If you want to be a volunteer, you have to answer the following typical questions．Do you want to work with people, animals or machines? Do you want to work indoors or outdoors, directly serve people in need or serve people behind the scenes? Every year, thousands of people in the west offer volunteer service．Volunteering greatly strengthens the community because it helps the old, the young, the weak, the sick, and the disabled and the injured to solve problems．

　　Volunteers usually help in many different ways．They may give people advice, offer friendship to the young, drive the elderly to church(if up to the driving age), advise kids against drugs, work as assistants in schools or nursing homes, raise funds, plant trees, help out in local libraries and do many other things．Volunteering can be a few hours a week or a few hours a month．Anybody who wants to serve people in need can become a volunteer．

　　In fact, the art of volunteering is a process of both giving and receiving．Volunteering allows volunteers to meet new people, make new friends and mix with people from all walks of life．Volunteering is an excellent way to experiment and try out new techniques and skills, discover your individual talents and explore career choice．Being a volunteer will take you on a wonderful journey and help you learn more than what you can get from books．

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Nowadays, more and more villagers have left to make a living in big cities．As a result, their children have become leftover children and they need more care．The survey below is from villages in Yongzhou, Hunan Province．Three hundred children were chosen to answer the questions．

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