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　　There was once an 11-year-old boy who went fishing every time he went to an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake．

　　On the day before bass(巴斯鱼)season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching other fish with worms．Then he tied on a small silver lure(鱼饵)and put it into the lake．Suddenly the boy felt something very big pulling on the lure．His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully brought the fish beside the bank．Finally he lifted the tired fish from the water．It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass．

　　The boy and his father looked at the big fish．The father lit a match and looked at his watch．It was 10 pm－two hours before the season opened．He looked at the fish, then at the boy．“You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said．

　　“Dad!” cried the boy．“There will be other fish,” said his father．“Not as big as this one,” cried the boy．He looked around the lake．No other fishermen or boats could be seen in the moon-light．He looked again at his father．

　　Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he had caught the fish, the boy could tell from his father’s voice that the decision couldn’t be changed．He threw the huge bass into the black water．

　　The big fish disappeared．The boy thought that he would never again see such a big fish．That was 34 years ago．Today the boy is a successful architect in New York City．He often takes his own son and daughters to fish at the same place．

　　And he was right．He has never again caught such a large fish as the one he got that night long ago．But he does see that same fish．．．again and again．．．every time he has an ethical(道德的)decision to make．For, as his father had taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong．It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult．

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　　Whether it’s a carol(圣诞颂歌)service or an evening of karaoke in the pub, many people will enjoy a good old singsong this Christmas．Singing aloud will not just lift the spirits---it’s good for your physical health as well．Filling the lungs(肺)with air, increasing the heart rate and getting blood pumping round the body faster can all help our physical health．

　　For the past few years Heart Research UK has been Funding a Christmas campaign aimed at getting people singing, simply for the benefit it can bring．The organizer of the campaign says singing is a safe, simple and social activity that everyone can enjoy．“Singing is linked to long life, stress reduction, and general health protection．It also brings a great amount of happiness．It is impossible to sing well with a long face because it affects your pitch(音高)．”

　　Professor Graham Welch, who leads the International Music Education Research Centre at the University of London, has spent more than 30 years studying the effects of singing．He says that singing is a form of exercise．It means we’re also having a strong aerobic activity(有氧运动)when we’re singing, which results in increasing the feeling of pleasure while decreasing that of stress．

　　“And communal(共同的)singing－like in a singing group, a church service or even a singsong in the pub－helps improve our sense of self-respect．It increases our sense of satisfaction with ourselves, a greater sense of feeling included．”

　　Helen Astrid, a singing teacher, also sees the great effects that singing brings．“It lifts us up on a spiritual level, it helps our self-respect, and it’s great for all ages from small kids to grannies－you can have a good sing and let your hair down．”

　　But she warns people not to have too many beers or glasses of wine, though a glass may help them gather courage before taking to the stage during the holidays．

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　　The worst earthquake in 40 years shook South Asia on Sunday, starting with horrible waves that swept entire villages into the sea．At least 20,000 people in six countries were killed in the disaster, and millions were left homeless．

　　The quake shook deep beneath the Indonesian island of Sumatra．It was felt more than 3000 miles away in East Africa, where heavy tides kept fishermen at home and resorts(度假胜地)closed．

　　It was as if the sea had struck the land．Residents of Sri Lanka, a small island country off the coast of India, ran to the hills to find safety from the tsunami．Many took their radios, televisions, and other valuables with them．The disaster hit Sri Lanka hardest．Of its 20million people, 1 million lost their homes, and 10000 died．

　　“The water simply raised itself up and huge waves came ashore,” wrote eye-witness(目击者)Peter Thomas from India．“It was moving very fast．The force broke the glass walls of a restaurant on the beach here and damaged hundreds of boats．”

　　In some places, the tsunami struck with no warning．“The weather was fine with no clouds,” wrote an eye-witness in Indonesia．“Suddenly the seawater just hit the city．In some parts the water was up to chest level．”

　　A massive(大众的)effort to help the affected countries is already underway．Leaders from around the world have promised to help, and teams of aid workers and doctors are rushing to the sea．“The United States stands ready to offer all the help to those nations most affected．” Said White House spokesman Trent Duffy．Organizations from the Red Cross to the International Monetary Fund have started fund-raising(筹款)drives to make up the costs of rebuilding．

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　　When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”．My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her．One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games．Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us．One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them．We always felt better when she was around．

　　One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end．I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong．When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid．I saw a tear in her eyes．

　　Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet．She went everywhere with us．People would stop and ask if they could pet her．Of course she’d let anyone pet her．She was just the most lovable dog．There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair．She never barked(吠)or tried to get away．Funny thing is she would smile．This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth．Far from the truth, she loved everyone．

　　Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age．I still miss days when she was with us．

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　　The story I am going to tell you happened about three years ago when I started to learn how to drive．At first, I was very frightened, and I thought I could never learn how to drive a car．Driving a car frightened me because in my home country women never drive, but in the United States every woman has to know how to drive．My husband paid an instructor to teach me how to drive．After that, my husband practiced with me for a long time．My husband always told me that I had to learn．It was important to me and my family．

　　However, I couldn’t get my license right away．I failed my driving test two times．After practicing for a long time, I decided to go for my third driving test．I had failed my first test because I was very nervous．Everybody encouraged me to continue practicing．Three weeks later, I decided to try it again, but I failed again．After that, I was very embarrassed(困窘的), and I said I couldn’t get it, so I stopped practicing for a while．

　　Not knowing how to drive was bad because I couldn’t do anything．I had two kids, my husband works, and I have to take care of everything．Driving was so necessary that I decided to try it again．And finally, that time, I passed the test．Now I have my license．I know how to drive, and it has changed my life in some important ways．Now I’m driving to the college, learning English and hoping I will get a good job in the future．

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　　Skeptics are stange lot．Some of them refuse to admit the serious threat of human activities to the enviroment, and they are tired of people who disagree with them．Those people, say skeptics, spread noting but bad news about the environment．The “eco-guilt”brought on by the discouraging nes about our planet gives rise to the popularity od skeptice as people search for more comforting worldviews．

　　Perhaps that explains why a new book by Bjorn Lomborg received so much publicity．That book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, declares that it measures the “real state of the world”as fine．Of course, another explanation is the deep pockets of some big businesses with special intererts．Indeed, Mr．Lomborg’s views are similar to those of some Industry-funded organizations, which start huge activities though the media to confuse the public aboat issues like global warming．

　　So it was strange to see Mr．Lomborg’s book go largely unchallenged in the media though his beliefs were contrary to most scientific opinions．One national newspaper in Canada ran a number of articles and reviews full of words of praise, even with the conclusion that “After Lomborg, the environmental movement will begin to die down．”

　　Such one-sided views should have immediately been challenged．But only a different review appeared in Nature, a respected science magazine with specific readership．The review remarked that Mr．Lomborg’s “preference for unexamined materials is incredible(不可信的)”。

　　A critical(批判的)eye is valuable, and the media should present information in such a way that could allow people to make informed decisions．Unfortunately, that is often inaccessible as blocked by the desire to be shocking or to defend some special interest．People might become half-blind before a world partially exhibited by the media．That’s a shame, because matters concerning the health of the planet are far too important to be treated lightly．

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　　William Butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13, 1865．His childhood lacked the harmony(和睦)that was typical of a happy family．Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying that he remembered “little of childhood but its pain”．In fact, he inherited(继承)excellent taste in art from his family－both his father and his brother were painters．But he finally settled on literature, particularly drama(戏剧)and poetry．

　　Yeats had strong faith in coming of new artistic movements．He set himself the fresh task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s．His early theatrical experiments, however, were not received favorably at the beginning．He didn’t lose heart, and finally enjoyed success in his poetical drama．

　　Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats’s poems attract much admiring notice．The subject matter includes love, nature, history, time and aging．Though Yeats generally relied on very tradisional forms, he brought modern sensibility to them．As his literary life progressed, his poetry grew finer and richer, which led him to worldwide recognition．

　　He had not enjoyed a major public life since winning the Nobel Price in 1923．Yet, he continued writing almost to the end of his life．Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would probably now his valued as a manor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet　who produces his greatest works between the ages of 50 and 75．After Yeats’s death in 1939, W．H．Auden wrote, among others, the following lines：

　　Earth, recive an honoured guest：

　　William Yeats is laid to rest．

　　Let the Irish vessel(船)lie

　　Emptied of its poetry

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　　Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing．However, there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt．

　　In the early 16^th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in．A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths．By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom．So did the king of England in 1546．Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way．Henry IV, King of France, was famously dirty．Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out．

　　Though the belief in the merit of dirt was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18^th century．Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health．Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease．Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War Ⅱ．Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea; clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine．Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?

　　Attrtedes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays．Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease．On the conterary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家)，encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system．And the latter position is gaining some ground．

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　　Different forms of maps are appearing．They allow independent travelers to get local knowledge of places they are visting, from the official to the unusual．Meanwhile, hi-tech developments are ereating new ways for us to map the world．Here are two of our favorites;

　　Green Maps allows people to share with the world their knowledge of environmentally friendly plaees and autactetions in the local areas．Users add information with a set of icons(图标), making It easy to read any map, whatever the nationalities of those who produce it．At present there are over five hundred

　　Map projects being developed in 54 countries Green Maps’ advertised idea is “think global, map local”．It is a wonderful way of gaining all sorts of a place, ranning from community garden to good places of bird watching．

　　Green Maps is not specifically intended for travelers．Not all of its maps are online, so it may be necessary for some users to communicate with producers through the Green Maps website．

　　Many people use online maps developed by Google, but not many know about the mashups of them．Working in a similar way to Green Maps, Maps Mashups allows people to add icons of their own to exsiting maps to express a certain topic．The mashups is so called because it combine all the knowledge you could ever need．It ranges from the extremely useful, such as where all the World．Heritage Site are, to the most bizarre(古怪的)，such as where America’s munkest cities are．With the mashups added to the basic Google Maps, a multi-layered(多层的)map can be created．

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　　There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care．To water his flowers, he used two buckers．One was a shiny and new bucket．The other was a very old and dilapidated one．Which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best．

　　Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets．Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds．The new bucket was very proud of itself．It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled(溢出)．The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes：before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path．

　　Sometimes the new bucket would say, “ See how capable I am!How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day!I don't know why he still bothers with you．What a waste of apace you are!”

　　And all that the old bucket could say was．“ I know I am not very useful, but I can only do my best．I am happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least．”

　　One day, the gardener heard that kind or conversation．After was ring the flowers as usual．he said, ”You both have done your work very well．Now I am going to carry you back．I want you to look carefully along the path．”

　　Then the two buckets did so．All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried．there was just bare(光秃秃的)earth; one the onther side where the old bucket was carried．there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden．

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