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　　Everybody knows that words can carry messages．People communicate with words．Books, magazines, TV，radio and films all help us to know what is going on in the world and what people are thinking about．

　　Do you think you can communicate without words? A smile on your face shows you are happy or friendly．Tears in your eyes tell others that you are sad．When you put up your hand in class, the teacher knows that you want to say something or ask a question．You shake your head, and people know you are saying “No”．You nod and people know you are saying “Yes”．

　　Other things can also carry messages．For example, a sign at the bus stop helps you to know which bus to take．A sign on the wall of your school helps you to find the library．Signs on doors tell you where to go in or out．Have you ever noticed there are a lot of signs around you and you receive messages from them all the time? People can communicate in many ways without words．For example, an artist can use his drawings to tell about beautiful mountains, seas and many other things．

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　　One day newly wedded Nancy lost her ring while helping to plant potatoes．Friends were called and the field was searched long but in vain(徒劳)．Later, when the potatoes were harvested, Everyone looked out for the ring but it remained lost．Another year came round and all the farmers working in the field kept their eyes open．The following year was the same．And year after year, whoever had business in the field always had Nancy’s ring in his mind．

　　Then the farm changed hands but it went no farther than to cousins．So the memory of the lost ring remained alive until thirty-eight years had passed．Then came a spring day when a man was ploughing the field behind a pair of horses．Even after thirty-eight years he still looked out for the ring, and knew just which part of the field Nancy had lost it in．At this time, when he came there, he found it．He picked it up, put it carefully into his pocket, left his horse, and ran all the way down to the village and placed it into Nancy’s hand．

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　　Every culture has a recognized(公认的)point when a child becomes an adult, when rules must be followed and tests passed．

　　In China, although teenagers can get their ID cards at 16, many only see themselves as an adult when they are 18．In the US, where everyone drives, the main step to the freedom of adult life is learning to drive．At 16, American teens take their driving test．When they have their license, they drive into the grown-up world．

　　“Nobody wants to ride the bus to school,” said Eleanor Fulham, 17．She remembered the pressure, especially from kids from richer families．“It’s like you’re not cool if you don’t have a car,” she said．

　　According to recent research, 41％ of 16 to 19-year-olds in the US own cars, up from 23％ in 1985．Although, most of these cars are bought by parents, some teens get part-time jobs to help pay．

　　Not all families will buy cars for their children．In cities with subways(地铁)and limited parking, some teenagers don’t want them．But in rich suburban(郊区的)areas without subways, and where bicycles are more for fun than transportation, it is strange for a teenager not to have a car．

　　But police say 16-year-olds have almost three times more accidents than 18 and 19-year-olds．This has made many parents think carefully before letting their kids drive．

　　Julie Sussman, of Virginia, decided that her son Chad, 15, will wait until he is 17．

　　Chad said he has accepted his parents’ decision, although it has caused some teasing(奚落)from his friends．“They say that I am unlucky,” he said．“But I’d rather be alive than driving, and I don’t really trust my friends on the road either．”

　　In China as more families get cars, more 18-year-olds learn to drive．Will this become a big step to becoming an adult?

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　　If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think．This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of out brains are not getting enough exercise, and as a result, we are growing old unnecessarily soon．

　　Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why quite healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a rather early age, and how the speed of getting old could be slowed down．

　　With a team of researchers at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain sizes of a thousand people of different ages with different jobs．

　　Computer technology helped the researchers to get most exact measurements of the sizes of the front and side parts of the brain, which have something to do with thinking and feeling, and decide the human character．As we all know, the back part of the brain, which controls task like eating and breathing, does not contract(萎缩)with age．

　　Contraction of front and side parts, as cells(细胞)die off, was seen in some people in their thirties, but it was still not found in some sixty and seventy-year-olds．

　　Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple way to prevent the contraction－using the head．

　　The findings show that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than those in the towns．Those with least possibility, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors．White-collar workers doing the same work day after day in government offices are, however, as possible to have contracting brains as the farm workers, bus drivers and shop assistants．

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　　In the past industries had more freedom than they have now, and they did not need to be as careful as they must today．They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed．They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them．Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them；often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers．

　　Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes．Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore．At such times, there were inquiries into the causes of the disasters or the problems．New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries；however, the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill．

　　Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers．In the US, for example, there is a department which takes charge of new airplanes and gives warnings about possible problems．It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow．Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell．A third department looks at the places where people work, and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers．Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness, but they are having some good results．Our work places are safer and cleaner than before．The planes and cars which we use for travel are better．Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products．

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　　In the West, advertisements are the fuel that makes mass media work．Many TV stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations are privately owned．The government does not give them money．So where does the money come from? From advertisements．Without advertisements, there would not be these private businesses．

　　Have you ever asked yourself what advertising is? Through the years, people have given different answers to the question．For some time it was felt that advertising was a means of “Keeping your name before the public”．And some people thought that advertising was “truth well told”．Now more and more people consider it in this way：Advertising is the paid, non-personal, and usually persuasive presentation of goods, services and ideas by some certain sponsors(发起人)through various media．

　　First, advertising is usually paid for．Various sponsors pay for the advertisements we see, read, and hear over the various media．Second, advertising is non-personal．It is not face-to-face communication．Although you may feel that a message in a certain advertisement is aimed directly at you, in reality, it is directed at large groups of people．Third, advertising is usually persuasive．Directly or indirectly it asks people to do something．All advertisements try to make people believe that the product, idea, or service advertised can benefit them．Fourth, the sponsors of the advertisement must show their names．From the advertisement, we can see if the sponsor is a company, or a single person．Fifth, advertising reaches us through old and modern mass media．Included in the old media are newspapers．magazines, radio, television, and films．Modern media include emails, matchbox covers, and boards on top of buildings．

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　　Are you looking for something different this summer? We’ve lined up a list of some unusual camps．

　　This is the real training that all fighter and test pilots have．Learn the cockpit(驾驶室)and how to put your plane through its paces．Finally, you fight a mock battle with your teammates．

　　It’s held at the US Space &Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alaska．There are both weekend and summer camps for anyone 9 and up．Kids 7 to 12 also can pair with a parent．The cost is ＄749 for kids-only camps and ＄349 each for parent/child camp．

　　At Film Camp, you will get to write, direct, shoot and edit your own movie．

　　Run by the New York Film Academy, you can choose from a variety of camp locations：New York, Disney-MGM Studios in Florida, Universal Studios in Los Angeles, Harvard University, Paris or Florence, Italy．

　　Everyone helps one another by working behind the camera．Tuition for a one-week camp is ＄1,500, while a four or six week training run ＄5,900 to ＄6,900．

　　At Circus Smirkus you can learn how to ride a unicycle, and throw a pie in someone’s face．Kids 8 to 16 can choose between one－or two-week sessions, with the two-week camp ending in a circus show for the families．

　　The camp is located in Craftsbury Common, Vermont．The cost is ＄825 for one week(＄300 extra with a parent)and ＄1,500 for two weeks(＄500 extra with a parent)．

　　Learn to ride the waves this summer and tour one of the world’s only sea turtle hospitals at Surf Camp．The week long camp also includes trips to local islands．

　　Surf Camp is located at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina．The cost is ＄475 per week for kids 8 to 12, ＄595 per week for teens 12 to 18．Check it out at wbsurfcamp．Com．

　　At Power Chord Academy, teens 12 to 18 will be placed in a band that best meets their age, experience and style．You will lead the life of a band member：recording in a studio, playing a concert and making a video．

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　　As we know, on Saturday, millions of people around the world will celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, which honors Patron Saint(or main religious figure)of Ireland．Communities across the United States will host parades, parties, and other festivities to mark the occasion．

　　This year, cities like Boston, New York, and Chicago have organized massive events celebrating Saint Patrick's Day．In New York City, hundreds of thousands of people will gather to watch the Saint Patrick’s Day parade－the nation’s largest．It is one of the most watched parades in the world．Last year, almost 2 million spectators and more than 150,000 participants filled the streets．The parade, first held in 1776, is also one of the oldest．

　　Chicago also throws a big celebration．Every year, the Chicago River, which crosses the city, glows green as event organizers dump about 40 pounds of fluorescence, a powerful dye, into the water．

　　Boston keeps its parade rolling for three hours or more．It is the nation’s second-largest parade．The city will also salute one of its most famous former residents, President John F．Kennedy, by opening the exhibit "A Journey Home：John F．Kennedy and Ireland," at his official library．

　　Patron Saint lived in Britain in the early fifth century, when it was still part of the Roman Empire．He was captured and sold into slavery in Ireland when he was only 16．He eventually escaped slavery and turned to a life of religious devotion．He trained to become a minister and set out to spread Christianity throughout Ireland．After 30 years as a religious leader, Patrick died on March 17, 1461．Saint Patrick’s Day is always celebrated on March 17．In Ireland, it is an official holiday．

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　　In the 1960s, medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events．They appreciated the tricky point that any major change can be stressful．Bad events like “serious illness of a family member” were high on the list, but so were some helpful life changing events like marriage．

　　When you take the Holmes Rahe you must remember that the score does not show how you deal with stress -- it only shows how much you have to deal with．And we now know that the way you deal with these events dramatically affects your chances of staying healthy．By the early 1970s, hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe．And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports．Somehow the research got boiled down to a memorable message．Women’s magazines ran titles like “Stress causes illness．”

　　If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy, the articles said, avoid stressful events．But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow．Even if stressful events are dangerous, many－like the death of loved one－are impossible to avoid．Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription for staying away from chances as well as trouble．Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move．The idea that all stress makes you sick also takes no notice of a lot of what we know about people．It supposes we're all vulnerable and not active in the face of the difficult situation．But what about human ability and creativity? Many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental strength than they had before．We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom and physical and mental pressure．

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　　Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids now，one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it，say some scientists．

　　Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星)that race across the night sky．Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us．But there are also thousands whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth．

　　Buy ＄ 50 million worth of new telescopes right now．Then spend ＄ 10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks．By the time we spot a fatal one，the scientists say，we'll have a way to change its course．

　　Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons．But the cost wouldn't be cheap．Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are：1)How likely the event is; and 2)How bad the consequences if the event occurs．Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years．Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall，it would be the end of the world．“If we don't take care of these big asteroids，they'll take care of us,” says one scientist．“It's that simple．”

　　The cure，though，might be worse than the disease．Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday(毁灭性的)rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them，” said a New York Times article．

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