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　　Drinking Water：Bottled or From the Tap(水龙头)?

　　In America, people will include a case or two of bottled water when buying the week's groceries．When they are going to a soccer game or activity, it's common for them to grab a cold bottle of water out of the fridge with them．In fact, Americans buy more bottled water than any other nation in the world, about 29 billion bottles a year．

　　But all these plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels and pollute the environment．In order to make all the 29 billion bottles, producers use 17 million barrels of oil, which is enough to keep a million cars going for 12 months．

　　So why don't people drink water straight from the tap? Some people have a strong belief that bottled water is better than water out of the tap, but that's not necessarily true．In the US, the local governments make sure water from the tap is safe．There is also growing concern that chemicals in the bottles themselves may go into the water．

　　People love the convenience of bottled water．But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a reusable steel container instead of plastic．

　　Some argue that plastic bottle recycling can help．Recycled bottles can be turned into items like carpeting or clothing．Unfortunately, only one in six bottles is recycled．The rest make it to landfills(垃圾填埋场)or end as trash in other places．Plastic bottles take hundreds of years for them to disintegrate．

　　Water is important for you, so keep drinking it．But think about how often you use water bottles, and see if you can make a change．

　　And yes, you can make a difference．Remember this：Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours．

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　　When middle-aged Alex gave up his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell surely whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．

　　After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test－even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland(虚幻世界)of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．

　　One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying ＄ 6,000 a year．" ＄ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a fulltime writer．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "．"

　　After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had：two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"

　　Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．

　　Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence(坚毅)it takes to stay the course(坚持到底)in the shadowland．

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　　As the population of the planet increases, so does the number of homes, businesses, parking lots, schools, airports and roadways．All these structures use electricity and need to be lighted．Humans demand these lights．They want their homes more comfortable and they want their streets sage．The problem is that researchers are finding that all the light is having a negative effect on humans and wildlife as well．

　　Less than 10 years ago I drove to a thinly populated section of my town, lay down in the middle of the road and watched an attracted meteor shower(流星雨)．The area was short of homes, street lights and traffic．If I did that today, I wouldn’t be able to see the meteor shower as well, and I would surely be run over by a car．

　　Nowadays scientists are finding light pollution can be almost as bad as carbon dioxide pollution．If you’ve ever taken a flight at night, the view is beautiful, but you must remember that all the light you see is wasted electricity．The crew of the space shuttles see an even bigger picture of how extensive the wasted electricity is worldwide．

　　Additionally, electricity needs to be generated, and the generation of electricity creates pollution by giving off greenhouse gases．This affects the air we breathe and our quality of life．

　　Scientists are also studying the effects of light pollution on wildlife．Thousands of birds die each year when they crash into highly lighted buildings, as they become puzzled by the light．It has been long known that tiny sea turtle hatchlings become lost and follow lights on the shore instead of heading towards the sea．

　　Fortunately, light pollution is one of the easiest sources of pollution that can be corrected without a negative effect．Following some guidelines and a little searching on Google can give you many ideas on how to reduce your contribution to light pollution．

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Andrew Carneigie, known as the King of Steel, built the steel industry in the United States, and, in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America．His success resulted partly from his ability to sell the product and partly from his policy of expanding during periods of economic decline, when most of his competitors were reducing their investments．Carnegie believed that individuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt strongly that the wealthy should use their fortunes for the benefit of society．He opposed charity, preferring instead to provide educational opportunities that would allow others to help themselves．“He who dies rich, dies disgraced”, he often said．Among his more noteworthy contributions to society are those that bear his name, including the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a library, a museum of fine arts, and a museum of national history．He also founded a school of technology that is now part of Carnegie-Mellon University．Other philanthropic(慈善的)gifts are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to promote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund scientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a center for the arts．Few Americans have been left untouched by Andrew Carnegie’s generosity．His contributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communities throughout the country and formed the nucleus of the public library system that we all enjoy today．

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　　My wife passed away a few years ago, and I went through the worst time in my life．I even wanted to kill myself．Just for kids, I had to continue to live and work as small-town doctor at my medical clinic in Hawaii．My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone．Then they asked me to have a family trip．

　　On our trip, we turned on the TV at the motel and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center．Seeing it falling down, I said to my kids：“I’m going to Afghanistan”．And a few weeks later, international Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in provinces where people had no health care．In these field clinics surrounded by frightening shoots or deadly bombs, we were eventually serving 27,000 patients a month in a very busy schedule．Tired and nervous, I gradually had a sense of achievement, a sense of purpose, and my depression went away．

　　In the years to follow, I went to Indonesia after the tsunami, Pakistan after the earthquakes, Sudan after the civil warm and Iraq after more and more bombs．Each time after disasters one after another, hundreds of people were killed, wounded and many more had to flee．We once set up movable clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees, and it was supposed to hold 13,000 originally．Flu broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire．Water and food were also serious problems．“Adventures or not?” I often asked myself．

　　When my wife passed away, I thought my life was done．But in reality, it was just getting started．At the end of her life, she went unconscious．I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit and the exciting adventures we would have．

　　I think about the moment many times during my “adventures”．I didn’t know how predictive those words would be．But I know that she is still with me．

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　　One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by selling goods door to door found that he only had one dime(一角钱)left．He was hungry so he decided to beg for a meal at the next house．

　　However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door．Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water．She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk．He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"

　　"You don't owe me anything," she replied．"Mother has taught me never to accept pay for a kindness．" He said, "Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart．" As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but it also increased his faith in God and the human race．He was about to give up and quit before this point．

　　Years later the young woman became badly ill．The local doctors were baffled(束手无策)．They finally sent her to the big city, where specialists can be called in to study her rare disease．Dr．Howard Kelly, now famous was called in for the consultation．When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes．Immediately, he rose and went down through the hospital hall into her room．

　　Dressed in his doctor's gown, he went in to see her．He recognized her at once．He went back to the consultation room and determined to do his best to save her life．From that day on, he gave special attention to her case．

　　After a long struggle, the battle was won．Dr．Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval．He looked at it and then wrote something on the side．The bill was sent to her room．She was afraid to open it because she was positive that it would take the rest of her life to pay it off．Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention．She read these words：

　　"Paid in full with a glass of milk．" Signed Dr．Howard Kelly．

　　Tears of joy flooded her eyes as she prayed silently："Thank You, God．Your love has spread through human hearts and hands．"

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　　Do you want to live forever? By the year 2050, you might actually get your wish－if you are willing to leave your biological body and live in silicon circuits(半导体电路)．But long before then, perhaps as early as 2020, some measures will begin offering a semblance of immortality(虚拟的永生)．

　　Researchers are confident that technology will soon be able to track every waking moment of your life．Whatever you see and hear, all that you say and write, can be recorded, analyzed and added to your personal chronicles(履历), By the 2030, it may be possible to catch your nervous(神经)systems through electrical activities, which would also keep your thoughts and emotions．

　　Researchers at the laboratories of British Telecommunications have given the name of this idea as Soul Catcher．Small electronic equipment will make preparation for Soul Catcher．It would use a wearable supercomputer, perhaps in a wristwatch, with wireless links to micro sensors under your scalp(头皮)and in the nerves that carry all five sensory signals．So wearing a video camera would no longer be required．

　　At first, the Soul Catcher's companion system－the Soul Reader－might have trouble copying your thoughts in complete details．Even in 2030, we may still be struggling to understand how the brain is working inside, so reading your thoughts and understanding your emotions might not be possible．But these signals could be kept for the day when they can be transferred to silicon circuits to revitalize minds everlasting entities(永生实体)．Researchers can only wonder what it will be like to wake up one day and find yourself alive inside a machine．

　　For people who choose not to live in silicon, semblance of immortality would not be as useless as they thought．People would know their lives would not be forgotten, but would be kept a record of the human race forever．And future generations would have a much fuller understanding of the past．History would not be controlled by just the rich and powerful, Hollywood stars, and a few thinkers in the upper society．

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　　Three in ten Americans commit" financial infidelity(出轨)W by lying to their partners about money, sometimes suffering consequences such as separation or divorce(离婚), according to a new survey．

　　The Harris Interactive online poll of 2019 adults released on Thursday showed 31 percent of American couples who have combined finances were not truthful about issues such as hiding cash or a bank account or about debt or earnings．

　　"Financial infidelity may be the new normal," said Forbes．com, which performed the survey with the National Endowment(基金会)for Financial Education．

　　One-third of respondents(响应者)also say they have been cheated, and both sexes lie to their partners about money in equal numbers．"These unwise behaviors cause great damage, to the relationship, which is really not worthwhile．We must consider how important a family is to all of us．We must be honest to our partners in everything including money," said Ted Beck, chief executive of the National Endowment for Financial Education．

　　Sixteen percent of couples affected by financial infidelity said the cheat led to a divorce and 11 percent said it caused a separation．Sixty-seven percent said it led to an argument and for 42 percent it lessened(减少的)trust in the relationship．What a great damage it is to the family members!

　　The most common lie, at 58 percent, was hiding cash．Fifty-four percent of respondents admitted hiding a minor purchase, 30 percent hid a bill, 16 percent did not disclose a major purchase and 15 percent hid a bank account．

　　Eleven percent lied about debt and an equal number were untruthful about earnings, the survey showed．It is suggested that all the couples should learn a lesson from this matter．

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　　Your friends might be in Australia or maybe just down the road, but they are all just a few clicks away．Life has changed for millions of teenagers across the world who now make friends online．Whether you use chat rooms, QQ, MSN or ICQ, you are part of a virtual community．

　　"I rarely talk with my parents or grandparents, but I talk a lot with my old friends on QQ," said Fox's Shadow, the online nickname used by a Senior 2 girl in China．"Eighty percent of my classmates use QQ after school．"

　　QQ is the biggest messaging service in China．A record shows 4 million people used it one Saturday night in October, according to Tencent(腾讯公司), the company which developed QQ．

　　And Fox's Shadow might well have been one of them．"I log in on Friday nights, and Saturdays or Sundays when I feel bored．1 usually spend about 10 hours chatting online every week," she said．"But I rarely talk with strangers, especially boys or men．"

　　Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making friends with strangers online．"You don't know who you're talking to．You should always be careful about who you trust online．"