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　　“Congratulations, Mr．Jones, it’s a girl．”

　　Fatherhood is going to have a different meaning and bring forth a different response from every man who hears these words．Some feel proud when they receive the news, while others worry, wondering whether they will be good fathers．Although there are some men who like children and may have had considerable experience with them, others do not particularly care for children and spend little time with them．Many fathers and mothers have been planning and looking forward to children for some time．For other couples, pregnancy was an accident that both husband and wife have accepted willingly or unwillingly．

　　Whatever the reaction to the birth of a child, it is clear that the change from the role of husband to that of father is a difficult task．Yet, unfortunately, few attempts have been made to educate fathers in this resocialization process．Although many books have been written about American mothers, only recently has literature referred to the role of a father．

　　It is argued by some writers that the transition(转化)to the father’s role, although difficult, is not nearly as great as the transition the wife must make to the mother’s role．The mother’s role seems to require a complete transformation in daily life and highly innovative(革新性的)adaptation, on the other hand, the father’s role is less demanding and immediate．However, even though we mentioned the fact that growing numbers of women are working outside the home, the father is still thought by many as the breadwinner in the family．

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　　Australia, the last continent, was discovered by ships belonging to European nations in the seventeenth century．These nations were less interested in changing it into a colony(殖民地)than in exploiting it．As in the early history of the United States, it was the English who set up the settlements in Australia．This history and the geography of these two British colonies have some other things in common as well．

　　Australia and the United States are about the same in size, and their western lands are both not rich in soil．It was the eastern coast of Australia and America that the English first settled, and both colonies soon began to develop towards the west．However, this westward movement took place more because the English were searching for better land than because the population was increasing．Settlements of the western part of both countries developed quickly after gold was discovered in America in 1849 and in Australia two years later．

　　Although the development of these two countries has a lot in common, there are some striking(显著的)differences as well．The United States gained its independence from England by revolution while Australia won its independence without having to go to war．Australia, unlike the United States, was firstly turned into a colony by English prisoners and its economic development was in wheat growing and sheep raising．By 1922, for example, Australia had fifteen times more sheep than it had people, or almost half as many sheep as there are people today in the United States．Yet, in spite of these and other main difference, Australia and the United States have more in common with each other than either one has with most of the rest of the world．

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　　There is no shortage of writing advice telling you to keep your writing simple－to use simple language．However, why do so many people continue to ignore that good advice?

　　A conversation around the theme of simplicity(简明)gets me thinking about this question．Why are people so fond of words that are hard to read?

　　A study looked into the way word choice changes the judgment we make about someone抯 intelligence．Students were asked to rate the intelligence of writers based on essays that they抎 written, and choose books suitable for graduate study．The results? The simpler the essay, the more likely it was the author would be rated as intelligent, and recommended for going to the graduate school．

　　The author of the study(Daniel Oppenheimer)concludes：

　　"The experts are likely right：write clearly and simply if you can, and you抣l be more likely to be thought of as intelligent．"

　　So why is it so hard to put the writing advice into practice? In the same article Oppenheimer mentions that：

　　86％ of students at Stanford admitted using complicated language in their essays to make their work sound more intelligent．Some of the possible reasons include：

　　●Desire to prove your topic is complicated by using complicated words．

　　●Fear of being regarded as lacking education．

　　●Natural desire to copy the language patterns of others．

　　●Little encouragement to use 'ordinary抴ords．

　　●Lack of time to 'translate抰he complicated words used around you into everyday words．

　　●Longer words keep subjects impersonal(客观的)－reducing potential for personal criticism and attack．

　　●It抯 the way people above you write－so you think it抯 the ladder to success．

　　What about you? Can you see any hidden benefits of using long words? Have you ever found yourself changing a simple word for a longer one to achieve a particular effect?

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　　Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask．But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history．Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history．

　　The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past．I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures．However, as the unfortunately true statement goes "the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't seem to learn from history"．Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this．

　　A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context．We can’t even understand why we are and where we are without history, much less(更不必说)try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be．

　　I teach my children history, for one more reason．I purchased a set of historical audio(录音机)tapes for our children．My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over．It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself．I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr．if, in doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplished．I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for．

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　　THIS was the year the Earth struck back．

　　Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, snow storms, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter of a million people in 2010－the deadliest year in more than a generation．More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined．

　　"It just seemed like it was back-to-back and it came in waves," said Craig Fugate, who heads the U．S．Federal Emergency Management Agency．It handled a record number of disasters in 2010．

　　And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say．

　　Even though many catastrophes have the ring of random chance, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and weird(古怪的)year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes．

　　Poor construction and development practices conspire to make earthquakes more deadly than they need be．More people live in poverty in vulnerable(脆弱的)buildings in crowded cities．That means that when the ground shakes, the river breaches, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die．

　　Disasters from the Earth, such as earthquakes and volcanoes "are pretty much constant," said Andreas Schraft, vice president of catastrophic perils for the Geneva-based insurance giant Swiss Re．"All the change that's made is man-made．"

　　The January earthquake that killed well more than 220,000 people in Haiti is a perfect example．Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people - many of them living in poverty - and more poorly built shanties than it did 25 years ago．So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80,000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University．

　　In February, an earthquake that was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti hit an area of Chile that was less populated, better constructed, and not as poor．Chile's bigger quake caused fewer than 1,000 deaths．

　　Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding．

　　In the summer, one weather system caused oppressive heat in Russia, while farther south it caused flooding in Pakistan that inundated 161,200 square kilometers, about the size of Wisconsin．That single heat-and-storm system killed almost 17,000 people, more people than all the worldwide airplane crashes in the past 15 years．

　　Scientists have calculated that the killer Russian heat wave－setting a national record of 43.9℃－would happen once every 100,000 years without global warming．

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　　Apparently，we are safe neither at home nor in the business office．We use water in both places, but the research shows that chemicals added to our local water supply to kill harmful bacteria can have unwanted side effects．These chemicals can cause potential harm through drinking and in seemingly harmless activities as cleaning one’s house．They are released from water by daily actions like water running out of tap，spraying from garden pipes，or splashing in dishwashers and washing machines．As the water is moving．these chemicals are released into the air and then breathed in．Once inside our bodies, they start to affect our health．

　　Does this mean we should stop bathing? No, say the scientists, but we should put all pollution into perspective．Activities at home such as the burning of coal, cooking oil, or even candles release carbon monoxide and particulates such as cigarette ashes which have been proven as harmful to health as working or living near heavy traffic．New tugs, bedding, and even clothing give off that“new smell, ”which is a sure sign of chemicals．In the office, newly applied paint, newly purchased telephones and other telecommunications equipment, and computers release polluting chemicals, too．As offices and homes often have inadequate ventilation(通风), these chemicals can build up to become health problems．Their poisonous effects are only now being slowly recognized．

　　These facts suggest that, at a minimum, proper airing of newly purchased goods with an obvious chemical smell is a wise warning．Home and office windows should be opened during good weather．Even one’s car needs to be ventilated as well while in the garage．

　　We need further research to understand better other potential health dangers, too．For example, the effects of overcrowding of schools(carbon dioxide build-up), the factory work environment(an endless list of potentially dangerous substances), and even home heating and cooling(the air conditioner may be our enemies, not our friends)have only recently started to come to light．Until we understand the effects of our new technological environment better, we can only hope that“there is no place like home．”

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　　When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing．His mother took him to see the famous showman, P．T．Barnum．Mr．Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show．He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled the world together．

　　He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb．He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes．When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads．To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England．

　　During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people．He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall．Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money．By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich．He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five．

　　Fortunately for Tom, Mr．Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well．One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher．Tom was able to win her love, and they married．

　　The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town．They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests．Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage．The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut．

　　Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war．Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored(发起)“Tom Thumb” weddings．In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun．

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　　The US is one of the biggest countries in the world．It is well-known because its population comes from all over the world．The immigrants(移民)can learn English to keep the United States united, but it is unfair to have to drop their culture for an American way of life．

　　I believe that recent immigrants should learn English in order to live in this country．If they don’t learn English, they won’t be able to communicate and do what they want．Anita, one of my mother’s friends, came here from Ecuador three years ago．She does not speak English．One day her daughter got a serious fever．She didn’t know what was going on, so she tried to call an ambulance(救护车)．However, when she called the hospital, she couldn’t talk．The operator(接线员)couldn’t understand what Anita was saying．Thankfully, her sister arrived and called the ambulance．The doctor told Anita that if she hadn’t arrived at the hospital in time, her daughter would have died．

　　Immigrants should learn English to speak with the public, but they should also keep their language at home．If we learn English only and forget our own language, we won’t be able to communicate with our parents．Florence, my co-worker, speaks English only．Her mother didn’t teach her Spanish, her mother language．She has lost her mother language, tradition and culture, so she can’t pass them down to her future generations．

　　In conclusion, immigrants should learn English in order to communicate with the public and to keep the country united, but they shouldn’t drop their culture for an American way of life．

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　　Scientists are developing the next generation of robot-driven cars and predict they could be carrying humans around by the year 2030．

　　The first wave of intelligent robot cars, capable of understanding and reacting to the world around them, will be tested this November in a competition run by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency．

　　Scientists are developing vehicles which will not only be driven by robots independently, but will be able to operate in a complicated city environment．“In the past it was sufficient for a vehicle just to perceive the environment,” said Sebastian Thrun, a professor at Stanford University．

　　“The new challenge will be to understand the environment．The robot must be able to recognize another car, to understand that it is moving and that it will interact with it as it gets closer．” Stanford’s entrant(参加竞赛者)“Junior” is a changed 2006 Volkswagen Passat whose steering, throttle(节流阀)and brakes all have been modified by engineers．

　　Lasers fitted on the car bumpers, radar and global positioning systems feed data into the on-board computer to determine its location and position．Thrun predicted that advances in artificial intelligence would lead to driverless cars on the roads by 2030．

　　“Today they can drive about 100 miles, by 2010 I expect this to go 1,000 miles, by 2020 up to a million miles,” he said．“By 2030 you’ll be able to see them on the highway, with driving reliability that will beat humans．”

　　“We believe this technology will affect all of us．It is going to have enormous significance for people who can’t drive because of disabilities or because they are ill or impaired．” Thrun said he believed robot-driven vehicles would be deployed in war zones before they were seen in everyday civilian environments．

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Austin Children’s Museum

　　This 7,000-square-foot museum aims to entertain and educate children up to age 9．In its Global City exhibit, people can go shopping for groceries, order lunch at a diner, pretend that they’re doctors or construction workers, and more．In other fun exhibits, they learn about Austin’s history, explore the world of water, and experience life on a large Texas farm．

　　Open time：From Tuesday to Saturday, 10∶00 a. m.～5∶00 p. m．

　　On Sunday, 12∶00 a. m.～5∶00 p. m．

　　Address：201 Colorado St, Austin, Texas 78701

　　Phone：512-4722499

　　Brooklyn Children’s Museum

　　Founded in 1899, it is the world’s oldest children’s museum, featuring interactive exhibits, workshops, and special events．The Mystery of Things teaches children about cultural and scientific objects and Music Mix welcomes young virtuosos(名家)．

　　Open time：From Wednesday to Friday, 2∶00 p. m.～5∶00 p. m．

　　On Saturday and Sunday, 10∶00 a. m.～5∶00 p. m．

　　Address：145 Brooklyn Ave, Brooklyn, New York 1213

　　Phone：718-7354400

　　Children’s Discovery Museum

　　This museum’s hand-on exhibits explore the relationships between the natural and the created worlds, and among people of different cultures and times．Exhibits include Streets, a 5/8-scale copy of an actual city, with streets lights, and waterworks, which shows how pumps can move water through a reservoir system．

　　Open time：From Monday to Saturday, 10∶00 a. m.～5∶00 p. m．

　　On Sunday, from noon．Closed on holidays．

　　Address：180 Woz Way, Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, California 95110

　　Phone：408-2985437

　　Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

　　This museum is the largest of its kind．Exhibits cover science, culture, space, history, and explorations．Among them are the Space Quest Planetarium(additional fee), the 33-foot-high Water Clock, the Playscape gallery for preschools, and the Dinosphere exhibit, along with hand-on science exhibits．

　　The largest gallery, the Center for Exploration, is designed for ages 12 and up．

　　Open time：From Tuesday to Sunday, 10∶00 a. m.～5∶00 p. m．

　　Closed on Thanksgiving Day and December 25．

　　Address：3000 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208

　　Phone：317-3343322