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　　Scientists have long understood the key role that oceans play in regulating the Earth's climate．Oceans cover 70 percent of the globe and store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere does．What's newer is the understanding of how this key component(组成)of our climate system responds to global warming．

A brake on global warming－for now

　　One of the ocean's most important climate functions is absorbing heat and carbon dioxide(CO₂), one of the gases that cause global warming．Acting as a heat sponge(海绵), the oceans have absorbed huge amounts of heat and CO₂ in the last forty years．

　　Fujita explains that “the oceans are saving us from faster climate change－they are a big flywheel that delays rapid overheating of the earth, putting a brake on the climate system．”

　　“That's the good news,” he adds．“The bad news is that the oceans only slow the atmospheric warming．Once the oceans come to balance with a greenhouse-gas warmed earth, the extreme heat will remain in the atmosphere and things will get much hotter．” But where and how the oceans release this accumulated(积累)heat is uncertain．And as the ocean stores heat, fragile(脆弱的)underwater ecosystems are struggling．

　　The most recent scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)also　notes with concern that the ocean is acidifying(酸化)because of increased absorption of atmospheric CO₂, and thus causing a threat for shell-forming species．Sharp increases in carbon dioxide levels will cause further acidification of the ocean．

Currents distributing heat

　　Another important role the oceans play is that of distributor．Oceans deliver heat and life-sustaining nutrients around the globe．Just as blood vessels bring oxygen and nutrients to cells in the human body, the ocean's currents carry oxygen, nutrients and heat throughout the Earth．The ocean distributes 25 to 50 percent of the energy the planet receives from the sun．For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat across the Atlantic．This warm current gives northwestern Europe a milder climate than it would normally have so far north．A change to the ocean's circulation(循环)patterns could throw Europe into a colder period, even as the rest of world experiences warmer temperatures．

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　　Why do men live a shorter life than women? The latest research indicates that men's hearts going into a rapid decline when they reach middle age could be the cause．

　　The research of ageing on the heart has shown that women's longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose much pumping power with age．

　　“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 20 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, Samantha of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK．

　　“Within the heart there are millions of cells which make it beat．Between the ages of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men ,” said Samantha．“This is part of the ageing process．”

　　What amazes scientists is that the female heart suffers very little loss of these cells．A healthy 70-year-old woman's heart could work almost as perfectly as a 20-year-old one's．

　　“This gender(性别)difference might give the reason why men live shorter than women,”said Samantha．They studied over 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 17 and 80, who are mainly healthy persons so as to reduce the influence of disease．“The team has yet to think about why ageing suffers a greater loss on the male heart,” said Samantha．

　　But there is also good news－men can enjoy the health of their hearts with regular exercise．Samantha stressed that women should also take regular exercise to stop their leg muscles getting weaker as they age．

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　　October 15th is Global Hand washing Day．Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap

　　Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments．These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food．

　　Global Hand washing Day is the idea of the Public-private Partnership for hand washing with soap．The goal, they say, is to create a culture of hand washing with soap．The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs(细菌)．They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap．Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails．Then, wash well under running water．Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth．

　　The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing．Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs．And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again．

　　It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine．It could help reduce cases of diarrhea(痢疾), which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half．

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　　We have been providing performing arts information for over 14 years．Here you can search for plays, musicals, concerts and operas across the UK．

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　　I work in a major U．S．factory．We make refrigerators．Four thousand five hundred new refrigerators every day．It is a union workshop and it's gradually shrinking as many blue collar factories seem to be but that is not what this story is about．This story is about one man who works in this huge factory．

　　I've seen him around for years but never paid much attention．He always seemed just a little odd．A little short A little…scruffy(肮脏的)．Always the same old red ball cap．And always a garbage bag in one hand．He walks around this big old factory on his breaks and his lunch time collecting aluminum(铝)cans．Day after day, month after month on hot days and cold days．Over the years I've followed him as he walked to his old pickup truck on the coldest day with snow blowing and everyone with their collars turned up and their hands in their pockets．He would be there with a 40 gallon garbage bag full of aluminum cans．He'd toss it into the back of his truck and jump in and I'd reach my car and jump in and we'd all race to the exit of this big half empty parking lot．

　　Today I was working on a broken machine in this factory and the can man came by with his bag picking up cans．Our manager was standing there because the machine I was working on had been “down” for a couple of hours and he was getting worried that we might run out of the parts for one of the assembly(装配)lines．I was finishing and I stood up just as the manager asked the can man what he did with all those cans．I'd never thought to ask him that question because I always just assumed he cashed them at the recycle center．The can man said：“I give them to my neighbor．He's disabled and can't hold a job．” I blurted out：“You mean you've been collecting all those cans for all these years to give to your neighbor?” “It isn't much,” he said, “but I give them to him．He can't hold a job．” Right then and there in that factory I found myself staring at him．He was wearing a T-shirt and an old red ball cap and he had a garbage bag full of aluminum cans in his hand! I don't even know his name, but I thank him for the lesson he's taught me．

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　　American sign language has an interesting history．Although there have always been deaf individuals in America, the history really begins in 1817．Before 1817 deaf people communicated by using “home signs”．Gestures were individually created and used within the home for simple communication．There were no schools or formal sign language training for the deaf．

　　So, why was 1817 an important date? Well, the story begins with Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet．Gallaudet met his neighbor's daughter Alice Cogswell．Alice was the young deaf daughter of Dr．Mason Cogswell from Hartford, Connecticut．Gallaudet began teaching Alice to read and write a few simple words．Excited by the success Dr．Cogswell encouraged Gallaudet to establish a school for the deaf．Cogswell raised the money and Gallaudet traveled to Britain to learn the methods used there．However, the schools refused to share their instructional techniques and methods．

　　While in London, there happened to be a demonstration of the French method of deaf education．Britain was using an oral method of instruction; however, the French method used signs．Gallaudet was fascinated with the method and was able to meet with the instructor, Sicard, and his two deaf pupils, Jean Massieu and Laurent Clerc．Sicard agreed to teach Gallaudet his method and Gallaudet went to Paris to learn French signs．After a while, Gallaudet wished to return home and convinced Clerc to go with him and help him establish the school．The trip home was a 52-day voyage during which Clerc taught Gallaudet French signs and Gallaudet taught Clerc English．

　　On April 15, 1817, Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet established what is currently known as the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut．The opening of the first school for the deaf can be viewed as one of the most important events in current deaf culture．

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　　Having a hobby makes your life stress-free, because while developing your hobby, you free yourself from the busy daily life and seek something that interests you．The same happens with people who have a hobby of collecting sports stars' signatures．But now you don't need to run behind your favorite sports star's car to get a signature．You can get it online! There are hundreds of items for sale online, which have been personally signed by the sports stars．

　　It is like fishing in deep water and feeling spoilt for choice(挑花眼)for variety of fish available．Numerous varieties and products are available like T-shirts, photographs, books, and CDs personally signed by your favorite stars．Basically we look for genuineness(真实)of the signatures on varied items and the items are secondary to us．This is the reason why you should choose genuine websites and genuine people who will never deceive(欺骗)you and are authentic in their approach．Also go for the sites that have different categories available for choice．For example, you should choose the site that has multiple categories like sports, TV and film, politics, football, rock and pop etc．This gives you wider choice while collecting your favorite signed items．

　　The hobbies are for pure joy and you must enjoy them for what they are and not for their prices．The sports souvenir, for instance, takes you back to the days when that particular person played a match and succeeded amazingly．Even remembering such instances brings tremendous joy for you．Still, when you choose some genuine souvenir collections online, you will find that they are much cheaper and also are available with free shipping and packaging across the UK．This way, you save a lot of money and can further use it for purchasing another signed item of your choice．

　　These souvenirs are definitely great choices for people who love to collect such signed items．Many people buy a lot of these signed souvenirs and start their own businesses．Whatever your desire is, you can get a lot with the help of these signed souvenirs available online．Many big and famous websites can offer you good service and genuine signed items．

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　　Our tours leave directly from the Las Vegas Strip, no terminals, saving up to 2 hours' time! Our prices include all fees－including fuel and anything else you can think of; we also beat any competitor's price by 5％．

　　●South Rim－Grand Canyon Luxury Coach Tour＄79 Per Person

　　Our Grand Canyon Tour is the only luxury Motor Coach Tour that stops at Bright Angel Lodge for a full three hours, at which point you can take the free shuttle to multiple viewpoints including Mather Point, Yavapai Point … click above for more details．

　　●West Rim－Grand Canyon Tour＄125 Per Person

　　This tour stops at Haulapai Indian Reservation of the Grand Canyon．These stops include Eagle and Guano Point．There're also extra stops along the way for shopping and smoking．This package not only includes the Grand Canyon, but a short photo stop at the Hoover Dam as well．click above for more details．

　　●Airplane Tours ＆ Helicopter Tours

　　These breath-taking tours take you into the skies above the Grand Canyon for a once-in-a-life-time adventure that can be shared by the whole family or by yourself．Airplane Tours starting at ＄164 per person, and Helicopter Tours starting at ＄304 per person．click above for more details．

　　●Hoover Dam－AM/PM Mini Tour ＄37.5 Per Person

　　Hoover Dam Mini Tour starts your morning or afternoon with a short drive to Lake Mead－created by the Dam in 1935, and continues along to include the Power Plant Tour, guided by a Hoover Dam expert．A delicious lunch is included．click above for more details．

　　●Las Vegas to Hollywood 1 Day Tour ＄185 Per Person

　　This tour takes you sightseeing down and around Hollywood Blvd/Beverly Hills, home of the world-famous Walk of Fame as well as Grauman's Chinese Theatre．It ends at beautiful Santa Monica Beach ＆ Pier．click above for more details．

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　　Loneliness is like a disease－and what's worse, it's contagious．It can spread from one person to another, according to the recent research that stresses the power of one person's emotions to affect even people they don't know．

　　The new analysis, involving 4,793 people who were interviewed every two years between 1991 and 2001, showed that a friend of a lonely person was 52％ more likely to develop feelings of loneliness by the time of the next interview．A friend of that person was 25％ more likely, and a friend of a friend of a friend was 15％ more likely．

　　“Loneliness is not just the property of an individual．It can be transmitted across people－even people you don't have direct contact with,” said John T．Cacioppo, a psychologist of University of Chicago who led the study published in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology．

　　Loneliness has been linked to medical problems, including depression, sleep problems and generally poorer physical health．Identifying some of the causes could help reduce the emotion and improve health, experts said．

　　Although the study did not examine how loneliness spreads, Cacioppo said another research has provided clues．“Let's say for whatever reason you get lonely．You then interact with other people in a more negative fashion．That puts them in a negative mood and makes them more likely to interact with other people in a negative fashion and they minimize their social ties and become lonely,” Cacioppo said．

　　According to Cacioppo, loneliness spread more easily among women than men, perhaps because women were more likely to express emotions．

　　Lonely people become less and less trusting others．This makes it more and more difficult for them to make friends－and more likely that society will reject them．Therefore, it is important to recognize and deal with loneliness．Cacioppo emphasizes people who have been pushed to the edges of society should receive help to repair their social networks．

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　　On a cold January morning in a Washington, DC Metro Station, a man with a violin played six great pieces for about 45 minutes．During that time about two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work．

　　After three minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing．He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule．

　　Four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar：a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk．After 6 minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again．After ten minutes, a 3-year-old boy stopped but his mother dragged him along hurriedly．This action was repeated by several other children．Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly．

　　In the end, only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while．About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace．The man collected a total of ＄32．When he finished playing, no one applauded, nor was there any recognition．

　　The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world．He played one of the most elegant pieces ever written, with a violin worth ＄3.5 million dollars, two days before Joshua Bell had sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged ＄100．

　　The performance was organized as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and people's priorities．In a usual environment, at an inappropriate hour, do you perceive beauty? Do you stop to appreciate it? Do you recognize talent in an unexpected context?

　　If you do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, how many other things might you be missing?