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　　Deciding what type of present a family member would like can often be a challenge．No matter what the occasion is, a present for Grandpa will always let him know that you love him．

　　A cheap but meaningful way to show Grandpa that he is loved is to make a gift by hand．This is especially true for young children, who enjoy making works of art．A simple drawing of something dear to Grandpa’s heart, like his hometown or a portrait(肖像)of himself, will put a smile on his face．Many shopkeepers also sell design-it-yourself items like cups or baseball caps．

　　Of all the things that Grandpa thinks precious, his grandchildren always top the list．Seeing the shining faces of his grandchildren each day is the best present he can receive．The simplest way to give Grandpa the gift of his grandchildren is by printing a photo of the children and putting it in a special frame(相框)with a sign about love or family．A more modern version of this gift is a digital(数码的)frame that can display a set of recent photos．

　　Electronics often make good presents for Crandpa．Many grandparents are technology fans．They may like a large-numbered cellphone．A web camera can help the grandpa to keep in touch with his grandchildren, even when he’s traveling or lives far away．You can also download some music for him to an MP3 player．

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　　People who have experienced an ill-fitting shoe know that when their feet hurt, other parts of their body are not happy．Attempting to carry on walking in spite of foot pain could trigger ankle, knee, hip, and even back pain, which can affect your health．That’s why it’s especially important to protect your feet as best as you can, and this often begins with the choice of your shoes．

　　When you choose a new pair of shoes, it’s important to follow some basic steps that will help to decrease your risk for foot pain．These include：

　　Shop at the end of the day, after you have been walking and standing about all day(generally when your feet are at their greatest size)．This is a good time to buy shoes so that you can avoid buying shoes that are too small．

　　Ask the sales associate to measure your feet, especially if you have lost or gained weight as this may have changed the length or width of your feet．And, if one foot is bigger than the other, fit the shoe to the larger foot．

　　If you have a foot health concern, please speak with your foot specialist for suggestions before buying the shoes．

　　Try on both shoes and walk around to ensure a comfortable fit even if you know your shoe size．

　　Buy the shoes to match the activity．For instance, while running shoes are designed to accommodate and absorb(吸收)heel strikes to the ground, tennis shoes provide greater side-to-side stability(平稳)．

　　Lastly, if the shoes you are trying on don’t feel right in the store, chances are they never will．

阅渎理解

　　Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems．While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves．University of Missouri(MU)researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient．

　　“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density”，said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU．“The radioisotope(放射性同位素)battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries．”

　　Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro / nanoelectromechanical systems(M/NEMS)．Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe．

　　“People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems．”

　　His new idea is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor(半导体)．Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor．

　　“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem．”

　　Together with J．David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery．In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials．Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair．

阅渎理解

　　Rae Armantrout, who has been a poetry professor at the University of California San Diego(UCSD)for two decades, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for her most recent book, “Versed”．

　　“I’m delighted and amazed at how much media recognition that the Pulitzer brings, as compared to even the National Book Critics Award, which I was also surprised and delighted to win,” said Armantrout．

　　“For a long time, my writing has been just below the media radar, and to have this kind of attention, suddenly, with my 10th book, is really surprising．”

　　Armantrout, a native Californian, received her bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, where she studied with noted poet Denise Levertov, and her master’s in creative writing from San Francisco State University．She is a founding member of Language Poets, a group in American poetry that analyzes the way language is used and raises questions to make the reader think．

　　In March, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for “Versed．”

　　“This book has gotten more attention,” Armantrout said, “but I don’t feel as if it’s better．”

　　The first half of “Versed” focuses on the dark forces taking hold of the United States as it fought the war against Iraq．The second half looks at the dark forces casting a shadow over her own life after Armantrout was diagnosed with cancer in 2006．

　　Armantrout was shocked to learn she had won the Pulitzer but many of her colleagues were not．“Rae Armantrout is a unique voice in American poetry,” said Seth Lerer, head of Arts and Humanities at UCSD．

　　“Versed”, published by the Wesleyan University Press, did appear in a larger printing than her earlier works, which is about 2,700 copies．The new edition is scheduled to appear in May．

阅渎理解

　　Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling．Recycling in the home is very important of course．However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need．We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place．

　　The total amount of packaging increased by 12％ between 1999 and 2005．It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK．In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard．

　　Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment．The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste．If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect．Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy．The solution is not to produce such items in the first place．Food waste is a serious problem, too．Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need．However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example．

　　But this is not just about supermarkets．It is about all of us．We have learned to associate packaging with quality．We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality．This is especially true of food．But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary．

　　There are signs of hope．As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting．We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb．

阅渎理解

　　Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast．Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素)three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death．And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance．

　　After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back．He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar, and created diabeticrockstar．com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones－a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources．

　　Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six．Father and son visit the online children's forums(论坛)together most evenings．"Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers．"They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone．"

　　Kody is anything but alone：Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases．And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages．

　　These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people－225 to date－who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses．Fight-it．org has raised about ＄23,000－in products and in cash．In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean．

　　Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables．"Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar's original members．"But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now．"

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　　Recently, another study has been carried out about who is the greatest American president．Sixty-five presidential historians took part in it and they judged the past forty-two American leaders based on ten qualities of leadership, which include public persuasion, crisis(危机)leadership, the management of economy, moral leadership and international relations．The historians also looked at administrative(行政的)ability, relations with Congress, goal setting and pursuit(追求)of equal justice for all．Finally, the experts considered performance based on the historical period in which the president lived．

　　The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as America’s greatest president．He had also been named best president in a similar study in 2000．Abraham Lincoln was the only president in American history to lead the nation during the Civil War in the 1860s．He united the nation at last．And he took the first steps that detroyed the institution of slavery in America．

　　Edna Medford is a professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D．C．She was an adviser on this study and the ealier one．She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values that the nation most honors like truthfulness, moderation(温和)and respect for human rights．

　　The historians named America’s first president, George Washington, as second on the list of greatest presidents．Franklind．Roosevelt, theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman are next in that order．John F．Kennedy, the coutry’s first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list．Like Abraham Lincoln, John F．Kennedy was murdered while in office．

　　Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the tenth best president．Bill Clinton was rated fifteenth．And the historians rated former president George W．Bush as number thirty-six．His fathter, George H．W．Bush, did much better．He was rated as number eighteen．

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　　Happy birthday

　　The China National Opera(CNO)will give a concert to celebrate its 50th birthday．

　　Different generations of CNO vocalists, like Li Guangxi, Yao Hong and Ma Mei, will present the concert which will feature both songs from famous Chinese operas like “The White-haired Girl” and “The Hundredth Bride”, as well as, arias of such Western opera classics as “Madame Butterfly”, “La Traviata” and “Rigoletto”．

　　Time/date：7∶30 pm, September 7, 8

　　Location：Tianqiao Theatre

　　Tel：6551-4787, 8315-6170

　　Tickets：60－500 yuan(US ＄7.2－60.2)

　　Folk music

　　A concert will be held to feature some recently composed traditional Chinese music works．

　　The concert, given by the Folk Orchestra of the China Opera and Ballet Theatre, will include such pieces as “Memory of Childhood ”, “Memorial Ceremony for God ”and “Wine Song”．

　　Time/date：7∶30pm, September 13

　　Location：Concert hall at the National Library of China

　　Tel：6848 –5462, 6841-9220

　　Tickets：30-200 yuan(US＄3.6-24.1)

　　Moon music

　　A concert of traditional Chinese music will be given on the eve of the Moon Festival which falls on September 21st this year．

　　The concert will feature a number of famous pieces centred on the theme of the moon, such as “Moonlight”, “Spring night on a Moonlit River” and “Lofty Mountain and Flowing River．”

　　A number of established traditional Chinese music performers like Zhou Yaokun and Fan Weiqing, will play solos as well as collaborate with the folk music orchestra．

　　Time/date：7∶30 pm, September 21st

　　Location：Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities

　　Tel：6606-8888, 6606-9999

阅读理解

　　As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have．It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven．Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need．You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week．

　　Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for．Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world．They feel that the long-hours work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes．Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them．

　　Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year．One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz．They used to work in central London．He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank．They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny(保姆)．Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings．They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by．

　　Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales, “I always wanted to have a farm here,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift．It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it．We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays．However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier．”

　　Liz, however, is not quite sure．“I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours．I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals．One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children．My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all．”

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　　A 9-year-old girl with a pacemaker who died early today was suffering shakes on a city bus when a driver refused to take her to a nearby hospital, witnesses(目击者)said．

　　Officials of the Chicago Transit Authority said they were investigating．The child, Nicole Hobson, was being taken by her mother to Children’s Memorial Hospital about 11 P. M., Wednesday to check her recently inserted(插入)pacemaker．

　　The child was stricken about a mile from the hospital．Her mother, May Hobson, 40, said, “I told the bus driver that my baby had just had heart operation and that she was having a heart failure．He said he couldn’t go through the traffic．”

　　Ted Garretson, 28, a passenger who had tried to bring back Nicole’s life, said the driver did nothing to help and stopped once to pick up more passengers．

　　When the driver reached a corner where he was to make a turn, a block from the hospital, he told Mrs．Hobson to get off, she said．

　　A transit spokesman said the driver should have made radio call to the control center for help．