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　　When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who possess wings of their own and who will fly with me．I seek mends whose qualities illuminate(照亮)me and train me up for love．It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share．

　　When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend．We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors．We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say：“Let's start with a train whistle today．” We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories that grew out of a train whistle．Then we would read them aloud．At the end of that school year, we, too, were changed into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped．

　　When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend．He was in despair(失望)and 1 was in despair．But our friendship was based on the idea in each of us that we would be sorry later if we did not explore this great city because we had felt bad at the time．We met every Sunday for five weeks and found many excellent things．We walked until our despairs disappeared and then we parted．We gave London to each other．

　　For almost four years I have had a remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine．We write long letters in which we often discover our strangest selves．Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other's dreams．She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind．In my most interesting moments, I often think：“Yes, I must tell…''We have never met．

　　It is such comforting companions I wish to keep．One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist, who will only fill up the healing(愈合的)silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be my own best friend．

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　　The world economy has run into a brick wall．Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead．The result is a global food crisis．Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years．And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004．These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability．Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally．

　　Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis．The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity．Malawi's harvest doubled after just one year．An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere ＄10 per person annually in the rich world, or ＄10 billion altogether

　　Second, the U．S．and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels．The U．S．government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol(乙醇)changed from corn．There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods －tree crops, grasses and wood products－but there's no case for the government to pay to put the world's dinner into the gas tank．

　　Third, we urgently need to weather-proof die world's crops as soon and as effectively as possible．For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond－which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather－can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one．The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Find to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise．

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　　Where and how you eat are just as important as what you eat．Take this test to find your eating style to make sure you're getting the nutrition(营养)you need．

　　Which statements sound like you?

　　Group 1：

　　□I like to make my plate look pretty before I dig in for the first bite．

　　□I often help my parents make recipes．

　　□I could win the first prize in the “World's Slowest Eater” contest．

　　Group 2：

　　□The crumbs(面包屑)in the sofa are mine－I eat while watching TV．

　　□I can finish a whole box of snacks quickly while I'm doing something else．

　　□Sometimes I'm surprised to find my plate empty．Where did all the food go?

　　Group 3：

　　□Sometimes I eat my dinner standing up．

　　□I spend more time in the drive-through than at the dinner table．

　　□Breakfast? Who has time for breakfast?

　　If you answered mostly Group 1：You enjoy everything about food, from cooking it to enjoying it at the table．Eating slowly is a good thing － it gives your brain time to know when you are full．

　　If you answered mostly Group 2：You can do lots of things at once．But if you eat while you're distracted(精神不集中), you won't really enjoy your food and might eat more than you need．Instead of snacking while you watch TV or do homework, look for other things to do with your hands．

　　If you answered mostly Group 3：You're really busy．Try to make time for at least one sit-down meal a day．When you're on the go, don't eat salty, high-fat foods just because they're convenient．Pack healthy snacks in small bags that you can eat on your way out the door．

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　　One of the most important things in the world is friendship．In order to have friends, you have to be a friend．But how can you be a good friend at school?

　　Listen-Listen when they are talking．Don't say anything unless they ask you a question．Sometimes it's not necessary for you to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings．

　　Help them-If your friend is ever in need of something, be there to help them．You should try to put them first, but make sure you don't do everything they want you to do．Try to take an extra pencil or pen with you to classes in case they forget one．Have a little extra money in your pocket in case they forget something they need．

　　Be there for them－Be there for your friends to help make them feel better in hard times．Marilyn Monroe, a famous U．S．actor, once said, “I often make mistakes．Sometimes I am out of control, but if you can't stay with me at my worst, you are sure not to deserve to be with me at my best．” Always remember this! If you don't want to stay with your friends when they're in hard times, then you don't deserve to be with them when they're having a good time!

　　________－Try to make plans with your friends．Go shopping, go for ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on．Take time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy．By planning things together, you both can have a good time．And you'll remember these things when you're all old!

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　　Economics has long been known as an unpleasant science．But is any economist so dull as to criticize Christmas? At first glance, the holiday season in western economies seems a treat for those who are concerned with such things as GDP growth．fter all, everyone is spending; in America, sellers make 25 ％ of their yearly sales and 60 ％ of their profits between Thanksgiving and Christmas．Even so, economists find something to worry about in the nature of the purchases being made．

　　Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others．t the simplest level, giving gifts involves the giver’s thinking of something that the receiver would like－he tries to guess her preferences, as economists say－and then buying the gift and delivering it．Yet this guessing of preferences is often done badly．Every year, ties go unworn and books unread．nd even if a gift is enjoyed, it may not be what the receiver would have bought if they had spent the money themselves．

　　Interested in this mismatch between wants and gifts, in 1993 Joel Waldfogel, then an economist at Yale University, attempted to estimate the disparity(差距)in dollar terms．He asked students two questions at the end of a holiday season：first, estimate the total amount paid(by the givers)for all the holiday gifts you received; second, apart from the emotional value of the items, if you did not have them, how much would you be willing to pay to get them? His results were unpleasant：on average, a gift was valued by the receiver well below the price paid by the giver．

　　The most conservative(保守的)estimate put the average receiver’s valuation at 90％ of the buying price．The missing 10％ is what economists call a deadweight loss; a waste of resources that could be avoided without making anyone poorer．In other words, if the giver gave the cash value of the purchase instead of the gift itself, the receiver could then buy what she really wants and be better off for no extra cost．It suggests that in America, where givers spend ＄40 billion on Christmas gifts, ＄ 4 billion is being lost annually in the process of gift giving．dd in birthdays, weddings and non Christian occasions, and the figure would balloon．So should economists call for an end to gift giving, or at least press for money to become the gift of choice?

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　　It is hard to track the blue whale, the ocean’s largest creature, which has almost been killed off by commercial whaling and is now listed as an endangered species．ttaching radio devices to it is difficult, and visual sightings are too unreliable to give real insight into its behavior．

　　So biologists were delighted early this year when, with the help of the Navy, they were able to track a particular blue whale for 43 days, monitoring its sounds．This was possible because of the Navy’s formerly top-secret system of underwater listening devices spanning the oceans．

　　Tracking whales is but one example of an exciting new world just opening to civilian scientists after the cold war as the Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system built over the decades to track the ships of potential enemies．

　　Earth scientists announced at a news conference recently that they had used the system for closely monitoring a deep-sea volcanic eruption(爆发)for the first time and that they plan similar studies．

　　Other scientists have proposed to use the network for tracking ocean currents and measuring changes in ocean and global temperatures．

　　The speed of sound in water is roughly one mile a second－slower than through land but faster than through air．What is most important, different layers of ocean water can act as channels for sounds, focusing them in the same way a stethoscope(听诊器)does when it carries faint noises from a patient’s chest to a doctor’s ear．This focusing is the main reason that even relatively weak sounds in the ocean, especially low-frequency ones, can often travel thousands of miles．

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　　Many scientists are now exploring the idea of going to live on Mars．Some other scientists from the MASA AMES Center(美国宇航局)have already started the creation of a “Mars town” and many others are in fact already experimenting with it．Of course, these experiments are done on Earth itself but this “Mars town” has an environment practically like that of Mars．

　　The astronauts working in these towns wear their space suit and also do everything they would really have to carry out if they ever go to Mars in the future．

　　But Mars would be like Earth, a temporary(临时的)place for humans．When the Sun starts swallowing up(吞掉)the planets, Mars will disappear only hours after Earth．So Mars only seems to be the ideal place to spread the human beings．It is also a good location to send humans if ever there is a disaster on Earth．By saying disaster, I mean asteroids(小行星)hitting and things like that．

　　If we humans do not want to disappear when Earth or Mars gets swallowed up, we will have to go and live beyond the solar system．But are there any planets outside our solar system prepared to support life? Astronomers’ answer is：

　　“If Earth can support life, why can’t other planets do the same too? Astronomers have already discovered a Jupiter(木星)- like planet orbiting a Sun-like star, so why not an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star?

　　To achieve this goal though, many other problems have to be taken into consideration．How do we transform(改造)a dusty planet like Mars into one more or less like our Earth? How should we go on? There is still a long way to go．

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　　If there is one thing I am sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers．It is not that newspapers are a necessity．Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio．Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday．But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation．

　　The nature of what is news may change．What basically makes news is what affects our lives- the big political stories; the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters will continue much the same．I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though．It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic(基因)engineering．In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do --- as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are．

　　It’s quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted(传送)electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home．In fact, I am pretty sure that it will happen in the future．You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read- sports and international news, etc．

　　I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media(煤体)．They actually feed off each other．Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn’t happened．What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air．nd as for the Internet, it is never really pleasant to read something just on a screen．

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　　Due to climate change, Arctic(北极的)ice is breaking up earlier in the spring, and its area is decreasing．This is creating problems for polar bears that make their homes off northern Alaska and in Hudson Bay．

　　Polar bears off Alaska normally hunt and raise their young on ice sheets(大冰原)that float on the ocean．But as the ice has melted, the polar bears have been forced to spend more time on land．There, they have begun to frequent(常去)beaches, feeding on the remains of whales caught by native hunters．For polar bears, this food is less nutritious(有营养的)than seals that they normally catch on ice sheets．The shrinking(减少)ice has also forced more polar bears into the ocean．In the past, they only had to swim short distances between ice sheets．But as the ice has shrunk, polar bears have been forced to swim longer and longer distances in the open ocean．This poses(造成)a severe danger during bad weather, and an increasing number of drowned(溺水的)polar bears have been observed．

　　In Hudson Bay, the ice breaks up three weeks earlier in the spring now than it did 20 years ago．Polar bears on Hudson Bay fast(绝食)during the summer, waiting for ice to form in the fall to hunt．Every year, the summer gets longer, and the bears get skinnier．Over the past 25 years, the average weight of the female bears has dropped 68 kg．This loss affects their ability to reproduce, and already the number of births has dropped 15 percent．Unless the bears can learn to survive these climate changes, these large animals of the ice may one day disappear．