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　　Everybody hates rats．But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man's new best friends．

　　What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs．Why? Because they can smell people．Dogs save lives．They help rescuers to find living people．But dogs are big and they can't get into small spaces．So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives：the rat．

　　How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people．When this happens, the rat's brain gives a signal(信号)．This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals．When rat's brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive．The rat has smelled that person．

　　Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better．Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots' noses don't work well when there are other smells around．Rats are good at that．” Rats can also see in the dark．They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don't need electricity!

　　The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic．A rat could get into spaces we couldn't get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn't safe．” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building(but only after an earthquake, of course．)

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　　Once upon a time, there was a farmer in central China．He didn't have money, so instead of a tractor(拖拉机), he used an old horse to plow his field(犁地)．

　　One afternoon, while working in the field, the horse fell down, dead．Everyone in the village said, “Oh, what a horrible thing!” The farmer said simply, “We'll see．” He was so peaceful and so calm that everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude, gave him a new horse as a gift．

　　Everyone's reaction now was, “What a lucky man!” And the farmer said, “We'll see．”

　　A couple of days later, the new horse jumped over a fence and ran away．Everyone in the village shook their heads and said, “What a poor fellow!” The farmer smiled and said, “We'll see．”

　　Finally, the horse found his way home, and everyone said, “What a fortunate man!” The farmer said, “We'll see．”

　　Later in the year, the farmer's young boy went out riding the horse and fell and broke his leg．Everyone in the village said, “What a poor boy!” The farmer said, “We'll see．”

　　Two days later, the army came into the village to draft new recruits(征召新兵)．When they saw the farmer's son had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him．Everyone said, “What a fortunate young man!” The farmer smiled again and said, “We'll see．”

　　There's no use in overreacting(反应过度)to the events and circumstances(境况)of our everyday lives．When our hearts are in the right place, all events and circumstances are gifts that we can learn valuable lessons from．

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Son's Help

　　Mr．Lang worked in a factory．As a driver, he was busy but he was paid much．His wife was an able woman and did all the housework．When he came back, she took good care of him and he never did anything at home．So he had enough time when he had a holiday．A few friends of his liked gambling(赌博)and he learned it soon．So he was interested in it and hardly forgot anything except gambling．He lost all his money and later he began to sell the television, watches and so on．His wife told him not to do it but he didn' t listen to her．She had to tell the police．He and his friends were punished for it．And he was hardly sent away．After he came out of lockup(拘留所), he hated her very much and the woman had to leave him．

　　It was New Year's Day．Mr．Lang didn't go to work．He felt lonely and wanted to gamble again．He called his friends and they came soon．But they were afraid the police would come．He told his five-year-old son to go to find out if there were the policemen outside．They waited for a long time and didn't think the police would come and began to gamble．Suddenly opened the door and in came a few policemen．

　　“I saw there weren't any policemen outside, daddy,” said the boy, “so I went to the crossing and asked some to come．”

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　　In the UK, most children have their midday meal at school, but in many schools, parents can choose what their children eat．The children can have a school lunch－a hot, cooked meal; or they can take a packed lunch with them, which usually includes cold food like sandwiches．

　　Often parents prepare lunches on the basis of what their children want．Cathy, a mother of three children, told us, “My children have packed lunches, because they say they hate school dinners．I make 3 packed lunches every morning, so we're like a sandwich bar in our kitchen in the morning．”

　　However, another mother, Susan, made her choice based on the nutritious value of the food．She said, “My daughter always has school dinners．I think she probably gets healthier food by having a cooked lunch at school than she would if I made sandwiches．”

　　But how healthy are school dinners? Kaz, a father, wasn't impressed with them．“Fizzy(有泡沫的)drinks were offered and I think there were a lot of chips．”

　　The question of how healthy school food is was brought to Jamie Oliver, who launched a campaign to improve children's nutrition, after spending a year working in a school kitchen．The TV series about the campaign won an award this week．

　　He was horrified(惊恐的)at the junk food he saw being served, which included burgers, pizza and chips．He decided to ban the junk, and started cooking good stews(炖菜)and curries for the children instead．

　　Jamie improved the school dinners in that particular school, and trained the dinner ladies to cook healthy food．Then he put pressure on the government to improve the standards of school food across the country．And it looks as if the changes have begun．

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　　On August 27, 1783, the people of the village of Gomesse, in France, looked up into the sky and saw a strange and terrible animal．It was huge and round, flying down from the sky．It landed in the filed just outside the village．It was clear to the people of Gomesse that they had to defend themselves．The animal was clearly some kind of terrible “spirit”．They were afraid of the spirit but they were also very brave．They rushed out into the field and fought the animal with knives and sticks and farming tools．The “spirit” made terrible noises, like an animal that can breathe only with great difficulty．

　　But that was not the worst thing．When the villagers cut into the spirit's skin, it gave off a horrible smell, and even after the villagers had cut the thing open, it still moved．Finally the villagers tied it to a horse．The horse ran through the fields and the “Spirit” was torn to pieces．What was the terrible spirit? The answer is that it was one of the first “hot air balloons”．Its skin was made of silk and a kind of rubber．The terrible smell was the hot air inside the balloon．When the air got out through the cuts in the skin, it also caused the horrible noises．

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　　A student is learning to speak British English．He wonders，“Can I communicate(交际)with Americans? Can they understand me? "Learners of English often ask，“What are the differences between British and American English? How important are these differences?” Do you know any differences between British English and American English?

　　Certainly，there are some differences between British and American English．

　　There are a few differences in grammar．For example，speakers of British English say“ in hospital” and“ Have you a pen?” While Americans say“ in the hospital” and “Do you have a pen?”

　　Pronunciation is sometimes different．Americans usually sound the “r” in the words like “bird” and “hurt”．Some speakers of British English don't sound the “r” in these words．

　　There are differences between British and American English in spelling and vocabulary．For example，“colour” and “honour” are British．But “color” and “honor” are American．

　　These differences in grammar，pronunciation，spelling，and vocabulary are not important，however．For the most part，British and American English are the same language．

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　　Every day we go to school and listen to the teacher, and the teacher will ask us some questions．Sometimes, the classmates will ask for your opinions of the work of the class．When you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics, remember that they must be able to hear what you are saying．You are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends－you are in a slightly unnatural situation where a large group of people will remain silent, waiting to hear what you have to say．You must speak so that they can hear you－loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force yourself．

　　Remember, too, that it is the same if you are called to an interview whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet you．The person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease(not worried)but the situation is somewhat different from that of an ordinary conversation．You must take special care that you can be heard．

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　　If you're into sports, you've seen it happen．You've probably even experienced it：basketball players shaking hands after four quarters of knocking each other around, tennis players leaping over the net to shake hands with their opponents(对手)after a hard-fought match, soccer players exchanging sport shirts after an intense 90 minutes, even boxers touching gloves at the beginning of each round, then hugging each other after beating each other into a pulp for 12 rounds．It seems like competitors in every event, from spelling bees to hockey, behave this way．What's going on?

　　It's all part of sportsmanship, a great tradition in sports and competition that means playing clean and handling both victory and defeat with grace, style, and dignity．

　　What is sportsmanship? Sportsmanship is defined as：playing fair, following the rules of the game, respecting the judgment of referees and officials, treating opponents with respect．

　　Some people define good sportsmanship as the "golden rule" of sports－in other words, treating the people you play with and against as you'd like to be treated yourself．You demonstrate good sportsmanship when you show respect for yourself, your teammates, and your opponents, for the coaches on both sides, and for the referees, judges, and other officials．

　　But sportsmanship isn't just reserved for the people on the field．Cheerleaders and fans also need to be aware of how they behave during competition．Sportsmanship is a style and an attitude; and it can have a positive influence on everyone around you．

　　Learning good sportsmanship means finding that the positive attitude learned on the field carries over into other areas of life．At school, for example, you're able to appreciate the contributions made by classmates and know how to work as part of a team to complete a project．You may enjoy more success at work as well, because a big part of learning good sportsmanship is learning to be respectful of others, including customers and co-workers．

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　　We've all experienced a "good cry"．Shedding(流)some tears can often make us feel better and help us put things in perspective．But why is crying beneficial? And is there such a thing as a "bad cry"?

　　The researchers analyzed the detailed accounts of more than 3,000 recent crying experiences and found that the benefits of crying depend entirely on the what, where and when of a particular crying episode(一段经历)．The majority of persons reported improvements in their mood following a short period of crying．However, one third reported no improvement in mood and a tenth felt worse after crying．Criers who received social support during their crying episode were the most likely to report improvements in mood．

　　Research to date has not always produced a clear picture of the benefits of crying, in part because the results often seem to depend on how crying is studied．The researchers note several challenges in accurately studying crying behavior in a laboratory setting．Volunteers who cry in a laboratory setting often do not describe their experiences as making them feel better．Rather, crying in a laboratory setting often results in the study participants feeling worse;　this may be due to the stressful conditions of the study itself, such as being videotaped or watched by researchers．This may produce negative emotions, which neutralize(使无效)the positive benefits usually connected with crying．

　　However, these laboratory studies have provided interesting findings about the physical effects of crying．Criers do show calming effects such as slower breathing, but they also experience a lot of unpleasant stress, including increased heart rate and sweating．What is interesting is that bodily calming usually lasts longer than the unpleasant．The calming effects may occur later and overcome the stress reaction, which would account for why people tend to remember mostly the pleasant side of crying．

　　Research has shown that the effects of crying also depend on who is shedding the tears．For example, individuals with anxiety or mood disorders are least likely to experience the positive effects of crying．In addition, the researchers report that people who lack insight into their emotional lives actually feel worse after crying．

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　　Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Danver,I was driving to my parents' home in Messouri for Christmas．I stopped at a gas station(加油站)about 50 miles from Okiahoma City,where I was planning to stop and visit a friend．While I was standing in．line at the cash register(收款台),I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas．

　　I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car．I stopped and wondered what I should do．A car pulled up behind me．It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station．They said they would take me to my friend's．We chatted on the way into the city, and when I get out of the car, the husband gave me his business card．

　　I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me．Soon afterward．I received a Christmas present from them．Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful．

　　Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning, In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I'd left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池)was dead．Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership-a shop selling cars-was right next door．I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom．

　　“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble．They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it．They would accept no payment; so when I got home; I wrote them a note to say thanks, I received a letter back from one of the salesmen, No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you ,and it meant a lot, he said．

　　“Thank you”- two powerful words．They're easy to say and mean so much．

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