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　　China's government has been trying all measures to reduce pollution in the past few years．Now people can enjoy a fresh environment everywhere．The following two graphs are adopted from the column of “City Information” on the webpage of Beijing Review．

Notes：

　　**API stands for Air Pollution Index(指数)．

　　**Particulate matter(PM10)is a major component of air pollution that threatens both our health and our environment．It consists of very small liquid and solid particles floating in the air．

　　**Sulfur dioxide(SO₂)acts as an acid．Inhalation(吸入)results in labored breathing, coughing, or a sore throat and may cause permanent lung damage．

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　　Three years ago, five parrots were set free in a wild place of Arizona, thousands of miles from the Channel Islands in Jersey where they had been looked after by zookeepers．No evolutionary strategies informed them how to behave in this new landscape of mountainous pine forest unoccupied by their kind for 50 years．To the researchers' surprise, they failed to make contact with a group of wild parrots imported from Mexico and set free at the same time．Within 24 hours the reintroducing ended in failure, and the poor birds were back in cages, on their way to the safety of the Arizona reintroduction programme．

　　Ever since then, the programme has enjoyed great success, mainly because the birds now being set free are Mexican birds illegally caught in the wild, confiscated(没收)on arrival north of the border, and raised by their parents in the safety of the programme．The experience shows how little we know about the behaviour and psychology(心理)of parrots, as Peter Bennett, a bird researcher, points out：“Reintroducing species of high intelligence like parrots is a lot more difficult．People like parrots, always treating them as nothing more than pets or valuable ‘collectables'．”

　　Now that many species of parrot are in immediate danger of dying out, biologists are working together to study the natural history and the behaviour of this family of birds．Last year was an important turning point：conservationists founded the World Parrot Trust, based at Hayle in Cornwall, to support research into both wild and caged birds．

　　Research on parrots is vital for two reasons．First, as the Arizona programme showed, when reintroducing parrots to the wild, we need to be aware of what the birds must know if they are to survive in their natural home．We also need to learn more about the needs of parrots kept as pets, particularly as the Trust's campaign does not attempt to discourage the practice, but rather urges people who buy parrots as pets to choose birds raised by humans．

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　　The small number of newborn babies, which has been caused by high prices and the changing social situation of women, is one of the most serious problems in Asia．When people talk about it, you can hear a word invented in Japan, “DINKS”, which means Double Income No Kids．

　　In many major Asian cities like Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo, the cost of a house is extremely high．A young couple who want to buy their own house may have to pay about ＄3000, 000(though prices have fallen)．For a flat with one bedroom, one dining-room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, the couple will pay about ＄900 a month．What's more, if they want to have a child, the child's education is very expensive．For example, most kindergarten charges are at least ＄5,000 a year．In such a situation, it's difficult to afford children．

　　The number of married women who want to continue working increases rapidly because they enjoy their jobs．However, if they want to have children, they immediately have serious problems．Though most companies allow women to leave their jobs for a short time to have a baby, they expect women with babies to give up their jobs．In short, if they want to bring up children properly, both parents have to work, but it is hard for mothers to work．Indeed, women who want to continue working have to choose between having children and keeping their jobs．

　　In a word, Asian governments must take steps to improve the present situation as soon as possible．

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　　Much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm(节奏)．But he dutifully reviewed his lessons．Over the months he tried and tried, and often repeating to me “My mom's going to hear me play some day．”

　　But he seemed hopeless, with no born ability．A real bad advertisement for my teaching! I was so happy when one day he stopped coming．

　　Several weeks later my students were to have a recital(演奏会)．To my surprise, Robby came, asking to play in the recital．

　　“But, it is for current pupils, you dropped．”

　　“My mom was sick．But I have been practicing．I've just got to play!”

　　I don't know what led me to agree, maybe …．

　　The recital came．I put Robby up last to play before my “curtain closer”, by which, I could save the recital if…

　　The recital went off well．Robby came up on stage, clothes wrinkled and his hair looked like he'd run an egg-beater through it．“How could his mom …?”

　　Robby pulled out the piano bench and began．It was Mozart's work! I was not prepared for what I heard next．Like in a dream, I was then woken up by the wild applause, everybody was on their feet!

　　“I've never heard you play like that Robby! How'd you do it?”

　　Through the microphone Robby explained, “Well, Miss Hondorf, remember I told you my mom was sick?Actually she had cancer and died this morning．She was born deaf．Tonight was the first time she ever heard me play．I wanted to make it special．”

　　My eyes were wet．He was not a student of mine, but a teacher!

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　　As China's middle class grows, the demand for entertainment(娱乐)is being met with a rise in cinema construction．300 million people are said to be able to afford movie tickets in China．

　　There has been a sharp rise in movie production in recent years in China．And the Chinese are becoming enthusiastic movie goers．

　　Recently, director(导演)Dayyan Eng brought Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey to China to shoot a comedy．Eng says the multi-million dollar investment(投资)in the film shows that the number of Chinese into movies is on the rise．“More people in the big cities are watching movies,” Eng said．“My feeling is, you know, more and more of the people there get a taste of other types of movies out there．”

　　China's economy has been developing at a fast speed．More income means a greater demand for entertainment．In 2009, box office income grew by 43 percent to ＄1 billion．And that makes movie theaters－in shopping malls－an attractive investment．

　　Shopping centers are huge in China．Fifty-thousand square meters is considered a tiny shopping center, which anywhere else in the world is considered a pretty big center．So, a shopping center covering 100,000 square meters has a large number of shoppers every day, of whom many are probably movie fans．

　　Today, China has only 4,000 cinemas．That's one for every 75,000 moviegoers, just one-tenth the number of cinemas in the United States．So there's a demand for cinemas in China．The government expects there to be a 61％ jump in ticket sales in 2011．

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　　London's Chinese community dates back to the 18^th century, when a small number of Chinese sailors moved to the city to work in the dock(码头)area of Limhouse, east London．As time went on, Chinese people came to this area, mainly to open shops and cafes, and Limhouse began to known as “Chinatown”．However, London's Chinese community remained very small for many years; at the start of the 20^th century, there were just 545 Chinese people in Britain．

　　This situation changed after World War Ⅱ．At that time, many farmers in Hong Kong lost their jobs, and decided to immigrate(移民)to London．As Limhouse had been destroyed during the war, these new immigrants lived in a different area－a part of central London near Leicester Square．This area is now what Londoners call Chinatown．

　　At first, the new settlers found it difficult to get jobs．In the 1950s, however, a small Chinese restaurant opened in central London．Many British people visited it and praised that Chinese food was wonderful! Suddenly, Chinese restaurants started opening in every part of the city．This raised a question：instead of too little work, the new Chinese immigrants now found that they had too much! They worked very long hours as cooks, managers or waiters．Most of the people enjoyed their lives and the chances they were offered．Many arranged(安排)for their friends and relatives to join them from overseas, and a lot of families were reunited at this time．

　　As time went by, London's Chinese community became more and more successful．The sons and daughters of the restaurant workers, encouraged by their parents, studied very hard at school and university, and most went on to get highly paid jobs．As a result, a large number of Chinese families left Chinatown and moved to the more expensive places．Chinatown, however, is still as lively as ever．

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　　While others look away from trouble, this lady digs in and gets to work．

　　Gretchen Buchenholz, the native New Yorker and mother of six, has worked on behalf of needy and marginalized families for years in the city．She does everything from buy groceries for homeless families to start schools for children．In 1974 she founded Merricat's Castle, a nursery school that opened its doors to kids of all racial and economic backgrounds, the able-bodied as well as those with disabilities or terminal illnesses．

　　She founded the Association to Benefit Children(ABC), the nonprofit group, some 20 years ago．The story of how she started ABC is pretty amazing．In 1984 she was on her way to a government office to get a day-care permit when, by accident, she entered a room where homeless families were waiting to be placed in a “ welfare hotel．” She saw three bare cribs(婴儿床)with babies lying in them．The children wore no diapers(their parents couldn't afford them), and the room was filthy(不整洁)．After talking to the parents and learning that they and their children were hungry, Gretchen marched out and bought bread, peanut butter, apple juice and diapers．Then she started making phone calls．She dialed the American Red Cross, City Hall and The New York Times．

　　Gretchen has made many people see that we need to recognize these children are not different from our own, and we need to join in and help．Too often, people look away from suffering．But she sets us an example that we should gain strength to do something about it．

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　　Not long ago, people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old．Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life．

　　Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment．They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes．A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver．This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other human beings．

　　One study shows that babies can learn before they are born．The researchers placed a tape recorder on the stomach of a pregnant woman．Then, they played a recording of a short story．On the day the baby was born, the researchers attempted to find if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while in his mother．They did this by placing a device in the mouth of the newborn baby．

　　The baby would hear the story if he moved his mouth one way．If the baby moved his mouth the other way, he would hear a different story．The researchers say the baby clearly liked the story he heard before he was born．They say the baby would move his mouth so he could hear the story again and again．

　　Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children．

　　Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years．The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers．The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children's activities and did not interfere unnecessarily．They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old．Also, the researchers observed the women for signs of depression．

　　The children of depressed women did not do as well in tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression．The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear．

　　These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people．The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence development of their children．Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression．

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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 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 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 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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　　“English may be the global language of business but it is not enough by itself for companies to gain a lasting presence in many markets,” the European Commission(委员会)says in a study published last month．

　　The study collected by the British National Centre for Languages for the EU leader, says over 10 per cent of 2,000 small and medium-sized(中等规模的)firms in 29 European countries sampled(抽样)in the study have lost export contract(出口合同)because of lack of language skills．The study says French is used to trade with partners in Africa, Spanish in Latin America, and Russian in Eastern Europe．

　　“The picture is far more complex than the much-quoted view that English is the world language,” the study says．

　　Multilingual(多种语言的)Commissioner Leonard Orban admitted that English plays an important role worldwide, but he wants to improve more linguistic variety within the EU．

　　The EU's linguistic headaches have exploded with the group's expansion．Languages have become a sensitive topic in Brussels where English is increasingly eclipsing(侵蚀)French as the main working language of the organization．Translation of EU papers into EU's 23 official languages costs 1 billion euros(US ＄1.31 billion)a year．

　　“We want to be open not only to official languages of the Union, but also to others like regional(区域的)languages, languages of minorities, immigrants'(移民)languages and third countries' languages,” Orband said．

　　Many EU students have improved their language skills during non-formal learning activities．Young people from more than 20 different nationalities travel across Europe to participate together in many cultural programmes, language courses, thematic workshops(主题研习会)and other activities that are organized in about 100 cities．

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