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　　Is war unavoidable? Can war be prevented?

　　History tells that there were wars, great or small, in every century, in every decade．Throughout the ages, from the Stone age to the Atomic Age, men have been fighting, first with swords and shields(盾), then with guns and cannons, and now, hydrogen bombs and missiles are used for military purpose．But, in spite of all these, it is still my belief that war can be prevented and peace can be won, but it requires the effort of every one of us．

　　I am sure that we would not like to experience another world war．If it ever happens, two-thirds of the world and much of the civilization which men have gained through time, patience and effort will be destroyed．Will then the remaining one-third of the world be able to survive on its own?

　　Our task now is not to blame the past, but to plan for the future．

　　If there is peace in the world, men can use their rockets to explore the mystery of space, their submarines to explore the depth of the sea, their missiles to deliver mails and their fine equipment to penetrate(穿透)the jungles of Africa, instead of using them military．

　　Governments can use their money to build more schools, so that more children can be educated to be useful citizens．Scientists can use atomic energy to propel(推动)steamships and planes．They can also design new machines to increase the production of goods and thus improve the way of living of the people．

　　How can a peaceful world be achieved? It requires, in my opinion, the understanding and friendship between all people from all nations．Let no one suffer discrimination by reason of color, race, religion, or national origin．Let the rich support the poor and the strong help the weak．

　　We know that neither peace nor such a dream world can come true in a day or a month．It may even take decades or centuries．But let us plan and begin now．

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　　The UK has a well-respected higher education system and some of the top universities and research institutions in the world．But to those who are new to it all, sometimes it can be confusing．

　　October is usually the busiest month in the college calendar．Universities have something called Freshers' Week for their newcomers．It's a great opportunity to make new friends, join lots of clubs and settle into university life．

　　However, having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind, the prospect(前景)of meeting lots of strangers in big halls can be nerve-wracking(令人头痛的)．Where do you start? Who should you make friends with? Which clubs should you join?

　　Luckily, there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you worrying about starting their university social life on the right foot．So just take it all in slowly．Don't rush into anything that you'll regret for the next three years．

　　Here is some top advice from past students on how to survive Freshers' Week：

　　●Learn rules．Make sure you know British social etiquette(礼节)．Have a few wine glasses and snacks handy for your housemates and friends．

　　●Be kind．Sometimes cups of tea or even slices of toast can give you a head start in making friends．

　　●Be sociable．The more active you are, the more likely you'll be to meet new people than those who never leave their room．

　　●Bring a doorstop．Keep your door open when you're in and that sends positive messages to your neighbors that you're friendly．

　　So with a bit of clever planning and effort, Freshers' Week can give you a great start to your university life and soon you'll be passing on your experience to next year's new recruits．

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How I Turned to Be Optimistic

　　I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt's house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America．We were on the bus then．I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me．I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning．

　　I do not remember myself crying for this reason again．In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives．When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see-－the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures．The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then．

　　The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once．For the first two years in New York I was really lost－having to study in three schools as a result of family moves．I did not quite know what I was or what I should be．Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me．Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other．I was often sad, and saw no end to "the hard times．"

　　My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home．I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives．

　　From my experiences I have learned one important rule：almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy．

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　　When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English．Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly．People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her．

　　My mother has long realized the limitations of her English as well．When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she．I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her．One time I had to call her stockbroker(股票经纪人)．I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs．Tan．”

　　And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he doesn't send me check, already two weeks late．”

　　And then, in perfect English I said, “I'm getting rather concerned．You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn't arrived．”

　　Then she talked more loudly．“What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss．” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can't tolerate any more excuses．If I don't receive the check immediately, I'm going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week．”

　　The next week we ended up in New York．While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs．Tan, was shouting to her boss in her broken English．

　　When I was a teenager, my mother's broken English embarrassed me．But now, I see it differently．To me, my mother's English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural．It is my mother tongue．Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom．It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world．

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　　In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition．Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity．Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people．

　　I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied (依赖) on how well they performed at tennis and other skills．For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs．In their single-minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten．

　　However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude．In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition．Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society．Teaching these young people , I often observe in them a desire to fail．They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success．By not trying, they always have an excuse：”I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try．” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot．Such a loss would be a measure of their worth．Clearly , this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves．Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others．Both are afraid of not being valued．Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解)can we discover a new meaning in competition．

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　　Have you ever had the strange feeling that you were being watched? You turned around and, sure enough, someone was looking right at you!

　　Parapsychologists(灵学家)say that humans have a natural ability to sense when someone is looking at them．To research whether such a “sixth sense” really exists, Robert Baker, a psychologist at the University of Kentucky, performed two experiments．

　　In the first one, Baker sat behind unknowing people in public places and stared at the backs of their heads for 5 to 15 minutes．The subjects(受试者)were eating, drinking, reading, studying, watching TV, or working at a computer．Baker made sure that the people could not tell that he was sitting behind them during those periods．Later, when he questioned the subjects, almost all of them said they had no sense that someone was staring at them．

　　For the second experiment, Baker told the subjects that they would be stared at from time to time from behind a two-way mirror in a laboratory setting．The people had to write down when they felt they were being stared at and when they weren't．Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were stared at and when they weren't．Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were stared at than if they had just guessed．

　　Baker concludes that people do not have the ability to sense when they're being stared at．If people doubt the outcome of his two experiments, said Baker, “I suggest they repeat the experiments and see for themselves．”

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　　The tea gardens in Sri Lanka are actually large estates．The best tea usually comes from plants grown on high grounds, the cool hilltops with rows and rows of tea plants．The plants are about one metre apart．The plant is often pruned so that it remains only 60 to 90 centimetres high．Pruning is important because it encourages the growth of tender shoots, or young leaves．

　　It is from these shoots that the best tea is got．

　　Practically all the tea pickers are women．The estates prefer to employ women pickers because they are more careful．Their thin fingers can easily remove the twin leaves and new shoots from the plant, which are the parts used for processing tea．The pickers carry large baskets into which they throw their pickings．A skilled worker can harvest between 9 to 14 kilogrammes of tea leaves a day．Usually new shoots can be picked from the plants about every ten or fifteen days．

　　Processing tea shoots into the familiar dry tea leaves requires great care and skill．There are various methods of processing depending on the type of tea required．For black tea ,the young green leaves are first spread out o shelves to dry．This process removes much of its water and the leaves become soft．After this ,the leaves are passed through heavy rollers．This operation will press the leaves for juices which give the tea both its colour and taste．Then the leaves are spread out on floors and left to ferment under wet conditions．Fermentation develops the rich taste of black tea．The fermented leaves are then dried with a hot-air blower until they become rolled-up black leaves．The final step is to sort and grade them before the black tea is ready for sale to countries all over the world．

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Chances

　　I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job．I also think my work is important．There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career．

　　I wasn't an excellent student because I didn't do much schoolwork．In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn't have much to offer．I just accepted that I wasn't the type to have a career．

　　I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls．It wasn't too bad at first．But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening．We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she'd give me time off the next．But unfortunately, it didn't often work out．I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children．

　　One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me．I told her about my situation．She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children．I didn't think I would be accepted because I didn't take many exams in school．She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful．My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course．I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten．

　　Now I've got a full-time job there．I shall always be thankful to Megan．I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren't top of the class at school．

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　　Who made your T-shirt?” A Geowetown University student raised that question．Pietra Rivoli, a professor of business, wanted to find the answer．A few weeks later, she bought a T-shirt and began to follow its path from Texas cotton form to Chinese factory to charity bin(慈善捐赠箱)．The result is an interesting new book, The Travel's of a T-shirt in the Global Economy．

　　Following a T-shirt around the world in a way to make her point more interesting, but it also frees Rivoli from the usual arguments over global trade．She goes wherever the T-shirt goes, and there are surprises around every corner．In China, Rivoli shows why a clothing factory, even with its poor conditions, means a step toward a better life for the people who work there．In the colorful used-clothing markets of Tanzania, she realizes this, “it is only in this final stage of life that the T-shirt will meet a real market,” where the price of a shirt changes by the hour and is different by its size and even color．Rivoli's book is full of memerable people and scenes, like the noise, the bad air and the “muddy-sweet smell of the cotton．”She says, “Here in the factory, Shanghai smells like Shallowater Texas．”

　　Rivoli is at her best when making those sorts of unexpected connections．She even finds one between the free traders and those who are against globalization．The chances opened up by trade are vast, she argues, but free markets need the correcting force of politics to keep them in check．True economic progress needs them both．

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　　Welcome to Ontario Parks, a new body set up to manage Ontario's most treasured special places, the parks in our area．

　　We are entering a very exciting year for Ontario Parks．Last season we asked some 15,000 visitors in 45 parks how we could improve our programs and services．We also looked at the thousands of comment cards we received．As a result, new comfort stations have been added, the number of campsites has been increased, and we've made other facility improvements．In addition, we'll be providing more educational programs．This year, for example, more than 40 parks will offer special day and evening activities to excite your curiosity about nature and history．

　　Through the Internet, you'll be happy to know that you can now explore all 270 parks on line．Let your family plan your park vacation, study a map of canoe routes, listen to the call of a loon or find up-to-date information about programs, services and facilities．

　　So come and discover what Ontario Parks has to offer．Our parks are places to go with families and friends, for relaxation and fun, or simply to get away from it all．They are places where we can enrich our souls and “recharge our internal batteries”．They provide chances to explore nature, see wildlife, swim, canoe, camp, hike, picnic, ride a bike… You'll enjoy some of the best outdoor experiences available anywhere in the world．

　　We urge you to take the trip and have an Ontario Parks experience!

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