A
In 1812, the year Charles Dickens was born, there were 66 novels published in Britain. People had been writing novels for a century—most experts date the first novel to Robinson Crusoe in 1719—but nobody wanted to do it professionally. The steam-powered printing press was still in its early stages; the literacy（识字） rate in England was under 50%. Many works of fiction appeared without the names of the authors, often with something like "By a lady." Novels, for the most part, were looked upon as silly, immoral, or just plain bad.
In 1870, when Dickens died, the world mourned him as its first professional writer and publisher, famous and beloved, who had led an explosion in both the publication of novels and their readership and whose characters — from Oliver Twist to Tiny Tim— were held up as moral touchstones. Today Dickens' greatness is unchallenged. Removing him from the pantheon（名人堂） of English literature would make about as much sense as the Louvre selling off the Mona Lisa.
How did Dickens get to the top? For all the feelings readers attach to stories, literature is a numbers game, and the test of time is extremely difficult to pass. Some 60,000 novels were published during the Victorian age, from 1837 to 1901; today a casual reader might be able to name a half-dozen of them. It's partly true that Dickens' style of writing attracted audiences from all walks of life. It's partly that his writings rode a wave of social, political and scientific progress. But it's also that he rewrote the culture of literature and put himself at the center. No one will ever know what mix of talent, ambition, energy and luck made Dickens such a singular writer. But as the 200th anniversary of his birth approaches, it is possible — and important for our own culture—to understand how he made himself a lasting one.
B
Steven Stein likes to follow garbage trucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he's an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter, including things that fall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is that one of Stein's jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bags.
Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts(收银台). The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California, including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.
Among the bag makers' arguments: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paper bags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at, they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today.
The industry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement: reusable shopping bags. The stronger a reusable bag is, the longer its life and the more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, longer-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make. One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the planet than plastic.
Environmentalists don't dispute（质疑） these points. They hope paper bags will be banned someday too and want shoppers to use the same reusable bags for years.
C
As cultural symbols go, the American car is quite young. The Model T Ford was built at the Piquette Plant in Michigan a century ago, with the first rolling off the assembly line（装配线） on September 27, 1908. Only eleven cars were produced the next month. But eventually Henry Ford would build fifteen million of them.
Modern America was born on the road, behind a wheel. The car shaped some of the most lasting aspects of American culture: the roadside diner, the billboard, the motel, even the hamburger. For most of the last century, the car represented what it meant to be American—going forward at high speed to find new worlds. The road novel, the road movie, these are the most typical American ideas, born of abundant petrol, cheap cars and a never-ending interstate highway system, the largest public works project in history.
In 1928 Herbert Hoover imagined an America with "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." Since then, this society has moved onward, never looking back, as the car transformed America from a farm-based society into an industrial power.
The cars that drove the American Dream have helped to create a global ecological disaster. In America the demand for oil has grown by 22 percent since 1990.
The problems of excessive（过度的）energy consumption, climate change and population growth have been described in a book by the American writer Thomas L. Friedman. He fears the worst, but hopes for the best.
Friedman points out that the green economy（经济）is a chance to keep American strength. "The ability to design, build and export green technologies for producing clean water, clean air and healthy and abundant food is going to be the currency of power in the new century."
Moving into a new home in a new neighborhood is an exciting experience. Of course, you want to make sure that you become an accepted and valuable part of your new neighborhood. The easiest way to accomplish this is to make sure you conduct yourself as a good neighbor should.
Perhaps one of the most important things you can do as a good neighbor is to keep your property(房产) neat, clean, and in good repair. By choosing to keep the outside of the home in great shape, you will help to improve the look and feel of the area.
Second, take the overall appearance of the neighborhood seriously. When going for a walk. Take along a small garbage bag. This small act will let your neighbors know that you care about the area.
If a neighbor is going to be out of town, offer to collect mail and newspapers. If a neighbor suffers an illness, offer to do the grocery shopping. Let them know you are there to help in any way this acceptable, while still respecting the privacy of your neighbor.
By following the basic rules of respecting others, taking care of what belongs to you, and taking pride in the appearance of the neighborhood in general, you will quickly become a good neighbor that everyone appreciates.
A. In general, keep an eye on their property while they are gone. B.A good neighbor is also one who likes to help out in small ways. C. Being a good neighbor is more or less about considerate behavior. D. Sometimes neighbors may go to the supermarket together to do shopping. E. Should you come across waste paper thrown out of a passing car, pick it up. F. People tend to lake pride in keeping everything in their street fresh and inviting. G. Here are a few tips to help you win over everyone in the neighborhood quickly |
We have all heard how time is more valuable than money, but is it 1 to have too much time?
I2back in high school I spent most of my day at school since I also 3a team sport. By the time I got home, I only had a few hours to do my homework, and I had to do it4.
When I got into college, things5.I suddenly found myself out of class before noon time. Because of all this 6time, there was no sense of 7 to do my school work immediately. I was performing this action of waiting until it later became8.Once that happened, I just kept9my studying further and further back in my day. Then I got to the point where I was10really late at night to get my work done.
One day I 11a former classmate of mine who was 12 a lot of money running a sideline(副业).Since his regular job was 13,I asked him why he just didn't do his sideline full-time. He said without the job, he would 14 have too much time and would just do what I did back in15.He said that if he 16the job, he would lose his 17 to work and succeed.
So, try 18your time with other work. This is why there is a 19 that if you want something done, ask a 20person to do it.
Few people I know seem to have much desire or time to cook. Making Chinese(dish) is seen as especially troublesome. Many westerners come to China cook much less than in their own countries once they realize how cheap can be to eat out. I still remember(visit) a friend who'd lived here for five years and I(shock) when I learnt she hadn't cooked once in all that time.
While regularly eating out seems to(become) common for many young people in recent years, it's not without a cost. The obvious one is money; eating out once or twice a week may be(afford) but doing this most days adds up. There could be an even(high) cost on your health. Researchers have found that there is a direct link between the increase in food eaten outside the home and the rise in (weigh) problems.
If you are not going to suffer this problem, then I suggest that the next time you go to your mum's home dinner, get a few cooking tips from her. Cooking food can be fun. You might also begin to notice the effects not only on your health but in your pocket.
It was summer, and my dad wanted to treat me to a vacation like never before. He decided to take me on a trip to the Wild West.
We took a plane to Albuquerque, a big city in the state of New Mexico. We reached Albuquerque in the late afternoon. Uncle Paul, my dad's friend, picked us up from the airport and drove us up to his farm in Pecos.
His wife Tina cooked us a delicious dinner and we got to know his sons Ryan and Kyle. My dad and I spent the night in the guestroom of the farm house listening to the frogs and water rolling down the river nearby. Very early in the morning, Uncle Paul woke us up to have breakfast. "The day starts at dawn on my farm," he said. After breakfast, I went to help Aunt Tina feed the chickens. while my dad went with Uncle Paul to take the sheep out to graze(吃草). I was impressed to see my dad and Uncle Paul riding horses. They looked really cool.
In the afternoon, I asked Uncle Paul if I could take a hose ride, and he said yes, as long as my dad went with me. I wasn't going to take a horse ride by myself anyway. So, my dad and I put on our new cowboy hats, got on our horses, and headed slowly towards the mountains. "Don't be late for supper," Uncle Paul cried, "and keep to the track so that you don't get lost!" "OK!" my dad cried back. After a while Uncle Paul and his farm house were out of sight. It was so peaceful and quiet and the colors of the brown rocks, the deep green pine trees, and the late afternoon sun mixed to create a magic scene. It looked like a beautiful woven(编织的）blanket spread out upon the ground just for us.
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