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　　New York, September 15．During a heavy rainfall last night a bus carrying 42 passengers slipped off the road on Highway 28, killing 36 of the passengers and the driver．

　　A spokesman for the Highway Patrol(巡逻队)which arrived at the scene shortly after 11∶30 p.m．estimated(估计)that the accident had happened about half an hour before．The injured and the dead were sent to the nearest town of Valley View．

　　At the point where the accident happened the road has a three-lane(三条行车线)highway with many curves(弯道)．Cause of the accident has not been fully found out．

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　　When building houses, people used to think about not only the climate of the areas but also the building materials and the fashions for their houses．However, since electricity became more and more expensive, people began to pay much more attention to the energy they could get for their houses and the new ways they could find to protect their houses from both cold and heat．

　　Now, houses of an old yet new type have been widely built．In some parts of the world, people share their houses with their livestock(家畜)．During cold weather, they gather their cows, goats, or other animals and keep them on the first floor of their houses．The reasons are that the animals can be protected from the cold and that they can help to heat the houses as well．The body heat given off by the animals rises to the second floor of the houses, where people live．By sharing their houses with their livestock, people gain a source of heat．

　　People who live in or near cities do not usually keep livestock．However, home builders use the fact that heat rises．This natural law can be used in building houses in these areas．Instead of keeping livestock on the first floor, builders fill it with large rocks．As they are open to the sun’s rays during cold weather, these rocks take in heat．They also give off the heat, and, of course, the warm air rises into the living areas of the houses．So these houses are energy saving．

　　House building becomes a great challenge(挑战)to building designers and energy engineers．They try to meet this challenge by learning from old traditions and by using modern technology．And someday in the future, people will be able to live in more energy saving houses．

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　　One of the most dangerous drugs for pregnant(怀孕的)women to consume(消耗)is alcohol．Because alcohol is delivered quickly into the blood and passes quickly into the tissues and membranes(细胞膜), the human fetus(胎儿)is particularly vulnerable(易受伤害的)to its effects．

　　As a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, the alcohol is passed into her bloodstream almost at the same time．Moreover, because the bloodstream of the fetus is closely tied to that of the mother, the alcohol passes directly into the bloodstream of the fetus as well．

　　And, what is more, the quantity of alcohol in the fetus is exactly the same as in the mother．For the mother, this amount is not a problem because her liver can remove one ounce of alcohol from her system per hour．However, the fetus’ liver is not completely developed(how developed it is depends on its stage of development)．The rate at which it is able to get rid of the alcohol from the blood of the fetus is much slower．

　　Finally, the alcohol will be returned to the mother’s system by passing across the placenta(胎盘), but this process is slow．By the time this takes place, major neurological(神经学上的)damage may have already occurred．Research has shown that as little as one drink of alcohol can produce permanent damage to the fetus．

　　Babies born after exposure to alcohol generally show facial distortion(扭曲), inability to concentrate, and difficulty in remembering．Simply speaking, it is very important that pregnant women avoid alcohol．

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　　People within a country do business together．They buy goods, or products, from one another and sell products to others．

　　Different countries do business together, too．One country may buy and bring in things from another country．This is called importing products．The same country may also sell and send things to another country．This is called to export products．

　　The Netherlands is a small country better known to us as Holland．It lies in the low country of Europe on the North Sea．

　　Holland has a steel making industry that needs iron．This ore(矿，矿石)is found in some parts of the world, but Holland has none．The little country must import it．Ships carry the ore to the Netherlands from places like Canada and Africa．

　　Holland grows millions of flower bulbs every year．The country is famous for the beautiful tulips(郁金香)grown from these bulbs．Large numbers of tulip bulbs are dug up, dried, and exported to many countries．

　　Do you have tulips growing in your garden? Perhaps they are growing from bulbs brought from Holland．

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　　GENEVA－The use of stimulants(兴奋剂)or drugs is increasing and something must be done about it, the World Health Organization(WHO)said on Friday．

　　“In the 1970s the international focus(焦点)was on the heroin(海洛因)．In the 1980s and the 1990s the focus was on cocaine．Now in the 21st century we are becoming frightened by the rapid increase in amphetamine-type stimulants, not only in the rich countries of the world but the whole world,” said the official of the WHO．

　　Amphetamines(安非他命)are often used by the workers, such as long-distance truck drivers to increase endurance(耐久力)or delay sleep, the official said．

　　About 3 per cent of the population of the world use amphetamines, experts said．In Britain among young people between ages 16 and 19, fourteen percent of them have used amphetamines．

　　In Korea, Japan, Denmark, Philippines and Australia, amphetamines are more widely used than heroin or cocaine, a reporter said．The problem is also widespread in the United States, Western and Eastern Europe．

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　　People can be addicted to(沉溺于)different things－e．g．alcohol, drug, certain foods, or even television．People who have such an addiction are compulsive(强迫的)：they have a very powerful psychological need that they feel they must satisfy．According to psychologists, many people are compulsive spenders．They feel that they must spend money．This compulsion, like most others, is impossible to explain reasonably．For compulsive spenders who buy on credit(以赊欠方式), charge accounts are even more exciting than money．In other words, compulsive spenders feel that with credit, they can do anything．Their pleasure in spending large amounts is actually greater than the pleasure that they get from the things they buy．

　　There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting．To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts．Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap．They want to believe that they are helping their budgets(预算), but they are really playing an exciting game．When they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning．Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior：a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason．

　　It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people．Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business．They consider people’s needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods．

　　Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy(疗法)”to help individuals solve their personality problems．In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money．

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　　Buying insurance is a way in which people can protect themselves against large losses．Protection against fire is one kind of insurance．Large numbers of people pay small sums of money to an insurance company．Although thousands of people have paid for fire insurance, only a few will lose their homes by fire．The insurance company will pay for these homes out of the small sums of money it had collected．

　　The first modern fire insurance company was formed in London in the 1740s．A great fire had just destroyed most of the city and people wanted protection against further losses．The first company grew rapidly．Some other companies were founded in other areas．

　　Benjamin Franklin helped form the first fire insurance company in America in 1752, and then a new kind of insurance for farmers was suggested．The new insurance would provide protection against the loss of crops from storms．

　　Later on another new insurance company was started in America．This company, which offered life insurance, collected small sums of money regularly from many different men．If a man died, his family was given a large sum of money．

　　Over the years, insurance companies have offered new kinds of insurance protection．The new kinds of insurance cover from such accidents as car and plane crashes．Today, most people have some kind of insurance．

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　　The quality of drinking water in Shanghai will meet European Union standard by 2010 and, a decade later, citizens in Shanghai will drink the best water in the world．

　　These were the goals set out by the Shanghai Water Authority．With the city’s population expected to increase only slightly and the economy to boom by 2020, Chen Yin, an official with the water authority, said Shanghai’s water consumption(消费)will not increase from its present amount．

　　Zhang Yue, director of the Urban Construction Division under the Ministry of Construction, said, “Shanghai is the first city in the country to publicize these ambitions(雄心)．They will not be easy to achieve．”

　　He said water saving will help keep the sustainable development of China’s economy．

　　Saving one cubic meter of water means saving the city’s infrastructure(基础设施)costs by 10 000 yuan．Last year, Shanghai saved 300 million cubic meters of water either from readjustment of industrial structure or the employment of new technology．

　　“The aim is to arouse public awareness of the seriousness of water shortages,” Chen said．“The abundant surface water and amount of rain of the city are so misleading that they result in improper use of water．”

　　Shanghai lacks drinkable water．The Huangpu River, which supplies 80 percent of the city’s drinkable water, is nearing exhaustion．The city, therefore, has been exploring new sources from the Yangtze River and growing forests along it to conserve quality water．

　　Besides penning regulations, the authority is popularizing technology among the public to efficiently cut the amount of water used．At present, the city has 600 000 family toilets, each using 13 liters of water per flush．These are to be renovated(整修)to use only 9 liters of water per flush．The authority is renovating the first(200 toilets for households－at a cost of 40 yuan each．

　　In three years, all the toilets will be renovated, which saves the city nearly 15 million yuan every year in water conservation．

　　Another task the city is engaged in is the treatment of sewage(污水)to improve the water environment．At present the city can only treat 44 percent of its daily 5.04 million tons of waste water．To meet the total demand, 27 more sewage treatment factories are to be established with an estimated investment of 18 billion yuan．

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The Key to Your Health

　　A car needs gas to run and your body also needs food to work for you．Eating the right kind of food is very important．It can help your body grow strong to take care of what you eat．

　　There are four main food groups altogether．The dairy group has food like milk, cheese and sour milk．The other three groups are the meat and fish group, the fruit and vegetable group, and the bread and rice group．Each meal should have at least one food from all four main groups．With all these food together, you will be given enough energy during the day．

　　It is easy to get into bad eating habits．You may eat your breakfast in a hurry to get to school on time．Or you may not have time for a good lunch．It may seem easy to finish your supper with fish and chips all the time．But you will find yourself tired in these days and you can not think quickly．

　　Watch what you eat will help your body remain healthy and strong．It is also good to take some exercise．It will help you eat more if you take a walk or play games in the open air．Having a good eating habit with some exercise is the key to your health．

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　　The food we eat seems to have a great effect on our health．Although science has made big steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat．Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of human illness is related to food and forty percent of cancer is related to food as well．That food is related to illness is not a new discovery．

　　In 1945, some researchers realized that things commonly used to keep colours in meats and other food additives(添加剂)caused cancer．Yet, these additives remain in our food, and it is difficult to know which things on the wrappings of foods are helpful or harmful．The additives which we eat are not all so direct．Farmers often give penicillin to their animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of cows．Sometimes similar things are supplied to animals not for their health, but just to make a profit．

　　The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to get a higher price on the market．Although some countries have tried to control such things, the practice continues．

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