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　　Unless humans act now, seafood may disappear by 2048, concludes the lead author of a new study that paints a grim picture for ocean and human health．According to the study, the loss of ocean biodiversity(生物多样性)is speeding up, and 29 percent of the seafood species that humans consume have already died out．If the long-term trend continues, in 30 years there will be little or no seafood available for human beings．

　　The increasing pace of diversity loss thus endangers the“ecosystems services”that many human populations depend on for survival, the study says．The research also found that biodiversity loss is tightly linked to declining water quality, harmful algal blooms, ocean dead zones, fish kills, and coastal flooding．

　　“Biodiversity is a limited resource, and we are going to end up with nothing left if nothing changes,”said Boris Worm, an assistant professor of marine conservation biology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada．Worm led the international team of scientists and economists that examined the role of marine biodiversity in maintaining ecosystem services．

　　“They examined the impact of species loss at local, regional, and global scales and in a variety of ecosystems．Everywhere they looked, they got the same result：The greater the loss of diversity, the greater the impact on ecosystem services．

　　“The good news is that areas managed for improved diversity can and do recover, raising the possibility that the problem can be reversed(彻底改变)if humans take action．”Worm says,“Where we protect marine areas around the world we see an increase in species diversity．We also see more productivity as well as more money being earned from those ecosystems,”he said．

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　　On July 2, 1961, the day when Ernest Hemingway took his own life at the age of 61, a great light went out in the world of literature．News of Hemingway’s death darkened the front pages of the most major newspapers including The New York Times．

　　Hemingway was a man who truly enjoyed life．He made those around him enjoy life．When he could no longer enjoy his life, when his body failed him, when his gift for writing deserted him, he ended his life．This final act would add to the Hemingway mystery．

　　Hemingway’s literature had always been influenced by tragedy．When reading his work, one notices an element almost always lacking：the happy ending．Not only could Hemingway describe life“as it is”, he was also good at describing life“as it is not”．Life is not a clichéd bed of roses, a care-free world in which lovers walk hand in hand into a setting sunset．No, the sun also rises, and if its rays are too hot or too bright, or if it stays visible for too long, the roses will wilt and die．Hemingway never avoided exploring the tragedies of life, of death, of love．

　　There is little doubt that the events in Hemingway’s fiction mirror the events in his life．Hemingway’s true talent, however, lies in his ability to construct fiction which is more realistic and truer than any life event could ever be．Every writer of fiction wishes to produce a similar construction．Many try．Many fail．Some succeed．Hemingway succeeded and he is still succeeding．

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　　There is one foreign product the Japanese are buying faster than others and its popularity has caused an uneasy feeling among many Japanese．

　　That product is foreign words．

　　Gairaigo-words that come from outside－have been part of the Japanese language for centuries．Mostly borrowed from English and Chinese, these terms are often changed into forms no longer understood by native speakers．

　　But in the last few years the trickle(涓涓细流)of foreign words has become a flood, and people fear the increasing use of foreign words is making it hard for the Japanese to understand each other and could lead to many people forgetting the good qualities of traditional(传统的)Japanese．

　　“The popularity of foreign words is part of the Japanese interest in anything new．”says university lecturer and writer Takashi Saito．“By using a foreign word you can make a subject seem new, which makes it easier for the media(媒体)to pick up．”

　　“Experts(专家)often study abroad and use English terms when they speak with people in their own fields．Those terms are then included in government white papers．”said Muturo Kai, president of the National Language Research Institute．“Foreign words find their way easily into announcements made to the general public, when they should really be explained in Japanese．”

　　Against the flow of new words, many Japanese are turning back to the study of their own language．Saito’s Japanese to Be Read Aloud is one of many language books that are now flying off booksellers’ shelves．

　　“We were expecting to sell the books to young people．”said the writer．“but it turns out they are more popular with the older generation, who seem uneasy about the future of Japanese．”

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Tales From Animal Hospital

David Gram

　　David Gram has become a familiar face to millions of fans of Animal Hospital．Here Dr Gram tells us the very best of his personal stories about the animals he has treated, including familiar patients such as the dogs Snowy and Duchess, the delightful cat Marigold Serendipity Diamond．He also takes the reader behind the scenes at Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital as he describes his day, from ordinary medical check-ups to surgery(外科手术)．Tales From Animal Hospital will delight all fans of the programme and anyone who has a lively interest in their pet, whether it be cat, dog or snake!

　　￡14.99 Hardback 272pp Simon Schuster

　　ISBN 0751304417

　　Lsaac Newton：The Last sorcerer

　　Michael White

　　From the author of Stephen Hawking：A Life in Science, comes this colourful description of the life of the world’s first modern scientist．Interesting yet based on fact．Michael White’s learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him．Newton is shown as a gifted scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic(魔术)ended and science began．

　　￡18.99 Hardback 320pp Fourth Estate

　　ISBN 1857024168

　　Fermat’s Last Theorem

　　Simon Singh

　　In 1963 a schoolboy called Andrew Wiles reading in his school library came across the world’s greatest mathematical problem：Fermat’s Last Theorem(定理)．First put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century, the theorem had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds, including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem, and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole Polytechnique．Through unbelievable determination Andrew Wiles finally worked out the problem in 1995．An unusual story of human effort over three centuries, Fermat’s Last Theorem will delight specialists and general readers alike．

　　￡12.99 Hardback 384pp Fourth Estate

　　ISBN 1857025210

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　　Reading to dogs is an unusual way to help children improve their literacy skills(读写能力), With their shining brown eyes, wagging tails, and unconditional love, dogs can provide the nonjudgmental listeners needed for a beginning reader to gain confidence(自信心), according to Intermountain Therapv Animals(ITA)in Salt Lake City．The group says it is the first program in the country to use dogs to help develop literacy in children, with the introduction of Reading Education Assistance Dogs(READ)．

　　The Salt Lake City Public Library is sold on the idea．“Literacy specialists admit that children who read below the level of their fellow pupils are often afraid of reading aloud in a group, often have lower self-respect, and regard-reading as a headache．”said Lisa Myton, manager of the children’s department．

　　Last November the two groups started“Dog Day Afternoon”in the children’s department of the main library．About 25 children attended each of the four Saturday-afternoon classes, reading for half an hour．Those who attended three of the four classes received a“pawgraphed”book at the last class．

　　The program was so successful that the library plans to repeat it in April．According to Dana Thumpowsky, public relations manager．

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　　Tristan da Cunha, a 38-square-mile island, is the farthest inhabited island in the world, according to the Guinness Book Records．It is 1,510 miles southwest of its nearest neighbor, St．Helena, and 1,950 miles west of Africa．Discovered by the Portuguese admiral(葡萄牙海军上将)of the same name in 1506．and settled in 1810, the island belongs to Great Britain and has a population of a few hundred．

　　Coming in a close second- and often wrongly mentioned is the most distant and－is Easter Island, which lies 1,260 miles east of its nearest neighbor, Pitcairn Island, and 2,300 miles west of South America．

　　The mountainous 64-square-mile island was settled around the 5th century, supposedly by people who were lost at sea．They had no connection with the outside world for more than a thousand years, giving them plenty of time to build more than 1,000 huge stone figures, called moat, for which the island is most famous．

　　On Easter Sunday, 1722, however, settlers from Holland moved in and gave the island its name．Today, 2,000 people live on the Chilean territory(智利领土)．They share one street, a small airport and a few hours of television per day．

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　　As if there weren’t enough of them in the world already, scientists have succeeded in cloning flies．The alike fruit flies are the first insects ever cloned, says the Canadian team that created them．The question everyone asks is why anyone would want to clone flies in the first place．She hopes that the insects, which are very easy to experiment with, will help to adjust the cloning process in other animals and even in humans, where the technique is being researched to aid production of therapeutic(治疗的)stem cells．

　　In cloning, the DNA-containing nucleus of an adult cell is injected into an egg whose own nucleus(细胞核)has been removed．At the moment, the majority of cloned mice, sheep and other animals die before birth．It is thought this is because the adult DNA is not properly ‘reprogrammed’．

　　Using flies, researchers might discover genes that are important for this reprogramming, and that have matches in other animals．That is because it is relatively easy in flies to knock out the function of a single gene and then attempt cloning with these cells, which will test whether that gene is important．If such genes are confirmed, then in theory cloned mammalian embryos(晶胚)might be grown in selected solutions that change the activity of those genes to improve the technique’s success rate．Although some groups have attempted to clone insects before, Lloyd says this is the first time it has been successful．The team used a slight difference on the standard cloning process：they transferred nuclei taken from embryos rather than fully-grown adult cells．They sucked several nuclei(pl)out of developing fly embryos, and injected them into a fertilized(已受精的)fly egg．From over 800 early attempts, they cloned five adult insects, the group reports in the journal Genetics．

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　　Read the following advertisements and then choose the correct answers．

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How to beat nerves

　　Do you blank out, freeze up(呆住)or feel so nervous in exams that you have trouble writing answers to questions that you knew just last night?

　　If so, you likely have a case of test anxiety．

　　But, don’t panic．By recognizing the problem, you are taking the first step towards overcoming it．

　　Believe it or not, a touch of nervousness can sharpen your mind, allowing you to perform more quickly．This is because under stress, the body releases the hormone adrenaline(肾上腺素), which prepares it for something important that will happen．However, too much anxiety can result in sleeplessness, loss of appetite before tests, and poor performance．Some people might feel shaky(weak), hot, or even sick．

　　If you worry a lot or are a perfectionist, you are more likely to have trouble with test anxiety．Those who have prepared poorly for a test or have had negative experiences taking tests may also experience test anxiety．

　　When you feel a storm of anxiety coming on, stop what you're doing and make your mind a blank．If possible, actually tell yourself to ‘STOP!’ This will get your mind off the stress．Then think of being at a place of comfort and let your body relax．As you continue the test, find questions you know the answers to and answer them first．This will help restore your confidence．

　　Talk to yourself using positive language．Make it a habit to replace each negative thought with a logical reason．For example：“I've studied hard and I know the material, so I’m ready to do the best I can．”Another thing you can do is to learn to accept mistakes．In fact, they can be valuable learning opportunities．

　　Last but not least, start test preparation early three to five days ahead of the quiz or test．After all, good study habits and skills．for example, time management and note-taking will give you the feeling that you are in control．

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　　It is difficult for doctors to help a person with a damaged brain．Without enough blood, the brain lives for only three to five minutes．More often the doctors can’t fix the damage．Sometimes they are afraid to try something to help because it is dangerous to work on the brain．The doctors might make the person worse if he operates on the brain．

　　Dr．Robert White, a famous professor and doctor, thinks he knows a way to help．He thinks doctors should make the brain very cold．If it is very cold, the brain can live without blood for 30 minutes．This gives the doctor a longer time to do something for the brain．

　　Dr．White tried his idea on 13 monkeys．First he taught them to do different jobs, then he operated on them．He made the monkeys’ blood go through a machine．The machine cooled the blood．Then the machine sent the blood back to the monkeys’ brains．When the brain’s temperature was 10℃, Dr．White stopped the blood to the brain．After30 minutes he turned the blood back on．He warmed the blood again．After their operations the monkeys were like they had been before．They were healthy and busy．Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had taught them．

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