If you grow old in Japan, expect to be served food by a robot, ride a voice-recognition wheelchair or even possibly hire a nurse in a robotic suit－all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country's rapidly graying population．

　　With nearly 22 percent of Japan's population already aged 65 or older, businesses here have been rolling out everything from easy-entry cars to remote-controlled beds, fueling a care technology market worth some ＄1.08 billion in 2006, according to industry figures．

　　At a home care and rehabilitation(恢复)convention in Tokyo, buyers crowded round a demonstration of Secom Co．'s My Spoon Feeding robot, which helps elderly or disabled people eat with a spoon－and fork-fitted swiveling(转动的)arm．

　　Operating a joystick(操纵杆)with his chin, developer Shigehisa Kobayashi maneuvered the arm toward a block of soft tofu, deftly(灵巧地)getting the fork to break off a bite-sized piece．The arm then returned to a preprogrammed position in front of the mouth, allowing Kobayashi to bite and swallow．

　　“It's all about empowering people to help themselves,”Kobayashi said．The Tokyo-based company has already sold 300 of the robots, which come with a price tag of ＄3,500．

　　“We want to give the elderly control over their own lives,” he said．

　　The rapidly aging population here has spurred a spate of concerns：a labor shortage, tax shortfalls, financial difficulties in paying the health bills and pensions of large numbers of elderly．

　　Moreover, a breakdown of family ties in recent years means a growing number of older Japanese are spending their golden years away from the care traditionally provided by children and grandchildren．

　　That's where cutting-edge technology steps in．

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　　People and vehicles use bridges to cross bodies of water, valleys and roads．If you ask people to name some famous American bridges, they probably will include the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City．Both are suspension bridges (悬索桥)．They cross great distances and have roadways that hang from steel cables supported by high towers．

　　You may think the Golden Gate Bridge was named for its orange color．But it is named for the body of water that it crosses－the Golden Gate Strait．The Golden Gate Strait is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean．The Golden Gate Bridge links the city of San Francisco with Marin County, California．

　　Joseph Strauss designed the bridge．It opened in 1937．The Golden Gate Bridge extends 1,280 meters across the water．It was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1964．That is when the Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened in New York City．Still, the Golden Gate Bridge has become famous around the world．And many people consider it to be the most beautiful bridge structure in the world．

　　The Brooklyn Bridge is much older than the Golden Gate．It was one of the first great suspension bridges．It was built between 1869 and 1883．John Augustus Roebling designed the bridge．But he died as a result of an accident at the start of its construction．

　　His son, Washington Roebling, replaced him as chief engineer．But he became sick while working underwater．Washington Roebling was not able to go to the construction area．Yet he continued to direct the operations through his wife, Emily．

　　The Brooklyn Bridge links Brooklyn with Manhattan Island．It extends 486 meters over the East River．It was the longest bridge in the world until the Firth of Forth cantilever bridge(悬臂桥)was built in Scotland in 1890．Today, thousands of cars, trucks, bicycles and people cross the Brooklyn Bridge every day．

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　　Parents and teens usually don't see eye-to-eye about everything．Conflict is a normal part of life, but it can be hard for parents and teens to discuss problems．These discussions can be angry and frustrating for both parents and kids．How can parents communicate with teens about problems?

　　When you try to solve problems with your kids, you can talk to them using “I” messages or “you” messages ．“I” messages describe problems and let kids know that you trust them and believe they can help you solve the problem．“You” messages blame kids and can make them defensive or angry－so kids are less likely to be interested in solving the problem．For example, let's say that 17-year-old Judy comes home after curfew(宵禁)．Here's how her mom could respond：

　　●You message：You are late again! You should be home on time．What were you thinking?

　　Judy's response：Leave me alone Mom! You are always yelling at me!

　　●I message：When you come home late I get worried because I'm afraid something has happened to you．

　　Judy's response：I didn't realize how worried you get．

　　An “I” message includes descriptions of：

　　●the problem behavior

　　●your feelings about the behavior

　　●the effect of the behavior

　　For example, let's say that Joe and his younger brother Jason are fighting in the car and disturbing their dad who is driving．To solve this problem using an “I” statement the dad could say：“When you two fight in the back of the car I get worried about driving safely because your fighting is so distracting(分散注意力的)．

　　●When you two fight (description of problem be havior)

　　●I get worried about driving (description of feelings )

　　●because the fighting is distracting (effect of the behavior)

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　　The power of words becomes clear after listening to a powerful speech that leaves you feeling motivated(振奋),or when a moving passage from a novel brings tears to your eyes．

　　But when it comes to causing pain, the power of words may still be vastly underestimated(低估)．

　　Kids who are routinely teased and called names can develop low self-esteem and may grow up to be angry adults．

　　“Hurtful words can torment you all your life and may lead to heart disease, depression, suicide or stress,”said W．Penn Handwerker, a medical anthropologist．Not surprisingly, those that have the most impact are words that come from people we admire or who have some power over our lives：teachers, spouses, parents and peers．

　　Studies have found that when it comes to bullying, verbal assaults(伤害)are even more painful than physical ones．Words create fear and contain the promise of future violence．The emotional impact on victims can range from low-level anxiety to great fear．

　　It is estimated that 160,000 students miss school every day because they're afraid of being harassed(骚扰)．What's more, name-calling and other forms of abuse are early signs of actual violence in schools．Wessler, who worked as a prosecutor(检查官), explained that when he was called into schools for cases of violence, it was typically the last stage of a much longer battle．

　　“The violence had actually begun days or months before with verbal harassment,” he said．

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　　Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, on February 2, 1977, Shakira is the youngest of eight children．

　　Shakira knew early on that she wanted to be a professional musician and by the time she was 8, she was already writing her own songs．This prodigy(神童)even began playing the guitar by 11 years of age．

　　While in school, Shakira was making her musical talent known by winning talent shows playing the guitar．She impressed judges at local and national competitions, who declared her winner of the contests．

　　At the age of 13, Shakira had become Sony Colombia's newest artist, and her first album(专辑), entitled“Magla(Magic)” was released．The songs in this album were written since she was at the age of 8．The album was well received and Colombian listeners were beginning to realize who this young musician was．

　　A performance on the Latin Grammys (拉丁格莱美音乐奖)in September 2000, and a catchy song Whenever, Wherever, made American audiences sit up and take notice．Shakira's first English record Laundry Service was released in 2001, and with the help of Whenever, Wherever, and the follow-up single, Underneath Your Clothes, was certified(给颁发) double platinum．The beauty is curving her way to a superstar．

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　　Almost all the parents today say the same thing－children aren't playing outside anymore, not in the woods or the fields．And children say the same thing, in their way．

　　One fifth-grader put it briefly, “I like to play indoors better because that's where all the electrical outlets are．”

　　The child-nature relationship has changed．I knew my woods and my fields; I knew every bend in the stream and dip in the beaten dirt paths．I wandered those woods even in my dreams．Kids today can likely tell you about the Amazon rainforest－but not about the last time they explored the woods in solitude(僻静之处), or lay in a field listening to the wind and watching the clouds move．

　　Parents cite several everyday reasons why their children spend less time in nature than they themselves did．Among them：reduced access to natural areas; competition with electronic entertainment; increased homework, longer school hours and other time pressures．

　　A 2005 report, “Generation M：Media in the Lives of 8 to 18 Year Olds,” conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, reveals that kids' average weekly electronic media exposure is almost 60 hours, more time than most parents spend on full-time jobs．Sixty-eight percent of young people have TVs in their rooms; half of all youths live in homes where TVs are on most or all of the time, whether anyone is watching or not．

　　Also this year, the UCLA Center on Everyday Lives of Families reports that during the week parents and children are in constant motion, racing between school, games, shopping, work－and that American kids spend virtually(事实上) no time in their own yards．

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　　TORONTO－Rising temperatures in eastern Canada are making it more dangerous for the native Inuit population in the province of Quebec to travel and hunt by snowmobile, and a new study recommends that they return to using the traditional dog sled．

　　A recent report on climate change in Quebec's Arctic region stresses that warming temperatures are forcing the Inuit to rethink how they get around, which is mainly by Skidoo snowmobile．

　　“For the last 10 years or so we've had winters that are more mild, so ice forms later in autumn and winter,” Martin Tremblay, a geographic researcher who led the study, said Tuesday．

　　“One of the most effective means of transport is the Skidoo, and the period when it can be used is shorter than before．It causes security problems, because the ice is thinner and more unstable．”

　　Tremblay's report was prepared for the Kativik regional government and offers several recommendations to deal with climate change, among the most striking being a return to Inuit's traditional means of transport－dog sleds．

　　Tremblay points out that dog sleds are a fair bit lighter than Skidoos and well-trained dogs can sense precarious patches of ice．

　　His recommendation is being embraced by many for reasons that extend beyond safety．

　　Organizers of Ivakkak, Nunavik's annual dog sled race, say encouraging dog sled use and breeding pure Huskies will do much to preserve an Inuit tradition under threat．

　　“The dogs were part of their nomadic(游牧的) life and it was taken from them,” said Ivakkak coordinator Isabelle Dubois, referring to allegations(主张)that tens of thousands of sled dogs were slaughtered during the 1950s and 1960s．

　　“It's a way of life that has disappeared and the dogs are at the base of that way of life．”

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　　Two students started quarreling at school．One student shouted dirty words at the other, and a fight began．

　　What can be done to stop fights like this at school? In some schools, the disputants(争执者) sit down with peer mediators(调停者)．Peer mediators are students with special training in this kind of problem．

　　Peer mediators help the disputants to talk in a friendly way．Here are some of the ways they use：

　　1．Put what you think clearly but don't say anything to hurt the other．Begin with “I feel．．．”instead of“You always…”

　　2．Listen carefully to what the other person is saying．Don't stop the other person's words．

　　3．Keep looking at the other person's eyes when he or she talks．

　　4．Try to see the other person's side of the problem．

　　5．Never put anyone down．Saying things like“You are foolish”makes the talk difficult．

　　6．Try to find a result that makes both people happy．

　　Peer mediators never decide the result or the winner．They don't decide who is right and who is wrong．Instead, they help the two students to find their own “winwin” result．A “win-win” result can make everyone feel good．

　　Peer mediators' work is often successful just because it gets people to talk to each other．And getting people to talk to each other is the first step in finding a“win-win” result．

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　　Over time, animals have developed many ways to stay away from predators(食肉动物)．Hiding is one of the best ways to stay alive．

　　Master of disguise(伪装)

　　Some animals hide by looking like the places where they live．Let's look at the leafy sea dragon．It is a master of disguise．

　　The sea dragon is covered with skin that looks like leaves．The skin helps the dragon look like a piece of seaweed．A hungry meat-eater would stay away from anything that looks like seaweed．

　　Skin is just one part of the sea dragon's disguise．Its fins(鳍)make another part．They are small．They slowly push the dragon through the water．So the dragon looks like it's floating－just like seaweed．

　　Show the colors

　　The leafy sea dragon hides to stay safe．Other animals stay safe by showing their colors．They want other animals to see them．Scientists call these bright colors warning colors．The colors tell predators to stay away．Think, for instance, what happens when a yellow bug flies in your face? Yellow is a warning colour．It tells you that it might be a bumblebee(大黄峰)．You don't want to disturb those insects．

　　Blending in

　　Many animals use colors to match the place they live in．Some even change colors with the seasons．

　　The snowshoe hare has brown fur in summer．It blends in with the colors of fields．In fall, the hare loses its brown fur．It grows thick white fur．The new fur matches the snow in winter．

　　On the ball

　　The armadillo(犰狳)is only about two feet long and weighs 15 pounds．It has small teeth．So it cannot even bite to protect itself．

　　When an armadillo recognizes a predator, it first tries to run away．A scared armadillo rushes for the safety of its underground home．If an armadillo cannot get away, it hides in its shell (the armadillo has an armored shell)．Most hungry hunters cannot bite to eat a living ball．

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　　Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services．People use money to buy what they need or want．When they work, they usually get paid in money．

　　Most of the money today is made of metal or paper．But people used to use all kinds of things as money．One of the first kind of money was shells．Shells were not the only thing used as money．In China, cloth and knives were used．In the Philippine Islands, rice was used as money for a long time．Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used as money in parts of Africa．

　　The first metal coins were made in China．They were round and had a square hole in the center．People strung them together and carried them from place to place．

　　Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money．The first coin in England was made of tin．Sweden and Russia used copper to make their money．Later some countries began to make coins of gold and silver．

　　But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive．Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money．They began to use paper money．The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than paper money used today．Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today．

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