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Governments of different countries have different rules about human clones．The British Government allows its scientists to clone human embryos(胚胎)．At the beginning, scientists will be allowed to clone embryos only for research and medical purposes．American former president Bill Clinton, however, said that US federal money couldn’t be used for research on human embryos cloning．Human clones are prohibited in Germany, which has had an embryo protection law since 1990．The law strictly forbids cloning of human beings or embryos．Government officials say that there is no sound reason for the cloning of human embryos for medical purposes, though some Germans think that they should allow human embryos clones for medical research．The Europe Parliament(欧洲议会)has also banned medical research that has to do with the cloning of human embryos．It also suggests that the United Nations should forbid human clones．Human clones are banned in Japan, where people who clone human beings can be imprisoned(监禁)for up to 10 years．

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HOW DO YOU GET TO WORK

　　I usually walk to work．The exercise is good for me, and I’ve got time to think about things．Of course, on rainy days or cold ones, walking isn’t as nice, but it’s still the best way．

　　I’ve got the easiest way to get to work; I just downstairs．I have my office in my house．I do my writing there, so I really don’t have to get to work at all．I’m already there．I used to ride my bike when I worked in an office．

　　I walk several blocks to catch a bus, and then at the end of the ride I have to walk several blocks again．My school isn’t very close to my home, and it takes me about an hour to get there．Sometimes the walk is nice, but I’d rather ride the bus all the way．

　　I use the bus, sometimes it’s crowded, but it’s better than walking and I don’t have a car．Taxis are too expensive．I try to read the newspaper on the bus, but there isn’t always room．

　　I’m usually so late that I have to take a taxi; that’s not cheap．If I do get ready on time, I’ll walk when it’s sunny or take a bus．I don’t like any way of getting　to work because I really don’t like work．

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　　Are you ready to do your bit to stop global warming? On Saturday, March 29, you will have a chance-to tell Toronto and the entire world that you are devoted to doing your part．

　　You can do it by turning off your lights during Earth Hour, from 8 p．m．to 9 p.m. Started last year by the World Wildlife Fund in Sydney, Australia, Earth Hour this year is going international, with 17 cities signed up so far, including Toronto．

The challenge for us Torontonians will be to show we are as devoted to fighting global warming as Sydneysiders were last year．Of course, one hour of darkness isn't going to stop global warming．But the thinking behind Earth Hour is that it gets people personally involved(加入)．Besides giving people a chance to show their concerns over climate change, the goal is to get them to start changing their wasteful habits．Did you know, for example, that your electronic devices(设备)that you think you've turned off are still drawing power if you leave them plugged in?

　　If you want to make a difference, sign up today and promise to turn off your lights when Earth Hour arrives on March 29．Persuade others to do their part．Start to think about changes that can be made in your home and your workplace that will cut down on waste and greenhouse gas．

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　　We are all called upon to make a speech at some point in life, but most of us don't do a very good job．This article gives some suggestions on how to give an effective speech．

　　So, you have to give a speech and you're terrified．You get nervous, you forget what you want to say, you stumble over words, you talk too long and you bore your audience．Later you think, “Thank goodness, it's over．I'm just no good at public speaking．I hope I never have to do that again．”

　　Cheer up! It doesn't have to be that bad．Here are some simple steps to take the pain out of speech making．Ask yourself the purpose of your speech．What is the occasion? Why are you speaking? Then, gather as many facts as you can on your subject．Spend plenty of time doing your research．Then spend plenty of time organizing your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow．Use as many examples as possible and use pictures, charts and graphs if they will help you make your points more clearly．Never forget your audience．Don't talk over their heads and don't talk down to them．Treat your audience with respect．They will appreciate your thoughtfulness．

　　Just remember：Be prepared．Know your subject, your audience and the occasion．Be brief．Say what you have to say and then stop．And be yourself．Let your personality come through so that you make person-to-person contact with your audience．

　　If you follow these simple steps, you'll see that you don't have to be afraid of public speaking．In fact, you may find the experience so enjoyable that you volunteer to make more speeches! You're not convinced yet．Give it a try and see what happens．

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　　The London Marathon is an annual event and of the thousands of runners who take part, many of them have a story to tell as to why they are running the 26.2 mile(42.2 km)course around London．

　　The men's race was won by Kenyan, Martin Lel, who finished the race in just two hours and five minutes, a personal best time for him．Irina Mikitenko was the winner of the women's race and this was astonishingly only her second race at marathon distance!

　　There was also a group of 24 runners who have competed in every single one of the 28 London marathons．Jeff Aston is one of them and at 60 years old, he finished in just over three and a half hours．

　　A lot of the non-competitive runners take part in the marathon to raise money for charity．Jeff estimates he has raised about ￡25, 000(350, 000 RMB)over the 28 years he has been running．

　　Jane Tomlinson is a well-known name in the UK．She raised millions for charity doing long cycle rides, marathons and triathlons while struggling against terminal cancer, a battle she sadly lost last year．In honor of Jane, her husband and daughter took part in the marathon．They managed to raise ￡20, 000(280, 000 RMB)for a charity set up in Jane's name．

　　Another astonishing one was blind runner Dave Heeley completing the marathon．As if that wasn't enough, this was his seventh marathon in seven days, as he took part in a special challenge which took him to seven countries．

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　　A farmer had some puppies to sell．He painted a sign advertising them on the edge of his yard．

　　One day, a little boy came to buy one of the puppies．With a whistle(口哨), the farmer called, “Here, Dolly!” Out from the doghouse ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur．The little boy stood against the fence．His eyes danced with delight．

　　As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else inside the doghouse．Slowly another little ball appeared, something wrong with its legs, doing its best to catch up．

　　“I want that one, ” the little boy said．

　　The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, “Son, you don't want that puppy．He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would．”

　　With that, the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down and began rolling up one leg of his trousers．In doing so, he showed a steel brace(固定器)running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe．Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see, sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands．”

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　　A person’s nose is important for breathing and smelling．The nose is also used in many popular expressions．

　　Some people are able to“Iead other people by the nose”．For example, if a wife“leads her husband by the nose”, she makes him do whatever she wants him to do．

　　It is always helpful when people“keep their nose out of other people’s business”．They do not interfere(干涉)．The opposite of is someone who“noses around” all the time．This kind of person is interested in other people’s private matters．He is considered“nosey”．

　　One unusual expression is“that is no skin off my nose”．This means that a situation does not affect or concern me．We also say that sometimes a person“cuts off his nose to spite his face”．That is, he makes a situation worse for himself by doing something foolish because he is angry．

　　More problems can develop if a person“looks down his nose” at someone or something．The person acts like someone or something is unimportant or worthless．This person might also“turn up his nose” at something that he considers not good enough．This person thinks he is better than everyone else．He has his“nose in the air”．

　　In school, some students“thumb their nose” at their teacher．They refuse to obey orders or do any work．Maybe these students do not know the correct answers．My mother always told me, if you study hard, the answers should be“right under your nose” or easily seen．

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　　Robots have been a part of the manufacturing work force for decades－one in 10 auto-workers, for instance, is now made of metal and electronics．Robots for the house have been slower to come．Household chores(家务杂事)are less predictable and repetitive than those of the assembly line(装配线), making them difficult to explain in the simple language of a machine．Then how can we solve this problem? One answer is to design robots that are flexible for specific tasks, such as cacuuming(用真空吸尘器清扫)．Another is to figure out a way to make robots simple－and cheap－enough that ordinary people can build their own from parts and program them to do whatever they please．

　　With funding from Google, Intel and Microsoft, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University(CMU)in pittsburgh have created a series of build-it-yourself robots which they say are simple and cheap enough for almost anyone to create．

　　It starts with a black box called Qwerk－the robot“brain” that CMU built and sells for $349 on its Website．Using off-the-shelf parts(wheels, screwdrivers, electrical tape)and some simple instructions, anybody can build a 10-centimeter-high robot and program the Qwerk brain．You might make a wheeled robot with a video camera that can keep an eye on your house and sound the alarm in case someone enters．

　　Scientists hope that by bringing simple robot technology to the marketplace, they can open up the industry to the greater public－maybe even make robotics fun．They’ve tested prototypes(原型)in classrooms and workshops, and even tried them out with young kids．While most of the robots serve practical uses, their goal, scientists say, is to get the public to start contributing its own designs, and even make robots a form of self-expression．One student, for example, made a robot that sits on the side of the road and when it sees a car going too fast, puts up a sign that says slow down!

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