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　　A senior United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF)official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children’s welfare(福利)．A．H．M．Farook, UNICEEF’s operations area officer for China and Mongolia said that China“can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily．”

　　China’s child population makes up one-fifth of the world’s total．“The reason behind the tremendous(巨大的)achievement is China’s long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society,”he said．

　　“What’s more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need．”The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children’s Welfare Home at the Shangrila Hotel, Beijing．

　　The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks(小吃), sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a“Share the Sunshine”party, as a prelude(前奏)to celebrations to mark the Children’s Day．

　　The Beijing children’s Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children．

　　A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency(机构)spends 400－500 yuan a month for an average orphan．An average Chinese workers earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year．

　　Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children．

　　She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling．

　　By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment(建立)of 2,074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1.25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms．

　　Three“Hope Stars”also attended the party．They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory(义务)studies in the poverty-stricken regions．They will be torchbearers(火炬接力者)for the Chinese Team for the up coming Atlanta Olympic Games this year．

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　　In October 1961 at Crowley Field in Cincinnati Ohio an old deaf gentleman named William E．Hoy stood up to throw the first ball of the World Series．Most people at Crowley Field on that day probably did not remember Hoy because he had retired(退休)from professional baseball 58 years earlier in 1903．However, he had been an outstanding player and the deaf people still talk about him and his years in baseball．

　　William E．Hoy was born in Houckstown Ohio on May 23, 1862．He became deaf when he was two years old．He attended the Columbus Ohio School for the deaf．After graduation he started playing baseball while working as a shoemaker．

　　Hoy began playing professional baseball in 1886 for Oshkosh(Wisconsin)of the Northwestern League．In 1888 he started as an outfielder(外场手)with the old Washington Senators．His small figure and speed made him an outstanding base runner．He was very good at stealing bases during his career．In the 1888 major league season he stole 82 bases．He was also the Senators’ leading hitter in 1888．Hoy was clever and he threw right-handed and batted left-handed．On June 19,1889, he threw out three batters(击球手)at the plate from his outfield position．

　　The arm signals used by judges today to show balls and strikes began because of Hoy．The judge lifted his right arm to show that the pitch was a strike and his left arm to signal that it was a ball．

　　For many years people talked about Hoy’s last ball game in 1903．He was playing for Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast Winter League．It was a memorable game because Hoy hit a wonderful ball which won the game．It was a very foggy day and therefore very hard to see the ball．In the ninth inning(棒球的一局)with two men out, Hoy managed to catch a fly ball to make the third out in spite of the fog．Los Angeles defeated their opposition and won the game．

　　After he retired, Hoy stayed busy．He ran a dairy farm near Cincinnati for 20 years．He also became a public speaker and traveled giving speeches．Until a few years before his death, he took 4－10 mile walks several mornings a week．On December 15, 1961 William Hoy died at the age of 99．

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　　So far, scientists have named about 1.8 million living species(物种), and that’s just a small part of what probably exists on Earth．With so many plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms covering the planet, it can be tough to figure out what type of spider is crawling up your leg or what kind of bird just flew by．

　　A soon-to-be-launched Website might help．An international team of researchers has announced the creation of a Web－based Encyclopedia of Life(EOL)．The project aims to catalogue every species on Earth in a single, easy-to-use reference guide．

　　To get the encyclopedia started, the creators will use information from scientific databases that already exist．And eventually, in special sections of the site, nonscientists with specialized knowledge will join．Gardeners, for example, will be able to record the dates that their flowers first bloom each year．Bird-watchers will be able to input which birds they’ve seen and where．The technology for this kind of tool has only recently become available．

　　As the EOL develops, you might find it useful for school projects．The site will have special pages for kids who are studying ecosystems in their neighborhoods．To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate, scientists will review much of the information added to it．People who visit the site will be able to choose to skip pages that haven’t been reviewed．

　　Another convenient characteristic of the EOL is that you’ll be able to pick the level of detail you see to match your interests, age, and current knowledge．If you wanted to learn about polar bears for a science class report, for example, you could use the“novice”setting to get basic information about the animals．On the“expert”setting, on the other hand．you could get much more detailed information about the history, literature, and exploration of polar bears．

　　It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species．The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new tool will speed that process．

　　Keep an eye on www.eol.org．Pages will begin to go up sometime next year, and you might find them useful for your school reports．The EOL team might have the basics for all 1.8 million entries online as early as 2017．Someday, you might add your own notes．

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　　Negative(消极的)self talk and negative energy can affect you m many ways and cause you additional stress．Because of this, developing more Positive self talk’s an important way to reduce stress in your life．You can help yourself maintain a positive frame of mind－which will help with positive self talk－by surrounding yourself with positive energy in your life．You can get that by adding some elements to your life．

　　Listening to music that not only has a soothing melody, but an uplifting message, can be great for developing positive self talk．Have you ever had a song“stuck in your head”for a few hours or days, the lyrics repeating themselves in your mind?If those lyrics were positive and inspirational, that would be a good thing．It’s a much better mental soundtrack to have than a running stream of complaints, criticisms of self-limiting thoughts, or even songs that had more depressing or sad lyrics．

　　Books on strength, personal power, enlightenment, or self help can be good resources to help you change your outlook and the things you say to yourself．Rather than bringing habitual self-defeating thoughts, you can find yourself thinking of new can-do concepts when times get tough．

　　One of the most important ways you can get and keep positive energy in your life is with the company you keep．Do your friends uplift you, or bring you down?Are they critical, or complementary?Ideal friendships provide support when you’re down, fun when you’re up, wisdom when you’re lost, and positive regard．Good friends can inspire you to reach greater heights, and see your strengths even when you don’t always．Pay attention to how your friends make you feel, and if they’re less than supportive, start putting your energy and time toward people who are better suited to be your friend．

　　In addition, positive affirmations(肯定)can certainly change your self talk from negative to positive．Now, why not begin working positive affirmations into your life in some creative ways?

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　　I was born an albino．No one in my family had ever known what an albino was, what it meant to be an albino, and what had to be done differently because I was an albino．

　　My parents treated me just like they treated everybody else．That was just about the best thing they could have done．It helped me trust myself, so when the annoyances came along, I could deal with them．

　　True, my photo always looked like a snowball with two pieces of coal for eyes．Kids would tease me, asking if I was joining the circus and calling me“Whitey”．Like most albinos, I had terrible eyesight, and my grades suffered until eventually I overcame my feeling ashamed of myself and realized it was okay to ask to sit in the front of the classroom so I could see the blackboard better．People stared at me when I held reading material right at the tip of my nose so I could see it well enough to read．Even when I was eight or nine．movie-theater clerks started asking me to pay adult prices because I“looked older”．

　　The worst part for me was that because my eyesight was so bad, I couldn’t play sports very well．I didn’t give up trying, though．And I studied harder．

　　Eventually, I got better at school and loved it．By the time I got to college 1 was double majoring, going to summer school and devoting myself to every kind of extracurricular activity I could find．I had learned to be proud of being an albino．I did my best to make“albino”a positive word．And I decided to make my living with my eyes．

　　I couldn’t see well enough to play spots, but with a solid education and the drive to do it．I could make a living involved in the field I loved．I’ve done it now for more than thirty years in print and in video, and now in cyberspace．People make jokes about how I’m the only“blind editor”they know, but most of the time the jokes are signs of respect．And I make jokes about being an albino．

　　I was just a proud albino kid from the coal country of Pennsylvania．I now realize that being born an albino helped me to overcome difficulties, gain confidence, and be proud of my personal achievement and humble about my professional accomplishments．

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　　Some experts feel that cars are certain to fall into disuse．They see a day in the not-too-distant future when all cars will be deserted and made useless．Other experts however think the car is here to stay．They hold that the car will remain a leading means of city travel in the foreseeable future

　　The car will undoubtedly change greatly over the next 30 years．It should become smaller safer and more practical and should not be powered by the gas engine．The car of the future should be far more pollution-free than present types

　　Unless changes take place in the power system, the car in the future will still be the main problem in city traffic jams．One suggested solution to this essential problem is the automated(自动的)system which seems to hold water．

　　When the car enters the highway system, a small arm will drop from the car and connect with a rail which is similar to hose powering subway trains electrically．Once joined to the rail, the car will become electrically powered form the system and control of the car will pass to a central computer．The computer will then monitor all of the car’s movements

　　The driver will use the telephone to dial instructions about his position and the place he heads for into the system．The computer will find the best way and reserve space for the car all the way to the correct exit from the highway．The driver will be free to relax and wait for the call that will warn him of his coming exit．It is believed that an automated highway will be able to deal with 10.000 cars per hour, compared with the 1,500 to 2,000 cars can be carried by a present－day highway

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　　A historical change is taking place in middle-school education Teachers are being asked to answer as never before for how well they serve their students It has become as common in middle schools for students to grade teachers as for teachers to grade students In fact student ratings(评价)have become the most widely used and in many cases the only important in formation on teaching effectiveness In comparing three studies of the same 600 middle and high schools in more than thirty states it was found that the number of schools using student ratings to evaluate teachers had climbed from 29 percent to 68 percent to 86 percent No other method of evaluation got that degree of usage and other studies have found similar results．

　　One reason that student evaluations of easy to put to wrong use If they are expected to throw meaningful light on teachers’ performance the ratings must be sured in a way that shows at least some of what we’ve learnt about them from research and from experience

　　Research and experience have shown us for example that student ratings should never be the only basis for evaluating effectiveness There is much more to teaching than what is evaluated on student rating forms．When ratings are used we know that students should not be expected to judge whether the materials used in a course up to date or how well the teacher knows the subject matter of the course There judgments that require professional background are best left to the teacher’s fellow workers On the other hand students should be asked to comment what they have learned in a course and to report in the classroom relationship with the students ability to develop interest in the subject and ways to encourage students to teach themselves

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　　Some houses are designed to be smart．Others have smart designs．An example of the second type of house won a Prize of Excellence from the American Club of Architects (建筑师)。

　　On the shore of Sullivan’s Island off the coast of South Carolina, the prize－winning beach house was built to replace one destroyed to pieces by Hurricane Hugo 10 years ago．In September 1989．Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or pulling down 36, 000 homes in the state．

　　Before Hugo, many new house built along the shore were poorly constructed, and the instructions for building were not strict, according to architect Ray huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house．All new houses are required to follow stricter instructions after the terrible experience in Hugo．The new houses on this land should be able to stand a terrible hurricane with the strongest wind 179 to 209 kilometers per hour．

　　At first sight, the house on the island look anything but hurricane-proof．Its redwood roof makes it look like“a large bright ball”at night, according to one observer．But looks can be not true．The wooden formation of the house is supported with long steel sticks to give it huge strength．To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on wood pilings, part of which were buried in the sand．In fact, they are strong enough to bear the weight of the house．They also lift the house above the sea water brought by the hurricane．The pilings allow the sea water to run under the house instead of running into it．“These waves of water come ashore at treat speed and cause most of the damage done to the beach-front buildings,”said Huff．

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　　Brazil and Barcelona forward Ronaldinho has been named the 50^th European Footballer of Year at great party in Paris held towards the end of 2005．

　　Ronaldinho, 25 years old, became the third Brazilian to win the title after Ronaldo, who won it in 1997and 2002, and Rivaldo, who won it in 1999．

　　“To be here with all those great players is a dream．This gives me huge encouragement to keep working and try to do well．I have the chance to do for a living what I like most in my life, and that’s playing football．I can make people happy and enjoy myself at the same time,”said Ronaldinho after receiving the golden cup at the party．

　　The was no way Ronaldinho cold not succeed, as he was always full of uncontrollable desire for football．He would play on the dirt, in the wood, even in his living－room-noting else staved in his mind．He began to shine on the international games when he was 17, helping Brazil win the Under－17 World Championship(锦标赛)．He was on his way to becoming one of the world’s greatest players, with his role in Brazil’s World Cup victory in 2002．With 22 goals in his first in Barcelona, he received football’s most valuable honor in 2004：the FIFA World Player of the Year．

　　“He isn’t only able to win games on his own, he keeps our spirits high because he is always in a good state of feelings,”says his captain．“You can challenge him, push him, trip him and even prevent him on purpose－nothing can stop him．And it shows in his games．He’s not satisfied with moving the ball from one point to another, he has to dance it away．And with every match, Ronaldinho creates a new signature move．When noting seems possible, he can do．”

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　　Ever thought you’d get to experience the smell of ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s hair, or the scent(气味)of the sun?Visitors to the Reg Vardy Gallery will soon be able to do just that．

　　The gallery, at Sunderland University, England, is holding a new exhibition, If There Ever Was．It focuses on scent rather than sight．

　　The innovative(创新的)idea is the brainchild of curator(馆长)Robert Blackson．His inspiration came from reading the book Fast Food Nation．The book discussed the use of artificial chemicals to flavor things such as milkshakes, making them smell and taste like strawberries, when they’re not actually made from them．

　　A smell can often conjure up(召唤)memories such as school dinners or a childhood holiday by the sea, but the smells on display, will allow visitors to experience smells their noses won’t have been able to pick out before．

　　“There’s a whole variety of different smells, including some extinct flowers,”explains Blackson．“Some have been gone for hundreds of years．”

　　One extraordinary fragrance(香气)is the aftermath(灾难的后果)of the first atomic bomb, dropped on Japan on August 6, 1945．

　　There is also the smell of Cleopatra’s hair, based on incense(熏香)that was popular among ancient Egyptians．

　　The Soviet Mir space station, which burnt up in the atmosphere in 2001, smells of charred(烧焦的)material(the space station caught fire)．

　　Among the stranger smells is the“surface of the sun”．

　　“It is hard to sum up．It is an atmospheric smell, like walking into a room when the sun has been pouring in,”says Blackson．“It gives a freshness, a sun kissed feel with a bit of metal．If you can say something smells hot, this is it．”

　　A team of 11, including perfume designers, have been working on recreating the smells for the exhibition．James Wong, a botanist at Botanic Gardens Conservation International, UK, helped in the recreation of the smells of four extinct flowering plants．

　　He did this by closely linking the extinct flowers with the smells of existing ones．With the help of historical reports of how the extinct flowers smelled, he was able to remix the aromas(芳香)．

　　The exhibition runs until June 6．Fourteen extinct and impossible smells are on display．

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