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The Coalition for the Homeless is an organization that seeks to address the needs of the homeless population in the United States．It is a network of offices, some of which provide food and houses for the homeless population．and some of which fight for the passing of laws that would give every American the right to a place to call home．According to the Coalition’s studies, of over two hundred million people living in th United States, up to three million are home!ess－and the number is still growing since the late 1970s, fast rising house prices, large cuts in government supported housing programs, and economic recession have made it impossible for many Americans to meet housing costs．Sadly, this has resulted in a number of persons being forced to leave their homes and or unable to find new affordable homes．According to another research．families with children appear to be the fastest-growing part of the homeless population, making up 39％ of it．The old idea of a homeless person, that of the single man who gets drunk all the time, is no longer true．A much larger part of the population now finds itself homeless．Even worse, once a person becomes homeless, he often finds it impossible to find a job, since most employers require anyone who wants a job from them to provide a home address on a job application

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　　Many people believe Henry Ford invented the automobile(汽车)．But Henry Ford did not start to build his first car until 1896．That was eleven years after two Germans developed the world's first automobile．Many people believe Henry Ford invented the production line that moved a car's parts to the worker, instead of making the worker move to the parts．That is not true, either．Many factory owners used methods of this kind before Ford．What Henry Ford did was to use other people's ideas and make them better．And he made the whole factory a moving production line．

　　In the early days of the automobile, almost every ear maker raced his cars．It was the best way of gaining public notice．Henry Ford decided to build a racing car．Ford's most famous race was his first one．It was also the last race in which he drove the car himself．

　　The race was in 1901, at a field near Detroit．All of the most famous cars had entered, but only two were left：the Winton and Ford's．The Winton was famous for its speed．Most people thought the race was over before it began．

　　The Winton took an early lead．But halfway through the race, it began to lose power．Ford started to gain．And near the end of the race, he took the lead．Ford won the race and defeated the Winton．His name appeared in newspapers and he became well-known all over the United States．Within weeks of the race, Henry Ford formed a new automobile company．In the 1903, a doctor in Detroit bought the first car from the company．That sale was the beginning of Henry Ford's dream．Ford said："I will build a motor car for the great mass of people．It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for one person to operate and care for．It will be built of the best materials．It will be built by the best men to be employed．And it will be built with the simplest plans that modem engineering can produce．It will be so low in price that no man making good money will be unable to own one．"

　　The Model T was a car of that kind．It only cost ＄850．It was a simple machine that drivers could depend on．Doctors bought the Model T．So did farmers．Even criminals，They considered it the fastest and surest form of transportation．Americans loved the Model T．They wrote stories and songs about it．Thousands of Model T's were built in the first few years．

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　　About 21,000 young people in 17 American states do not attend classes in school buildings．

　　Instead, they receive their elementary and high school education by working at home on computers．The center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools” and that is about twice as many as two years ago．

　　The money for students to attend a cybersehool cotes from the governments of the states where they live．Some educators say cyberschools ieci money that should support traditional public schools．They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well．

　　Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed．These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools．They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school．

　　Whatever the judgment of cyberschools, they are getting more and more popular．For example, a new cyberschool called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall．It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen．

　　Children get free equipment for their online education．This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical services．Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when．necesary．

　　Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another．But 56 such students finished studies at Western Pennsvlváni? Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time．They were guests of honour at their graduation．

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　　I got my first driver’s license in 1953 by taking driver education in my first year at Central High School in charlotte, North Carolina．Four years later when it was time to renew my license I was a married woman Henry and I were living in Batimore, Maryland Two weeks before my 20th birthday．Henry drove me to the motor vehicle office on a hot July afternoon．When I got to the office and showed to the man behind thè counter my North Catroina driver’s license ready to renew, the man told me that I was under age by Maryland law since I was not yet 21．“Mr Henry Smith your husband．to sign for you,” he said

　　I argued．pointing to a very large belly of mine, “I am married．I am having a baby．Why shoud I have to have someone sign for me to drive?’ He answered coldly, “it’s the law, madam?”

　　Henry encouraged me to calm down, just go ahead and get the license and be done with it．

　　“No” I said．I refused to have him sign for me．So I left without a Maryland license．

　　I called the North Carolina Motor Whice Office and renewed my NC license by mail－using my name Susan Brown And thus it was for the next twelve years．Since Henry was in the army I could drive under my home state licene．By the time Henry left the army we were once again liviing in Maryland and I had to take the Maryland driver’s exam Since then I just go in and renew every four years - sign the name Susan Brown have my new picture taken, and walk out with a license to drive．．

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　　George Prochnik would like would like the world to put a sock in it．He makes his case in a new book, listening for Meaning in a World of Noise, Here he explains himself(using his indoor voice)：

　　“We’ve become so accustomed to noise, there’s about almost a deep prejudice against the idea that silence might be beneficial．If you tell someone to be quiet, you sound like an old man．But it’s never been more important to find continuing quiet．Silence focuses us, improves our health, and is a key to lasting peace and satisfaction．”

　　“We need to excite people about the sounds you start to hear if you　merely quiet things down a little．During a Japanese tea ceremony, the smallest sounds becomes a kind of art－the spoons making a light ringing sound on a bowl, the edges of a kimono(和服)brushing against the floor．”

　　“Dear people are very attentive(专注的)in almost every aspect of life．If two deaf people are waling together, using sign language, they constantly watch out for each other and protect each other by paying steady attention to the other．They are connected yet also fully aware of their surroundings．Even deaf teenagers!We in the hearing world can learn from them．If we remove the powerful blasts(一阵阵)of noise, we become aware of an extraordinarily rich world around us－of little soft and the sound of footsteps, of bird songs and ice cracking(开裂声)．It’s astonishing how beautiful things sound when you can really listen．”

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　　Ireland has had a very difficult history．The problems started in the 16^th century when English rulers fried to conquer(征服)Ireland．For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English．Finally, in 1921．The British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland．The result is that today there are two “Irelands”．Northern Ireland．In the north, is part of the United Kingdom．The republic of Ireland, In the south, Is an independent country．

　　In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of bunger．This, and a shortage(短缺)of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada．As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8．2 million in 1841 to 6．6 million in 1851．

　　For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers．Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices．Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace．

　　The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly, Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”, Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴)its own culture of music, language, literature and singing．Different are as have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments．Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc．

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　　They are the sort of friends who are so close they trust each other with their lives．If one fails the other is there to catch him．

　　They are Wellman, whose legs were permanently injured nine years ago in a rock-climbing accident．and Corbett, an experienced rock climber ,Together, they climbed up Half Dome ,the famous 2,000-foot rock in the Yosemite National Park ,the medium of through the most different routes．(路线)

　　During the climb, Corbett took the lead, hit in the metal spikes(尖状物)that guided the ropes and climbed up．Then, after Wellman pulled himself up the rope, Corbett went down to remove the spikes and climbed up again．This process was repeated time and again, inch by inch, for 13 days．

　　Wellman’s job was not easy either．He got himself up the rope through upper body strength alone．In all, Wellman figured that he had done 5,000 pull-ups up the rope on the climb．

　　However, when the two men first met, they never talked about climbing．“he knew that was how I got injured．” Wellman said．Until one day Wellman decided that he wanted to climb again and they started training．

　　Their climb of half dome was not all smooth．At one point, pieces of rock gave way, and Corbett dropped down quickly．Wellman locked their rope in place．Stopping the fail at 20 feet．His quick action probably saved his friend’s life．

　　“your partner can save your life－you can save your partner’s life,” Wellman said as the pair received congratulations from friends．”there are real close ties．”

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　　Think about the different ways that people use the wind．You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat．Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power source(来源), as well as one of　the oldest．Evidence shows that windmills(风车)began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC．They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power．

　　For many centuries, people used windmills to grind(磨碎)wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground．When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote areas began to use them to produce electricity．This allowed them to have electric lights and radio．However, by the1940s when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used．

　　During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity．People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever．Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means higher coasts．Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind．

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　　The information Highway is the road that links computer users to a large number of on-line services; the Web, e-mail, and software, to mention just a few．Not long ago, the information Highway was a new road, with not many users．Now, everyone seems to want to take a drive, with over 30 million families connected worldwide．Not surprisingly, this well-traveled highway is starting to look like a well-traveled highway．Traffic jams can cause many serious problems, forcing the system to close down for repair．Naturally, accidents will happen on such a crowed road, and usually victims are some files, gone forever．Then, of course, there’s Mr．Cool, with his new broad-band connection, who speeds down the highway faster than most of us can go．But don’t trick yourself; he pays for that speeding．

　　Want to know more about global warming and how you can help prevent it? Doctor Herman Friedman, who is considered a leading expert on the subject, will speak at Grayson Hall next Friday．Friedman studied environmental science at three well-known universities around the world before becoming a professor in the subject．He has also traveled around the world observing environmental concerns．The gradual bleaching(变白)of the Grate Barrier Reef, which came into the public eye in 2002,in his latest interest．Signed copies of his colorful book, which was published just last month, will be on sale after his talk．

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　　Which are you more likely to have wath you at sny given mement－your cell phone or your wallet? Soon you may be able to throw your wallet away and pay for things with a quick wave of your smart phone over an electroue scannet．

　　In January, Starbucks announced that customers could start using their phones to buy coffee in 6,800 of its states．This is the first pay by phone practice in the U．S．, but we’re likely to see more witeless payment alternatives as something called ucar field communcation(NFC)GETS IN TO America’s consumet electanies．Last Deccmbet some new smart phanes which cantain an NFC chip were introduced to the midlit．

　　Already in use in part of Asia and Europe, NFCtheir plan a few incees live a payment tetminal a one a few ptaht need to be worked out, like who will get to collect the profitable trunsacian(交易)fees．Although some credit card providers have been experimenting with wave and pay systems that use NFC enabled credit cards, cellphone service providers truay try to mused their way into the point of sale(POS)market．Three big gellphone service providers have formed a joinf tenture(合资企业)that will go into opention over the next i15 months．Its goal is“to lead the U．S．payments industry from cards to mobile phone．”

　　The other big NFC sue, apart from how paymeats will be processed, is security, For instance, what’s to stop a thief from digitally pickpocketing you? “We’re still not at the point where an attacker can just brush against yee in a crowd and steal all the money out of your phone,”says Jimmy Shah．A mobile security rescarcher, “Usera may also be able to set transaction timeits,requiring a password to be enteced for larger putchases．

　　Bus siness? Keep in mund you lost your smart phone, it can be located on a located on a map and remotely ned Plus, your phone can be password protected, Your wallet isn’t．

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