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Dogs are social animals and without proper training, they will be like wild animals. They will spoil your house, destroy your belongings, bark excessively, fight other dogs and even bite you. Nearly all behavior problems are perfectly normal dog activities that occur at the wrong time or place or are directed at the wrong thing. The key to preventing or treating behavior problems is learning to teach the dog to redirect its normal behavior to outlets that are acceptable in the domestic setting. One of the best things you can do for your dog and yourself is to obedience train (驯服) it. Obedience training doesn't solve all behavior problems, but it is the foundation for solving just about any problem. Training opens up a line of communication between you and your dog. Effective communication is necessary to instruct your dog about what you want it to do. Training is also an easy way to establish the social rank order. When your dog obeys a simple request of “come here, sit,” it is showing obedience and respect for you. It is not necessary to establish yourself as top dog or leader of the dog pack (群) by using extreme measures. You can teach your dog its subordinate (从属的) role by teaching it to show submission to you. Most dogs love performing tricks for you to pleasantly accept that you are in charge. Training should be fun and rewarding for you and your dog. It can enrich your relationship and make living together more enjoyable. A well-trained dog is more confident and can more safely be allowed a greater amount of freedom than an untrained animal.

Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human condition is our tendency to give and receive support from one another under stressful circumstances. Social support consists of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties.

Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to cope with major life changes and daily hassles(困难). People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over a range of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, reveal that the presence of social support helps people fend off(挡开) illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.

Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives, and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others despite our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Engaging in leisure-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support-financial aid, material resources, and needed services -- that reduces stress by helping us resolve and cope with our problems.

There are three kinds of goals: short-term, medium-range and long-term goals. Short-range goals are those that usually deal with current activities, which we can apply on a daily basis. Such goals can be achieved in a week or less, or two weeks, or possible months. It should be remembered that just as a building is no stronger than its foundation, out long-term goals cannot amount to very much without the achievement of solid short-term goals. Upon completing our short-term goals, we should date the occasion and then add new short-term goals that will build on those that have been completed.

The intermediate goals bukld on the foundation of the short-range goals. They might deal with just one term of school or the entire school year, or they could even extend for several years. Any time you move a step at a time, you should never allow yourself to become discouraged or overwhelmed. As you complete each step, you will enforce the belief in your ability to grow and succeed. And as your list of completion dates grow, your motivation and desire will increase.

Long-range goals may be related to our dreams of the future. They might cover five years or more. Life is not a static thing. We should never allow a long-term goal to limit us or our course of action.

Boys' schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and are more likely to get involved in activities such as art, dance and music, according to research released today.

Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity in which students either sink or swim, the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to conform to a stereotype, the US study says.

Boys at single sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to conform to the "boy code" of hiding their emotions to be a "real man".

The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.

Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.

The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.

But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys' learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study's author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.

Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with specifically "boy-focused" approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision, learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given "hands-on" lessons where they are allowed to walk around. "Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine and prefer the modern genre in which violence and sexism are major themes," James wrote.

Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to conform to a stereotype that men should be "masterful and in charge" in relationships. "In mixed schools, boys feel compelled to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means," the study reported.

Hardly a week goes by without some advance in technology that would have seemed incredible 50 years ago．And we can expect the rate of change to accelerate rather than slow down within our lifetime．The developments in technology are bound to have a dramatic effect on the future of work．By 2010，new technology will have revolutionized communications．People will be transmitting messages down telephone lines that previously would have been sent by post．Not only postmen but also clerks and secretaries will vanish in a paper-free society．All the routine tasks they perform will be carried on a tiny silicon chip so that they will be as obsolete as the horse and cart after the invention of the motor car．One change will make thousands，if not millions，redundant．

Even people in traditional professions，where expert knowledge has been the key，are unlikely to escape the effects of new technology．Instead of going to a solicitor，you might go to a computer which is programmed with all the most up—to—date legal information．Doctors，too，will find that an electronic competitor will be able to carry out a much quicker and more accurate diagnosis and recommend more efficient courses of treatment．In education，teachers will be largely replaced by teaching machines far more knowledgeable than any human being．Most learning will take place in the home via video conferencing．Children will still go to school though，until another place is created where they can make friends and develop social skills．

What can we do to avoid the threat of unemployment? We shouldn't hide our heads in the sand．Unions will try to stop change but they will be fighting a losing battle．People should get computer literate as this just might save them from professional extinction．After all，there will be a few jobs left in law，education and medicine for those few individuals who are capable of writing and programming the software of the future．Strangely enough，there will still be jobs like rubbish collection and cleaning as it is tough to programme tasks which are largely unpredictable．

The World Health Organization says as many as 10 million persons worldwide may have the virus(病毒)that causes AIDs．Experts believe about 350 thousand persons have the disease．And one million more may get it in the next five years．In the United States, about 50，000 persons have died with AIDS．The country’s top medical official says more than 90 percent of all Americans who had the AIDS virus five years ago are dead．

There is no cure for AIDS and no vaccine(疫苗)medicine to prevent it．However，researchers know much more about AIDS than they did just a few years ago．We now know that AIDS is caused by a virus．The virus invades healthy cells including white blood cells that are part of our defense system against disease．It takes control of the healthy cell’s genetic(遗传的)material and forces the cell to make a copy of the virus. The cell then dies．And the viral particles move on to invade and kill more healthy cells．

The AIDS virus is carried in a person’s body fluids．The virus can be passed sexually or by sharing instruments used to take intravenous(静脉内的)drugs．It also can be passed in blood products or from a pregnant woman with AIDS to her developing baby．

Many stories about the spread of AIDS are false．You cannot get AIDS by working or attending school with someone who has the disease．You can not get it by touching, drinking glasses or other objects used by such persons．Experts say no one has gotten AIDS by living with，caring for or touching an AIDS patient．

There are several warning signs of an AIDS infection. They include always feeling tired，unexplained weight loss and uncontrolled expulsion of body wastes(大小便失禁)．Other warnings are the appearance of white areas on the mouth，dark red areas of skin that do not disappear and a higher than normal body temperature．

There are people who are especially attracted to the concept of "climbing the ladder" so to increase their status, financial position, and sense of self-worth. In part, as a result of the work ethic (行为的准绳), these people are internally "driven" to work. Frequently, foreign visitors have observed that Americans spend an excessive amount of time working and as a consequence, Americans have little time for leisure or personal relationships. In American English a new word has been created to describe people who work compulsively. The word "workaholic" describes an individual who is as devoted to work as an alcoholic is addicted to liquor.

There are conflicting points of view about workaholics. Those concerned with problems of mental stress believe workaholics abuse themselves physically and mentally. Others hold that workaholics are valuable members of society because they are extremely productive. The American culture values achievement, efficiency, and production- a workaholic upholds these values.

In 776 BC, the first Olympic games were held at the foot of Mount Olympus to honor the Greeks' chief god, Zeus. The Greeks emphasized physical fitness and strength in their education of youth. Therefore, contests in running, jumping, discus and javelin throwing, boxing, and horse and chariot racing were held in individual cities. The participants competed every four years at Mount Olympus. The winners were greatly honored by having olive wreaths placed on their heads and having poems sung about their deeds. Originally, these were held as games of friendship, and any wars in progress were stopped to allow the games to take place.

The Greeks attached so much importance to these games that they calculated time in four-year cycles called" Olympiads" dating from 776 BC.

American scientists have reported a sharp increase in the number of dead whales found in the Gulf of Alaska. From May through August, 30 whales washed up along the coast of Alaska.

Scientists say there may be a connection between the animals' deaths and warming waters. They say the Arctic is getting warmer faster than any place on the planet.

Deborah Fauquier is a marine mammal scientist at NOAA – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She wants to learn why so many whales have died this year.

“And the average for the whole year generally is eight. So it is definitely a significantly elevated (level) and for us that was a reason of concern.”

She says scientists have formed some ideas about what caused the deaths.

“We might be able to, you know, figure out ‘is it a virus?’ ‘Is it,’ you know, ‘a ship strike? ‘Is it a harmful algal bloom?’”

Algae（藻类） are simply plants or plant-like organisms. Most algae are safe. But scientists say the less-common toxic alga can cause brain damage or even death. In June, the largest alga bloom in more than 10 years was seen along the Pacific coast, from California to Alaska. Scientists say it grew big because of warm water and sunny, calm weather. The alga bloom forced officials to close fishing areas in several states. Deborah Fauquier says scientists will look for evidence of the harmful alga in the whales.

The waters around Alaska began warming in 2014. The water temperature continues rising. It is now three degrees Celsius warmer than normal.

Scientists blame the weather event known as “El Nino” and wind patterns for the warming. The scientists say the warming is not linked to climate change. But industrial gas emissions are warming the planet. They are causing the Arctic to warm faster than anywhere else.

At the beginning of the melt season, Arctic sea ice was at its lowest level ever recorded. Mrs. Fauquier says that is a problem for marine mammals. Polar bears and walruses(海象), for example, live and breed on the ice and use it as a place from which to hunt.

“For Arctic species -- species that normally like cold water -- it is going to change the phytoplankton(浮游植物), so it’s going to change the base of the food web. It is going to change the fish. They may go farther north because they don’t like warm water. And so then the predators（食肉动物、捕食者） that are mobile are going to have to follow those fish or if they can’t follow them, then they can starve.”（453words）

10.

Once it was possible to define male and female roles easily by the division of labor. Men worked outside the home and earned the income to support their families， while women cooked the meals and took care of the home and the children. These roles were firmly fixed for most people， and there was not much opportunity for women to exchange their roles. But by the middle of this century，men‘s and women’s roles were becoming less firmly fixed.

In the 1950s， economic and social success was the goal of the typical American. But in the 1960s a new force developed called the counterculture(反传统文化). The people involved in this movement did not value the middle-class American goals. The counterculture presented men and women with new role choices. Taking more interest in childcare， men began to share child-raising tasks with their wives. In fact， some young men and women moved to communal homes or farms where the economic and childcare responsibilities were shared equally by both sexes. In addition， many Americans did not value the traditional male role of soldier. Some young men refused to be drafted as soldiers to fight in the war in Vietnam.

The counterculture was not a very large group of people. But its influence spread to many parts of American society. Working men of all classes began to change their economic and social patterns. Industrial workers and business executives alike cut down on “overtime” work so that they could spend more leisure time with their families. Some doctors， lawyers， and teachers turned away from high paying situations to practice their professions in poorer neighborhoods.

In the 1970s, the feminist movement， or women‘s liberation， produced additional economic and social changes. Women of all ages and at all levels of society were entering the work force in greater numbers. Most of them still took traditional women’s jobs as public school teaching， nursing， and secretarial work. But some women began to enter traditionally male occupations: police work banking， dentistry, and construction work. Women were asking for equal work，and equal opportunities for promotion.(341 words)

11.

Health experts have long known that vitamin D is important for healthy bones and teeth. It may also help to protect the body against diseases such as diabetes and cancer. And now, researchers say vitamin D might help fight brain diseases called dementia (痴呆).

Dementias are brain diseases that damages thinking and memory processes, which scientists call “cognitive abilities.” Dementias are difficult to treat. Taking care of someone who has dementia is extremely demanding. And the disease is very frightening to sufferers.

Low levels of vitamin D can cause many health problems. One of these problems may be an increased risk of brain disease such as dementia. Chris Roberts suffers from dementia. He says the worst part of living with this disease was getting lost while driving. “The worst thing that I found was getting lost in the car, not just forgetting where I was going- I wouldn’t know where I was.” More than 47 million people around the world suffer from dementia. The World Health Organization reports that 60 percent of them live in low- and middle-income countries.

Now a new study in the United States shows a possible link between dementia and low levels of vitamin D. From where do we get vitamin D? We get vitamin D from some foods like nuts, lentils (扁豆) and fatty fish like salmon and mackerel. We also get vitamin D from the sun. But that is not dependable. In some parts of the world, there is not enough sunlight to provide enough vitamin D. Also, sunblock substances prevent the vitamin from entering the body. To add to the problem, the skin’s ability to process vitamin D weakens as a person ages. As a result, low levels of vitamin D are common among older people.

Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey are exploring the relationship between vitamin D and dementia. Nutritional sciences professor Joshua Miller led the team. He said those subjects who had low vitamin D levels showed more short-term memory loss. They were also less able to organize thoughts, order tasks by importance and make decisions. Those who had dementia also had lower vitamin D status than those who had mild cognitive impairment or who had normal cognitive functioning. The findings suggest that vitamin D might play a part in slowing dementia, but, more studies are needed to see if vitamin D supplements could help.(371 words)

12.

Bringing a 30,000-year-old virus back to life sounds like the plot of a real-life horror movie. So if you were scared by the incurable virus in the movie "28 Days Later," you might want to stop reading right now.

Scientists who discovered a prehistoric virus called Mollivirus sibericum (西伯利亚软体病毒)in the Siberian permafrost（永久冻土层） plan to give the virus its first wakeup call since the last Ice Age. It’s hoped the study could shed insight into ancient dormant viruses that could, it’s feared, get another chance at spreading as permafrost retreats due to climate change.

The team, from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, announced its plans in a study published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.

The virus is classified as a "giant" virus because it’s visible by light microscopy（光学显微镜）. Mollivirus sibericum carries a complex genetic structure that houses more than 500 genes, according to the study’s abstract. The influenza virus, in comparison, has only 8 genes.

The same team that discovered Mollivirus sibericum found another 30,000-year-old virus, Pithovirus sibericum（西伯利亚陶罐病毒）, in the same Russian permafrost. As described in PNAS last year, those scientists revived a sample of Pithovirus sibericum in safe lab conditions and determined it was still infectious, though it only affects amoebas（变形虫）.

These cases raise concerns about such viruses in the context of melting permafrost.

"The fact that two different viruses retain their infectivity in pre-historical permafrost layers should be of concern in a context of global warming," the PNAS study’s abstract says. "Giant viruses’ diversity remains to be fully explored."

It’s possible that particles of these and other unknown viruses lurking in the permafrost “may be enough, in the presence of a vulnerable host, to revive potentially pathogenic（致病的） viruses.”

“If we are not careful, and we industrialize these areas without putting safeguards in place, we run the risk of one day waking up viruses such as smallpox（天花） that we thought were eradicated（灭绝）.”（337words）

13.

The earlier type of suburb, which was most dependent on the railroad, had a special advantage that could be fully appreciated only after it had disappeared. These suburbs, spread out along a railroad line, were discontinuous and properly spaced; and without the aid of legislation (法规) they were limited in population as well as area; for the biggest rarely held as many as ten thousand people, and under five thousand was more usual. In 1950, for example, Bronxville, New York, a typical upper-class suburb, had 6,778 people, while Riverside, Illinois, founded as early as 1869, had only 9.153.

The size and scale of the suburb, that of neighborhood unit, was not entirely the result of its open planning, which favored low densities. Being served by a railroad line, with station stops from three to five miles apart, there was a natural limit to the spread of any particular community. House had to be sited “within easy walking distance of the railroad station,” as some old residents would point out; and only those wealthy enough to afford a horse and a carriage dared to penetrate farther into the open country.

Through its spaced station stops, the railroad suburb was at first kept from spreading or excessively increasing in numbers, for a natural greenbelt, often still under cultivation as park, gardens, remained between the suburbs and increased the available recreation area. Occasionally, in a few happy areas like Westchester, between 1915 and 1935 a parkway, like the Bronx River parkway, accompanied by continuous strip of park for pedestrian (散步的人) use, not yet overrun by a constant stream of urban traffic, added to the perfection of the whole suburban pattern. Whatever one might say of the social disadvantages this was in many ways a perfect physical environment. But it lasted less than a generation.

14.

Recent stories in the newspapers and magazines suggest that teaching and research contradict each other, that research plays too prominent a part in academic promotions, and that teaching is badly underemphasized. There is an element of truth in these statements, but they also ignore deeper and more important relationships.

Research experience is an essential element of hiring and promotion at a research university because it is the emphasis on research that distinguishes such a university from an arts college. Some professors, however, neglect teaching for research and that presents a problem.

Most research universities reward outstanding teaching, but the greatest recognition is usually given for achievements in research. Part of the reason is the difficulty of judging teaching. A highly responsible and tough professor is usually appreciated by top students who want to be challenged, but disliked by those whose records are less impressive. The mild professor gets overall ratings that are usually high, but there is a sense of disappointment in the part of the best students, exactly those for whom the system should present the greatest challenges. Thus, a university trying to promote professors primarily on the teaching qualities would have to confront this confusion.

As modern science moves faster, two forces are exerted on professor: one is the time needed to keep on with the profession; the other is the time needed to teach. The training of new scientists requires outstanding teaching at the research university as well as the arts college. Although scientists are usually “made” in the elementary schools, scientists can be “lost” by poor teaching at the college and graduate school levels. The solution is not to separate teaching and research, but to recognize that the combination is difficult but vital. The title of professor should be given only to those who profess, and it is perhaps time for universities to reserve it for those willing to be an earnest part of the community of scholars. Professor unwilling to teach can be called “distinguished research investigators” or something else.

The pace of modern science makes it increasingly difficult to be a great researcher and a great teacher. Yet many are described in just those terms. Those who say we can separate teaching and research simply do not understand the system but those who say the problem will disappear are not fulfilling their responsibilities.

15.

Imagine a world in which there was suddenly no emotion-a world in which human beings could feel no love or happiness, no terror or hate. Try to imagine the consequences of such a transformation. People might not be able to stay alive: knowing neither joy nor pleasure, anxiety nor fear, they would be as likely to repeat acts that hurt them as acts that were beneficial. They could not learn: they could not benefit from experience because this emotionless world would lack rewards and punishments. Society would soon disappear: people would be as likely to harm one another as to provide help and support. Human relationships would not exist: in a world without friends or enemies, there could be no marriage, affection among companions, or bonds among members of groups. Society’s economic underpinnings (支柱) would be destroyed: since earning $10 million would be no more pleasant than earning $10, there would be no incentive to work. In fact, there would be no incentives of any kind. For as we will see, incentives imply a capacity to enjoy them.

In such a world, the chances that the human species would survive are next to zero, because emotions are the basic instrument of our survival and adaptation. Emotions structure the world for us in important ways. As individuals, we categorize objects on the basis of our emotions. True we consider the length, shape, size, or texture, but an object’s physical aspects are less important than what it has done or can do to us—hurt us, surprise us, anger us or make us joyful. We al so use categorizations colored by emotions in our families, communities, and overall society. Out of our emotional experiences with objects and events comes a social feeling of agreement that certain things and actions are good and others are bad, and we apply these categories to every aspect of our social life—from what foods we eat and what clothes we wear to how we keep promises and which people our group will accept. In fact, society exploits our emotional reactions and attitudes, such as loyalty morality, pride shame, guilt, fear and greed, in order to maintain itself It gives high rewards to individuals who perform important tasks such as surgery, makes heroes out of individuals for unusual or dangerous achievements such as flying fighter planes in a war, and uses the legal penal (刑法的) system to make people afraid to engage in antisocial acts.

16.

The Carnegie Foundation report says that many colleges have tried to be “all things to all people”. In doing so, they have increasingly catered to a narrow minded careerism while failing to cultivate a global vision among their students. The current crisis, it contends, does not derive from a legitimate desire to put learning to productive ends. The problem is that in too many academic fields, the work has no context; skills, rather than being means, have become ends. Students are offered a variety of options and allowed to pick their way to a degree. In short, driven by careerism, “the nation’s colleges and universities are more successful in providing credentials (文凭) than in providing a quality education for their students. “The report concludes that the special challenge confronting the undergraduate college is one of shaping an integrated core of common learning. Such a core would introduce students to essential knowledge, to connections across the disciplines, and in the end, to application of knowledge to life beyond the campus. “

Although the key to a good college is a high-quality faculty, the Carnegie study found that most colleges do very little to encourage good teaching. In fact, they do much to undermine it. As one professor observed: “Teaching is important, we are told, and yet faculty know that research and publication matter most.” Not surprisingly, over the last twenty years colleges and universities have failed to graduate half of their four-year degree candidates. Faculty members who dedicated themselves to teaching soon discover that they will not be granted tenure (终身任期), promotion, or substantial salary increases. Yet 70 percent of all faculties say their interests lie more in teaching than in research. Additionally, a frequent complaint among young scholars is that “There is pressure to publish, although there is virtually no interest among administrators or colleagues in the content of the publications.”

17.

When global warming finally came, it stuck with a vengeance (异乎寻常地). In some regions, temperatures rose several degrees in less than a century. Sea levels shot up nearly 400 feet, flooding coastal settlements and forcing people to migrate inland. Deserts spread throughout the world as vegetation shifted drastically in North America, Europe and Asia. After driving many of the animals around them to near extinction, people were forced to abandon their old way of life for a radically new survival strategy that resulted in widespread starvation and disease. The adaptation was farming: the global-warming crisis that gave rise to it happened more than 10,000 years ago.

As environmentalists convene in Rio de Janeiro this week to ponder the global climate of the future, earth scientists are in the midst of a revolution in understanding how climate has changed in the past—and how those changes have transformed human existence. Researchers have begun to piece together an illuminating picture of the powerful geological and astronomical forces that have combined to change the planet’s environment from hot to cold, wet to dry and back again over a time period stretching back hundreds of millions of years.

Most importantly, scientists are beginning to realize that the climatic changes have had a major impact on the evolution of the human species. New research now suggests that climate shifts have played a key role in nearly every significant turning point in human evolution: from the dawn of primates (灵长目动物) some 65 million years ago to human ancestors rising up to walk on two legs, from the huge expansion of the human brain to the rise of agriculture. Indeed, the human history has not been merely touched by global climate change, some scientists argue, it has in some instances been driven by it.

The new research has profound implications for the environmental summit in Rio. Among other things, the findings demonstrate that dramatic climate change is nothing new for planet Earth. The benign (宜人的) global environment that has existed over the past 10,000 years—during which agriculture, writing, cities and most other features of civilization appeared—is a mere bright spot in a much larger pattern of widely varying climate over the ages. In fact, the pattern of climate change in the past reveals that Earth’s climate will almost certainly go through dramatic changes in the future—even without the influence of human activity.

18.

Now woman can be too rich or too thin. This saying often attributed to the late Duchess (公爵夫人) of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times. Being thin is deemed as such a virtue.

The problem with such a view is that some people actually attempt to live by it. I myself have fantasies of slipping into narrow designer clothes. Consequently, I have been on a diet for the better—or worse—part of my life. Being rich wouldn’t be bad either, but that won’t happen unless an unknown relative dies suddenly in some distant land, leaving me millions of dollars.

Where did we go off the track? When did eating butter become a sin, and a little bit of extra flesh unappealing, if not repellent? All religions have certain days when people refrain from eating, and excessive eating is one of Christianity’s seven deadly sins. However, until quite recently, most people had a problem getting enough to eat. In some religious groups, wealth was a symbol of probable salvation and high morals, and fatness a sign of wealth and well-being.

Today the opposite is true. We have shifted to thinness as our new mark of virtue. The result is that being fat—or even only somewhat overweight—is bad because it implies a lack of moral strength.

Our obsession (迷恋) with thinness is also fueled by health concerns. It is true that in this country we have more overweight people than ever before, and that, in many cases, being overweight correlates with an increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease. These diseases, however, may have as much to do with our way of life and our high-fat diets as with excess weight. And the associated risk of cancer in the digestive system may be more of a dietary problem—too much fat and a lack of fiber—than a weight problem.

The real concern, then, is not that we weigh too much, but that we neither exercise enough nor eat well. Exercise is necessary for strong bones and both heart and lung health. A balanced diet without a lot of fat can also help the body avoid many diseases. We should surely stop paying so much attention to weight. Simply being thin is not enough. It is actually hazardous if those who get (or already are) thin think they are automatically healthy and thus free from paying attention to their overall life-style. Thinness can be pure vainglory (虚荣).

19.

War may be a natural expression of biological instincts and drives toward aggression in the human species. Natural impulses of anger, hostility, and territoriality (守卫地盘的天性) are expressed through acts of violence. These are all qualities that humans share with animals. Aggression is a kind of innate (天生的) survival mechanism, an instinct for self-preservation that allows animals to defend themselves from threats to their existences of human violence are always conditioned by social conventions that give shape to aggressive behavior. In human societies violence has a social function. It is a strategy for creating or destroying forms of social order. Religious traditions have taken a leading role in directing the powers of violence. We will look at the ritual and ethical (道德上的) patterns within which human violence has been directed.

The violence within a society is controlled through institutions of law. The more developed a legal system becomes, the more society takes responsibility for the discovery, control, and punishment of violent acts. In most tribal societies the only means to deal with an act of violence is revenge. Each family group may have the responsibility for personally carrying out judgment and punishment upon the person who committed the offense. But in legal systems, the responsibility for revenge becomes depersonalized and diffused. The society assumes the responsibility for protecting individuals from violence. In cases where they cannot be protected, the society is responsible for imposing punishment. In a state controlled legal system, individuals are removed from the cycle of revenge motivated by acts of violence, and the state assumes responsibility for their protection.

The other side of a state legal apparatus is a state military apparatus. While the one protects the individual from violence, the other sacrifices the individual to violence in the interests of the state. In war the state affirms its supreme power over the individuals within its own borders. War is not simply a trial by combating to settle disputes between states; it is the moment when the state makes its most powerful demands upon its people for their commitment allegiance, and supreme sacrifice. Times of war test a community’s deepest religious and ethical commitments.

20.

Researchers who are unfamiliar with the cultural and ethnic groups they are studying must take extra precautions to shed any biases they bring with them from their own culture. For example, they must make sure they construct measures that are meaningful for each of the cultural or ethnic minority groups being studied.

In conducting research on cultural and ethnic minority issues, investigators distinguish between the emic approach and the etic approach. In the emic approach, the goal is to describe behavior in one culture or ethnic group in terms that are meaningful and important to the people in that culture or ethnic group, without regard to other cultures or ethnic groups. In the etic approach, the goal is to describe behavior so that generalizations can be made across cultures. If researchers construct a questionnaire in anemic fashion, the concern is only that the questions are meaningful to the particular culture or ethnic group being studied. If, however, the researchers construct a questionnaire in an etic fashion, they want to include questions that reflect concepts familiar to all cultures involved.

How might the emic and etic approaches be reflected in the study of family processes? In the emic approach, the researchers might choose to focus only on middle-class White families, without regard for whether the information obtained in the study can be generalized or is appropriate for ethnic minority groups. In a subsequent study, the researchers may decide to adopt an etic approach by studying not only middle-class White families, but also lower-income White families, Black American families, Spanish American families, and Asian American families. In studying ethnic minority families, the researchers would likely discover that the extended family is more frequently a support system in ethnic minority families than in White American families. If so, the emic approach would reveal a different pattern of family interaction than would the etic approach, documenting that research with middle-class White families cannot always be generalized to all ethnic groups.

As Artificial Intelligence（AI） becomes increasingly sophisticated，there are growing concerns that robots could become a threat. This danger can be avoided， according to computer science professor Stuart Russell，if we figure out how to turn human values into a programmable code.

Russell argues that as robots take on more complicated tasks，it’s necessary to translate our morals into AI language.

For example， if a robot does chores around the house，you wouldn’t want it to put the pet cat in the oven to make dinner for the hungry children. “You would want that robot preloaded with a good set of values，” said Russell.

Some robots are already programmed with basic human values. For example， mobile robots have been programmed to keep a comfortable distance from humans. Obviously there are cultural differences，but if you were talking to another person and they came up close in your personal space， you wouldn’t think that’s the kind of thing a properly brought-up person would do.

It will be possible to create more sophisticated moral machines，if only we can find a way to set out human values as clear rules.

Robots could also learn values from drawing patterns from large sets of data on human behavior. They are dangerous only if programmers are careless.

The biggest concern with robots going against human values is that human beings fail to so sufficient testing and they’ve produced a system that will break some kind of taboo（禁忌）.

One simple check would be to program a robot to check the correct course of action with a human when presented with an unusual situation.

If the robot is unsure whether an animal is suitable for the microwave， it has the opportunity to stop， send out beeps（嘟嘟声）， and ask for directions from a human. If we humans aren’t quite sure about a decision， we go and ask somebody else.

The most difficult step in programming values will be deciding exactly what we believe in moral， and how to create a set of ethical rules。 But if we come up with an answer， robots could be good for humanity.

Why do some people live to be older than others？You know the standard explanations：keeping a moderate diet，engaging in regular exercise，etc. But what effect does your personality have on your longevity（长寿）？Do some kinds of personalities lead to longer lives？ A new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society looked at this question by examining the personality characteristics of 246 children of people who had lived to be at least 100.

The study shows that those living the longest are more outgoing，more active and less neurotic （神经质的） than other people. Long-living women are also more likely to be sympathetic and cooperative than women with a normal life span. These findings are in agreement with what you would expect from the evolutionary theory： those who like to make friends and help others can gather enough resources to make it through tough times.

Interestingly，however，other characteristics that you might consider advantageous had no impact on whether study participants were likely to live longer. Those who were more self-disciplined，for instance，were no more likely to live to be very old. Also, being open to new ideas had no relationship to long life，which might explain all those bad-tempered old people who are fixed in their ways.

Whether you can successfully change your personality, as an adult is the subject of a longstanding psychological debate. But the new paper suggests that if you want long life, you should strive to be as outgoing as possible.

Unfortunately，another recent study shows that your mother’s personality may also help determine your longevity. That study looked at nearly 28000 Norwegian mothers and found that those moms who were more anxious, depressed and angry were more likely to feed their kids unhealthy diets. Patterns of childhood eating can be hard to break when we’re adults, which may mean that kids of depressed moms end up dying younger.

Personality isn’t destiny（命运），and everyone knows that individuals can learn to change. But both studies show that long life isn’t just a matter of your physical health but of your mental health.

When it's five o'clock, people leave their office. The length of the workday, for many workers is defined by time. They leave when the clock tells them they're done.

These days, the time is everywhere: not just on clocks or watches, but on cell-phones and computers. That may be a bad thing, particularly at work. New research shows that clock-based work schedules hinder morale (士气) and creativiyty.

Clock-timers organize their day by blocks of minutes and hours. For example: a meeting from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., research fom 10 a.m. to noon. etc. On the other hand, task-timers have a list of things they want to accomplish. They work down the list, each task starts when the previous task is completed. It is said that all of us employ a mix of both these types of planning.

What, then, are the effects of thinking about time in these different ways? Does one make us more productive? Better at the tasks at hand? Happier? In experiments conducted by Tamar Avnet and Anne-Laure Sellier, they had participants organize different activities-from project planning, holiday shopping, to yoga-by time or to-do list to measure how they performed under "clock time" vs “task time." They found clock timers to be more efficient but less happy because they felt little control over their lives. Task timers are happier and more creative, but less productive. They tend to enjoy the moment when something good is happening, and seize opportunities that come up.

The researchers argue that task-based organizing tends to be undervalued and under-supported in the business culture. Smart companies, they believe, will try to bake more task-based planning into their strategies.

This might be a small change to the way we view work and the office, but the researchers argue that it challenges a widespread characteristic of the economy: work organized by clock time. While most people will still probably need, and be, to some extent, clock-timers, task-based timing should be used when performing a job that requires more creativity. It'll make those tasks easier, and the task-doers will be happier.

Martha Stewart was charged, tried and convicted of a crime in 2004. As she neared the end of her prison sentence, a well-kown columnist wrote that she was “paying her dues," and that “there is simply no reason for anyone to attempt to deny her right to start anew."

Surely, the American ideal of second chances should not be reserved only for the rich and powerful. Unfortunately, many federal and state laws impose post-conviction restrictions on a shockingly large number of Americans, who are prevented from ever fully paying their debt to society.

At least 65 million people in the United States have a criminal record. This can result in severe penalties that continue long after punishment is completed.

Many of these penalties are imposed regardless of the seriousness of the offense or the person's individual circumstances Laws can restrict or ban voting, access to public housing, and professional and business licensing. They can affect a person's ability to get a job and qualification for benefits.

In all, more than 45,000 laws and rules serve to exclude vast numbers of people from fully participating in American life.

Some laws make sense. No one advocates letting someone convicted of pedophilia (恋童癖) work in a school. But too often collateral(附随的) consequences bear no relation to public safety. Should a woman who possessed a small amount of drugs years ago be permanently unable to be licensed as a nurse?

These laws are also counterproductive, since they make it harder for people with criminal records to find housing or land a job, two key factors that reduce backsliding.

A recent report makes several recommendations, including the abolition of most post conviction penalties, except for those specifically needed to protect public safety. Where the penalties are not a must, they should be imposed only if the facts of a case support it.

The point is not to excuse or forget the crime. Rather, it is to recognize that in America's vast criminal justice system, second chances are crucial. It is in no one's interest to keep a large segment of the population on the margins of society.