It might have been a really bad stressful day, feeling trapped inside by the cold and snow which surrounded us.My husband got dressed and 1that he was going outside to build a giant snowman.
At first he stood alone ， 2massive amounts of snow.Soon after a neighbor joined in.Then we reluctantly put on our snow gear and3outside.It wasn't long4we were smiling and enjoying the 5of snow that Mother Nature had provided.Others came to our yard one by one to give a 6in the making of our giant snowman.
In the end we all stood back and7at what we had created.He was eleven feet high, twentyfive feet around at the base and 8with many household items supplied by various9 ． People drove by and smiled.Some even stopped just to enjoy his10 ．
With the passing of time, the spring made its 11back into our yard and the snowman changed form12 ． In a final effort to save what we created for just a little bit 13 ， somebody stopped by and changed the snowman's 14to look like a rabbit.As I prepared for the start of another week, I decided to 15my email before going to bed.I found a (an) 16message that contained the subject line：17the snowman.
The email said：your neighbor looks on in disbelief！Now you people are relishing(享受)the sounds and smells, along with18of spring.But I am sure people will never forget the 19energy displayed in Mr.Snowman.You and your family keep it up, as this is what the world needs now.More power to you and your loved ones, keep 20with the world around!
Perhaps it was more than a snowman we built that day.The message seems clear.Our environments will turn out to be what we make of them.The possibilities are endless and the choice is ours.
Notes：
①reluctantly adv.勉强地，不情愿地 ②disbelief n ． 不相信
Are you the type of person who always says “yes”？I've come to learn that it is very important to learn to say “no”．It's okay.People are still going to like you.They may even respect you more because they know you are honest.
I'm not saying to say “no” to someone who really needs your help.I'm talking about turning down that meeting that you really do not want to attend or that birthday party that you don't want to be a guest at.
Think for a moment how you feel when you say “yes” to something that you really don't want to do.If you're like I once was，you can't sleep at night and you think about it too much.It weighs on your mind.You try to find ways out.Whatever you're saying to yourself，if you really wanted to go，you wouldn't have all of these thoughts.
So，why not just say “no” from the beginning？Maybe you feel like if you don't show up at the meeting (by the way，it is not one you must attend)，your boss isn't going to like you or your coworkers won't respect you.Maybe you feel as if your mom，dad or sisters won't love you as much if you don't do everything for them what they ask every occasion.
If these people are your true friends，family members，or a good boss，they will like or love you the same no matter what.People treat you the way you teach them to，and if you're someone who always says “yes”，then that's what they're expecting.
You need to do what is right for you.Of course we do have real obligations in life to fulfill，but we do not have to do everything others want us to do.
It's come to this：Climateconscious policymakers are beginning to consider the possibility of playing God with the weather in the hope of slowing global warming.
For years it was considered completely stupid in official Washington to discuss geoengineering：changing the climate by reflecting sunlight back into the sky, sucking carbon dioxide from the air—or a number of other surprising plans.But in the past year the thought won in part by the recent collapse of climate legislation as well as by growing interest among private entrepreneurs and foreign officials.
House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon(DTenn.)，whose group will jointly release a report on climate engineering with the British House of Commons this month, said the subject is“just now starting to get some attention” even though people recognize the danger in trying to change a complex weather system.
“The more you know about it, the more you're concerned about it if we can ever carry it out，” Gordon said in an interview.“However, there may be a point where we're up against the tipping point, and the consequences of climate change are even worse.”
Over the next few months, whispering about changing the weather will evolve into written recommendations.Several key groups—including the Government Accountability Office—will issue their thoughts on how best to start a modest federal research program on geoengineering.
“We're getting a sense that agencies are interested in this topic and would be open, on a certain level, to letting this program go forward，”said Jane Long, who cochairs the National Commission on Energy Policy's task force.
Notes：
①geoengineering n ． 岩土工程 ②collapse n ． 瓦解 ③legislation n ． 立法 ④entrepreneur n ． 企业家 ⑤play God扮演上帝 ⑥be up against面临；面对
The earth is dying before us yet we sit and watch. If the TV or the game system breaks, we run off to the stores to get it fixed immediately no matter what the cost. Why aren't we willing to fix our earth? Are our televisions and game systems more important to us than where we live? Where shall we continue to live, until the end of time?
The earth is our home and cannot be replaced. We must take care of it. We have come up with so much technology that limits us instead of helping us. Take that game system we run to repair. What does it do? It occupies kids' time! The earth has already given kids plenty of entertainment in the forms of fields and hills, forests and plains, water and land. However, instead of using what the earth has given us, and helping kids by giving them exercise as they run around, we decide to ruin kids' minds with game systems that glue them to the screen for hours, and make them ignore their homework and chores. We have polluted this earth by making these things which do not even help us in any way!
We have already messed up this world. We have ruined the air, water, and animals that it has so willingly provided for us. We need to stop this destruction of life and bring back the world we had before. It will not be easy, but everybody can help! What about something as simple as turning the lights off when you leave a room? Recycling what can be recycled? Picking up litter? Donating money to an environmental organization? None of these things are very hard. We can't just always say, “Oh, the earth is a mess. Ah, well, those big companies that are polluting so much can stop and fix it.” Instead, we need to help out. It's not only those big companies; it's everyday things that we do too that are ruining the earth. So stop and think about what you can do to make a difference to our world!
Doctorssay anger can be an extremely damaging emotion, unless you learn how to dealwith it. They warn that anger can lead to heart disease, stomach problems,headaches, emotional problems and possibly cancer.
Some people express anger openlyin a calm and reasonable way. Others burst with anger, and scream and yell. Butother people keep their anger inside. They cannot or will not express it. Thisis called repressing anger.
Foryears many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to aperson's health than expressing it. They said that when a person is angry, thebrain releases the same hormones (荷尔蒙).They speed the heart rate, raise blood pressure, or sugar into the blood, etc.
Somedoctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous. Theybelieve that those who express anger violently may be more likely to developheart disease, and they believe that those who keep anger inside may face agreater danger of high blood pressure.
They say the first step is to admit that youare angry and to recognize the real cause of the anger, then decide if thecause is serious enough to get angry about. If it is, they say, “ Wait until your anger has cooled down and youare able to express yourself calmly and reasonably.”
Doctorssay that a good way to deal with anger is to find humor in the situation thathas made you angry.
A．They say that laughter is much healthier than anger.
B．Expressing anger violently is more harmful than repressingit.
C．Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger.
D．Anger may cause you a cancer.
E．Do not express your anger while angry.
F．Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time totime.
G．In general the person feels excited and ready to act.
Redenvelopes (relate) to the Chinese Lunar New Year for long. I myself havehad plenty of (experience) both receiving and giving out red envelopes inthe past, and generally speaking, it's been fun. I mean，who doesn't love free money?
I'm truly surprised by the extent of people'sobsession with virtual red envelopes this year. In fact, everyone I know spentat least a day or two (crazy) shaking their smart phones，mostly trying to get as much lucky money as possible. Thanksto messaging app giant WeChat's new feature allows users to send moneyelectronically, grabbing virtual red envelopes has never seemed so easy.
Just in case you are one of the very fewpeople still not on the bandwagon, here's it works. Givers link theirWeChat to their bank accounts, and then they can send specified amounts ofmoney to their WeChat contacts through a personal message. They can also putthe cash up grabs in chat groups full of friends, and anyone who acts fastenough will get share. Later，receiverscan transfer the funds from their WeChat back into their own bank accounts.
In theory，thissounds like a fun game. I'm always for some harmless fun in life, so my naturalresponse would be：Why not? Moreover,I've always believed that it's human nature to want free stuff, regardless ofwhether you actually need it or not. This may not be a good quality, it'snot against the law, so I won't get all judgmental here. (consider) thesereasons, I really can't fault anyone for their enthusiasm in grabbing virtualred envelopes. I would have done it too, I not thought linking WeChat tomy bank accounts was too much trouble.
