[00:00.00]111 Men and Nature
[00:04.96]Our environment is being polluted faster than nature and man's present efforts can prevent it.
[00:14.21]Time is bringing us more people, and more people will bring us more industry,
[00:21.50]more motor vehicles, large cities, and the growing use of man made ma-terials.
[00:29.75]What can explain and solve this problem?
[00:34.43]The fact is that pollution is caused by man--by his desire for a modern way of life.
[00:43.05]We make increasing industrialization our chief aim.
[00:49.03]For its sake, we are willing to sacrifice everything:
[00:54.10]clean air, pure water, good food, our health and the future of our children.
[01:02.82]There is a constant flow of people from the countryside into the cities,eager for the benefits of modem society.
[01:13.61]But as our technological achievements have grown in the last twenty years, so pollution has become a serious problem.
[01:25.50]Isn't it time we stopped to ask ourselves where we are going-and why?
[01:33.68]It reminds me of the story about the airliner pilot who told his passengers over the loudspeaker.
[01:42.87]"I've some good news and some bad news.
[01:47.57]The good news is that we're making rapid progress at 530 miles per hour.
[01:56.22]The bad news is that we're lost and don't know where we're going."
[02:02.59]The sad fact is that this becomes a true story when applied to our modem society.
[02:13.17]112 Water Resources
[02:17.90]With the economic development and the increase of the population, we are faced with the lack of water supply.
[02:28.11]For a recent survey, it can be seen that the consumption of water all
over the world
[02:36.16]has been remarkably raised compared with that of last year.
[02:40.81]Statistics also show that a lot of water resources such as lakes, rivers, and oceans have been polluted seriously.
[02:53.48]As a re-mit, there is less space for people to obtain enough healthy wa-ter.
[03:01.03]So it is high time for us to find a solution to the problem.
[03:06.83]There are two main ways to solve the problem.
[03:11.71]First, with the development of high technology new resources may be found
[03:18.45]and the present ones can be exploited effectively.
[03:23.02]Second, mea-sures should be taken to restrain the increase of water consump-tion.
[03:29.63]For example, we can advocate the recycling of water in in-dustry.
[03:35.75]Being one of those whose life had been threatened by the crisis,
[03:41.54]I would like to do something helpful,
[03:44.60]such as not wasting water in daily life and spreading the idea of protecting environ-ment.
[03:53.56]As long as we take it seriously, we will definitely over-come this difficulty.
[04:00.51]113 Noises In City
[04:06.07]Do you think there is too much noise in our city?
[04:11.09]If you live near the airport, you'll be unhappy only because a jet plane flying in the sky makes loud noise.
[04:21.56]The sound of planes or heavy vehicles is likely to cause deafness if heard continuously.
[04:30.11]However, most people in our city do not seem to mind noise.
[04:36.43]They like to enjoy music when they are doing dull jobs.
[04:41.57]It is a new danger because "pop" music, when played through powerful amplifiers,
[04:49.10]can reach 120 decibels at a distance of five feet.
[04:55.31]It is known that a continuous noise of over 85 decibels can cause deafness.
[05:03.73]Recently it was discovered that many teenagers in America could hear no better than 65-year-old people.
[05:14.07]In the past we used to think that only workers in very noisy places became deaf.
[05:22.38]For example, when newspapers and books are being printed, the noise level is about 85 decibels,
[05:32.36]and some of the workers become deaf.
[05:35.73]Scientists believe that 10 percent of all workers in Britain are being deafened by the noise in the factories.
[05:45.84]Moreover, noise of less than 85 decibels can make some people tired and anxious.
[05:56.26]We all know that too much noise makes life difficult and unpleasant.
[06:02.89]It can damage health and prevent people from working well.
[06:07.80]Noise makes people less effi-cient.
[06:12.11]In Britain the government has recently made several laws to reduce noise.
[06:18.54]Moreover, the government has spent a good deal of money in making airports and main roads quieter.
[06:27.32]However, many people think that there are still not enough laws.
[06:33.98]For ex-ample, there are no laws to control noise made by machines.
[06:39.83]In Japan, America and Norway there are such laws.
[06:46.33]As a result, workers can claim compensation if they become deaf.
[06:52.76]114 Air
[06:57.75]The earth is surrounded by a large quantity of air called the atmosphere.
[07:05.64]This atmosphere, which is about 900 kilometers thick, exists everywhere.
[07:13.32]Without it, the earth would be too hot in the day and too cold at night.
[07:20.79]All living things on earth are dependent on air.
[07:26.62]We can live on for a few days without food and water.
[07:31.92]But we cannot live for more than a few minutes without air.
[07:37.67]When we are working or running, we need more air.
[07:43.41]So we breathe faster than usual.
[07:47.20]When we are asleep, we need less air.
[07:51.09]So we breathe slower.
[07:53.36]Fresh air can make people energetic and healthy.
[07:58.30]Dirty air, on the other hand, can make people sick or even cause death.
[08:05.90]But it is a pity that the air is now seriously polluted.
[08:12.41]Many factories in big cities send smoke and other harmful chemical substances into the air.
[08:21.58]Cars and buses in the streets also give out their exhaust.
[08:27.56]Although some important steps have been taken, yet this problem still remain unsolved.
[08:36.70]We sincerely hope that we will never see the black smoke in the sky in the near future.
[08:45.71]115 Developing Economy or Protecting the Environment
[08:54.78]Some people think that the urgent task is to develop econo-my on a large scale.
[09:01.52]Many people, especially in rural areas, are living in poverty.
[09:07.92]Many children cannot afford to receive the compulsory education.
[09:13.95]They believe that the only way to get rid of poverty is well-developed economy,
[09:21.06]which is bound to bring prosperity.
[09:24.48]On the other hand, many people insist that environmental protection should be a top priority.
[09:33.44]They say that we have only one earth.
[09:37.41]If our living environment were destroyed or polluted completely, we could not survive on this planet.
[09:46.42]Now most parts of the earth are polluted.
[09:50.94]What has brought the pollution is the rapid development of economy.
[09:56.95]Many factories discharge much harmful chemicals into air and rivers every day.
[10:04.97]In my opinion, both economic development and environ-mental protection are our urgent tasks now.
[10:15.65]Without economic development, we would remain backward, and we might be conquered and bullied by other countries.
[10:26.29]Without environmen-tal protection, we would lose our home.
[10:32.06]Therefore,
[10:33.50]the best so-lution is that we should devote to the protection of our home while we are developing our economy.
[10:43.03]Many findings in scientif-ic research can be applied in the environmental protection.
[10:51.00]116 Keeping Our City Clean
[10:59.12]Cities, big or small, should be clean.
[11:05.16]A clean city is good both to our mind and body.
[11:10.64]In a clean city, diseases may be re-duced, and people's health may be better.
[11:18.24]We can hardly imag-ine that people live happily in a dirty city with wastes every-where.
[11:27.07]However, keeping our city clean is no easy job, especially in modem times,
[11:37.00]when more and more people are moving into the cities.
[11:41.15]These people produce waste every day.
[11:45.12]But big waste producers may be factories which pour wastes into the air, river and onto the ground.
[11:55.02]It is necessary to impose some kind of laws on them in order to keep our city clean.
[12:03.30]To keep our city clean our government has already done a lot,
[12:10.04]for example, arranging for sanitationmen to clean the main road every night,
[12:16.81]placing dustbins in the street, disposing garbage in a scientific way, etc.
[12:24.93]Perhaps a more active way is to call on people to plant more trees, put wastes into fixed places.
[12:36.38]If every one of us takes care of our city and does his best to keep it clean,
[12:44.29]our city is sure to he a beautiful place where all of us can live a happy life.
[12:54.95]117 Noise Pollution
[12:59.89]In the past, noise was rarely associated with pollution,
[13:05.84]buy recently it is found that many mental diseases are closely related to noise.
[13:13.08]Therefore, it is also labeled as a kind of pollution nowadays.
[13:18.85]That there is too much noise afflicting our daily life is a manifest fact.
[13:26.82]Especially in big cities it is almost a dream to enjoy a short period of noiseless,
[13:35.33]tranquil leisure time except at dawn or in the depth of night.
[13:41.32]Whistling vehicles, bustling crowds of people,
[13:45.84]untiring loud-speakers of various stores and lots of others produce nerve-racking noise.
[13:54.90]Noise diverts our attention, dis-turbs our sleep and destroys our ears.
[14:02.29]As a consequence, We are becoming more and more fidgety and upset because of the noise pollution.
[14:11.33]It is high time that serious consideration was given to noise pollution.
[14:17.65]Moreover, measures should be taken to protect people against noise and secure us a quiet environment.
[14:26.95]It is an arduous task, yet it can be accomplished if only we try not to be short-sighted
[14:35.78]and think twice before any hasty and irrational decisions are made.
[14:44.45]118 The Protector of Nature
[14:49.57]John James Audubon was born in 1785 and died in 1851, but his name is still spoken today.
[15:01.96]Audubon was a scientist who loved nature.
[15:07.00]He wanted to show people the importance of na-ture in their lives.
[15:12.07]He was especially interested in birds, and painted many beautiful pictures of them.
[15:20.03]In 1905, the National Audubon Society was formed by peo-ple who were also interested in birds
[15:31.08]and wanted to continue Audubon's nature studies.
[15:35.68]Even now, when people think of the Audubon Society, they usually think of birds.
[15:43.67]But the society does other things besides watching birds.
[15:49.19]The members of the society try to improve the environment as much as they can.
[15:56.53]They let the public know about laws that are needed.
[16:01.72]They have helped to pass many laws that protect birds and animals, and people, too.
[16:09.06]They teach young people how to protect their environment.
[16:14.68]They try to make their own communities cleaner, better places to live in.
[16:20.45]John James Audubon knew that nature was important.
[16:26.20]He did not know how important his work would become.
[16:32.99]119 my Family
[16:37.46]With six people in my family, it's not fun being the middle kid.
[16:44.12]Besides Mum and Dad, I have two older brothers and a pretty sister.
[16:51.30]My father is a manager in a company, and my mother is a doctor.
[16:57.89]They are quite busy all day. We all try to help with the housework.
[17:04.71]Chang Han is my eldest brother.
[17:08.88]He is a junior in a univer-sity now.
[17:12.36]He is going to be a medical doctor.
[17:15.99]When he is at home, he has his nose in a book and yells at me if I make the slightest noise.
[17:25.71]My pretty sister is only in elementary school, but she is good at helping mother with cooking and cleaning.
[17:35.71]I'm only a senior in high school.
[17:39.60]I'm just young enough to get pushed around by my big brothers and not old enough yet to boss my younger sister.
[17:49.53]My second elder brother is a whiz at math.
[17:54.52]Since I'm going to be a chemistry major in college, I sometimes need his help with my homework.
[18:03.40]He is only a fresh-man, but he is really good.
[18:08.18]However, I can not complain too much. I really love my family.
[18:14.71]I'm proud of all of them.
[18:17.43]I would not change them for any other family.
[18:22.37]120 Where Is Happiness from?
[18:28.82]The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled,
[18:34.85]pain-free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever at-taining real happiness.
[18:43.84]If fun and pleasure are equal to happi-ness, then pain must be equal to unhappiness.
[18:53.01]But, in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not, things that lead to happi-ness involve some pain.
[19:04.03]As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness.
[19:12.42]They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage,
[19:18.14]raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, self-improvement.
[19:25.51]Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying.
[19:34.94]If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment.
[19:41.57]For commitment is in fact quite painful.
[19:45.80]The single life is filled with fun, adven-ture, and excitement.
[19:52.25]Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
[19:58.63]Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or a three-day vacation.
[20:07.12]I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.
[20:14.93]But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up
[20:23.81]or of playing with a grandchild.
[20:27.08]Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations.
[20:36.61]It liber-ates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are al-ways having so much fun actually
[20:46.48]may not be happy at all.
[20:49.65]121 Should We Learn to Do Housework
[20:58.37]Nowadays, when we walk through the streets, we often see many boys and girls
[21:05.32]who instead of spending their time on books, go roaming about the streets, start funny clubs, and give parties.
[21:15.01]They think it is the parents' responsibility to support them and do all the housework.
[21:21.65]So they do not work and just re-main idle.
[21:25.36]We can also see some boys and girls who live in a small world of their own.
[21:31.70]They bury themselves among books and also are proud of themselves.
[21:37.87]They think that it will be condescending themselves if they do housework
[21:43.01]for they often think themselves well educated.
[21:47.25]The attitude of these two types of youngsters towards house-work is wrong.
[21:53.28]In my opinion, everyone, without the exception of boys, should have knowledge of housework.
[22:01.14]After all, they will have a family of their own, and they should contribute their part in maintaining a good home.
[22:09.42]Boys should also learn to do housework, for what will they do if they remain single?
[22:16.29]Though not all boys remain single, yet they will be valuable assistants in the family if they can do some housework.
[22:25.28]So, why not learn to learn housework now?
[22:29.56]122 Mutual Understanding Is Important
[22:36.41]Parents and teenagers often disagree about the amount of freedom and responsibility that young people are to have.
[22:44.90]Teenagers often want to be free to choose their own direc-tion to spend leisure time.
[22:51.45]Some like to learn painting, while others prefer to sit around and talk or sing.
[22:58.19]Young people as a whole are anxious to be understood by their parents.
[23:03.99]On the other hand, most people don't quite understand their children.
[23:10.13]They regard it as their responsibility to teach off-spring traditional beliefs
[23:15.96]and they want the young to be obedient and do well in school.
[23:20.45]There always exists a tendency for parents to interfere in children's daily activities,
[23:27.61]insisting that homework be completed,
[23:31.24]while their teenagers' particular interests and hobbies are often neglected or even ignored.
[23:39.00]Personally, I think most problems between teenagers
[23:43.83]and their parents can be solved by joint planning and decision making.
[23:48.85]Within any given family agreements are achieved and prob-lems are solved
[23:54.75]when all of the members take interest in the problem and share in their effort to work it out.
[24:01.28]Hence parents and young people must realize the necessity to learn how to understand each other.
[24:08.88]In this way, even the most difficult prob-lems can be solved.
[24:14.08]123 Mother's Love
[24:20.24]Only a mother's love is selfless love.
[24:24.32]Anyone can see how sincerely mothers love their children.
[24:28.89]When you were a baby, your mother protected you as much as she could.
[24:34.48]In your waking hours she held you in her arms.
[24:38.53]Whenever you made the least noise, she stopped her work to attend to you.
[24:44.20]Sometimes, when she slept at night,
[24:47.49]the least stir on your part would awake her, she gave her whole heart to you.
[24:53.42]When you were old enough to go to school you might think it was natural, but your mother would never forget that day.
[25:01.99]When the weather grew a little colder, she would think that you might he wearing too little clothing.
[25:09.07]When it became a little warmer, she would be afraid that you were wearing too much.
[25:15.18]When there was anything nice to eat in the family, she would wish you were at home to eat it.
[25:22.39]When she heard of your good health and work at school, she would feel happy.
[25:27.98]In case your health and work were not very good,
[25:31.98]she would feel sorry for you--even more sorry than you felt yourself.
[25:37.75]When you went home for a vacation, she would make your bed and prepare foods for you as if you were a guest.
[25:46.08]When you were about to go back to school at the end of a vacation she prepared something for you to take back.
[25:54.29]If you searched the trunk carefully you might find some tears in a corner,
[26:00.50]which your mother had shed for your leaving.