AWe all live in suspense,from day to day,from bour to bour; in other words,we are the bero of our own story. -Mary McCartby-
At the very moment when we are living our mundane everyday lives,time in another dimension is flowing slowly and steadily onward. Whether or not we feel this other time in some corner of our hearts makes all the difference.
BHoshino Michio was a famous nature photographer. He spent many years in Alaska. Here he looks back on his first journey to North America.
I went to America for the first time when I was sixteen. Nowadays many young people go abroad; things have changed a lot since I was a boy. To me, America was a strange,far-away land. However,I had a dream to cross the ocean by ship and to hitchhike across America. In high school, I got part-time jobs to save money. My father became interested in my plan and gave me money for the trip. It was a difficult decision for my father. For one thing,he was an office worker and it was a large amount of money for him. For another,people would tell him not to allow his son to go on such an adventure. Foreign lands were so far away for us in those days; how could a boy ever hope to make it home safely?
CI left Yokohama in the summer of 1968. The ocean was so blue and so large. At night the stars looked very close. I felt both the shortness of human life and the vastness of human imagination. Two weeks later,I saw the city of Los Angeles on the horizon. I arrived in America with nothingbut a backpack. It was filled with my few things:a tent,a sleeping bag,a small cooking stove,and maps. The port was a long way from the city. It was dark,and I had no place to stay for the night. I had no plan;deciding which way to go was like throwing dice. I koew no one in Los Angeles. No one in the world even knew where I was,but I felt no fear at all. I just wanted to shout for joy at my new freedom. A few days later I arrived at the Grand Canyon. I was amazed at the vastness of nature. For the first time,I slept in a small tent in the wilderness. That experience gave me an idea and,several yeas later, it led me to Alaska.
DI traveled by Greyhound bus to the South. Atlanta,Nashville,and New Orleans impressed me deeply. There was a certain smell around every bus station: a smell of restrooms,shoe polish,hotdogs,and hamburgers. I am always filled with nostalgia for America when I remember that smell. While I was hitchhiking in Canada,I was picked up by a family and traveled with them for ten long days. I felt that I was part of that family. Years later,the mother told me, “When we first saw you on the road,we drove right on by. But the kids told us to go back and pick you up.” With the help of many people,I completed my journey safely two months later when I arrived in San Francisco. I treated myself to a cola and great big hamburger. I was more confident in myself than ever before.
EWhen you travel alone, you have thrilling experiences and chances to meet all kinds of people. Deciding on each day's plan that very day is like living in a story without any plot. If you miss your bus and take another, your life will take a different turn. I have learned from this journey that chance encounters with people are an important part of life. When I returned home, I found myself in the same old life as a student in a Japanese high school. However, my experience of traveling abroad gave me a sense of freedom. Now I knew that there was a world beyond my day-to-day life in Japan. There were real people in those far lands, and they were living ordinary lives, just like mine. I learned to see my own country in a new light. Today as I walk alone through the wilderness of Alaska, I often remember my first journey to foreign lands.
Sergey Sokolov is a guard in a small town in western Russia. In the winter, he takes care of a group of the winter, he takes care of a group of summer homes that are empty for several months. When the owners are out of town, Sokolov is responsible for the houses. His job can be dangerous because there are plenty of thieves in the neighborhood who have broken into these homes. Sokolov is not big or strong, but he is smart. One day he had a good idea. ''I know how to keep these thieves away!'' he thought. Sokolov made extremely large boots and, with big steps, walked in the snow all around the houses. Clearly, criminals have studied the great big footprints because they have stayed away. Sokolov's job is much easier now. ''Crime is down almost fifty percent, he says. ''Those footprints really scared them!
I remember old Miss Ogilvie turning to Mr Rickenbacker、Superintendent of Public Schools、and whispering fearfully:This is Garoghlanian―one of our future poets、I might say.
お願いします。 And yet the richer countries will not share with the poorer countries. Even when we have more than enough,we are afraid of losing our wealth. I know if all the money for war is spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers,our earth will be a wonderful place.
また、続きお願いします。 Your choices are making our future. Parents should be able to make their children more comfortabie by saying,“We're doing our best.”But I don't think you can say that to us anymore. Sometimes when I see the world around me,I feel like crying. You adults say that you love us. Your actions should refiect our words.
Considering the excellent character traits dogs typically have, it is not surprising that many people consider their dog to be a full-fledged member of the family. In fact, many married people would probably want their spouse to show at least some of the typical dog traits (loving, friendly , kind, cheerful, loyal, protective, and so on ) once in a while. Similarly, since animal medicine has become almost as sophisticated as human medicine, dogs are getting top-notch medical care. Illnesses that once were silent, sudden or mysterious killers are now recognized well before they become terminal. The number of dogs who are diagnosed with cancer is becoming staggeringly high. Is this a result of longer life, a worse environment, or simply early detection? It is hard to say. A happier way in which dogs are treated as if they were human is the appearance of dog restaurants and stores that cater to a dog`s every need. Dog owners have even been known to give their pets a wedding ceremony, complete with photographers and guests! A long time ago the expression “It`s a dogs life” meant “Life is tough” But these days, as long as you have a human serving you, a dog`s life seems to be not that bad at all.
My name is Hoshino Michio. I am a Japanese student. I saw a photo of your village in a book. I am very interested in your way of life. But I do not know anyone in your village. How can I visit your village? I am hardworking. I will do any kind of job. Iwill wait for your answer.
This letter was written by Mr Hoshino. He was moved by a photo of Shishmaref. Half a year later he got the answer,and went to Shishmaref. Several years later he visited Alaska again,and lived there for 18 years. He took many photos of people and nature there.
In some parts of Alaska,the winter lasts for half of the year. The temperature is minus 40 degrees Celsius. The sun comes up around 10:30 in the morning,and goes down around 3:30 in the afternoon. The snow is very important for the people and animals there. One day Mr Hoshino talked with an old man about snow. "we can't live without snow," said the old man. "We can travel on a sleigh over the snow. Snow gives us silence. Even the snow on the branches is useful. It sometimes breaks down the whole tree. That gives hares a new home."
Mr Hoshino took many pictures of polar bears inAlaska. Eskimos in Alaska call the polar bears'Nanook'. They say that 'Nanook' means the king of the ice. There are a lot of stories of Nanook in Eskimo culture. Here is one of them. In this story,Nanook speaks to humans:
All living things are part of the great Mother Earth. When you pray for my life, You become Nanook,and Nanook becomes you. One day you will meet me in the ice world. Maybe either of us is killed. Lives are born again.
Eskimos and polar bears can communicate with each other. They live together in the cycle of life and death.
Signs of change in the tissues of the brain and head can be discovered with modern scanning technology. In one case, a travering salesman had to retire at an early age because he had been losing his mamory. He coudn´t remember even simple taskes. He woudld often forget the name of his own son. This man had been talking on his mobile phone for about six hours a day, every day of his working week, for a few years. his familly doctor blamed his memory loss on using a mobile phone, but his employer´s doctor didn´t agree.
Sadly,all the evidence from around the world is that people are not conserving the sea and the life that abounds within it as they should be doing. The water near to land is in the greatest danger from mankind. Here the water is shallowest and here usually are the biggest catches of fish. Here too are usually the biggest oil reserves, and here too there are the busiest shopping lanes and all the ports and harbours. These busy sea areas around our continent have in recent years seen conflicts between competing fisherman, between nation looking for minerals and between people who want to build and people who want to conserve. In these waters there has been the greatest pollution. Modern technology has made all questions connected with the sea much worse. Oil tankers are so big these days that if there is an accident at sea, then the consequences will be very great. In 1989 the oil tanker the Exxon Valdez had an accident off the coast of Alaska. The spillage of oil from the ship caused pollution to 2,000 kilometers of previously unspoilt coastline. The damage from this pollution is still being repaired today.
Hello.I'm Severn Suzuki speaking for ECO,the En-vironmental Children's Organization. We're a group of twelve- and thirteen-year-olds from Canada trying to make a difference. Coming up here today,I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future.
I'm here to speak for all generations to come. I am here to speak for the hungry children around the world. I am here to speak for the animals dying across the planet.
I am afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in the ozone. I am afraid to breathe the air be-cause I don't know what chemicals are in it. Now ani-mals and plants are becoming extinct every day.
Oneday during lunch break,one of her friends said, "Mari,everyone says you've become very assertive.It looks like you want to stand out..." The friend told her honestly the impressions her classmates had of her. Mari sat listening in silence.She thought to herself:"In japanese culture it is important to have a cooperative attitude toward others and to try not to stand out. I can accept that.But probably,some part of me has been changed by my studying abroad. I hope I can make use of these changes in positive ways." As autumn progressed, Mari no longer felt the awkwardness she had felt on coming back from the States.Now,she is determined to keep her identity as a Japanese, while trying to understand and accept other cultures. In this way she has learned to appreciate her experience abroad.
Some social critics believe that television has come to dominate family life because today's parents are too selfish to take the time and effort that reading aloud or playing games oe even just talking to each other would require. But this strict view dosen't take into consideration the extraordinary power of television.
After his first night on the desert, a thing that surprises him happens.When he wakes up in the morning, there is a boy sitting just in front of him. The narrator cannot believe it, because he is in the very middle of the desert and does not think anybody is there.
With the exception of some parking regulations, enforcement of traffic laws, together with responding to incidents and general patrolling, are the responsibility of city, county and state police. It is a basic premise that every traffic law, ordinance, and control measure contributes to the safety and efficiency of traffic movement, and should therefore be enforced for the health and safety of the community. Unenforced controls are considered worse than no controls at all, since they tend to cause some drivers to disregard them habitually and endanger others. Police also fulfill their objectives by patrolling highways, coming to the aid of stranded motorists, investigating accidents, and directing traffic in emergency situations. を訳してください。お願いします。
@There are few places on earth where nature can be seen in an almost untouched state. One is the Galapagos Islands: a remote place, largely unspoiled be humans, with unique birds, animals and plants――many of which are found nowhere else in the world. These islands lie directly on the Equator, about 1,000 kilometers west of the mainland of South America.
ABut the Galapagos Islands are now facing a problem. The people living on the island of Santa Cruz want to develop the business and tourist potential of the islands. Currently, they are involved in a bitter suruggle with the naturalists who work at the Charles Darwin Research center, which is also located on Santa Cruz. The naturalists want to preserve the island's wildlife, which is already suffering as a result of human activity.
BThe animals' greatest threat used to be sailors who, hundreds of years ago, landed on the islands for food. They wiped out an estimated 250,000 Giant Tortoises, causing the extinction of several subspecies that lived on some of the smaller islands there. On Pinta Island, for example, there are no Giant Tortoises left at all. The last survivor, an 80-year-old Giant Tortoise called Lonesome George, lives under the protection of naturalists at the Darwin Center. CToday, the islands' animals are no longer hunted for food. But other dangers have replaced the threat from sailors. Goats, for example, introduced over the years by humans, have become wind. With no natural enemies, their numbers have reached 100,000 on the largest of the Galapagos Islands, Isabela. They eat huge amounts of plants on the island, and take food drom the Giant Tortoises. The problem is now so bad that the National Park Service has got hunters to kill the goats in an attempt to save the Giant Tortoises from extinction.
DBut such problems don't seem to worry the local population, who wants to develop the islands' economic potencial. The population of Puerto Ayora, tha main town of Santa Cruz, has grown in population from a few hundred to 10,000 in little more than a decade. For Fanny Uribe, a local councilor and hairdresser, more economic growth and less environmental preservation is what is needed. “We'd like an international airport built here and larger hotels, so the local people can make more money from tourism, ”she says. EThe ideas of Fanny Uribe and the local population are in complate contrast to those of the workers at the Darwin Center and the National Park service. Therefore the two communities cannot get along well with each other. Recently, dozens of fishermen marched on the Darwin Center and surrounded it for several days after ecologists had called for an urgent ban on the fishing of endangered species.