United Nations Day (1999)The 24th of October is celebrated as United Nations Day. It is a day that belongs to everyone, and it is celebrated in most countries of the world. Some countries celebrate for a week instead of a day. In many parts of the world, schools have special programmes for the day. Boys and girls in some communities decorate a UN tree. In other communities, young people put on plays about the UN. Some libraries exhibit children's art works from around the world. Schools celebrate with the songs and dances of other countries, or give parties where foods of other countries are served.No matter how the day is celebrated, the purpose of these celebrations is to help everyone understand the UN and the important role it plays in world affairs. The UN encourages people to learn about other lands and their customs. In this way, people can gain a better understanding and appreciation of peoples all over the world.The Wrist Watch (2005)It is generally believed that wristwatches are an exception to the normal sequence in the evolution of men's jewelry. Reversing the usual order, they were first worn by women and then adopted by men. In the old days, queens included wristwatches among their crown jewelry. Later they were worn by Swiss workers and farmers. Until World War I, Americans associated the watch with fortune hunters. Then army officers discovered that the wristwatch was most practical for active combat. Race car drivers also loved to wear wristwatches and pilots found them most useful while flying. Soon men dared to wear wristwatches without feeling self-conscious. By 1924 some 30% of men's watches were worn on the wrist. Today the figure is 90% and they are now worn by both men and women for practical purposes rather than for decoration.The Internet (2006)The Internet is the most significant progress in the field of communications./ Imagine a book that never ends, a library with a million floors, / or imagine a research project with thousands of scientists/ working around the clock forever. / This is the magic of the Internet. / Yet the Internet has the potential for good and bad. / One can find well-organized information-rich websites. / At the same time, one can also find wasteful websites. / Most websites are known as different Internet applications. / These include online games, chat rooms and so on./ These applications have great power, too. / Sometimes the power can be so great/ that young people may easily become victims to their attraction. / So we need to recognize the seriousness of the problem. / We must work together to use its power for better ends.Advertising (2007)Advertising has already become a very specialized activity in modern times./ In today’s business world, supply is usually greater than demand./ There is great competition between manufacturers of the same kind of product because they want to persuade customers to buy their particular brand. They always have to remind their customers of the name and qualities of their products by advertising. The manufacturer advertises in newspapers and on the radio. He sometimes employs salesgirls to distribute samples of his product. He sometimes advertises on the Internet as well. In addition, he always has advertisements put into television programs that will accept them. Manufacturers often spend huge sums of money on advertisements. We buy a particular product because we think that is the best. We usually think so because the advertisements say so. People often don’t ask themselves if the advertiseme nts are telling the truth when they buy advertised products from shops.Choosing A Career(2008)When students graduate from college, many of them do not know how they want to spend their working lives and they sometimes move from job to job, until they find something that suits them and, of equal importance, to which they are suited. Others never find a job in which they are really happy. They remain all their lives square pegs in round holes. When we choose our careers we need to ask ourselves two questions. First, what do we think we would like to be? Second, what kind of people are we? The idea, for example, of being a painter or a musician may seem very attractive, but unless we have great talent, and are willing to work very hard, we are certain to fail in these occupations. And failure will lead to unhappiness in life. So it is important to assess our suitability for a certain career in job search.For many people in the west, New Year’s Eve is the biggest party of the year. / It’s a time to get together with friends or family / and welcome in the coming year. / New Year’s parties can take place in different places. / Some people hold a house party; others attend street parties, / while some just go for a few drinks with their friends. / Big cities have large and spectacular fireworks displays. / There is one thing that all New Year’s Eve parties have in common, / the countdown to midninght. / When the clock strikes 12, people give a loud cheer and sing songs./ It’s a lso popular to make a promise in the New Year./ This is called a New Year’s resolution. / Typical resolutions include giving up smoking and keeping fit. However, the promise is often broken quite quickly / and people are back into their bad habits within weeks or days.Britain has a well-respected higher education system / and some of the top universities and research institutions in the world. / But to those who are new to this system, it can sometimes be confusing. / October is usually the busiest month in the academic calendar. / Universities have something called freshman's week for their newcomers. / It's a great opportunity to make new friends, / join lots of clubs and settle into university life. / However, having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind, / the prospect of meeting strangers in the classroom and dormitory can be worrying. / Where do you start and who should you make friends with? / Which clubs and society should you join? / Luckily, there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you. / They worry about starting their university social life on the right foot. / So just take it all in slowly. Don't rush into anything that you'll regret for the next three years.British holidaying habits (2011)In the late 1970s, air travel became affordable/ for the average family in the UK./ And more people started travelling abroad for their summer holidays. / After all, the British weather wasn’t very good, even in summer,/ so a lot of people left the country for a vacation.In the 1980s and 1990s, young people in the UK became wealthier on average. /As a result, they started to go abroad in groups/ to places such as Spain and Greece./ Once they arrived at their destination,/ they met with other groups of young people and had one long party.British holidaying habits have begun to change, however./ Climate change means that the UK now has a hotter climate,/ so people do not need to go overseas to find good weather./ Also, going abroad is more expensive./ As a result, more British people are choosing to spend their summer holidays in the UK.Ecotourism (2012)Nowadays, many of us try to live in a way/ that will damage the environment as little as possible./ We recycle our newspapers and bottles,/ we take public transport to get to work,/ we try to buy locally produced fruit and vegetables,/ and we want to take these attitudes on holiday with us./ This is why alternative forms of tourism are becoming popular in the world./ There are a lot of names for these new forms of tourism:/ responsible tourism, nature tourism, adventure tourism, educational tourism and more./Although everyone may have a different definition,/ most people agree that these new forms of tourism should do the following:/ first, they should conserve the wildlife and culture of the area;/ second, they should benefit the local people;/ third, they should make a profit without destroying natural resources;/ and finally they should provide an experience that tourists want to pay for.Salmon (2003)Every year millions of salmon swim from the ocean into the mouths of the rivers and then steadily out of the rivers. Passing through waters, around the rocks and waterfalls, the fish finally reach their original streams or lakes. They dig up nests in the riverbed and lay their eggs. Then exhausted by their journey the parent salmon die. They have finished the task that the nature has given them. Months or years later, the young fish start their trip to the ocean. They live in the salt water from two to seven years, until they, too, are ready to swim back to reproduce. Their life cycle helps man provide himself with a basic food –fish. When the adult salmon gather at the river mouths for the annual trip of the rivers, they are in the best possible condition. And nearly every harbor has its salmon fishing fleet ready to catch thousands for markets.Money (2004)Money is accepted across the world as payment for goods or services. People use money to buy food, clothes and hundreds of other things. In the past, many different things were used as money. People on Pacific islands once exchanged shells for goods. The Chinese used cloth and knives. In Africa, elephant tusks or salt were used. Even today, some people in Africa are still paid in salt. Coins were first invented by the Chinese. Originally, they were round pieces of metal with a hole in the center, so that a piece of string could keep them together. This made doing business much easier, but people still found coins inconvenient to carry when they wanted to buy something expensive. To solve this problem, the Chinese again came up with the solution. They began to use paper money for coins. Now paper notes are used throughout the world.Disappearing Forests (2002)The world’s forests are disappearing. As much as 1/3 of the total tree cover has been lost since agriculture began some 10,000 years ago. The remaining forests are home to half of the world’s species, thus becoming the chief resource for their survival. Tropical rain forests once covered 12% of the land of the planet, as well as supporting at least half of the world’s species of plants and animals. These rain forests are home to millions of people, but there are other demands on them. For example, much has been cut for timber. An increasing amount of forest land has been used for industrial purposes or for agricultural development such as crop-growing. By the 1990’s less than half of the earth’s original rain forests remained, and they continue to disappear at an alarming rate every year. As a result the world’s forests are now facing gradual extinction.What are dreams for (2013)One theory is that we dream to release the deep secret desires. / We do not express these desires in real life because of the rules of polite society./ Another theory is that dreams allow us to solve problems / that we can’t solve in real life. / We go to sleep with a problem and wake up with the solution. / This may be a way to use our dreams rather than a purpose of dreaming. / If you believe that your dreams are important,/ then analyzing them may help you to focus on the problem and help you to find the solution./The modern image is that dreams are the brain’s way/ of cleaning up the computer’s hard disk. / Dreams organize the events of the day into folders / and delete what is not needed. / But we all know that very little of what we dream / is concerned with what happen to us that day.Money is accepted across the world as payment for goods or services. People use money to buy food, clothes and hundreds of other things. In the past, many different things were used as money. People on Pacific islands once exchanged shells for goods. The Chinese used cloth and knives. In Africa, elephant tusks or salt were used. Even today, some people in Africa are still paid in salt. Coins were first invented by the Chinese. Originally, they were round pieces of metal with a hole in the center, so that a piece of string could keep them together. This made doing business much easier, but people still found coins inconvenient to carry when they wanted to buy something expensive. To solve this problem, the Chinese again came up with the solution. They began to use paper money for coins. Now paper notes are used throughout the world.Limiting the Growth of Technology (2014) Throughout history。