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Smart Ravens A flock of ravens ravaging a dead body may technically be called an unkindness. People hate them, but ravens are not terrifying. Do they have sharp, curved beaks (鸟喙) that they use to tear dead animals to pieces? Yes. Are their calls close to a horrifying and mysterious laugh? Most definitely. But that doesn't make them evil. Rather, they are masterminds, good at making awesome plans for the future. The latest findings of ravens come from two Swedish scientists who literally put ravens to test. Up until now, we know that ravens have some ability to plan ahead for their own food needs because they hide food to dig up later. Then again, squirrels store food in the ground for later and they're, well, not the smartest. They forget about 75 percent of their nuts, accidentally planting millions of trees in the process. And if “stupid” squirrels can be biologically programmed to store food for later, maybe ravens aren't as smart as we thought. Except obviously they are. Ravens, as it turns out, will often choose to give up a tasty nut now in favor of getting a better treat later. Faced with a piece of food and a tool that they know can open a box containing more delicious food, they will generally choose the tool—even if they don't have the box yet They’re learned that when researchers present them with the box in 15 minutes’ time, they can use that tool to unlock their prize. That’s great vision right there. Even small children often choose to eat one ice-cream immediately rather than wait a few minutes for more. This shouldn't come as such a shock. Ravens also steal from each other by watching competitors hide food, noting the location, and returning later to dig it up. And because they get stolen from, some ravens will actually pretend to hide food to mislead thieves. What's more, they can tell other ravens where to find a juicy, rotting animal body and team up to scare off their competitors. That ability—to communicate information about a distant location —is shared only by ants, bees and humans. Besides deceiving one another to keep a food source a secret, they can also take advantage of other animals. For example, they would call wolves over to a dead body that hasn’t broken down enough yet so that the wolves can rip it apart, leaving more convenient scraps for the ravens to eat.If all that doesn’t make you love and embrace our raven lords, nothing will. These birds are geniuses in their own right—so what if their look is a little weird? Their intelligence isn’t to be feared; it’s to be revered.

Happiness What makes a person happy? If people want to be happy, should they seek money and professional success? Many experts are trying to find out the obstacles to happiness and the ways to overcome them. The strategies they have offered are simple yet effective: to be true to oneself, avoid comparison with others financially, and welcome laws and rules that increase the general happiness of the population. One of the chief obstacles to happiness is being untrue to one’s real desire. Researchers have found that people who follow their authentic desires generally report being happier than those who do not. At its core, authenticity implies discovering and pursuing what people care about most. Take Linda's choice of career as an example. She found herself caught in the middle between her own dream of being a navigator and following her parents' advice of becoming a teacher. Her compromise to family expectations and social traditions has caused her lifelong regret. Therefore, people need to be true to themselves to increase the sense of personal happiness. Finally, people often benefit from some laws and social rules, which may even cost money, like paying taxes. People need to realize that some taxes can make the public happier, because they improve the overall quality of life. In one study of cigarette taxes, researchers conclude that “taxes may affect the happiness of former smokers (by making it easier to resist the temptation to resume smoking) or would-be smokers (by making it easier to never start smoking).” This example demonstrates how social rules can lead to the general happiness of its population, even through the apparently negative practice of increased taxation. Taxes also contribute to the funds available for other social purposes. This further proves the need for taxation. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________These are merely three ways that scholars of happiness studies have recommended to help enhance personal happiness. People should seek to live as their authentic selves in their personal and professional lives. They should avoid social comparison and live within their means. Furthermore, they should welcome any practice that increases the general happiness of the population. Everyone says they want to be happy, and happiness studies may help people learn how to lead happier lives rather than to passively expect happiness to find them.

Some people argue that a college degree does not necessarily mean the holder has superior intellect or stronger capability. What is your opinion? Write a 300-word argumentative essay stating your views.

When You Refuse to Be a Victim Sometimes life can be downright nasty. People can wrong you, cheat you, betray you, and put you in a situation where you are victimized. If you fall a victim to an abuse or a rumor, you may feel hopeless and helpless, or even desperate. It’s unfortunate, but it happens. Complaints in cases like these certainly lead you nowhere. Your own initiative does. It plays a decisive role if you want to take back control of your life. The easiest approach to the problem is asking whether you can remove yourself from the situation. For example, if you’re betrayed in a relationship for whatever reason, can you put yourself out of harm’s way? On many occasions, we find ourselves helplessly victimized. It’s time to change that. You could go stay with a friend, family member, or get a hotel. Either way, refusing to leave the harmful situation is not healthy. If leaving is not the best choice, what can you do? More often than not, you cannot force a person to change, but you can greatly influence him. You can act as a catalyst. For example, if you live with a family member who has an abuse problem and tends to be really mean to you, what can you do? You can start changing the situation by setting boundaries. You can take your power back by letting that person know what is unacceptable. You cannot change others—it’s up to them, but you can influence their behavior by changing how you interact with them.When these approaches fail, accepting the situation and then changing your mindset should be applied where you have been victimized. This is definitely a hard thing to do, but you can do it. If a tragic wrong has been done, accept it, put it in the past and live in the present. It may take time, but the greatest gift you have is the present. Changing your mindset means you will no longer assume the role of a victim. You will reclaim your power and voice—they are yours and should have never been taken. Regardless of how you are victimized, you can change your life by changing your mindset, knowing that you have complete power over your thoughts, actions and reactions.You know what will happen when you decide to stop playing the victim and take your life back? A lifetime is full of possibilities. You will have your personal power back. Your creative spark will glow to help solve problems where most other people wouldn’t know what to do. By taking back your power and no longer playing the victim, you will have more freedom, as you no longer depend on others. You will become the master of your own life. You set the pace and decide what road to take.

My Love of Living a Frugal LifestyleFor some reason, it seems that frugality is often associated with deprivation and being cheap. In my opinion, true frugality is anything but this. Frugality is about having more experiences. It’s about living more on a little less. Ever since discovering the world of personal finance about four years ago, I’ve become totally fascinated by the power of frugality. It’s a lifestyle. I’ve learned to embrace. I love living a frugal lifestyle. because my efforts have resulted in additional benefits that go beyond the immediate impact of cash savings. It has turned me into a more goal-oriented, resourceful and appreciative person. Frugality leads me to focus on my priorities. My commitment to being frugal started with identifying my motivation for embracing the lifestyle. Why am I willing to give up a shopping trip to the mall? What makes me unwilling to eat out for birthday celebrations these few years? Evidently, I need to place the top priority on paying off my student loans by next year! Frugality inspires me to constantly evaluate the choices Fm making in order of importance. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One other reward is that frugality has helped me to appreciate what I have, which has nothing to do with money. When I choose to live with less, I begin to respect what I already have. I take better care of the things I own and this attitude extends to appreciating the beauty of life itself. I often experience this enhanced level of thankfulness for the wonders of nature and the items I value, thanks to my frugal mindset (思维方式). It sounds clich6, yet the more grateful I feel, the less I want. To sum up, I take great pride in my present frugal living. Cutting back unnecessary purchases and throwing away the non-value stuff makes room for what’s really important I5ve learned to handle budget-related problems more resourcefully, repairing and reusing old items for a more sustainable, greener way of living. Spending less but appreciating what I have encourages me to live a richer life. In many cases, one doesn’t need to spend money to be happy.

When young people look for fake boy/girlfriends to spend holidays with, they often turn to “rent-a-boy/girlfriend” services online. Write a 300-word expository essay exploring the effects of this phenomenon.

How to Raise a Moral Robot In the future, humans will create more intelligent and more moral robots than those portrayed in the recent film Chappie. What the film touches on is perhaps the greatest challenge of raising moral robots. The toughest part is how to safely integrate robots into society. As is known, humans are the most powerful learning machines on Earth. If robots are to be part of human society, they have to become at least second best at learning. Is it possible for humans to produce moral robot learners?More and more scientists of artificial intelligence (AI) agree that true intelligence comes from learning, not just from programming. With a growing number of machine learning approaches available, robots can take in new information. They turn that information into instructions and learn from feedback to adjust actions in the ever-changing environments. Robot learning, however, must have limits. If scientists succeed in building sophisticated robots that can learn, they will have to establish limits to how robots learn. If robots are allowed to learn anything they can and want, they may become brutal bullies. Therefore, programmers must set rules and laws that prohibit them from learning anything socially undesirable. One approach to that problem is democratic robot learning. Programmers write a small number of fundamental norms into the robot, and let it learn the remaining ones. These fundamental norms will include prevention of harm, especially to humans, but also politeness and respect. The norms will then be translated into behavior, for example, what it means to be polite in a particular context. They also define conditions under which one fundamental norm can replace another. It’s OK, for instance, to drop politeness when a robot tries to save someone from harm. Democratic robot learning would also guide a robot in dealing with contradictory teachers. Say one person tries to teach the robot to share, and another tries to teach it to steal. In that case, the robot should ask the whole community which teacher it should listen to. After all, the norms and morals of a community are typically held by the majority of members in that community. This approach would also prevent robots from learning something evil in human society. Humans are generally cooperative and kind towards those whom they consider part of their group, but they can become wicked and cruel towards those outside their group. If robots learn such hostile sentiments and evil actions, they may very well become a threat to humanity. Take robots in some science-fiction films for example. They get out of human control, turn their human masters into slaves, and even kill them. If those horrible scenes come into reality, it would be a disaster to mankind. Somehow, society will have to protect robots from continuing dark human heritage. If successful, robots will be helpful to humanity as a whole—lending a hand in production, health care, education and elder care. That is what AI scientists should pursue, and those are the moral robots human society should raise.

The Benefits of Regular ExerciseIn recent years, many people have become increasingly aware of the need for physical fitness. Almost everywhere people turn, whether to a news stall or television, advice for improving health bombards them. Although much of this advice is for commercial purposes, some of it, especially that advocating a regular exercise program, deserves serious attention. Such a program, if consisting of exercise at least thirty minutes three times a week, provides numerous benefits. Regular exercise releases tension, improves appearance, and increases stamina (耐力). The first of these benefits, the release of tension, is immediate. Tension builds in the body because of stress, anxiety, or fear. Doctors agree that participating in an active sport such as tennis or volleyball for thirty minutes eases tension. If a person swims, jogs or rides a bicycle for half that time, he would sleep better at night and have a better mood the next day. In addition, after the relief of tension, minor irritations and frustrations should be less troubling. For example, if one is upset by the day’s work or by a traffic jam, he may rush home, argue with the family, and eat excessively. Taking about thirty minutes to release frustrations through physical exercise could help him to avoid this behavior. Planned physical exercise, therefore, can eliminate or at least control tension. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In addition to an improved appearance, increased physical strength produces stamina. A stronger, healthier body is obviously more capable of working harder in fact, of withstanding normal fatigue. A worker who exercises should be able to complete a forty-hour week and still retain enough energy for shopping and housework. Similarly, a student who goes to school, keeps house and perhaps works part time should accomplish tasks more efficiently. Equally important, this stamina helps to keep off illnesses such as colds and influenza. Altogether, improved endurance is one of the most important benefits of a regular exercise program. Although easy solutions to weight-losing and body-shaping flood the media, actually acquiring these benefits is not easy. The rewards, however, are fully worth the effort. An established exercise program makes a person feel relaxed, look good, and have adequate strength for strenuous as well as routine activities.

A role model is someone who inspires us in our life and makes us want to be better. Write a 300-word expository essay about the qualities of your role model.

What Technology Has Done to UsI am not a patient person. As I was waiting for the elevator the other day, I must have looked at my watch 25 times in one minute. Living in a world of fast-moving technology, ] am used to instant reactions. I push a button, die elevator should open, right? Ah, this is what technology has done to me. So, why do we use technological devices so much? It saves time and is convenient. With the Internet, we can receive and send information, communicate with friends and buy various items ail instantly by the dick of a mouse. In fact our patience level has changed drastically all because of faster connections. While this technology does make it more convenient to receive information, sometimes I wonder if all this is too convenient. We take advantage of the speed so much that if the Internet is not working or the fax machine is not sending properly, our world seems to shut dawn temporarily. We simply find it difficult to function without access lo our e-mail or updated news. In fact, technology can often make us lazy. I cannot possibly spend the time in mailing a letter in the acclaimed snail mail. “Fax it. E-mail it,” the world cries. Society seems to revolve around time as it never did before. This speed of communication has caused us to be so impatient that we have grown apart from each other. Our society can practically thrive without physical contact. Many people have all the required devices already in their homes: a computer, Internet access, a phone and a fax machine. Does anyone else think it is scary that a person does not need to even leave his or her bedroom to have full contact with anyone in the world? I think it decreases our value of face-to-face human contact as a whole. why visit someone who lives 40 minutes away when you can e-mail them or chat online? It saves time, yet nothing can replace having face-to-face conversation with someone. What about those who have limited access to the Internet or other technology? They seem to get lost. Sometimes，when I am too busy to check my e-mail or have no access, I miss out on important information and events that have already taken place with my knowledge. The common thought seems to be that if you have an e-mail address, you must check it every hour, right? Sadly, this idea is becoming truth. While technology is an essential pan of our thriving society, it should be less emphasized as the only way to communicate efficiently. Instead, accuracy should be the priority. While the Internet and fax machines are faster, efficiency can have its drawbacks. They do not always promise accurate information in sending. For example, these devices might not be the best way to submit important documents, such as college applications. Also, with the Internet, valuable information, such as credit card information, can fall into the wrong hands without being detected.While completely abandoning these communication devices is not feasible, society needs to be more patient with the inefficiencies of human-made inventions and of course with human connections.

The Various Skills and Responsibilities of Executive Secretaries After observing the daily activities of three different executive secretaries. I have come to realize that these secretaries must possess a wide varies of skills to do their jobs effectively. Among their most essential skills are the ability to communicate, an acute sense of organization, and an intimate knowledge of different types of office equipment. Communication skills include both oral and written communication, for executive secretaries must represent their supervisors in many different business situations. Orally, they are required to speak effectively on the telephone, which means using proper words and an effectively tone. They must also be able to greet and converse intelligently with each of their supervisor’s client and transmit his or her instructions accurately and concisely. Their written skills comprise a detailed knowledge of the rules of grammar and a familiarization with sentence structure. Duties in this area would include taking notes at meetings and translating rough notes into accurate and readable prose. It is obvious, then, that executive secretaries must master a broad range of oral and written communication skills before they can represent their supervisors properly. Another important skill that executive secretaries must have is a keen sense of organization. The day-to-day responsibilities that lest this skill would be arranging transportation and accommodations for their supervisor's out-of-town visitors, keeping his or her appointment calendar up to dale, and arranging staff meetings and conferences, both inside and outside the building. But perhaps their most important skill, which comes under the general heading of organization is the ability lo set priorities. Since they are given a number of various duties, some requiring immediate action. They must make judgments that provide for their supervisors’ time restrictions. In this way they ensure that their supervisors do not waste time dealing with unessential information. Finally, because business offices use the latest audio-visual and electronic equipment, executive secretaries must have“hands-on” knowledge of this equipment. Making overheads, setting up projectors, and using photocopiers are some obvious examples, but they must also be familiar with video display equipment and word processors. Their skills in accessing and transmitting information effectively will depend on their keeping up with the latest information technology which, in turn, will increase productivity and lower costs.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Some people claim love is most important in a happy marriage, while others believe money plays a decisive role. What is your opinion? Write a 300-word expository essay stating your views.

How to Deal with NervousnessEveryone has experienced being nervous at one point in their lives. Being nervous is a normal emotional reaction to stressful, unknown, or intimidating circumstances. One may feel nervous before an upcoming job interview, the first date, and even a doctor's appointment. For some people, nervousness becomes a problem that interferes with normal life. Shaky and sweaty hands, stammering speech and blank mind may spoil things. However, nervousness can be managed if treated properly. First of all, it is important to remember that no treatment can make a person instantly calm down and forget about his nervousness, The secret to achieving true calm, without tranquilizers (镇静药), is in practice. The more you practise, putting yourself in situations that may make you nervous and taking action, the more confident you become. This way you eventually feel more and more comfortable and less nervous. If you are getting ready for an important interview or a presentation at work, practise your speech so that you can do it automatically. That way, your lips and body will know what to do even if your mind gets blocked somehow. During the speech you need to concentrate on breathing slowly and deeply to avoid short quick breaths that are common for nervous people. When people talk slowly, they keep a nice steady supply of oxygen flowing through their bloodstream. In many cases, nervous people spend time visualizing as to what may go wrong in a future situation. This can, of course, create a lot of nervousness. It can also give you the results you imagined, or feared. If you convince yourself that you will fail, then most probably you do fail. Much more helpful is to have pleasant thoughts and try to imagine only good outcome of a situation. If you visualize things in an optimistic way, what actually happens can change a lot about how you behave, how you present it, how convincing you sound, and generally how you feel in the situation. It always has a great effect on how the things actually go.Sometimes fears occur for a good reason. It is quite understandable that people might be afraid of jumping with a parachute (降落伞), for instance, but what about speaking in public? It is absolutely irrational. Try to compare these two types of fear and maybe then it will be easier to understand that nervousness does not really make that much sense. So, ask yourself a few simple questions. For example, “What is the worst that could happen to me?” Questions of this kind can put things into a healthier perspective and calm yourself down. With sufficient practice, positive self-image and rational thinking, you’ll be able to build up self-assurance bit by bit and behave confidently whether in workplace or in social life. Apply these strategies and don’t let nervousness stand in the way to your success.

Why Movies Are Popular Many people would say that movies, whether seen in the cinema, on the Internet, or on the DVD player, are one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Judging from the amount of time people are willing to spend on watching them, I readily agree with the statement We have dozens of reasons for our love of movies. But the most obvious ones are the story, the special effects and the stars. A “movie” is, basically, technology's answer to the traditional storybook. We all hunger for a life full of passion, excitement and love. If we don't find them in our own life, we try to experience them in fictional stories. A movie tells a story more effectively and vividly than a book. Take the movie “Saving Private Ryan” for example. In the first battle scene when the soldiers are under fierce gunfire from the Germans, you feel you are running with the soldiers and witnessing everything firsthand. You hear the echoes of bullets flying overhead. For fifteen frightening minutes, you feel as if you were in the middle of the battlefield! No storybook can create such a vivid effect. Special effects are another crowd-puller. Take the movie “Jurassic Park” for instance. The dinosaurs’ images are created by a computer, yet in the movie, they look as real as the actors. You can see their shadows and the vapor from their breath. This type of movie magic amazes the audience and keeps them coming back for more. Then there is “The Matrix.” For two hours, the special effects of this movie make us believe that ordinary humans can walk around inside a computer program. Both movies draw a large number of viewers to their sequels (续集), mostly because of their special effects. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In summary, movies are popular because of the story, the special effects and the movie stars. It is still the quickest and easiest way to temporarily leave your ordinary life and to experience passion and excitement.

In their spare time, some people prefer staying at home enjoying themselves, and some like going out for fun. Which do you prefer? Write a 300-word expository essay to express your opinion.

What Makes an Exceptional Leader? On December 14, 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team made history as the first expedition to reach the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, on January 17, 1912, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole, with five exhausted men. None survived the brutal journey home. Another noted British explorer. Sir Ernest Shackleton, never reached the South Pole. While failing to achieve the first overland crossing of Antarctica, Shackleton succeeded in bringing all 27 members of his expedition party safely home, after 634 days of unbelievable hardship. The polar adventures of Shackleton. Scott, and Amundsen provide fundamental leadership lessons for any leader—no matter what race must be run. Effective leadership requires a clear strategic focus. With single-minded determination. Amundsen set his plans and priorities on winning the race to the South Pole, for the glory of standing there first. Scott lacked such focus. He assembled the best scientific minds and equipment available for an unprecedented expedition. But he also aimed to claim the “reward of priority” for the British Empire. Striving for both goals, Scott failed doubly. Successful leaders are open to new ideas. As a Norwegian, Amundsen began with an advantage over his British rivals: comfort with skiing. Yet, he continued (o refine his skills, importing ideas from the Eskimos and developing an integrated set of competencies—skiing, dog-handling, clothing, and carefully-planned diet, pace, and rest一for polar travel. Scott and Shackleton, however, were surprisingly resistant to the use of novel methods. Ultimately, both relied on the slow, exhausting technique of man hauling. Leaders need to draw on the collective wisdom of the team. As a leader, Scott believed it was his unique responsibility to analyze situations and draw conclusions. His decisions were closely held and sometimes revealed at the last minute. In sharp contrast to Scott, both Amundsen and Shackleton sought ideas and opinions from their men. Through this process, Amundsen and Shackleton gave team members a sense of control and value, resulting in greater ownership and commitment. The best leaders forge strong bonds. Despite their differences in personality, the enthusiastic Shackleton and the understated Amundsen had strikingly similar approaches to leadership. Both were acutely sensitive to the emotions of their men and skilled at managing conflict Both emphasized individual ability above rank or social status. And both participated in everyday expedition life, including simple chores. These behaviors, both practical and symbolic, reinforced the message of unity. Although Scott’s doomed polar party stayed together until the very end, his detachment, emphasis on hierarchy, and one-sided decision-making style created barriers to team unity and damaged morale.Flaws aside, Shackleton, Amundsen, and Scott shared qualities—exceptional perseverance, determination, and courage—that are crucial for any leader. Leadership success is often relative and always personal Amundsen led his team and landed on the South Pole successfully; Scott and his men reached the South Pole, but none of them survived the journey home; Shackleton failed in achieving his goal of crossing Antarctica, but be led his team to safety through extreme hardship. Was Shackleton a success or a failure ts a leader? The answer depends on how you measure success.

Enjoying Your Camping Trip Each year, thousands of people choose to spend their vacations camping in the tent in the great outdoors. With proper planning the experience can be gratifying. Even with the best planning, however, tent camping can be an extremely frustrating experience due to uncontrolled factors such as bad weather, wildlife encounters, and equipment failures. Nothing can dampen the excited anticipation of camping more than a dark, rainy day. After reaching their destination, campers must then “set up camp” in the downpour. This includes keeping the inside of the tent dry and free from mud, getting the sleeping bags situated properly, and protecting food from the downpour. Wind mixed with rain can result in frigid temperatures, causing any outside activities to be delayed. Often, tents are blown down by the wind, and campers have to begin the frustrating task off “setting up camp” in the downpour. Another problem likely to be faced during a camping trip is run-ins with wildlife, which can range from mildly annoying to dangerous. Minor inconveniences include mosquitoes and ants. The swarming of mosquitoes can literally drive annoyed campers indoors. Ants do not usually attack campers, but keeping them out of the food can be quite an inconvenience. In addition to swarming the food, ants inside a tent can crawl into sleeping bags and clothing. Although these insects cause minor discomfort, some wildlife encounters are potentially dangerous. There are many poisonous snakes in the woods. An encounter between an unwary camper and a surprised snake can prove to be fatal. Perhaps the least serious camping troubles arc equipment failures; these troubles often plague people camping for the first time. They arrive at the campsite at night and haphazardly set up their tent. They then settle down for a peaceful night*s rest Sometime during the night the campers are awakened by a huge crash. The tent has fallen down. Sleepily, they proceed to set up the tent in the rain. In the morning, everyone emerges from the tent, except for two. Their sleeping bag zippers have gotten caught Finally, after fifteen minutes of struggling, they free themselves, only to realize another problem. Their sleeping bags have been touching the sides of the tent Since a tent is only waterproof if the sides are not touched, the sleeping bags and clothing are all drenched.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nowadays, a lot of freshmen are escorted by their families to the university on the enrollment day. Write a 300-word expository essay expressing your views on the phenomenon.

E-Wastes The past few decades have witnessed amazing advancement in technology, especially in the field of electronics. Despite the remarkable facilities offered by these advances, they have given birth to a new type of hazardous waste, called e-waste. E-waste, containing numerous poisonous wastes, makes hazardous impacts and renders recycling problems. Electronic waste, or e-waste, is any broken or unwanted electronic device or appliance; sometimes, it is also called WHEE—waste from electrical and electronic equipment. Discarded computers, monitors, televisions, printers, scanners, fax machines, mice, keyboards, CD players, digital cameras, walkie-talkies and cell phones form the major chunk of e-waste. It has been estimated that around 50 million tons of electronic products are discarded annually around the world. Most of the electronic wastes are produced by developed nations, which are later exported to developing countries for disposal. Since the government regulations are absent or are not enforced in these third world countries, the used electronic products are often easily accessible to the general public, who are exposed to health hazards associated with e-wastes. The primary concern with e-wastes is the hazardous content they carry. Studies indicate that more than 1000 chemicals including PVC plastics and various types of gases are used for manufacturing electronic products and their components. For instance, computer monitors typically contain lead, a heavy metal known for causing brain damage among children. Similar to monitors, flat panel TVs contain large amounts of mercury, which is likely to cause cancer. Switches and batteries contain cadmium (镉) and nickel, which are harmful to humans, animals and plants. Metal housing and joints, often coated with chromium corrosion protector (镀铬防护层), cause damage to liver and kidney. Similarly, beryllium (铂) dust generated from relays, connectors and motherboards are highly poisonous to humans. The waste management of electronic appliances is complicated, primarily because most of the countries are not able to recycle more than 20 percent of the e-waste they generate. The leading reason for this low rate of recycling is the lack of information and initiative on part of the consumers. In addition, in many pans of the world, tons of electronic waste is discarded in illegal dump sites, where no waste monitoring system exists. The extensive variety of the materials involved in electronic appliances also makes the sorting tedious, thereby rendering the e-waste recycling business less effective. The problem can only be resolved by adopting improved recycling solutions and generating public drive for e-waste recycling. E-waste represents one of the most diverse mixtures of the waste categories. Increasing at an alarming rate, e-wastes pose serious health hazards to humans and wild life. Consumer awareness and commitment are necessary for controlling the problem. Technological advances such as clean computers and appliances are also beneficial since they can address the problem at root.

The Doubt That Haunts When most people are asked to produce something creative, they freeze. They panic. They choke. They seize up with self-doubt. “Creativity?” they say. “Not me!” If you disbelieve this statement, consider how often you try new things in your life. How readily do you try something creative, such as writing, drawing or singing? Most of us believe we can't create and have believed it for so long that the belief has become reality. People possess a large capacity for self-doubt about their creative ability in terms of writing, drawing, and music. Writing offers a classic example. About 90 percent of adults believe they cannot write, although nearly all young children believe they can write. Self-doubt seems to creep in as we grow older. I witnessed this last year in a college writing class when the instructor asked the students if they ever wrote outside of school. One student raised his hand. When the instructor asked how many students thought of themselves as writers, no students—zero out of twenty—raised a hand. By contrast,a first grade teacher had asked her students the same questions and received quite different responses. Did any first graders write outside of school? Twenty out of twenty-two hands shot up. Did any first graders think of themselves as writers? Twenty-two out of twenty-two hands went up. Plainly, adults are more self-conscious about their creativity than children are. Drawing is another creative ability that many adults doubt they have. For instance, at a recent family party I suggested we play “Piclionary,” which involves drawing clues for secret words. “Absolutely not!” my family said “We can't draw.”The interesting part, however, is that we played “Pictionary”, and had a wonderful time with some very creative drawings. This experience showed me that people often doubt they can be creative because they haven't tried. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Self-doubt about creativity in areas such as writing, drawing, or music seems nearly universal among adults. It seems probable, however, that almost all adults have the capacity for creativity in those areas. People all have the potential to be creative and would be able to express their creative side as long as they try. What keeps people from being creative? In my opinion, people are afraid of looking inept,so they hesitate to try creative things. If people would learn to do things to please themselves rather than to please others, maybe their doubts would disappear.

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