The concept of solitude(独处) in the digital world is almost non­existent. In the world of digital technology, e­mail,social networking and online video games, information is meant to be 1. Solitude can be hard to discover 2it has been given up. In this respect，new technologies have3 our culture.

       The desire to be connected has brought solitude to a(n) 4 as we've known it. People have become so 5in the world of networks and connections that one can often be contacted 6they'd rather not be. Today we can talk, text, e­mail, chat and blog (写博客), not only from our 7 ， but from our mobile phones as well.

         Most developed nations have become 8on digital technology simply because they've grown accustomed to it, and atthis point not 9 it would make them an outsider. 10 ， many jobs and careers require people to be 11.From this point of view, technology has changed the culture of work. Being reachable might feel like a 12 to those who may not want to be ableto be contacted at all times.

 I suppose the positive side is that solitude is still possible for anyone who13 wants it. Computers can be shut 14andmobile phones can be turned off. The ability to be “connected” and “on” hasmany 15 ， as well asdisadvantages. Travelers have ended up 16on mountains, and mobilephones have saved countless lives. They can also make people feel 17and forced to answer unwanted calls or 18 to unwanted texts.

         Attitudes towards our connectedness as asociety 19across generations. Some find today's technology a gift.Others consider it a curse. Regardless of anyone's view on the subject, it'shard to imagine what life would be like20daily advancements intechnology.

       Most maps of the world show lines that are not on the Earth's surface.One line is the equator(赤道)．It is an imaginary line around the widest part of the Earth.There are similar lines both north and south of the equator.These circles become smaller and smaller toward the north pole and the south pole.These lines, or circles, are parallel(平行的)—meaning that they are equally distant from each other at any point around the world.These lines show what is called latitude(纬度)．

       A navigator can know the latitude of his ship by observing the location of stars, where the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening, and what time of year it is.With this information he knows where his ship is in relation to the north or south pole and the equator.

       Still, there is one more important piece of information necessary for safely sailing the oceans.For many centuries, scientists, astronomers and inventors searched for a way to tell longitude(经度)．The lines of longitude go the other way from latitude lines.They stretch from the north pole to the south pole, and back again in great circles of the same size.All of the lines of longitude meet at the top and bottom of the world.

       To learn longitude at any place requires knowledge about time.A navigator needs to know what time it is on his ship and also the time at another place of known longitude—at the very same moment.

       The Earth takes twenty­four hours to complete one full turn or revolution of 360 degrees.One hour marks one twenty­fourth of a turn, or fifteen degrees.So each hour's time difference between the ship and the starting point marks a ship's progress of fifteen degrees of longitude to the east or west.Those fifteen degrees of longitude mark a distance traveled.

       At the equator, where the Earth is widest, fifteen degrees stretch about one thousand six hundred kilometers.North or south of that line, however, the distance value of each degree decreases.One degree of longitude equals four minutes of time all around the world.But in measuring distance, one degree shrinks from about one hundred and nine kilometers at the equator to nothing at the north and south poles.

Notes：

①navigator n ． 领航员　②stretch v ． 伸展

                                                                                        A Manhattan Crossing

       New Yorkers like to say they can walk faster than the crosstown bus.On 34th Street, buses average about four miles an hour.For those in a hurry, pretty much everyone here, it's an icy pace for a crosstown trip.Janette Sadik­Khan, the city's transportation commissioner, is proposing an interesting fix for 34th Street.

       The city plan would close 34th Street to non­bus traffic in the block between the Empire State Building and Macy's.On the rest of the street, cars would move one way only.It would take getting used to, but for bus passengers, the city says there are more than 40，000 a day on public, tour or commuter(通勤者)buses along 34th Street.The plan should cut the commute by up to 35 percent.

       People in other vehicles or about 10 percent of the human traffic would have to zig and zag(锯齿形)to get through this section of the city.It is probably fair to say that most are not particularly pleased about the whole concept.

       So the city needs to answer important questions.Will this unrest mean more traffic on side streets that are already unbearably crowded？Will deliveries be limited to the daybreak hours？Will Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Ms.Sadik­Khan be willing to change or drop the plan if it simply won't work?

        The Bloomberg administration has worked to improve bus traffic around the city.An experiment to speed up city buses along Fordham Road in the Bronx has already reduced travel time and increased passengers' number.

        Urban planners have been studying the city's crosstown problems since the first traffic jam.Robert Moses at one point proposed a major highway just south of 34th Street, part of which would go through an office building.The question is still whether it will really make it easier to operate in Manhattan.

Notes：

①unrest n ． 动乱，动荡　②concept n ． 概念

       In Los Angeles, drivers spend sixty­one hours every year stuck in traffic. These drivers know too well how bad the traffic can be. “There're too many cars, and you can't move around a lot.”

       Professor Cyrus Shahabi also knows about traffic jams. He lives more than 65 kilometers from his office at the University of Southern     California in Los Angeles. He is always late even with the help of a navigation (导航) system.

       He decided to develop a program called ClearPath for that. He says his program uses historical data to predict traffic conditions even before the driver leaves the house.

   “What's unique is that we use a lot of data that's currently become available including traffic data, weather data, and we analyze that so that we can predict what's going to happen in front of you when you leave home.”

      Professor Shahabi says his system does more than just respond to current traffic conditions. With ClearPath, he says, a driver can decide what time he wants to leave, and ClearPath will give the fastest route. It looks at the entire road network, including surface streets as well as highways, before the driver hits the road. Professor Shahahi hopes to have ClearPath available nationwide and overseas once they can collect traffic data from other cities.

   “I always thought that Los Angeles had the worst traffic, but now I know that Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, believe it or not, Singapore, Hong Kong certainly are examples that can immediately use this.”

       Professor Shahabi hopes to share this new technology with companies that already have navigation systems, such as Google and Apple. 

Doctors SayMost Heart Disease Preventable

               Heart disease is the number one killer,worldwide, of men and women over the age of 60. But people of all ages die ofheart attacks each year. And while death rates have declined in the U．S. and many western European countries, they are on the risein the developing world.       .

          No one would have guessed that Barbara Tengwould have a heart attack. She was not overweight. She did not smoke orexercise. “In 2004，the week after Iturned 49 ，when I was on abusiness trip in Chicago，Ihad a major heart attack，”shesaid.      . She now exercisesdaily, and monitors her heart health.

 Dr. Patrice Nickens, who is with the NationalHeart, Lung and Blood Institute, thinks that heart disease is 82 percentpreventable. “      ，” she said.“Men are also facing the same problem, and thekey to staying healthy is knowing your numbers.”

 “Your weight, your blood cholesterol, bloodsugar and your blood pressure are important numbers that can help you takeaction and reduce your risk，”she said.

      .

    “And the steps to take are simple：don't smoke, maintain a healthy weight, exercise, know yournumbers and talk to your physician and control these risks，” she said.

 African­Americans are at higher­than­averagerisk for heart disease and stroke；peopledon't even know they have it, which increases the risk. Medstar WashingtonHospital Center is trying to reach this population.      . For example, helping the peoplemonitor their blood pressure. If people realize they are at risk for heartdisease, they'll make lifestyle changes: lose weight, exercise, eat the rightfoods and keep in touch with a doctor.

a．A healthy lifestyle can prevent heart disease

b．So we must cure heart disease

c．It is the leading cause of death for women

d．With the right training, they can play an important role incommunity health

e．And that changed her life

f．Lack of exercise causes heart attacks

g．Yet most heart disease is preventable

    The truth        trees are vital to our life is not a secret. They provide us withfood, wood and most       (important), oxygen. Now there is one more thing we canadd to this list—blocking out harmful bacteria from water.

    The discovery       (make) by a team      (consist) of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) and high school students        were seeking a natural water filter—onethat would help communities in developing countries that do not have       (accessible)to modern water filter systems.

    The       (research), led by Professor RohitKarnik, decided to turn to trees for help because they could allow liquid toflow through, while blocking out air bubbles.

    They began by cutting 1.5­inch­wide sectionsof tree bark from the branches of a white pine tree. The people related thentested the wood's filtering ability by pouring water containing red dyeparticles of different sizes through.        their amazement, they found that itwas effective in trapping all the particles.       (encourage), the teamconducted        experiment, this time with water that contained bacteria. Sureenough, the sapwood held back 99% of the bacteria, allowing only 1% to flowthrough.