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　　Can trees talk?Yes, but not in words．Scientists have reason to believe that trees do communicate(交际)with each other．Not long ago, researchers learned some surprising things．First a willow tree attacked in the woods by caterpillars(毛虫)changed the chemistry of its leaves and made them taste so terrible that they got tired of the leaves and stopped eating them．Then even more astonishing, the tree sent out a special smell-a signal(信号)causing its neighbors to change the chemistry of their own leaves and make them less tasty．

　　Communication, of course, doesn’t need to be in words．We can talk to each other by smiling, raising our shoulders and moving our hands．We know that birds and animals use a whole vocabulary of songs, sounds, and movements．Bees dance their signals, flying in certain patterns that tell other bees where to find nectar(花蜜)for honey．So why shouldn’t trees have ways of sending message?

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O．Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories．His real name was William Sydney Porter．He was born in North Carolina in 1862．As a young boy he lived an exciting life．He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know．When he was about 20 years old, O．Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs．He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O．Henry was believed to have stolen it．Because of that, he was sent to prison．During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories．After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing．He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there．People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise．

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　　Mr．Grey was the manager of a small office in London．He lived in the country, and came up to work by train．He liked walking from the station to his office unless it was raining, because it gave him some exercise．

　　One morning he was walking along the street when a stranger stopped him and said to him,“You may not remember me, sir, but seven years ago I came to London without a penny in my pockets, I stopped you in this street and asked you to lend me some money, and you lent me £ 5, because you said you were willing to take a chance so as to give a man a start on the way to success．”

　　Mr Grey thought for a few minutes and then said,“Yes, I remember you．Go on with your story!”“Well,”answered the stranger,“are you still willing to take a chance?”

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　　Rescuers have found the bodies of over 130 people killed in two ferry disasters in Bangladesh．The accidents happened during a storm that hit the country on April 21．Hundreds more are missing or feared dead．

　　The two ferries sank in different rivers near the capital city of Dhakfi as strong winds and rain hit the South Asian country．The government has since banned all ferries and other boats from traveling at night during the April-May stormy season．One of the ferries，MV Mitali，was carrying far more people than it was supposed to．About 400 passengers fitted into a space made for just 300，police said．The second ferry carried about 100 passengers．

　　“The number of deaths is certain to rise．”said an official in charge of the rescue work．“No one really knows how many people were on board the ferry or how many of them survived．”Ferries in Bangladesh don’t always keep passenger lists，making it difficult to determine the exact number of people on board．Besides the ferry accidents，at least 40 people were killed and 400 injured by lightning strikes．falling houses and trees and the sinking of small boats．Storms are common this time of year in Bangladesh，as are boating accidents．Ferry disasters take away hundreds of lives every year in a nation of 130 million people．Officials blame these river accidents on a lack of safety measures, too many passengers in boats and not enough checks on weather conditions．Ferries are a common means of transport in Bangladesh．It is a country covered by about 230 rivers．Some 20,000 ferries use the nation’s Waterways every year．And many of them are dangerously overcrowded．Since 1977, more than 3,000 people have died in some 260 boating accidents．

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　　Life is difficult．It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult．

　　Most do not fully see this truth．Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy．It seems to them that their difficulties represent a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation．

　　What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one．Problems, depending on their nature, cause in us soreness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear．These are uncomfortable feelings, often as any kind of physical pain．And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy．

　　Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning．

　　Problems are the serious test that tells success from failure．When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve, it is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn．As Benjamin Franklin said,“Those things that hurt instruct．”It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems．

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　　These people, getting ready to travel across the desert to look for a new place to live in, must water their camels．The camel driver tries to get each camel to drink as much water as possible because the little water that these people take along will be needed by themselves．

　　A very big camel can hold more water than some cars can hold gasoline(汽油)．That's why the camel can go for many days without having to drink．It's a good thing that camel can do this, because it may have to in the great, dry desert．

　　Nomads(游牧民)never keep their homes in one place very long．They're always moving．That's what Nomads are－people who wander around instead of living in one place．

　　Every time the Arab Nomads set out across the hot, sandy desert, it is a new adventure．They must find food for the animals, or the animals will die．

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　　Scientists would like to place a huge mirror in space above the earth．It might be sixty miles wide．It would be used to catch the rays of the sun．It would direct the sun’s rays upon the earth as a child might do to make sunlight dance on the wall with a hand mirror．

　　Why do they want to do this?The sun’s rays could be helpful in many ways．They could light up cities by night．The warm rays could stop frosts which might come at night and hurt fruit crops．They could melt dangerous icebergs in the ocean．Perhaps they could hang cloud movements and bring rain where it is needed．

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We Americans are wasteful people, not used to saving．Early settlers, our forefathers set us an example of wasting everything, for they thought nature’s resources were so plentiful that none of them ever imagined that natural materials would be used up in time．Within a few years of the first Virginia settlement, for example, pioneers burned down their houses when they were ready to move west．They burned down their houses with only one aim to get the nails(钉子)for future use．No one ever gave a thought to the priceless hardwoods that went up in smoke．As a people we destroy many valuable things that other people save．I noticed this when I was living in Britain．I received a letter from one England’s largest banks．It was enclosed in a used envelope(信封)that had been readdressed to me．Such a practice would be unthinkable in the United States．American banks, even the smallest, always use expensive stationery(信笺)with the names of all twenty-eight vice–presidents lists on side of the page．

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　　Sometimes the reader’s request is not an important one, but the newspaper which receives it usually tries to give the requested help．One reader wrote：“My two children love Secretariat, the horse that has been winning all the races．They would like to know if it would be possible to get one of Secretariat’s shoes．”

　　The result was that the children were sent one of the racing shoes worn by the famous horse when he won at Churchill Downs in Kentucky．

　　Sometimes there is a real problem to be solved．During the spring of 1973 MR FIX IT learned that a young nurse from the Philippines was near death in an American hospital thousands of miles from home．She had no relatives in the United States and no close friends．MR FIX IT located her sister in the Philippines and helped the sister get the government papers she needed in order to visit the United States．In the meantime, readers of newspaper sent money to pay for her travel．Though there were many difficulties, the young nurse managed to have sister at her side before she died．

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　　People are so busy these days that many people have no time to cook．This becomes a problem, because most families love home cooking!The food tastes good and warm, and a family meal brings everyone together．In some families, meals are often the only times everyone sees one another the same time．

　　Another reason people enjoy home cooking is that it is often a way of showing love．A parent who makes some cookies(小甜饼)is not just satisfying(满足)a child’s sweet tooth．She or he is sending a message．The message says,“I care about you enough to spend an hour making cooking hat you will eat up in 15 minutes if I let you．”

　　There is also something about the smell of home cooking．The smell of home cooking pleases people of all ages．It makes most of us feel good and loved- even if we are the ones doing the next time you smell a cake making, stop for a moment and pay attention to your mood(心情)．

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