书城外语英语PARTY——多元时空
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第2章 智慧火花(2)

Olympic volunteers will find themselves on the other side of the rope lines, actually working with athletes, journalists and officials and playing an important role in the world,s most important athletic event. The return of the Olympic Games to Greece will be the most historic Olympic event of our lifetimes. Olympic volunteers won,t just watch history unfold on their television screens - they,ll have a onceinalifetime chance to share the excitement, and make history themselves.

思考志愿者服务

我们所谓的“志愿服务”,从很多代人之前已经产生了,当时邻居和市民们集中在一起,为了建设和管理他们社区最重要的组织——从学校和政府到消防和自卫的一切组织。

然而,这种早期的志愿服务并不仅局限是一个组织,而是更紧密地团结整个社区,让邻居们获得相互认识的机会,共同完成重要的任务,而往往在这过程中,他们也获得了乐趣。

今天,志愿服务活动继续蓬勃发展。为什么呢?这是因为志愿活动使得人们走出家门,聚在一起,与他人分享他们的兴趣和他们所关注的事情。志愿服务活动还给了人们一个直接参与改善他们生存环境的机会。而且,这个活动依然是那么的有趣。

奥运志愿者会发现他们进入到运动场的里面,真正地与运动员、记者、政府官员一起工作,在世界上最重要的体育盛事发挥着举足轻重的作用。奥运回归雅典将是我们一生中最具有历史意义的奥运盛事。奥运会的志愿者不仅只是在电视机前观看这一历史盛典——他们还有一个一生只有一次的机会去分享这份激动,融入历史之中。

Bagel,an Useful Invention

Sweet, salty, rich or light - no matter the taste, there,s a bagel to match it. Once relegated to the breakfast table, bagels are now served at any time of the day and in more flavors than you can shake a stick at.

In its basic form, a bagel consists of flour, water, salt and yeast. It,s twisted into a donut shape, and is the only bread product that is boiled in water before it,s baked. This creates its characteristic hard, glazed crust and chewy interior.

The origin of the bagel is something of a mystery, but it probably dates back to 1683. According to legend, a Jewish baker in Vienna, Austria wanted to thank the king of Poland for protecting his countrymen from Turkish invaders. He baked him a special hard roll shaped as a stirrup (bugel in German) in celebration of the king,s favorite pastime.

Two centuries later, courtesy of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, bagels hit American shores. There, the art of making bagels became a closely guarded secret as the Bagel Bakers, Union only admitted sons of its members as apprentices. However, as the bagel,s popularity grew, the secret diminished. Today, bagels can be found anywhere, from supermarkets to coffee shops, around the world.

实用的发明——面包圈

不管是甜的、咸的、浓的或淡的,面包圈都应有尽有。曾经有一度面包圈只出现在早餐桌上,现在则是随时都可以吃到,而且口味丰富多样,多得数都数不清。

面包圈的基本原料是面粉、水、盐和酵母,它外型做成圆圈的形状,是惟一一种烘烤前先用水煮过的面食,这种做法使它具有表面坚韧且光滑、里面又很耐嚼的特色。

面包圈的起源有些神秘,不过大致可回溯至1683年。据说是奥地利首都维也纳的一名犹太面包师傅,为了感谢波兰国王保护他的同胞免受土耳其侵略,特意制作了一种圆形硬面包,状似马镫(bagel德语名为bugel,意为马镫铁),以纪念国王最喜欢的消遣活动。

两个世纪后,东欧的犹太移民使面包圈登上了美洲大陆。在那里,面包圈的制作被视为最高机密,因为面包圈师父工会只接纳会员的儿子做学徒学艺。不过随着面包圈受欢迎程度的增加,它的神秘感也随之递减。如今在世界各地,从超级市场到咖啡店,面包圈随处可见。

Drinking Too Much Milk Can Result in a Net Loss of Calcium

Some research suggests that the animal protein in milk may actually increase the rate at which our bodies lose calcium. Diets high in animal protein increase the amount of acid in the body. In order to preserve a healthy acid balance, the bones release calcium. Therefore, drinking too much milk can result in a net loss of calcium from our bones.

Even though most doctors still believe milk is good for us, some people are turning to other foods to get calcium. Fortunately, calcium is present in a wide range of foods. Two of the best alternative sources of calcium are tofu and soy milk. One cup of either of these has almost as much calcium as a cup of milk, but has much less animal protein. Green leafy vegetables, like broccoli and Chinese cabbage, are also calciumrich. With these great alternatives to milk, one might even say it is time to put that old sacred cow out to pasture.

饮用过量牛奶会导致钙质的净流失

一些研究指出,牛奶中的动物性蛋白质实际上可能会加速人体钙质的流失。摄取过量动物性蛋白质会使人体内的酸性增加。为了保持体内的酸碱平衡,骨骼便会释放出钙质。因此,饮用过量牛奶可能会导致骨骼中钙质的净流失。

即使大多数的医生仍认为牛奶对人体有益,有些人却已改吃其他食物来摄取钙质。所幸的是,许多食物中都含有钙质。其中,另外两种最佳的钙质来源是豆腐和豆浆。一杯容量的豆腐或豆浆中所含的钙质差不多和一杯牛奶的含钙量相当,但其中的动物性蛋白质却少得多。绿叶蔬菜,如花椰菜和大白菜,也都富含钙质。有了这些牛奶以外的选择,我们甚至可以说,现在该是时候“让那头老牛去吃草”了。

How Can an Accurate Vote Count Be Guaranteed

The American presidential election of 2000 was, to put it mildly, controversial. People still argue bitterly over whether George Bush truly won in Florida, the state whose electoral votes made him president even though he had garnered fewer votes nationwide than Al Gore, his main opponent.

The presidential election this November will be of crucial importance - and once again, observers generally agree, very close. In addition, the Senate is split 5149 in favor of the Republicans, so a shift of only two seats could either hand it to the Democrats or make it much likelier to cooperate with a rightwing Republican president. How can an accurate vote count be guaranteed?

It can,t, at least not in an absolute sense. All voting systems are open to tampering and error. The easiest elections to audit are the least technically sophisticated: voting with paper ballots. However, as David Horsey points out in today,s cartoon, ballot boxes can be “stuffed” - and occasionally have been in America, in cities or counties under the control of one tightly disciplined and unscrupulous political organization. Today oversight committees and the press make ballot stuffing far less likely, as do private polls of people leaving voting stations: if the polls produce different results from the balloting, then something is fishy.