English Recordings

Shichi-Go-San is a Japanese festival. Japanese people celebrate this festival on 15 November every year.

Shichi-Go-San means "seven five and three" because it is the festival celebrating children who turn seven five and three years of age. Japanese parents celebrate Shichi-Go-San as their boys turn three and five, and as their girls turn three and seven.

Japanese people think that these ages are very important. At the age of seven, a young girl wears an obi for the first time. An obi is a piece of cloth which they wear around their waist with a kimono. At the age of five, a young boy wears his first hakama pants in public. These pants are very important in Japanese culture. The age of three is very important in Japanese culture because at that age children are allowed to let their hair grow.

People believe that this festival began around one thousand years ago. They chose fifteen of November for the festival because they thought that was a day of good luck for all Japanese people.

Some children wear special, traditional Japanese costumes on that day. More often now, the children wear Western-style clothes.

The pitcher plant is an interesting plant. Take a look at the picture. The plant has the shape of a pitcher.

The pitcher plant is interesting because it eats meat. Pitcher plants catch and eat insects. Insects love the sweet liquid inside the plant. They climb in, and cannot climb out again. Then the plant slowly eats them.

Pitcher plants have different sizes. The biggest can hold almost one liter of water. The smallest are so small that it's difficult to see them.

People often ask if these plants can eat human meat. The answer is "yes", but they can only eat it slowly and in very small amounts. But a person is not likely to fall inside the plant. It's not big enough even for the smallest child. So, there's no need to worry!

Wilbur’s new home was in the lower part of the barn, directly underneath the cows. Mr. Zuckerman knew that a manure pile is a good place to keep a young pig. Pigs need warmth, and it was warm and comfortable down there in the barn cellar on the south side.
Fern came almost every day to visit him. She found an old milking stool that had been discarded, and she placed the stool in the sheepfold next to Wilbur’s pen. Here she sat quietly during the long afternoons, thinking and listening and watching Wilbur. The sheep soon got to know her and trust her. So did the geese, who lived with the sheep. All the animals trusted her, she was so quiet and friendly. Mr. Zuckerman did not allow her to take Wilbur out, and he did not allow her to get into the pigpen. But he told Fern that she could sit on the stool and watch Wilbur as long as she wanted to. It made her happy just to be near the pig, and it made Wilbur happy to know that she was sitting there, right outside his pen. But he never had any fun – no walks, no rides, no swims.
One afternoon in June, when Wilbur was almost two months old, he wandered out into his small yard outside the barn. Fern had not arrived for her usual visit. Wilbur stood in the sun feeling lonely and bored.
“There’s never anything to do around here,” he thought. He walked slowly to his food trough and sniffed to see if anything had been overlooked ant lunch. He found a small strip of potato skin and ate it. His back itched, so he leaned against the fence and rubbed against the boards. When he tired of this, he walked indoors, climbed to the top of the manure pile, and sat down. He didn’t feel like going to sleep, he didn’t feel like digging, he was tired of standing still, tired of lying down. “I’m less than two months old and I’m tired of living,” he said. He walked out to the yard again.
“When I’m out here,” he said, “there’s no place to go but in. When I’m indoors, there’s no place to go but out in the yard.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, my friend, my friend,” said a voice.

Most scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" -- warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.

Certain gases in the atmosphere behave like the glass on a greenhouse, allowing sunlight to enter, but blocking heat from escaping. Long-lived gases, remaining semi-permanently in the atmosphere, which do not respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are described as "forcing" climate change whereas gases, such as water, which respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are seen as "feedbacks."

Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:

* Water vapor. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a feedback to the climate. Water vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.
* Carbon dioxide (CO2). A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased atmospheric CO2 concentration by a third since the Industrial Revolution began. This is the most important long-lived "forcing" of climate change.
* Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities, including the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, as well as ruminant digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock. On a molecule-for-molecule basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but also one which is much less abundant in the atmosphere.
* Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.
* Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic compounds of entirely of industrial origin used in a number of applications, but now largely regulated in production and release to the atmosphere by international agreement for their ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer. They are also greenhouse gases .

On Earth, human activities are changing the natural greenhouse. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). This happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO2. To a lesser extent, the clearing of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities have increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.

The consequences of changing the natural atmospheric greenhouse are difficult to predict, but certain effects seem likely:

* On average, Earth will become warmer. Some regions may welcome warmer temperatures, but others may not.
* Warmer conditions will probably lead to more evaporation and precipitation overall, but individual regions will vary, some becoming wetter and others dryer.
* A stronger greenhouse effect will warm the oceans and partially melt glaciers and other ice, increasing sea level. Ocean water also will expand if it warms, contributing further to sea level rise.
* Meanwhile, some crops and other plants may respond favorably to increased atmospheric CO2, growing more vigorously and using water more efficiently. At the same time, higher temperatures and shifting climate patterns may change the areas where crops grow best and affect the makeup of natural plant communities.

The role of human activity:

In its recently released Fourth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of 1,300 independent scientific experts from countries all over the world under the auspices of the United Nations, concluded there's a more than 90 percent probability that human activities over the past 250 years have warmed our planet.

The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from 280 parts per million to 379 parts per million in the last 150 years. The panel also concluded there's a better than 90 percent probability that human-produced greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have caused much of the observed increase in Earth's temperatures over the past 50 years.

They said the rate of increase in global warming due to these gases is very likely to be unprecedented within the past 10,000 years or more.

Solar irradiance:

It's reasonable to assume that changes in the sun's energy output would cause the climate to change, since the sun is the fundamental source of energy that drives our climate system.

Indeed, studies show that solar variability has played a role in past climate changes. For example, a decrease in solar activity is thought to have triggered the Little Ice Age between approximately 1650 and 1850, when Greenland was largely cut off by ice from 1410 to the 1720s and glaciers advanced in the Alps.

But several lines of evidence show that current global warming cannot be explained by changes in energy from the sun:

Since 1750, the average amount of energy coming from the Sun either remained constant or increased slightly.
If the warming were caused by a more active sun, then scientists would expect to see warmer temperatures in all layers of the atmosphere. Instead, they have observed a cooling in the upper atmosphere, and a warming at the surface and in the lower parts of the atmosphere. That's because greenhouse gasses are trapping heat in the lower atmosphere.
Climate models that include solar irradiance changes can’t reproduce the observed temperature trend over the past century or more without including a rise in greenhouse gases.

Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average (for example, greater or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth.
In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, climate change usually refers to changes in modern climate. It may be qualified as anthropogenic climate change, more generally known as "global warming" or "anthropogenic global warming" (AGW).
For information on temperature measurements over various periods, and the data sources available, see temperature record. For attribution of climate change over the past century, see attribution of recent climate change.

The most general definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over periods of decades or longer, regardless of cause. Accordingly, fluctuations on periods shorter than a few decades, such as El Niño, do not represent climate change.
The term sometimes is used to refer specifically to climate change caused by human activity; for example, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change defines climate change as "a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods." In the latter sense climate change is synonymous with global warming.

KEY LARGO, FL, USA Jules' Undersea Lodge in Key Largo is a one-of-a-kind hotel. It is completely underwater! It sits on legs at the bottom of a 30-foot-deep lagoon, completely underwater. To check in, yoou have to scuba dive and enter through a hole under the hotel. This hole leads to a "wet" room where you take off your wet clothes and dry off.

The underwater hotel is comforable. There are books, videos, hot showers, and also phones so you can keep in touch with people on land. Each of two bedrooms has a big window where you can watch hundreds of fish go by. When you wake up, you may see an angelfish or parrotfish watching you. "It's a moment you'll never forget," says lan Koblick, an under water scicentist.
For special occasions, the hotel gives you the red-carpat treatment. Achef can scuba dive to the hotel and cook a special meal for you. A birthday cake or flowers can also be delivered.

Acontrol room on land monitors the hotel at all times. It pumps fresh air into the hotel and keeps water out. You can explore the ocean attatched to a long line, which privides a limitless air supply. But if diving is not your cup of tea, you can relax inside the hotel.

Yes, you'll pay through the nose for a night at Jules' Lodge($325 per person), but you'll have a ball. "To live beneath the sea was once just a science fiction fantasy. Now it is a reality," says owner Dr.Neil Monney

Titanium alloys are metallic materials which contain a mixture of titanium and other chemical elements. Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness (even at extreme temperatures), light weight, extraordinary corrosion resistance, and ability to withstand extreme temperatures. However, the high cost of both raw materials and processing limit their use to military applications, aircraft, spacecraft, medical devices, connecting rods on expensive sports cars and some premium sports equipment and consumer electronics. Auto manufacturers Porsche and Ferrari also use titanium alloys in engine components due to its durable properties in these high stress engine environments.
Although "commercially pure" titanium has acceptable mechanical properties and has been used for orthopedic and dental implants, for most applications titanium is alloyed with small amounts of aluminium and vanadium, typically 6% and 4% respectively, by weight. This mixture has a solid solubility which varies dramatically with temperature, allowing it to undergo precipitation strengthening. This heat treatment process is carried out after the alloy has been worked into its final shape but before it is put to use, allowing much easier fabrication of a high-strength product.

Titanium Alloys are generally classified into four main categories:
- Alpha alloys which contain neutral alloying elements (such as tin) and/ or alpha stabilisers (such as Aluminium or oxygen) only. These are not heat treatable.
- Near-alpha alloys contain small amount of ductile beta-phase. Besides alpha-phase stabilisers, near-alpha alloys are alloyed with 1-2% of beta phase stabilizers such as molybdenum, silicon or Vanadium.
- Alpha & Beta Alloys, which are metastable and generally include some combination of both alpha and beta stabilisers, and which can be heat treated.
- Beta Alloys, which are metastable and which contain sufficient beta stabilisers (such as Molybdenum, silicon and Vanadium to allow them to maintain the beta phase when quenched, and which can also be solution treated and aged improve strength.

==( Sunday Morning Walk )====

Today is Sunday.(It`s Sunday.) .

Wa~~today's weather is really good!!!)

But the word 'really' may not be enough to describe how beautiful today's sunshine is.
Then which word should I use?
"very " ?
" greatly " ?
or not "absolutely"?

After a simple breakfast,(I don`t know whether if it could be called a breakfast or not: photao, egg and coffee?) I took Betty and Zzanga out for a walk.
After eating their meal, they are used to going out to stimulate their bowels
It was convenient for me.

Wow~~The feeling outside was really nice!
The air was S~O~clean and REALLY fresh, and the sunlight was very sweet and warm.
The gentle brezze were touching glasses.-->???
Haha~Betty and Zzanga really like taking walk a walk.
Wow~~The feeling outside was really nice!
This morning, there was no one around the apartment

Because today is Sunday ,adults don`t need go to work ,kids don`t need go to school,very calm.
They must have been resting at home.

Haha~~~ look at that Betty and Zzang preparing to move their bowels .
Sorry let you see this awkward situation .....

=======(일요일 오전 산책) ============
오늘은 일요일!. 와~~날씨가 정말 좋다!!!
그렇지만 이 '참'이란 말 하나만으로 오늘의 이 아름다운 햇살을 표현 수가 없다.
그러면 어떤 말로 표현 해야지? "매우"? "굉장히?" "완전히? "
남편이 형 집에 가서, 나는 아직 집에 혼자 있다.

아침에 간단한 아침을 먹고( 아침이라고 할 수 있나? '감자와 계란 커피' ) 베티와 짱아를 데리고 나가 산책을 했다.
왜냐 하면 아침 저녁때 밖에서 배변을 보기 때문에, 식사후에 데리고 나가면 편리 하기 때문이다.

와~~밖에 나오니 정말 좋았다.
공기가 깨끗하고 상쾌하고, 햇살이 포근하고 포근하다.
부드러운 바람이 풀잎들과 함께 어울린다..
하하--베티와 장아는 정말 산보를 좋아한다.

가볍게 걸으니 기분이 참 좋다.
오늘 아침 아파트 주변에는 거의 사람이 없다.
아마도 일요일이라 어른들은 출근도 않고 아이들은 등교도 안 하니, 모두들 집에서 편안히 쉬고 있기 때문일 것이다.

하하~~ 배변을 보려고 준비 하는 모습을 좀 보세요.
여러분 ,미안합니다, 이렇게 민망한 모습을 보여 드려서 - 하하..
지금까지 오늘 오전의 일이었습니다.
---------------------------------
今天星期天！
天气很好！
不过说实话只用这个 ‘很’词来表达今天漂亮的阳光的程度，还是很不够的。/（够不着呢？）。
应该要用更好的词来要表达，‘’非常'？　‘特别’？　‘好极了’？　要不然？
我先生还在哥哥家，所以我还是一个人在家.
早上起来吃了简单的早餐后（不知道把这个可以说早餐呢？/这个可以说是早餐吗？︿＿︿　
只吃了土豆鸡蛋和咖啡。）
带着betty和zzanga 出去散步。
因为它们早上晚上在外边打便，所以吃完饭后还得要出门方便。
哇～～～出来后身上感到的感觉/（心情？）/ 多么好！
天气非常好！
空气又干净又清新，阳光晒得人很舒服。
凉快的风也 微微地吹着～跟草叶玩儿。

哈哈～～betty和zzanga 最喜欢散步。
散散步，感觉挺好。
今天早上在公寓楼的周围，来往的人差不多没有很少。
这因为今天是星期天早上，
肯定是因为大人不上班，小孩儿也不要上学，家人都正在家里休息呢。

哈哈～～看看他们的准备打便的样子！
对不起你，让你们看难为情的情面　－哈哈．。。。　

这是今天上午的事情。
=======================================

36.
The RPC, founded in 1996, describes itself as a progressive organization fighting for social change. It is a
multiracial, multi-issue, international membership organization.
Its mission is to move the nation and the world towards social, racial, and economic justice. It has its headquarters in Chicago, and major branches in Washington, D.C.,
New York, and Los Angeles. It has succeeded in registering hundreds of thousands of voters, helped elect many officials, mediated labor disputes, affected public policy
in Haiti, and helped secure professional positions for
minorities in a number of different fields. It also works on issues such as fair housing, gender equality, and
environmental justice.

37.
A water plant called the sacred lotus regulates its temperature in order to benefit insects that it needs to reproduce. When the plant flowers, it heats its blossoms to above 86ºF for as long as four days. It does so, even when the air is as cool as 50ºF . The heat releases an
aroma that attracts certain insects, which fly into the flower to feed on nectar and pollen. But according to
Roger Seymour and Paul Schultze-Motel of Australia’s University of Adelaide, the heat does more: It rewards insects with a stable environment that enhances their
ability to eat, mate, and prepare for flight.

38.
Old Hawk gestured up at the tall, old cottonwood. It was so large that a grown man could not put his arms
around it. “This tree,” he said, “has stood guard over our
family all its life. Strength is what I feel each time I look at it. Yet, there have been moments when its great strength was also its weakness.” “That’s hard to believe,”
Jeremy said. “It’s the biggest tree for miles around.” Old Hawk pointed at the chokecherry trees in a dry river bed not far away. “Look there,” he said, “those chokecherry
trees are small and weak in comparison to this cottonwood.
But when you were a child, they survived a storm without losing a branch. This old cottonwood, on the
other hand, lost several branches. It stood up to the storm, but it could not bend with the wind the way the chokecherry trees could.”