【推荐1】Super Typhoon Mangkhut to Hit Philippines, Southeast Asia

As the United States prepares for Hurricane Florence, an even bigger ocean storm, Super Typhoon Mangkhut, is set to hit Southeast Asia. The storm also threatens the Philippines and Hong Kong.The super typhoon, known as Ompong in the Philippines, has winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour. That is considered a category 5 hurricane in North America, the most severe level.

More than 4 million Filipinos live in areas the storm could affect. Emergency officials say nearly 48,000 houses in high-risk areas are made of light materials and could be damaged by the powerful winds.

Experts say Super Typhoon Mangkhut could cause landslides and flooding across the northern Philippine island of Luzon.

The super typhoon is expected to reach the Philippines Saturday at the start of the harvest season in Luzon. The island is a major agricultural producer and farmers are trying to save their crops.

Forecaster Meno Mendoza shows the path of Super Typhoon Mangkhut, locally named “Typhoon Ompong,” as it approaches the Philippines at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration in Manila, Sept, 12, 2018.

Mangkhut already has hit the U.S. — island territory of Guam. The Pacific Daily News reported the storm flooded streets, brought down trees and cut electrical service. About 80 percent of the island was without power but service restarted by Thursday morning.Mangkhut is the 15th storm to hit the Philippines and the most powerful to hit Asia this year. Last week, Typhoon Jebi (飞燕) struck Japan killing more than 10 people.

This is adapted for Learning English based on AP and other reports. Mario Ritter was the editor.Write to us in the Comments Section.

【推荐2】A 25-mile strip of plants, farms and villages is hit by one of the largest wildfires in decades, ruining the Italian tourist destination. About 1, 000 residents and tourists have been evacuated from areas of western Sardinia that were destroyed by wildfires over the weekend, with forests, grasslands and villages on the Italian island covered in flames.

“It is a disaster without examples,” said the region’s governor, Christian Solinas, appealing a state of emergency on Sunday. No deaths or injuries have been reported, the Italian authorities said. But the fires were still powerful on Monday, when four firefighting planes from France and Greece joined the Italian firefighters’ air fleet to help control the big fire.

Since early Saturday, when the wildfires started near a forest by the village of Bonacardo, at least 50, 000 acres of land have gone up in flames. On Sunday night, Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy expressed his “full unity” with the people affected by the fires and offered support for firefighters working around the clock. Images recorded by Italian firefighters showed a thick layer of smoke swallowing residential buildings, warehouses and barns, and flames burning high just behind beach-side villas in the town of Porto Alabe, a popular tourist site, over 25 miles north of where the fires originated.

Flames ran through hectares (公顷) of oak forests that are native to the region. A thousand-year-old olive tree that was the symbol of the hilltop village of Cuglieri was destroyed by the fire. “This morning, the trunk was still burning,” Maria Giovanna Campus, a retired local archaeologist wrote on Facebook last Sunday. “We had proudly signaled its presence to tourists, but we ended up neglecting it and leaving it to the flames” she said, adding “cleaning up the area around it would have been enough to protect it and preserve it.”

The cause of the fires was not yet clear. But experts said that to prevent wildfires, forests and grasslands needed to be kept clean and barrier zones created. In the affected areas of Sardinia and elsewhere in Italy, abandoned lands are often not properly maintained, which can help the fire spread, they said.

【推荐3】From: lisa.huang@internationalcoffee.com

To: Benjamin.kao@internationalcoffee.com

Subject: A danger to our business

I just read an article about the effects of climate change on coffee production. The article raises a number of concerns that will affect our own company in the future. I'm attaching a portion of the article. Please click on it below and read it.

The article mentions Ethiopia in particular and explains an important climate-related disadvantage that it has. This disadvantage may prevent that country from being a reliable source of coffee in the future. Currently, most of the coffee that our company distributes in Asia is imported from Ethiopia. Thus, I believe that our company should reduce its dependence on Ethiopian coffee and begin distributing coffee imported from other countries instead. One country that we should consider is Columbia. It does not suffer to the same degree from the disadvantage that Ethiopia faces.

I think that we should also ask our old friend Katherine Chen for advice about this. She has been a leader in our industry for more than 30 years and knows more about it than anyone else.

Please read the attached portion of the article and let me know what you think.

Best regards,

Lisa

【推荐1】There are so many beautiful places in the world that wait for you to explore, but some of them won’t wait around forever.

The Dead Sea, for example, known for being one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world is in danger of disappearing. Tourists are in the rush to the lake to float（漂浮）in its waters and put its mineral-rich mud on their skin. However, the water level has been dropping more than three feet per year in recent years. In fact, if nothing is done by 2050, it will be too late.

Madagascar’s rainforests could also be gone in about 30 years. They once covered 120,000 square miles, but due to logging（伐木）and forest fires, only 20,000 square miles remain today. This is sad for many animals that call Madagascar home. About 80 percent of the species（物种） that live there can’t be found anywhere else in the world, and there are even many more yet to be discovered.

There are also many man-made places of interest with long history around the world that are at risk of disappearing. One of these is Machu Picchu. A trip to these Inca ruins is on many people’s plan lists. However, Machu Picchu has been in danger, too. If steps are not taken to protect the ancient site, it could be gone in the near future.

Another place in danger is the Great Wall of China. Around one-third of the wall, built over centuries and completed in the Ming dynasty, is already gone. Wind and rain have weathered it and plants that grow in the wall have weakened it further. Also, poor villagers have stolen its bricks in order to sell them or build homes with them.

It’s hard to believe that so many amazing places could soon be gone for good. If you have your heart set on visiting any of these places, pack your bags and get to them before time runs out!

【推荐2】Breakfast is food for the brain and for the rest of your body, say experts in children’s nutrition. And taking in those morning calories are worth it, even for people concerned about their weight, a new study finds. Middle-school students who ate breakfast were more likely to have healthy weights than those who skipped breakfast. This was true even for students who ate two breakfasts-one at home and one at school.

“Not skipping breakfast sets you up to not overeat later in the day,” concludes Marlene Schwartz. This psychologist studies obesity (肥胖) and directs the Rudd Center for Obesity & Food Policy at the University of Connecticut in Hartford.

Breakfast is considered so important that many schools now serve it as well as lunch. But at least one study has found that a lot of these kids who take part can end up eating two breakfasts, Schwartz says. People became concerned that kids who ate breakfast at home and at school might become obese.

In fact, Schwartz now says, that's not what her data have turned up.

Her group studied some 600 middle-school students. Over three years, students from 12 different schools—in fifth, sixth and seventh grades -were asked about their breakfasts. Throughout the study about 34 to 44 percent of all students said they regularly ate breakfast at home. Up to 17 percent, or almost one in every six kids, regularly ate breakfast at school. On the whole, about one in every 10 kids reported downing breakfasts both at home and at school.

Eating habits changed somewhat as the kids got older. For instance, fifth graders were more likely to regularly eat breakfast at home. But by seventh grade,22 percent of the studied kids skipped breakfast frequently.

Surprisingly, at every age, kids who ate breakfast were less likely to be overweight.