6 . An international team of researchers led by Stanford University have developed rechargeable batteries that can store up to six times more charge than ones that are currently commercially available.

The advance, detailed in a new paper published on Aug. 25 in the journal Nature,could accelerate the use of rechargeable batteries and puts battery researchers one step closer toward achieving two top stated goals of their field: creating a high-performance rechargeable battery that could enable cellphones to be charged only once a week instead of daily and electric vehicles that can travel six times farther without a recharge.

The new so-called alkali metal-chlorine batteries(碱金属氯电池），developed by a team of researchers led by Stanford chemistry Professor Hongjie Dai and doctoral candidate Guanzhou Zhu, rely on the back-and-forth chemical transition from sodium chloride (Na/C12) or lithium chloride (Li/C12) to chlorine. When electrons travel from one side of a rechargeable battery to the other, recharging makes the chemistry return to its original state to await another use. Non-rechargeable batteries have no such luck. Once running out, their chemistry cannot be restored. “A rechargeable battery is a bit like a rocking chair. It tips in one direction, but then rocks back when you add electricity,” Dai explained. “What we have here is a high-rocking rocking chair.”

The researchers imagine their batteries one day being used in situations where frequent recharging is not practical or desirable, such as in satellites or remote sensors. Many otherwise usable satellites are now floating in orbit, failing to function due to their dead batteries. Future satellites equipped with long-lived rechargeable batteries could be fitted with solar chargers, extending their usefulness many times over.

For now, though, the first working design they've developed might still be suitable for use in small everyday electronics like hearing aids or remote controls. For consumer electronics or electrical vehicles, much more work remains to engineer the battery structure, increase the energy density (密度）， scale up the batteries and increase the number of cycles.

7 . When I was a boy, we lived 4 miles outside of town. We lived next to the forest and I would spend hours every day playing in it with the oak (橡树) and maple trees as my companions. I would climb up their limbs, sit in their shade, and feel their peace.

That is why it was so hard for me when I found myself to be a lumberjack as a young man. It wasn't just the back breaking work, the long hours, and the low pay. It was also seeing day after day beautiful trees that had grown for half a century being sawed (锯) up and cut into flooring. Still, I couldn't help but think that they looked a lot more lovely as living trees reaching up to Heaven than as dead flooring lying under my feet.

One afternoon after a long day's work, I was feeling particularly down and depressed.I decided to take a walk in the woods like I had as a boy in hopes of lifting my spirits and calming my soul. As I walked along with my aching back and tired body, I longed for those happy childhood days. I dropped my head frustratedly and looked down at the dirt. That is when I saw it: a single, red oak acorn (橡子) that had somehow survived the hungry deer and squirrels all winter long.Then I remembered something I'd read once: “Eventually an acorn becomes a forest!” I smiled, bent down, dug up a handful of dirt, and planted that little acorn, feeling peace and joy warming my heart. Then I walked back home happy once again to be a part of God's green earth.

In this life we all start out as an acorn, but whether we become a forest or not is up to us. God gives us this glorious life here to grow, learn, laugh, love,share, smile, and help others to do the same.Embrace this gift of life. Use it to every day stretch your soul towards Heaven and create a mighty forest of love.

8 . Despite usually being associated with the Chinese, the Lunar New Year is also celebrated in other countries. Here are several places in America to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

New York City, which has one of the largest populations of ethnic（少数民族）Chinese people outside of Asia, is a great place to experience the Lunar New Year. There are around 10 different Chinatowns in New York City. Visitors will find parades, performances and foods in most of these areas but some of the festival characteristics are unique to the particular district.

San Francisco's lunar New Year celebrations are the longest runnings in America. They date back to the 1860s, during the “Gold Rush” period. Today, numerous events take place around the Bay Area, but the headline is the massive Chinese New Year Parade that draws as many as 1 million viewers.

Washington DC has a historic Chinatown. There is a parade here with floats, firecrackers, dancers and music. The Smithsonian American Art Museum can host hands on arts and crafts events that feature performers invited from China. The Kennedy Center stages themed performances, including folk music and symphonies from China.

Despite low temperatures in January and February, Chicago celebrates the Lunar New Year in a big way. There are two parades, usually held on different days of the same weekend. One is in the city's traditional Chinatown on the South Side, and the other takes place on Argyle Street. Asian culture is on full display during these parades, and other Chicago com munities also take part.

9 . My daughter was having trouble recently deciding on what to major in at college, so she asked for my _________. I told her the one thing I wish that I had been told at her age: “Find a _________ that you love and you will never work a day.” I didn't know how to answer, though, when she asked me what she should do if she had to take a job that she _________.

That question brought back a lot of _________ of jobs that I had over the years. I remembered one in particular. My young family was _________. We had no money, and there were no good _________ to be had in the area. My brother, _________, got me a job at a local lumber mill (木材场). The work was hard and meant constant pain for my back. Hours were spent loading and stacking (码放) wood. The pay was very _________. In the winter the skin on my fingers bled from the cold, dry air. In the several years I worked there, many people left. Only those of us who had families to support didn't leave to _________ something better.

Still, I also remembered singing to myself while working. I remember as I pushed the lumber carts, glancing out the window and __________ watching the leaves changing in the fall. I remembered how a __________ sandwich tasted like the greatest meal in the world after hours of hard work. I remembered being grateful for this job so I could __________ my family. Remembering all this gave me the answer I needed for my daughter. “Just __________ your love to your job then, sweetheart,” I said. “If you can't do what you love, then __________ what you do.”

In this life we work to __________ but we live to love. Without love, work is drudgery (苦差事). Yet, with love, work is joy.

10 . Greying Population Stays in the Pink

Elderly people are growing healthier, happier and more independent, say American scientists.

In the last 14 years, data have been gathered on the health and lifestyles of more than 20,000 people over 65. Researchers say high blood pressure and circulation problems and other diseases of old age are troubling a smaller proportion every year.     1     . It really raises the question of what should be considered normal ageing, because the problems with old people are often not appearing until they are 70 or 75.

    2    . But there may be other contributing factors. Improvements in childhood nutrition gave today’s elderly people a better start in life.

One interesting fact is that better-educated people are likely to live longer. For example, 65-year-old women with fewer than eight years of schooling are expected, on average, to live to 82. Those who continued their education live an extra seven years.     3    .

The survey also assessed how independent people over 65 were, and again found a striking trend. Their self-reliance is probably linked to an increasing use of home medical aids, such as raised toilet seats and bath seats.     4    .Those elderly people who were independent were more likely to stay healthy in old age.

    5    . Researchers found that elderly people who felt emotionally isolated maintained higher levels of stress hormones even when asleep. So they suggest that older people live best when they feel independent but know they can get help when they need it.