2 . Mount Hood is the highest mountain in Oregon, a state in the western United States. At 3, 400 meters it is attractive to many people, some of whom, of course, run into trouble. Each year 25 to 50 people have accidents or get lost on Mount Hood and need rescue（营救）. Although most of these are understandable accidents, a few result from careless risk-taking.

In one recent case, three experienced climbers went hiking in the middle of a snowstorm in December. Most hikers climb Mount Hood in May or June when the weather conditions are good. But in December, the mountain is covered in snow and ice. Winds up to 135 kilometers per hour blow the snow around, making it difficult to see. Temperatures can drop below freezing. As one rescue worker put it, "What were they thinking? They were just asking for it. "

During a rescue a few years ago, a helicopter full of rescue workers crashed and the rescue workers were almost killed. Linda Carle, who lives in the Mount Hood area, asks, If someone made a muddled decision, why should rescue teams have to risk their lives to save them? Why do people take unnecessary risks and do things that aren't right if they know that they can get into trouble? "

Most of the Mount Hood rescue workers are either volunteers or part of the local police department There is no charge for these rescues. It is the taxpayers who pay the bill. Linda Carle suggests that people who take careless risks and need rescue should ay for the rescue. She fees it is only fir that costs for things like damaged helicopters and medical care for rescuers should be paid for by the people who take the risks. What would you do if you were the local police officer at Mount Hood?

3 . One day, Jack’s parents told him that his grandpa would retire(退休) after working for forty years. Jack said in surprise，“I’m only seven, so it means grandpa has been…er... a really long time!”

His parents said，“Yes. That’s why we are going to have a surprise party for him. ”

Jack loved his grandpa and wanted to do something special for him. He remembered the business card his grandpa had given him two years before. He knew that his grandpa would no longer have the position(职位) on that card, so he decided to build a new one for his grandpa.

When the big day came, Jack was ready. But he didn’t want to put his gift together with others’. He carried it around with him the whole evening.

When all the other people left，he took his grandpa’s hand and brought him over to a chair and gave him the gift. His grandpa smiled, “Well，it must be a beautiful gift. May I open it now?” “Sure! ”Jack said excitedly.

As his grandpa opened the gift, tears came into his eyes. Jack gave him the greatest gift he had ever got! They were business cards with his new position FULL-TIME GRANDPA! Jack said, “Now your full-time(全职的) job is my grandpa!”

“Well，how much do I get paid?”his grandpa asked，smiling. “As many hugs(拥抱) as you want!” With these words，Jack gave his grandpa a hug. “Well, I guess that means I’m the richest man in the world! ” said his grandpa.

5 . It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable(不自在) when they are with their parents. They say that their parents don’t understand them. They often think that their parents are out of touch with modern ways; that they are too serious and too strict with their children; and that they seldom give their children a free hand.

It is true that parents often find it difficult to win their children’s trust and they tend to forget how they themselves felt when young. They show that they have grown up and they can face any difficult situation. Older people worry more easily. Most of them plan things ahead, at least in the back of their minds, and do not like their plans to be upset(扰乱) by something unexpected.

When you want your parents to let you do something, you will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.

Young people often make their parents angry with their choices in clothes, in entertainment and in music. But they do not mean to cause any trouble; it is just that they feel cut off from the older people’s world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That’s why young people want to make a new culture(文化) of their own. And if their parents do not like their music or entertainment or clothes or their way of speech, this will make the young people extremely happy.

Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents to say “yes” to what you do. All you want is to be left alone and do what you like. It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents’ control.

If you plan to control your life, you’d better win your parents over and try to get them to understand you. If your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility(责任), they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.

6 . There is an old saying in English: “Laughter is the best medicine”. Until recently, few people took the saying very seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to investigate laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found evidence that laughter really can improve people’s health.

Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films, while doctors checked their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart rate and the rate of breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.

Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be capable of reducing the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group, which tolerated the pain for the longest time, was the group, which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins（内啡肽）in the brain. These are natural chemicals that diminish both stress and pain.

There is also some evidence to suggest that laughter helps the body’s immune system, that is, the system which fights infection. In an experiment, one group of students watched a funny video while another group served as the control group-in other words, a group with which to compare the first group. Doctors checked the blood of the students in both groups and found that the people in the group that watched the video had an increase in the activity of their blood cells, that is, the cells which fight infection.

As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists（精神病学家）in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they try to improve their patients’ conditions by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.