1 . Zachariah Fike has an unusual hobby. He finds old military(军队的) medals for sale in antique stores and on the Internet. But unlike most collectors, Zac tracks down the medals’ rightful owners, and returns them.

His effort to reunite families with lost medals began with a Christmas gift from his mother, a Purple Heart with the name Corrado A. G. Piccoli, found in an antique shop. Zac knows the meaning of a Purple Heart—he earned one himself in a war as a soldier. So when his mother gave him the medal, he knew right away what he had to do.

Through the Internet, Zac tracked down Corrado’s sister Adeline Rockko. But when he finally reached her, the woman flooded him with questions: “Who are you? What antique shop?” However, when she hung up, she regretted the way she had handled the call. So she called Zac back and apologized. Soon she drove to meet Zac in Watertown, N.Y. “At that point, I knew she meant business,” Zac says. “To drive eight hours to come to see me.”

The Piccolis grew up the children of Italian immigrants in Watertown. Corrado, a translator for the Army during WWII, was killed in action in Europe.

Before hearing from Zac, Adeline hadn’t realized the medal was missing. Like many military medals, the one Zac’s mother had found was a family treasure. “This medal was very precious to my parents. Only on special occasions(场合) would they take it out and let us hold it in our hands,” Adeline says.

As a child, Adeline couldn’t understand why the medal was so significant. “But as I grew older,” Adeline says, “and missed my brother more and more, I realized that was the only thing we had left.” Corrado Piccoli’s Purple Heart medal now hangs at the Italian American Civic Association in Watertown.

Zac recently returned another lost medal to a family in Alabama. Since he first reunited Corrado’s medal, Zac says his record is now 5 for 5.

2 . What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science? We all know that science plays an important role in the societies in which we live. Many people believe, however, that our progress depends on two different aspects of science. The first of these is the application of the machines, products and systems of applied knowledge that scientists and technologists develop. Through technology, science improves the structure of society and helps man to gain increasing control over his environment.

The second aspect is the application by all members of society of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work.

What are these special methods of thinking and acting? First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is full of curiosity — he wants to find out how and why the universe works. He usually directs his attention towards problems which he notices have no satisfactory explanation, and his curiosity makes him look for underlying relationships even if the data available seem to be unconnected. Moreover, he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves.

He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective and applies logical thought to the observations he makes. He utilizes the facts he observes to the fullest extent. For example, trained observers obtain a very large amount of information about a star mainly from the accurate analysis of the simple lines that appear in a spectrum.

He is suspicious — he does not accept statements which are not based on the most complete evidence available — and therefore rejects authority as the only basis for truth. Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively to verify them.

Furthermore, he is not only critical of the work of others, but also of his own, since he knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation.

Lastly, he is highly imaginative since he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete. Furthermore, he needs imagination if he wants to make hypotheses of how processes work and how events take place.

These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful scientist or technologist thinks and acts.

7 . Few things feel as painful as rejection. Rejection means not being invited to a friend's party. Rejection means having your actions criticized. Rejection means failure when you're trying to sell your idea. Every "no" indicates a door closed to you.     1    

Developing your self-confidence is key. Rejection is simply the reaction or opinion of another person.     2    Never think you are worthless or unlovable. What you should do is make a list of things you have done well or contributions you have made. Review them every day. Fill your nighttime and early morning brain with confidence.

Rejection will enhance （增加）whatever negative things you say to yourself. Even the most successful and confident people feel downhearted when rejected, but most of them never tell themselves how terrible they are.     3    Make sure what you say to yourself builds yourself up instead of tearing yourself down.

    4     Instead, they view it as an opportunity to further understand human relationships and inner strength. They avoid the pain of rejection and put rejection into context （情境）.Using rejection to your advantage involves looking on every blow as a learning experience. It also involves learning and growing from negative voice.

    5     You can feel the pain as you like, crying or locking yourself in, but don't let it become a long-term visitor. It is wise for you to respond positively and effectively.

9 . Two Newcastle scientists are setting themselves to open our eyes to the medical truth by claiming that natural sunlight may help prevent skin cancer.

Dr. Ron Laura, professor of health education at Newcastle University, and senior chemist Mr. John Ashton said their research points to a complete ________ of the accepted scientific theory. They said that sunscreen creams may help cause skin cancer, the artificial indoor light could be ______ and that a range of drugs in common use could also _______ melanoma-a type of cancer that appears as a dark spot on the skin.

The research is likely to be unwelcome in some traditional medical research circles. It is based on a new _______ that our bodies are protected from skin cancer by the regulation of a group of complex vitamins (Vitamin D) and immune process.

The sunscreens, artificial light and drugs could all unfavorably affect the production of these vitamins and increase the skin’s _______ to the sun. But Dr. Laura said natural sunlight passing through the eyes helped _______ the production of cancer protection Vitamin D.

He said recent statistics from the United States indicated that people who worked indoors all day in artificial light were more _______ melanomas than those who worked outdoors. Indoor workers should try to have at least one hour of _______ to direct sunlight every day, ________ in the early morning and late afternoon when ultraviolet intensively was lower, Dr. Laura said.

Sunscreens, long _______ as essential for beach lovers, could also ________ the production of Vitamin D. Laura and Ashton said sunscreens give people a _______ sense of security in thinking they are ________ from the sun’s rays.

Dr. Laura said more statistics _______ their claim had come to light since the first article was published. He believes his research findings are too important to be ________ to the scientific world.