Why is pink or purple a color for girls and blue or brown for boys?

    The answer depends largely on cultural values as well as personal experiences.To the Egyptians,green was a color that represented the hope and joy of spring,while for Muslims,it means heaven.Red is a symbol of good luck in many cultures.In China,children are given money in a red envelope to bring good fortune in the New Year.For many nations,blue is a symbol of protection and religious beliefs.Greek people often wear a blue necklace hoping to protect themselves against evils.

    People's choice of colors is also influenced by their bodies' reactions toward them.Green is said to be the most restful color.It has the ability to reduce pain and relax people both mentally and physically.People who work in green environment have been found to have fewer stomach aches.

    Red can cause a person's blood pressure to rise and increase people's appetites.Many decorators will include different shades of red in the restaurant.Similarly,many commercial websites will have a red "Buy Now" button because red is a color that easily catches a person's eye.

    Blue is another calming color.Unlike red,blue can cause people to lose appetite.So if you want to eat less,some suggest that eating from blue plates can help.

    The next time you are deciding on what to wear or what color to decorate your room,think about the color carefully.

    There are two ways of driving in the world: if the driver's seat is on the left and cars travel on the right side of the road, it is called “left-hand driving”, as it is in China, while the other way of driving is called “right-hand driving”, as it is in Britain. Nowadays, around 65% of the world's population drives on the right of the road, while the rest is used to driving on the left.

    Though no one knows the exact reasons, it seems likely that people in ancient times travelled on the left. Roman coins show pictures of horsemen passing on each other's right. And right-hand people generally got on a horse from the animal's left. Obviously, it's safer to do this at the left side of the road, and it makes sense for the horse to be ridden on the left.

    A change happened in the late 1700s. When Napoleon conquered nations, he forced them to travel on the right side of the road, which spread left-hand driving throughout Europe. However, Britain still stuck with the right-hand driving rule and countries which were part of the British Empire (帝国) were made to follow. This is why India, Australia and the former British colonies (殖民地) in Africa continue to drive on the left. One exception is Egypt, as that country was defeated by Napoleon before becoming part of the British Empire.

    Some countries changed sides' until modem times. Sweden only moved to driving on the right in 1967 and Iceland changed the following year. Ghana changed sides in 1974. On September 7,2009, Samoa became the third country ever to change from left-to-right-hand driving for the reason that it made it easier to import (进口) cheap cars from right-hand driving Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

    So if you want to travel to another country or go on business, make sure you know whether it is left-or right- hand driving to avoid unnecessary troubles.

    It's 9 a.m.,the morning rush hour in Toronto.A man has fallen down on a downtown street suddenly.Several passers-by stop to help the man.One woman reaches into her purse for her cellphone and hits 911,the emergency number.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Within ten minutes,the stricken man is in the back of an ambulance and is sent to the hospital for life-saving treatment.

This scene is fairly common in Toronto and other major cities.Over the years,cities have developed systems to respond quickly to emergencies{#blank#}2{#/blank#}But none of this would be possible without the cooperation of car drivers who yield（让路）to emergency vehicles on busy downtown streets.In fact,it's against the law for drivers not to yield.

    To yield means to give away or,more specifically,to get out of the way{#blank#}3{#/blank#}As yet,China doesn't have any specific laws that require drivers to yield,whether it is for slower cars to move over to the inside lane of a highway or for all cars to give way to emergency vehicles{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Drivers did not yield when they heard the ambulance's siren.

    In Canada,failing to yield to an ambulance vehicle can result in a fine of $400~$2,000 and reduction of three points off your license.That's for a first offense.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}This punishment is severe because lives are in danger.

    A.It has resulted in many lives being saved.

    B.A second offense results in a bigger fine,the loss of your driver's license for two years and a possible jail sentence.

    C.It saves lives and,who knows,someday it may save your own.

    D.Three minutes later,sirens（警报）are heard in the distance as a police car,an ambulance and a fire truck race to the area.

    E.It means pulling to the side of the road to let others pass.

    F.Recently,an injured Beijing cyclist died on the way to hospital because the ambulance carrying him got stuck in city traffic.

    G.Safe driving depends on driver's being aware of the traffic around them and yielding when necessary.

    It's 9 a.m.,the morning rush hour in Toronto.A man has fallen down on a downtown street suddenly.Several passers-by stop to help the man.One woman reaches into her purse for her cellphone and hits 911,the emergency number.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Within ten minutes,the stricken man is in the back of an ambulance and is sent to the hospital for life-saving treatment.

This scene is fairly common in Toronto and other major cities.Over the years,cities have developed systems to respond quickly to emergencies{#blank#}2{#/blank#}But none of this would be possible without the cooperation of car drivers who yield（让路）to emergency vehicles on busy downtown streets.In fact,it's against the law for drivers not to yield.

    To yield means to give away or,more specifically,to get out of the way{#blank#}3{#/blank#}As yet,China doesn't have any specific laws that require drivers to yield,whether it is for slower cars to move over to the inside lane of a highway or for all cars to give way to emergency vehicles{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Drivers did not yield when they heard the ambulance's siren.

    In Canada,failing to yield to an ambulance vehicle can result in a fine of $400~$2,000 and reduction of three points off your license.That's for a first offense.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}This punishment is severe because lives are in danger.

    A.It has resulted in many lives being saved.

    B.A second offense results in a bigger fine,the loss of your driver's license for two years and a possible jail sentence.

    C.It saves lives and,who knows,someday it may save your own.

    D.Three minutes later,sirens（警报）are heard in the distance as a police car,an ambulance and a fire truck race to the area.

    E.It means pulling to the side of the road to let others pass.

    F.Recently,an injured Beijing cyclist died on the way to hospital because the ambulance carrying him got stuck in city traffic.

    G.Safe driving depends on driver's being aware of the traffic around them and yielding when necessary.

    It's 9 a.m.,the morning rush hour in Toronto.A man has fallen down on a downtown street suddenly.Several passers-by stop to help the man.One woman reaches into her purse for her cellphone and hits 911,the emergency number.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Within ten minutes,the stricken man is in the back of an ambulance and is sent to the hospital for life-saving treatment.

This scene is fairly common in Toronto and other major cities.Over the years,cities have developed systems to respond quickly to emergencies{#blank#}2{#/blank#}But none of this would be possible without the cooperation of car drivers who yield（让路）to emergency vehicles on busy downtown streets.In fact,it's against the law for drivers not to yield.

    To yield means to give away or,more specifically,to get out of the way{#blank#}3{#/blank#}As yet,China doesn't have any specific laws that require drivers to yield,whether it is for slower cars to move over to the inside lane of a highway or for all cars to give way to emergency vehicles{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Drivers did not yield when they heard the ambulance's siren.

    In Canada,failing to yield to an ambulance vehicle can result in a fine of $400~$2,000 and reduction of three points off your license.That's for a first offense.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}This punishment is severe because lives are in danger.

    A.It has resulted in many lives being saved.

    B.A second offense results in a bigger fine,the loss of your driver's license for two years and a possible jail sentence.

    C.It saves lives and,who knows,someday it may save your own.

    D.Three minutes later,sirens（警报）are heard in the distance as a police car,an ambulance and a fire truck race to the area.

    E.It means pulling to the side of the road to let others pass.

    F.Recently,an injured Beijing cyclist died on the way to hospital because the ambulance carrying him got stuck in city traffic.

    G.Safe driving depends on driver's being aware of the traffic around them and yielding when necessary.

    The extraordinary Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital city, is said to be the only one in the world to use the same cooling and heating principles as the termite mound (白蚁堆).

    Architect Mick Pearce used precisely the same strategy when designing the Eastgate Building, which has no air conditioning and almost no heating. The building is the country's largest commercial and shopping complex but uses less than 10% of the energy of a conventional building of its size. The Eastgate's owners saved 3.5 million on a 36 million building because air conditioning didn't have to be equipped.

    The complex is actually two buildings linked by bridges across a shady, glassroofed atrium (天井) open to the air. Fans suck fresh air in from the atrium, blow it upstairs through hollow spaces under the floors and from there into each office through vents (通风口). As it rises and warms, it is drawn out via ceiling vents and finally exists through fortyeight brick chimneys.

    During summer's cool nights, big fans blow air through the building seven times an hour to cool the empty floors. By day, smaller fans blow two changes of air an hour through the building to circulate the air which has been in contact with the cool floors. For winter days, there are small heaters in the vents.

    This is all possible only because Harare is 1,600 feet above sea level, and has cloudless skies, little dampness and rapid temperature swings-days as warm as 31 °C commonly drop to 14°C at night. “You couldn't do this in New York, with its fantastically hot summers and fantastically cold winters,” Pearce said.

    The engineering firm of Ove Arup & Partners monitors daily temperatures. It is found that the temperature of the building has generally stayed between 23 °C and 25 °C, with the exception of the annual hot period just before the summer rains in October and three days in November, when a doorkeeper accidentally switched off the fans at night. And the air is far fresher than in airconditioned buildings, where up to 30% of the air is recycled.