1、1Suddenly I wanted to write about that,about the warmth and good feeling of it.but I wanted to put it down simply for my own joy,not for Mr.Fleagle.It was a moment I wanted to recapture and hold for myself.I wanted to relive the pleasure of that evening.To write it as I wanted,however,would violate
2、all the rules of formal composition Id learned in school,and Mr.Fleagle would surely give it a failing grade.Never mind.I would write something else for Mr.Fleagle after I had written this thing for myself.When I finished it the night was half gone and there was no time left to compose a proper,resp
3、ectable essay for Mr.Fleagle.There was no choice next morning but to turn in my tale of the Belleville supper.Two days passed before Mr.Fleagle returned the graded papers,and he returned everyones but mine.I was preparing myself for a command to report to Mr.Fleagle immediately after school for disc
4、ipline when I saw him lift my paper from his desk and knock for the classs attention.2“This isnt family,”he replied.“Although,”he went on ,”come to think of it,it minght just as well have been family.Old Ed was my oldest friend.In fact,we used to call each other Old Friend-when wed meet ,that is.Im
5、not much of a hand at writing.”“I dont think any of us keep up our correspondence too well,”I said.”I know I dont.But I take it hes someone youve known quite a while?”“All my life,practically.We were kids together,so we go way back.”“Went to school together?”“All the way through high school.We were
6、in the same class,in fact,through both grade and high school.”“There are not too many people whove had such a long friendship,”I said.“Actually.”the driver went on,”I hadnt seen him more then once or twice a year over the past 25 or30 years because I moved away from the old neighborhood and you kind
7、 of lose touch even though you never forget.He was a great guy.”“You said was.Does that mean-?”He nodded.”Died a couple of weeks ago.”“Im sorry,”I said.”Its no fun to lose any friend-and losing a real old one is even tougher.”3Whether we like it or not,the world we live in has changed a great deal i
8、n the last hundred years,and it is likely to change even more in the next hundred.Some people would like to stop these changes and go back to what they see as a purer and simpler age.But as history shows,the past was not that wonderful.It was not so bad for a privileged minority,though even they had
9、 to do without modern medicine,and childbirth was highly risky for women.But for the vast majority of the population,life was nasty,brutish,and short.Anyway,even if one wanted to,one couldnt put the clock back to an earlier age.Knowledge and techniques cant just be forgotten.Nor can one prevent furt
10、her advances in the future.Even if all government money for research were cut off(and the present government is doing its best),the force of competition would still bring about advances in technology.Moreover,one cannot stop inquiring minds from thinking about basic science,whether or not they are p
11、aid for it.The only way to prevent further developments would be a global state that suppressed anything new,and human initiative and inventiveness are such that even this wouldnt succeed.All it would do is slow down the rate of change.4After he passed away,I thought more and more about Tonys career
12、.He grew in stature in my mind.In the end,I think he stood as tall,and as proud,as the greatest American industrialists.They had all reached their success by the same route and by the same values and principles：vision,determination,self-control,optimism,selfrespect and,above all,integrity.Tony did n
13、ot begin on the bottom rung of the ladder.He began in the basement.Tonys affairs were tiny;the greatest industrialistsaffairs were giant.But,after all,the balance sheets were exactly the same.The only difference was where you put the decimal point.Tony Trivisonno came to America seeking the American
14、 Dream.But he didnt find it-he created it for himself.All he had were 24 precious hours a day,and he wasted none of them.5loveAnd there she stood.Her pale,round face was gentle and sensible,her gray eyes had a warm and kindly glow.I did not hesitate.My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather cop
15、y of the book that was to identify me to her.This would not be love,but it would be something precious,something perhaps even better than love,a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful.I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman,even though while I spoke I
16、 felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.”Im Lieutenant John Blanchard,and you must be Miss Maynell.I am so glad you could meet me;may I take you to dinner?”The womans face broadened into a smile.”I dont know what this is about,son,”she answered,”but the young lady in the green suit who j
17、ust went by,she begged me to wear this rose on my coat.And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner,I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street.She said it was some kind of test!“6animalsOver the years,I have written extensively about animal-intel
18、ligence experiments and the controversy that surrounds them.Do animals really have thoughts,what we call consciousness?Wondering whether there might be better ways to explore animal intelligence than experiments designed to teach human signs,I realized what now seems obvious:if animals can think,the
19、y will probably do their best thinking when it serves their own purposes,not when scientists ask them to.And so I started talking to vets,animal researchers,zoo keepers.Most do not study animal intelligence,but they encounter it,and the lack of it,every day.The stories they tell us reveal what Im co
20、nvinced is a new window on animal intelligence:the kind of mental feats animals perform when dealing with captivity and the dominant species on the planet-humanl.7kidThough the train was slowing ,Anthony knew it was still going faster than he could run.So he forced himself to wait until he would be
21、close enough to leap off and grab the boys.With perhaps ten feet left between them and the sharp-edged snowplow blade at the front of the train,Anthony sprang forward from the ladder.Landing on the loose,fist-size stones alongside the track,he had to struggle to keep his balance.In two giant steps h
22、e almost reached the children.They stared up at him in wide-eyed shock.Anthony,throwing his body into space,flew toward them.The unending blast of the train horn struck Kate Pritchard like a hammer blow.”The boys!”she cried,and raced out the door.They were gone!The track,she thought.I must get to th
23、e track!As his body crashed downward,Anthony covered Todd while reaching out with one arm to grab Scott and pull him clear of the track.But the train had caught up to them.Anthony saw the black steel edge of the snowplow blade hit the young child under the chin,driving his head back and scraping ove
24、r his face.Instantly,blood flashed across the boys forehead.Part of the train then punched into the back of Anthonys work jacket,tearing the nylon fabric.Still,Anthony managed to pull Scott completely underhim.Hes dead,Anthony thought.He felt sick with horror.Burying his face in the stones,he pushed downward on the two boys with all his strength as the train passed inches above them.
