Five Minutes to Spare抽出五分钟No matter how busy you are,无论你有多忙 you could spend five minutes,你都可以抽出五分钟来： To answer the telephone听一听电话 To read the morning paper读一读早报To talk with a neighbor跟邻居谈一谈To dispute with the laundryman about a mistake跟洗衣工为一个错误争议一番 To watch new furniture being unloaded next door看一看隔

Dust storms are one of the repercussions of humans messing around with Mother Nature. Although they are a natural phenomenon, dust storms have been occurring more often, at shorter intervals, and with greater force in recent years, and human activity is the cause.沙尘暴就是人类任意破坏大自然，所造成的影响之一。沙尘暴虽是自然现象，但是

Fermented beverages made from various types of grain appeared independently in different locations all over the ancient world from Africa to China. The word beer itself comes from a Latin verb meaning &quotto drink&quot, and the ancient Romans were certainly no strangers to the brew. However, becaus

One important finding is that the enzyme responsible for breaking down alcohol is less active in women. This means that more alcohol winds up in a woman&#39s bloodstream. Additionally, a woman&#39s higher ratio of body fat makes alcohol spread through her body more slowly.一项重要的研究显示，女性体内分解酒精的酶不够活跃。这意

Many people assume that women are more greatly affected by alcohol than men because they generally weigh less and have lower rates of drinking. While this is true, researchers have found other ways in which women are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol.许多人认为酒精对女性的影响比男性大得多，原因在于女性普遍体重较轻，而且喝酒的频率也

At first glance, dust storms do not seem very fascinating. Winds pick up fine particles from the ground, and then the air becomes thick with dust. What is interesting, though, is that dust storms can travel across the ocean, sometimes from continent to continent. Such dust storms are worth investiga

This greater sensitivity to alcohol leaves women more prone to alcohol-related illnesses like cirrhosis of the liver and alcohol-induced brain damage. Other worrisome results show a correlation between heavy drinking among women and their rate of sexual victimization and domestic5 violence. While th

In ancient times, people who made beer lacked the means to preserve and filter it properly, so the drink was cloudy and turned bad quickly. It was medieval European monks who introduced scientific brewing techniques in an effort to produce a nutritious beverage to supplement their meager diets.古时的啤酒

It is fair to say that the city of Munich was founded on beer. Christian monks established a settlement there in the ninth century and began to brew a tasty mixture of malt and hops which they probably used to help &quot convert &quot local inhabitants to their religion. The tiny village where they

Although traveling dust storms are nothing new, the dust now often contains chemical or metallic substances that contribute to respiratory illnesses and damage the environment. At present, a group of researchers in Asia is studying aerosol particles and their effects on the environment—and they have

How would you like to sip a glass of cold beer while sitting in the shadow of a Chinese pagoda surrounded by English gardens in the middle of a southern German city? It may sound unlikely, but that is what millions of visitors from around the world experience in Munich in late September and early Oc

Munich, then, is a city of fascinating contrasts. It has terrific museums, architectural treasures, and open-air shopping as well as space-age factories and world-class markets. If you could visit only one city in Germany, the capital of Bavaria would be a worthy choice.由此可见，慕尼黑是一个极具迷人的有鲜明反差的城市。它有令人

It is a fact that excessive herding of animals and exploitation of grasslands are responsible for the majority of dust storms. This means that dust storms are largely a result of human actions in other words, they are controllable.事实上，沙尘暴形成的主要原因是过度放牧及滥垦草原，这表明沙尘暴大多是人的活动所导致，也就是说，它们是可加以控制的。NSDA“SDcamps

In April of this year, a dust storm that originated in China and Mongolia took a six-day journey across more than ten thousand kilometers of sea and open land to Arizona in the United States. The cloud was so dense that it seemed as if the sun were setting early. At least one person thought a volcan

One of the world&#39s oldest stories, The Epic of Gilgamesh, is a lively tale of heroism and sacrifice from ancient Sumer. It also contains one of the earliest references to beer. In the story, a female friend of the hero changes a wild, primitive beast into a cultured human being by giving him seve

Researchers did find a way, however, for people to tickle themselves. When volunteers activated a robot by remote control to tickle them after a short delay, the volunteers felt as if someone else were tickling them. It seems that the cerebellum sends a signal to disregard the forthcoming movement,

The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Prince Ludwig, who later became King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The celebration featured horse races, which were repeated the following year, and the festival became an annual event. Beer stands were introduced in 1818, and these were chan

A scientific study was recently done in England to determine whether or not people can tickle themselves. Volunteers were attached to a brain-scanning device and were tickled on their palms with a piece of soft foam. The participants&#39 brain scans were monitored while they were being tickled, and

The monks were not restricted to only brewing the beer, and consumption of it within the monasteries reached astonishing levels. One report from Belgium said that monks were drinking as much as five liters a day. Monastery breweries in Europe also ran their own pubs and enjoyed a tax-free status tha

The part of the brain that is associated with tickling is the cerebellum. It monitors our movements, but ignores movements not perceived as a threat. For example, we do not notice our vocal chords moving when we speak, but we may jump if someone touches us on the shoulder. This selective perception

We only feel ticklish if we detect a sense of invasion or attack. If we try to tickle ourselves, our brains anticipate this &quotattack&quot and prevent us from feeling panicked. Strangely enough, even if a person knows that they are about to be tickled, the fear of being touched may cause the same

In reality, drinking that much beer is more likely to have the opposite effect. Nowadays, it is the beverage of choice among rowdy young people on a Saturday night out, and it has fueled acts of violence and destruction in more than a few societies. It is, nevertheless, the oldest known alcoholic dr

It was in the early years of the nineteenth century that Munich really began to grow, and many of the city&#39s best known buildings date from this time. Despite being the modern metropolis that hosted the 1972 Olympic Games, Munich has retained a quiet charm. It is easy to forget you are in a big c

Have you ever thought about why people are ticklish? According to scientists, ticklishness is a defense mechanism humans developed against bugs, spiders, and other critters that may be touching our skin. Feeling ticklish is our built-in response to predators or threats, and combines the sensations o

There is much more to modern Munich than beer gardens. It is Germany&#39s favorite city, insofar as surveys show a majority of Germans would prefer to live there. Some jokingly call it the only Italian city north of the Alps, a reference to Munich&#39s easygoing spirit that contrasts with the staid

Despite the city&#39s traditional image, many residents never set foot inside a beer hall or go anywhere near Oktoberfest, which is looked down on by some as a festival only for foreign tourists. These citizens see themselves as part of a thriving, modern metropolis which is the high-tech capital of

We seem to think, however, that economic development and preservation of the environment cannot go hand in hand. For most countries, economic development comes first, at the expense of the environment. It is high time everyone came to grips with the consequences of overusing the earth&#39s resources