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When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strange happened to the large animals. They suddenly became extinct. Smaller species survived. The large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to extinction. Now something similar could be happening in the oceans.That the seas are being over fished has been known for years. What researchers such as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have shown is just how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fisheries around the world. Their methods do not attempt to estimate the actual biomass (the amount of living biological matter) of fish species in particular parts of the ocean, but rather changes in that biomass over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators (animals that kill and eat other animals) in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then.Dr. Worm acknowledges that these figures are conservative. One reason for this is that fishing technology has improved. Today’s vessels can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch sizes. In the early days, too, longlines would have been more saturated with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since no baited hooks would have been available to trap them, leading to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fishing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around now.Dr. Myers and Dr. Worm argue that their work gives a correct baseline, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the data support an idea current among marine biologists, that of the "shifting baseline. " The notion is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking back only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory suggests that the maximum sustainable yield that can be cropped from a fishery comes when the biomass of a target species is about 50% of its original levels. Most fisheries are well below that, which is a bad way to do business. The author seems to be mainly concerned with most fisheries’ ().
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It is not easy to talk about the role of the mass media in this overwhelmingly significant phase in European history. History and news become confused, and one’s impressions tend to be a mixture of skepticism and optimism. (61)Television is one of the means by which these feelings are created and conveyed-and perhaps never before has it served so much to connect different peoples and nations as in the recent events in Europe. The Europe that is now forming cannot be anything other than its peoples, their cultures and national identities. With this in mind we can begin to analyze the European television scene. (62)In Europe, as elsewhere, multi-media groups have been increasingly successful: groups which bring together television, radio, newspapers, magazines and publishing houses that work in relation to one another. One Italian example would be the Berlusconi group, while abroad Maxwell and Murdoch come to mind.Clearly, only the biggest and most flexible television companies are going to be able to compete in such a rich and hotly-contested market. (63)This alone demonstrates that the television business is not an easy world to survive in, a fact underlined by statistics that show that out of eighty European television networks, no less than 50M took a loss in 1989.Moreover, the integration of the European community will oblige television companies to cooperate more closely in terms of both production and distribution.(64)Creating a "European identity" that respects the different cultures and traditions which go to make up the connecting fabric of the Old Continent is no easy task and demands a strategic choice—that of producing programs in Europe for Europe. This entails reducing our dependence on the North American market, whose programs relate to experiences and cultural traditions which are different from our own.In order to achieve these objectives, we must concentrate more on co-productions, the exchange of news, documentary services and training. This also involves the agreements between European countries for the creation of a European bank for Television Production which, on the model of the European Investments Bank, will handle the finances necessary for production costs. (65)In dealing with a challenge on such a scale, it is no exaggeration to say "United we stand, divided we fall"—and if I had to choose a slogan it would be "Unity in our diversity." A unity of objectives that nonetheless respect the varied peculiarities of each country. Television is one of the means by which these feelings are created and conveyed-and perhaps never before has it served so much to connect different peoples and nations as in the recent events in Europe.
A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are, of course, exceptions. Small-minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment. For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence.Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world. The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality.Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn’t take in the stranger or take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation. Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. "I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner-amazing. " Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly.The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition. As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to "translate" cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word "friend", the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitor’s language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many Americans value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers. The tradition of hospitality to strangers ().
M: Hi, Ms. Rowling. How old were you when you started to write, and what was your first bookW: I wrote my first finished story when I was about 6. It was about a small animal, a rabbit I mean, and I’ve been writing ever since.M: Why did you choose to be an authorW: If someone asked me how to achieve happiness, step one would be finding out what you love doing most and step two would be finding someone to pay you to do it. I consider myself very lucky indeed to be able to support myself by writing.M: Do you have any plans to write books for adultsW: My first two novels were for adults. I suppose I might write another one, hut I never really imagine a target audience when I’m writing. The ideas come first, so it really depends on the idea that grabs me next!M: Where did the ideas for the Harry Potter books come fromW: I’ve no idea where the ideas come from and I hope I never find out, it would spoil my excitement if it turned out I just have a funny little wrinkle on the surface of my brain which makes me think about invisible train platforms.M: How do you come up with the names of your charactersW: I invented some of the names in the Harry books, but I also collect strange names. I’ve gotten them from medieval saints, maps, dictionaries, plants, war memorials, and people I’ve met !M: Oh, you are really resourceful. According to Ms. Rowling, where did she get the ideas for the Harry Potter books().
However important we may regard school life to be, there is no denying the fact that children spend more time at home than in the classroom. Therefore, the great influence of parents cannot be ignored or discounted by the teacher. They can become strong allies of the school personnel or they can consciously or unconsciously hinder and obstruct curricular objectives.Administrators have been aware of the need to keep parents informed of the newer method used in schools. Many principals have conducted workshops explaining such matters as the reading readiness program, manuscript writing, and developmental mathematics.Moreover, the classroom teacher, with the permission of the supervisors, can also play an important role in enlightening parents. The many interviews carried on during the year as well as new ways of reporting pupils’ progress, can significantly aid in achieving a harmonious interplay between school and home.To illustrate, suppose that a father has been drilling Junior in arithmetic processes night after night. In a friendly interview, the teacher can help the parent convert his natural paternal interest into productive channels. He might be persuaded to let Junior participate in discussing the family budget, buying the food, using a yardstick or measuring cup at home, setting the clock, calculating mileage on a trip, and engaging in scores of other activities that have a mathematical basis.If the father follows the advice, it is reasonable to assume that he will soon realize his son is making satisfactory progress in mathematics and, at the same time, enjoying the work.Too often, however, teachers’ conferences with parents are devoted to petty accounts of children’s offences, complaints about laziness and poor work habits, and suggestions for penalties and rewards at home.What is needed is a more creative approach in which the teacher, as a professional adviser, plants ideas in parents’ minds for the best utilization of the many hours that the child spends out of the classroom.In this way, the school and the home join forces in stimulating the fullest development of youngsters’ capacities. The author’ s primary purpose in writing this passage is to ().
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