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There’s no doubt that the computer has enlarged man’s working capacity as well as his intellectual capacity enormously. Er … but it brings with it dangers to match the benefits. Now by this, I mean danger to physical and mental well being of the people who work at computer terminals, not the dangers to personal privacy or national or industrial security.There’s one very alarming set of statistics, which come from a survey done in the UK on 800 pregnant women, who happened to use computer terminals for a major part of their working day. In no less than 36% of the subjects there was some severe abnormality during the pregnancy, enough to make a termination necessary. Now these figures compare significantly with a control group of pregnant women of the same age but who did not work with computer terminals. The incidence of severe abnormalities in their case was only 16%. This survey confirms similar investigations carried out in Denmark, Canada, Australia and the USA. Now, no one yet has a clear idea about the exact connection between working with computer terminals and the problems with pregnancy, but the figures at least suggest that there’s, well, a cause for alarm.In more general terms, increased stress and disturbances to vision have been noted in workers exposed for long periods to the video screen, and in many countries trade unions of workers involved with computers have laid down their own guidelines to protect members’ health. For instance, rest periods, or a change of activity from time to time are recommended, and the terminal should be placed so that there’s a source of natural light, and something else to look at, no blank walls behind the terminal, in other words, so that the operator has a chance to rest his eyes from time to time.Ironically, it seems that it’s not only those who work with computers are at risk. Er … there’s perhaps more danger for people who use computers for interest or pleasure in their own homes. Now, it’s obviously not possible to impose in the privacy of people’s homes the sort of safeguards that can be applied in the working environment. Most people get so fascinated by what they are doing that they stay in front of the screen for hours on end; some are real fanatics!But they’re also using their computers in environment, which are not specially designed. Er … they may be dusty or hot, and not particularly well — lit on the whole.An English magazine for computer enthusiasts recently ran its own survey. The readers were invited. To send in an account of any health problems they felt were connected with the use of their computers. Interestingly, a long list emerged of complaints both serious and less serious, ranging from constipation because of the long hours spent in sedentary inactivity, and backache due to crouching over an inconveniently positioned keyboard, erm, right through to a general sense of fatigue owing to having puzzled over a problem for longer than was sensible.The visual disturbances mentioned above were also very common. Some readers who already suffered from short sight found that the condition had worsened, and a rare complaint， but still one suffered by a significant number，was an itching of the face，which in some cases attracting dust from the atmosphere，which irritates exposed skin. And …this is an example of a complaint which is rare in the work situation because there is usually some form of air—conditioning，and quite simply not SO much dust and fluff in the air as in a normal home.Precautions for both types of terminal users remain essentially the same：So，first of all， make sure that there’s an alternative source of light from that of the screen itself. Secondly，rest your eyes frequently，if possible looking at something in the distance to give them a change from the close focus used on the screen. Thirdly, make sure the screen is properly tuned; a shaky or fuzzy image can cause nausea or headaches. Fourthly, make sure your seat and working area are designed so that you’re sitting in a comfortable position，not er …screwed up or bent over. And finally, get up regularly and walk about the room. Better still，go out into the flesh air occasionally. Sitting still for hours on end is the best way to legs being particularly good for the digestion.These are all common—sense precautions, but how many home—computer owners wrapped up in the intricacies of some programming problem, or fascinated by some game，are going to remember to use their common sense Does a generation of short—sighted, constipated, hunched, migraine sufferers with skin problems and circulatory troubles await us Exposing for long periods to the video screen causes disturbances to vision and ().
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Millions of dollars are spent every year in fighting tooth decay. Despite better education and a higher standard of living, the number of people needing dental treatment increases every year. A British dentist, Mr. R.V. Tait, has thought about why this is the case, and has made some suggestions about what could be done to improve the situation.He has pointed out that our thirty-two teeth evolved in the past to deal with a much tougher diet than we have now. Our ancestors ate tough gritty food, and so they needed many teeth. Our teeth, however, do not have to cope with such a diet, because we eat much softer food. Unless, therefore, we are prepared to eat the diet of our ancestors, we should get rid of some of our teeth. Instead of thirty-two teeth, it would be better if we had a well-spaced set of twenty to twenty-four. This would force the rest to work harder and make them more healthy.Another advantage would be that with larger spaces between our teeth, caries could not develop, as it does now, between teeth that are very close together. Furthermore, most extractions would be done during childhood when teeth can be extracted easily, and sockets heal with little pain.Mr. Tait’s theory is original and convincing. It is a remarkable piece of work, because most dentists believe we should keep as many of our teeth as possible. It is unlikely, unfortunately, that they will be persuaded by his ideas. According to Mr. Tait, what should we do to improve the situation of tooth decay().
Only one ship has been proudly called "unsinkable" and on its maiden voyage it sank. At 2:20 in the morning of April 15, 1912 Titanic went down in the northwest Atlantic, taking with it 1513 of the 2, 224 people on board. It was a sea disaster without equal, not so much because of the appalling death toll, but because it seemed to pass a damning comment on the ability and aspirations of man. The British ship was the newest and most luxurious ship in the world, nearly 275 meters long, 11 decks high, and a marvel of technology and science. Yet a 10-second scrape against the submerged shelf of a drifting iceberg turned all this achievement into mockery.When the White Star Line’s Titanic sailed from Southampton on April 10 bound for New York, its passenger list included many millionaires and members of British and American fashionable Society, all bent on enjoying a carefree week’s voyage on the latest miracle of the sea. Far below, on levels ignored by the first-class passengers and in conditions far less privileged, hundreds of emigrants were crossing the Atlantic to a new life in a new land.The first days were uneventful, but on the fourth day the radio operator began receiving alarming messages from ships ahead. Icebergs were drifting unusually far south. Throughout Sunday April 14, in the gaps between the innumerable personal cables sent out by the first-class passengers, the messages continued to come in. The first was forgotten about for several hours. Two later messages never arrived at the bridge. By early evening the air temperature fell sharply but despite this indication that ice was in the vicinity the Titanic never changed its direction nor reduced its speed even slightly.As night fell, Captain Edward Smith posted lookouts to watch for ice and at 11:40 pm the crow’s-nest lookout caught a glimpse of an iceberg ahead. The officer on the bridge ordered the Titanic to turn hard to starboard. It was too late — the ice cut a 90-metre-slice along the plates of the ship’s hull. Ironically, if the ship had continued on course and collided with the ice head-on it might well have emerged from the encounter scarcely damaged.Most passengers, aware only of a faint jarring sensation, thought no more about it. But to the engineers anxiously examining the damage it was clear the ship was doomed. The "unsinkable" could keep afloat if four of its 16 watertight compartments were flooded but the iceberg had sliced the walls of five. Already third-class passengers had awoken to find the floor of their cabins awash. The radio operator sent out the new SOS call — the first time it had been used by a ship in distress — and at 12:05 the order was given to launch the lifeboats.Unknown to the passengers the lifeboats held no more than 1,178 people, half the number of people on board — and even this was generous by the legal requirements of the day. At first there was no panic. Passengers simply refused to believe the ship could be in danger — after all, it was the "unsinkable". Only when it began to list alarmingly did they lose their complacency. Women and children were given priority and husbands and fathers said farewell to their weeping families. There were also shameful displays of selfishness by people who thought only of themselves. Number One lifeboat, with a capacity of 40, was lowered with only 12 people in it — Sir Costmo and Lady Duff Gordon, her secretary, two Americans, six stokers, and one of the ice lookout men. First-class passengers were looked after in preference to those of other classes.Only four women from the first class died，three of them by choice because they preferred to remain with their husbands. But of the 272 women in second and third class only 96 survived—— and for a time the doors leading down to the third—class levels were locked to prevent people surging up.The ship’s band played ragtime tulles on the sloping deck，their last number being the hymn " Aummn " with its hopeful line，"Hold me up in high waters". As the ship tilted further， millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim and his valet went to their cabins and reappeared on deck in evening dress. Howard Case，a London oil executive，was last seen leaning against the top deck calmly lighting a cigarette. At 2:20 am the Titanic stood almost vertical in the water and then slid down，nose first，to bury itself in the soft Atlantic ooze 3 kilometers below. The emigrants who had been unable to find their way along the dark companion ways were carried down with the ship. Those on deck were washed into the freezing sea where their cries for assistance were largely ignored by those in the lifeboats. The most disgraceful fature of the appalling tragedy is that out of approximately 1，500 people in the water only，13 were picked up by 18 lightly laden boats. At 2:20 a.m. the Titanic stood () in the water and then slid down.
In recent years, there have been great social and economic changes in the United States. And, these changes have affected almost all of America’s housing system, from home building to home buying.First of all, American families are becoming smaller. People nowadays are having fewer children, or choosing not to halve children at all. Many people are marrying later in life. And about 40% of all American marriages end in divorce.All this means that many Americans now want smaller houses. And a large percentage are buying apartments.This has created a shortage of rental housing in many parts of the country. It has caused special difficulties for those who are old or poor, and do not have the money to buy a place of their own.Some people are solving this problem by forming cooperatives. In a cooperative, everyone in an apartment building joins together and buys a share of the building. If 20% of those living in the cooperative have low earnings, then the group can get a low-interest loan from the government. If people want to sell their share in the cooperative, they can not earn more than they paid for it. This helps keep the cost of cooperatives low.Recent concern over the cost of energy also has brought changes in American housing. Some people are moving back to the cities, to save the cost of driving long distances to work. And, many Americans have begun to look for homes that cost almost nothing to heat, because the temperature of the earth changes very little as the season changes.Other new houses get their energy from the sun. During the day, heat from sunlight is collected through windows on the south side of the house. At night, the windows are covered, and the collected warmth heats the home.Recently, the American economy has also had a major effect on American housing. Inflation has pushed the cost of homes higher and higher. And, interest rates have become very high. Buyers now must pay as much as 18 percent interest for housing loans.Americans with just moderate earnings now find it very difficult to make monthly payments on a new home. In the last few months, even apartments have grown too expensive for most people to buy.These developments have brought about a crisis in America’s housing industry. Officials say that homes now are selling only half as fast as they do in a good year.Many home building companies are closing. And unemployment in that industry is now more than 16 percent much higher than in most other American industries.Officials in the housing industry have taken some steps to end this crisis. Banks are permitting people to make lower monthly payments when they move into new houses. Then they increase the payments at a later time.Some builders are helping buyers pay the high interest rates on their mortgages. Builders say they are not earning any money this way. But, they say at least they are surviving.Builders are also looking for ways to put together houses at a lower cost. One way is to build as much of the house as possible in a factory. Some houses-called mobile homesites are made completely in factories, then transported to the buyer. People move back to cities because they want to be closer to their offices.
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