笔记技巧-5.docVIP

1. The Water Babies All mammals, except man and the monkey, swim naturally from birth. For man, like the monkey, it is not instinctive to float. Deaths by drowning are common everywhere. In the United States alone, about 7,000 children under four drown each year. Everything possible has been done to prevent such tragedies. One solution is particularly effective---teaching children to swim while they are still babies. Most large towns in Florida and California already run lessons for babies and infants. The idea has spread to Europe where, in several countries, special courses are now arranged for children from seven to twenty-four months. The first step is to eradicate the child’s fear of the water. Next, he is taught to float. Once he can do this naturally and without fear, the child grasps the technique and can propel himself through the water. 2. Accident in the Home In industrialized countries, the home’s rapidly becoming a complicated workshop filled with technically advanced machinery. Some of this machinery is already so complex as to be well beyond the understanding of the persons who have to use it. The resulting accident risks, therefore, are high. The extent of these risks may be judged from the fact that some new domestic machinery requires the use of very high voltages indeed. In addition, the rotary cutter, common in the kitchen, is capable of a speed well in excess of that ordinary industrial lathes and drills. It can inflict injures at least as serious as those produced by an industrial wood-planning machine. Considerations of necessity and usefulness in design often give way to the less utilitarian arguments of appearance, novelty and even social status. Home mechanization reaches new heights of absurdity with electric toothbrushes, without a grounding wire, and in the USA electric erasers. 3. The Age Gap In certain countries the conflict between young people and the educational system has become very serious indeed. In addition to caus