1
Anthropology
The science of anthropology is divided into two broad fields. One is concerned
with the physical from of man, the other with his learned behavior. They are called
respectively physical and cultural anthropology. Physical anthropology is, in
essence, human biology. Physical anthropologists study such problems as the
nature of racial differences; the handing down of bodily traits from one generation
to the next; the growth, development, and decay of the human organism; the
influences of the natural environment on man.
Cultural anthropologists, on the other hand, study the ways man has devised to
cope with his natural setting and his social milieu; and how bodies of custom are
learned, retained, and handed down from one generation to the next. Students of
culture are thus concerned with understanding how a given way of achieving a
given end-organizing family relationships, making a fish trap, or accounting for
the creation of the world-can vary widely from one people to another, and yet help
each of them attain adjusrment in the business of living. They seek to determine
how established forms of tradition change with the passage of time, whether by
reason of internal developments, or because of contact with foreign ways; and how
an individual born into a given society absorbs, uses, and influences the customs
which make up his cultural heritage.
2
Building a Home, Building a Life
Habitat for Humanity is an international organization. It helps low-income
people build their own homes. Two Americans, Millard and Linda Fuller, started
this organization in the 1970s. They believed that all people should have a
safe,affordable home. The Fullers’ goal was to build thousands of inexpensive
houses for families who could not afford their own homes. So they started Habitat
for Humanity.
Habitat for Humanity works in this way.People from all over the world
donate,or give, money to this organization. The Habitat organizers use this money
to build a house. Many volunteers help with the buliding. Because the organization
does not pay the volunteers, it does not cost very much to build the house .The
new homeowner must also help build. When the house is finished, the Habitat
homeowner pays the money back to Habitat each month. This is called a mortgage.
However, Habitat makes no profit from the house and charges no interest.
So,because the house didn’t cost very much, the homeowner can afford to pay the
mortgage each month. This money goes back into the Habitat fund. Organizers can
then use it to build another new house.
People all over the world have better lives today because of Habitat for
Humanity. This organization has built more than 150,000 houses for families in 89
countries including America, Great Britain, Mexico, India, Russia, South Africa,
and Haiti. The houses are simple, but safe and warm. Habitat homeowners say that
they have better lives when they have their own home. It is easier to keep a job,
stay healthy, and send childern to school if you live in a safe home. The whole
family benefits from the Habitat house.
3
Day of the Dead: More than Halloween
Halloween! More and more people worldwide are realizing how much fun it is,
and are beginning to celebrate it. Westerners many years ago thought it was a
day when ghosts and demons would walk the Earth, but very few do now. These
days, people dress up in costumes and have parties; little kids go door to door,
begging for candy. Skeletons, witches, and glowing pumpkins make the holiday
a mysterious one. During Halloween (October 31), Americans make fun of the
dead, and of the supernatural.
Many Mexican people make altars in their homes to honor deceased family
members. An altar might include photographs of the deceased, plus flowers, and
some of his or her favorite foods—beer and cigarettes often are included!
Families have expectations that the dead will visit their homes; hence, many
houses have wash basins and hand towels available for these ghostly travelers.
Halloween today is mostly a holiday for children. Parents laugh as their kids
dress up as monsters. The Day of the Dead, however, is an event that truly
honors the deceased and invites them back or a party. It is a very important part
of Mexican life: it teaches children important lessons about the eternal bonds
between the living and the dead.
4
Elwyn Brooks White
Elwyn Brooks White, known as E.B. White, started writing at an early age
even though he found writing difficult at times. E.B. developed patience as he
carefully developed his graceful writing style. This young writer attended Cornell
University and left to serve in the U.S. Army during World War I. After the war,
he returned to Cornell, where he served as editor of the school newspaper. After
graduation, E.B. headed west and worked as a newspaper reporter in Seattle. He
eventually returned to New York and began writing articles and essays for The
New Yorker magazine in 1929. During his early career, he met and married his
wife, Katharine Angell, and they later had a son.
E.B. longed for a quiet, peaceful life compared to city living, and so he moved
his family to Maine in 1939 and built a farm in the country. He continued to write
for The New Yorker magazine and used the themes of nature and independence in
his writings. The quiet, restful nature of the farm allowed E.B. to patiently write
and craft his essays and stories.
On his farm in Maine, E.B.'s animals inspired him to write children's books.
His first book, Stuart Little, told the tale of an adventurous mouse who lived with
a human family. E.B. intended to write the story to entertain his six-year-old niece,
but by the time he finished the story, she had grown up. His next book, Charlotte's
Web, told the story of a friendship between a pig and a spider. E.B. found
inspiration for the story by watching a big gray spider cleverly weave a web. He
worked the spider into a story of friendship and salvation on a farm. E.B. also
wrote The Trumpet of the Swan, many magazine articles, and a guidebook on
grammar and writing called The Elements of Style. This writer from Maine
received many awards for his contributions to children's literature, including the
Laura Ingalls Wilder Award presented by the American Library Association in
1970 and a special Pulitzer Prize in 1978.
5
Since BILL CLINTON is the most flagrantly underemployed person on the
planet, a good part of his post-presidential life consists of flirting with and fending
off job offers, real and media-imagined. He is mentioned as a possible Senator
from Anywhere, mayor of New York City, television talk-show host, global peace
negotiator and Secretary-General of the United Nations. A few years ago, a French
political scientist named Patrick Weil suggested that Clinton—who was born
within the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase, a former French colony—was
eligible to run for President of France. “I think he would be a very strong
candidate, “Weil said, smiling puckishly.
The sad truth is, Clinton, 58, is trapped in the blandly noble life of a former
President. He will spend the coming year giving speeches; raising money for
HIV/AIDS in the Third World; traipsing about with his new buddy, former
President George H.W.Bush, to raise money for tsunami relief; and organizing a
major conference in September to discuss global challenges.He will do all this at a
more leisurely pace than in the past as he recovers from two surgeries to repair his
famously expansive heart.
6
HOW Old Is Old Enuogh?
In different countries around the world, people become ‘adults’ at different ages.
Being an adult means having the right to do certain things such as get a part-time
job, vote, get married, or get a license to drive. It also means accepting the
responsibilities that accompany these rights.
In many countries, sixteen or eighteen is the age at which a person becomes an
adult. Young men and women at this age can get a part-time job, and begin to
receive an income of their own. They no longer have to rely on their parents for
money all the time. In many parts of North America, sixteen is also the age when
one can obtain a driver’s license; in England, it is seventeen.
There are responsibilities that go along with both of these rights. Getting a
part-time job means that you have to pay income tax. Driving a car demands that
you follow certain rules and regulations such as getting and paying for insurance
to drive.
Voting is another right that marks the passage into adulthood for many young
people. In the United States, Canada, and the U.K., young people have the right to
vote at the age of eighteen. With this right also comes responsibility. For young
people to use their right to vote wisely, they must have an understanding of the
needs of society, and they must also learn how politics work.
A group of teenagers in Alberta, Canada, want the Canadian voting laws changed.
They think that people should be able to vote at the age of sixteen. They argue that
if teenagers at sixteen are old enough to get a part-time job, pay taxes, and drive,
they are also old enough to vote in elections.
In the United States, some people have a similar opinion. An organization in the
U.S. called Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions, believes that the
government should allow its citizens the greatest amount of freedom possible—as
long as this doesn’t jeopardize the public’s safety. This organization believes all
laws based on age should be eliminated, and that people should be able to get a
part-time job, a driver’s license, get married, and vote at any age.
Not everyone would agree that it is a good idea to give all of these rights—and the
responsibilities that accompany them—to people when they are too young. The
question is, how young is too young?