Reading for today series 4: conceptsfor today

Skills
Introduction
UNIT 1: LIVING IN SOCIETY
Chapter I The Paradox of Happiness
by Diane Swanbrow, in Psychology Today New research reveals a surprising truth: the tendency to feel unhappy may be inherited, but happiness is something that we can create for ourselves.
Chapter 2 Close to Home: Technological Advances
Erode Barrier Between Work and Home
by Veronica James, in The Los Angeles Times As technological advances such as cell phones, pagers, and other electronic devices take over our lives, it becomes harder for people to separate their work lives from their home lives.
Chapter 3 The Birth-Order Myth
by Alfie Kohn, in Health Although many people think that being the first, second, or third child in a family affects our personalities, such beliefs are really untrue.
UNIT 2: SAFETY AND HEALTH
Chapter 4 Why So Many More Americans Die in Fires
by Donald G. McNeil, Jr., in The New York Times Even though it has some of the fastest fire departments in the world, the United States has more fire deaths than nearly any other industrialized country.
Chapter 5 Acupuncture: The New Old Medicine
Edited by William G. Flanagan, in Forbes Many people today are discovering that acupuncture can cure illnesses that conventional medical treatment cannot cure. It's also inexpensive and almost painless.
Chapter 6 Highs and Lows in Self-Esteem
by Kim Lamb Gregory, Scripps Howard News Service During our lives, we experience periods of high self-esteem and low self-esteem because we are affected by biological, social, and situational factors.
UNIT 3: GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION
Chapter 7 The Federal System of Government
by Patricia C. Acheson, from Our Federal Government: How It Works The U.S. Government was designed over 200 years ago. It has a complex but effective system of checks and balances to ensure that no one has too much power.
Chapter 8 Too Soon Old, Too Late Wise
by Evan Thomas with Adam Wolfberg, in Newsweek He may be 90 years old, but Prof. Paul Weiss still teaches philosophy to university students and challenges them to think.
Chapter 9 The Pursuit of Excellence
by Jill Smolowe, in Time Every year, thousands of foreign students come to the United States to study in American universities and colleges in search of an education.
UNIT 4: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Chapter 10 Antarctica: Whose Continent Is It Anyway?
by Daniel and Sally Grotta, in Popular Science Although an international treaty helps protect the continent of Antarctica, countries still argue over who has the right to live and work there.
Chapter 11 A Messenger from the Past
by James Shreeve, in Discover When the frozen body of a man was discovered in a melting glacier at the border between Austria and Italy, scientists began to learn about life in Europe 5,000 years ago.
Chapter 12 Is Time Travel Possible?
by Mark Davidson, in USA Today Some scientific experiments have shown that time travel may be possible. Scientists discuss the possible consequences of traveling to the past or to the future.
Word List