英语周记

Passage 16

New York May Never Win Its War on Rats

Video of rats scampering across a New York City restaurant floor may have disturbed viewers worldwide but some experts say the rodents are less dangerous than other creatures drawn to restaurants —humans.

The video broadcast on television a week ago showed rats running wild at a KFC/Taco Bell restaurant just one day after the outlet had passed a city Health Department inspection.

It took a bite out of the share price of parent company Yum Brands Inc. and forced a city Health Department shake-up that removed the inspector who conducted the review from duty and led to 13 more restaurant closures on Thursday.

The owner of the KFC/Taco Bell franchise, ADF Companies, has closed 10 of its restaurants until they pass inspections, and the city closed three other restaurants because of unsanitary conditions or mice, the Health Department said.

Yum Brands on Friday hired an urban pest control expert to review standards at its New York City restaurants.

The Health Department warned that greater threats to public health include restaurant employees who fail to wash their hands or food stored at improper temperatures. One epidemiologist agreed. Still, the incident reinforces New York’s reputation of having a more severe rat problem than other big cities.

Ne w York’s crowded quarters force restaurants to store trash indoors until it can be collected, providing rats with an indoor food source. In addition, New York’s real estate boom means construction is pervasive, scattering rats to a wider geographic area.

Passage 17

Beauty Industry

With a bit of “physical preparation” — artificial breast implants, a nose job and a little trimming of fat from the hips —you too can aspire to be Miss World. So says Venezuela’s latest candidate for the world beauty contest. Andreina Prieto admitted that were it not for the help of cosmetic surgery, she probably would not have made the line-up. The raven-haired 19-year-old was chosen from among 40 other contestants to represent the South American country at the Miss World competition in South Africa. Prieto, wearing a blue bikini, told reporters that prior to entering the competition, she had three separate operations: one to improve the shape of her nose, a liposuction to remove fat from her hips and breast implants. “If it wasn’t for that, I probably wouldn’t be here,” she said. She displayed a brilliant smile, but did not say if that too was the result of surgery. Oil-rich Venezuela takes the beauty industry very seriously and has gained a reputation as a “factory” of internati onal beauty contest winners. Venezuelan women have won five Miss World titles and four Miss Universe crowns. A private company, the Miss Venezuela Organization, specializes in preparing candidates for the Miss World and Miss Universe contests, and spends around $72,000 on each contender, in clothes, diets and, of course, cosmetic surgery.

Passage 18

Population Growth

The growth of population during the past few centuries is no proof that population will continue to grow straight upward toward infinity and doom. On the contrary, demographic history offers