Some of the greatest problems we face today are the destruction (破坏)of our environment.Brown clouds, polluted water, endangered wild animals..., these problems seem so huge.

So my family does what we can. We take cloth bags to stores instead of using plastic bags. We walk where we don’t have to drive.

But does it do any good? When I am the only one in line at the market with cloth bags, am I doing any good? Does my walking to stores make any real difference to the world?

I recently learned something about flamingos(火烈鸟)which like to get together in groups of a thousand or more Every year when the time comes for migration (迁徙), a few of them first take off from the lake. But none of the others seem to notice, so the small group returns. However, the next day they try again. This time a few more fly along with them, but most of them still pay no attention, so they return again. They try for several times. Every time a few more birds join in but ,since the thousands of others still take no notice, the great migration plan is once more stopped.

Then one day something changes. The same small group of birds once again starts flying and a small number more join in just as before, then more. Finally, they all take flight and the migration really begins. What a spectacular sight it must be--thousands of flamingos taking off into the sky at once!

A few can make a difference. Even if you’re the one to take the first step, and continue trying,others will someday take notice and together we will solve even our greatest problems.

By age 18, many teens are felig a combination of excitement and fear about the future. They tend to be very focused on their friends, social lives, and future. There are a lot of decisions to be made about life after graduation, including potential careers, college plans, or military service paths. Many 18- year- olds spend a lot of time into thinking about what type of life they want once they’re on their own, but they also may just be enjoying the present.

The day your child turns 18, they become a legal adult in most states. This means that they can vote, sign contracts, and join the military. By law, you are no longer required to support them and they are considered fully responsible for their own actions. And while you likely want to continue to help support your child to some level, you are now limited in what you can do. For example, you cannot call up their college professor to see how they are doing in their Calculus class—they have to do that themselves.

Parenting your 18- year- old can be a tricky balance of guiding them towards autonomy(自主) while also keeping them safe and supported. “Teenagers can be all gas and no brakes(刹车), and that’s scary, which is why it’s so important to keep an open, honest dialogue with them,” says Aliza Pressman, PhD, a professor of peditrics and psychologist at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital in New York City.

Teens who have plenty of life skills often feel ready to move out of the home and begin the next chapter. But others may feel less than ready for life as an adult. Those who are less mature (成熟的) or experience self- doubt may step back a bit as they think about entering the next stage of their lives.

Everyone looks forward to progress, whether in one’s personal life or in the general society. Progress indicates a person’s ability to change the way he is living at the moment. Progress must lead a better way of doing things. All these, however, remains true only in so far as people want to accept technology and move forward by finding new and more efficient ways of doing things.

However, at the back of the minds of many people, especially those who miss the “good old days”, efficiency comes with a price. When communication becomes efficient, people are able to contact one another no matter where they are and at whatever time they wish to. The click of a button allows people miles apart to talk or to see each other without even leaving their homes. With the communication gadgets, such as mobile phones and ipads, people often do not take the effort to visit one another personally. A personal visit carries with the additional feature of having to be in the person’s presence for as long as the visit lasts. We cannot unnecessarily excuse ourselves or turn the other person off.

With efficiency also comes mass production. Such is the nature of factories and the success of industrialization today. Factories have improved efficiency. Unskillful tasks are left to machines and products are better made and produced with greater accuracy than any human hand could ever have done. However, with the improvements in efficiency also comes the loss of the personal touch when making these products. For example, many handcrafts are now produced in a factory. Although this means that supply is better able to increase demand, now that the supply is quick and efficient, the demand might fall because mass production lowers the quality of the handicraft and it is difficult to find unique designs on each item.

Nevertheless, we must not commit the mistake of analyzing progress only from onepoint of view. In fact, progress has allowed tradition to keep up. It is only with progress and the invention of new technology that many old products can be brought back to their old state. New technology is required for old products to stay old.

It is people’s attitude towards progress that causes the type of influence that technology has on society. Technology is flexible. There is no fixed way of making use of it. Everything depends on people’s attitude. The worst effects of progress will fall on those who are unable to rethink their attitudes and views of society. When we accept progress and adapt it to suit our needs, a new “past” is created.