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We meet in a week that could change the United Kingdom forever. Indeed, it could end the United Kingdom as we know it. On Thursday, Scotland votes, and the future of our country is at stake. On Friday, people could be living in a different country, with a different place in the world and a different future ahead of it.

This is a decision that could break up our family of nations, and rip(撕) Scotland from the rest of the UK. And we must be clear. There is no going back from this. No re-run. This is a once-and-for-all decision. If Scotland votes yes, the UK will split, and we will go our separate ways forever. When people vote on Thursday they are not just voting for themselves, but for their children and grandchildren and the generations beyond. So I want to speak directly to the people of this country today about what is at stake.

I speak for millions of people across England, Wales and Northern Ireland—and many in Scotland too who would be completely heart-broken by the break-up of the United Kingdom. Completely heart-broken to wake up on Friday morning to the end of the country we love, to know that Scots would no longer join with the English, Welsh and Northern Irish in our Army, Navy and Air Force, in our UK-wide celebrations, in UK sporting teams from the Olympics to the British lions. The United Kingdom would be no more. No UK pensions, no UK passports, no UK pound. It would be the end of a country that launched the Enlightenment (欧洲启蒙运动), that abolished slavery, that drove the industrial revolution, that defeated fascism(法西斯主义); the end of a country that people around the world respect and admire ; the end of a country that all of us call home.

【语篇导读】本文是一篇演讲稿，卡梅伦首相深情挽回苏格兰。

Parents annoyed by their children’s picky eating habits have taken to social media to share a host of creative ways to deal with them in a new thread gaining popularity online. In these lunch box notes posted onto sites, mothers and fathers have used threats, persuasion and even little white lies to talk their youngsters into finishing their sandwiches.

One talented father created the tag “Dadfact” in an effort to persuade his child into eating their sandwiches using information that might not be completely reliable. He scribbled on a napkin, “Every time you don’t eat your sandwich a unicorn(独角兽) dies Dadfact Love, Dad”. A further technique from a separate note was a drawing of a scary monster, ordering the little one to, “Eat your food!”

Everyone knows coming to terms with bread crusts is a difficult job. One parent’s inspiring note encouraged their child to leave the world of crustless sandwiches behind. They wrote, “I left the crusts on. Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

Another cheered on their child with a note which read, “You can do it! Love yourself.” A father appeared to be laying down the law when he wrote, “New rule: I will keep packing this sandwich until you eat it. Good luck. Love, Dad.”

One youngster Julian retorted (反驳) with a handwritten moan of his own. When his mother wrote to him, saying, “Dear Julian, have a great day, love Mom”, he replied simply on the same piece of paper, in big letter, “I will not.”

But cheery parents shared more positive feelings on post— it’s attached to their children’s lunch. A mother wrote, “Have a great day! I love you.” Another simply put, “You are my sunshine.”

Other parents shared jokes in their children’s lunchbox to perk them up during the day. One included, “When do astronauts eat? At launch time.” And another shared, “Why did the student eat his homework? Because the teacher said it’s a piece of cake.”

【语篇导读】本文是一篇说明文，介绍了一些家长为了让孩子们吃饭，给孩子留各种纸条的事情。

The Edge office building in Amsterdam prides itself on good coffee, lots of natural light---no desk is far from a window — and a gym that allows you not just to get fit but also to contribute to the energy supply of the office.

It also cleans its toilets with rainwater, has a robot security guard that will challenge you if you wander around at night and a whole range of clever technology to make the building sustainable.

The developers behind it, Dutch firm OVG, likes it so much that they moved in when it was finished.

So is the office that has already been called the world’s greenest, really as smart as it seems?

The building, whose main tenant (租客) is consultancy firm Deloitte and was designed by London-based architects PLP Architecture, has “smart” ceilings equipped with 28000 sensors, which measure temperature, light, motion and humidity. The lighting, designed by Phillips, is also smart — each one of the LED panels is ultra-efficient and requires only a tiny amount of electricity.

Workers can control the temperature, lighting and blinds via a series of apps on their smartphones and work is ongoing to consist with them.

Users select the temperature they want from a sliding gauge (计量器) on their phone and it will in turn adjust the valves (阀门) in the pipes above their head. Each valve controls the temperature of around four desks so they do have to hope that the colleague sitting next to them is also happy with the change.

Facilities manager Wybe Van der Mey tells me, with some degree of pride, that in the first year of opening he only received a handful of complaints about the heating. In a traditional building that would be our headache number one,” he said.

【语篇导读】本文是一篇说明文，介绍了位于阿姆斯特丹的德勤总部大楼，被誉为全球“最环保大楼”，而它的智能办公做的如何呢？这会是未来智能办公的发展方向吗？

On peace of mind

Once, as a young man full of fancy, I undertook to draw up a catalogue of the acknowledged “goods” of life. As other men sometimes make a 16 of possessions they own or would like to own, I set 17 my desirables: health, love, beauty, talent, power, riches, and fame.
When my catalogue was completed I 18 showed it to a wise elder who had been the trusted guide and 19 model of my youth. Perhaps I was trying to 20 him with my forward wisdom. 21 , I handed him the list. “This”, I told him confidently, “is the sum of mortal（凡人的）goods. If a man could 22 them all, he would be as a god.”
At the corners of my friend’s old eyes, I saw wrinkles of amusement 23 in a patient net. “An excellent list,” he said, considering it 24 , “well digested and set down in not-unreasonable order. 25 it appears, my young friend, that you have 26 the most important element of all. You have forgotten the one important aspect, without 27 each possession becomes a terrifying misery.”
“And what,” I asked, raising my voice with 28 , “is that missing aspect?”
“With a pencil he 29 my entire schedule. Then, having destroyed my dream structure at a single blow, he wrote down three words: 30 of mind. “This is the gift that God 31 for His special Proteges (被保护者).” he said.
“Talent and beauty He gives to 32 . Wealth is commonplace, fame not 33 . But peace of mind that is His final 34 of approval, the fondest symbol of His love, He presented it with great caution. Most men are never blessed with it; others wait all their lives — yes, far into 35 age — for this gift to fall upon them.”

【语篇导读】本文是一篇议论文，论述了平静的心境的重要性，文章富有哲理，寓意深长。