WHERE IS ROXY?

Chloe has an unusual pet which isn't popular with all the members of her family.

ShowPreparation

When Chloe arrives home from school, she always makes a cup of coffee and then goes upstairs to her bedroom. This is her favourite time of day. The house is quiet and she can play with her pet rats. Yes, that's right, pet rats! Chloe has got two of them. Their names are Zena and Roxy and they live in a cage in Chloe's bedroom. Chloe knows that most people don't like rats or they think rats are dirty. A year ago, Chloe didn't like rats either. Then, one day, her friend Martin showed Chloe his pet rats and Chloe saw how intelligent and affectionate they are.

'If you can have cats, dogs or hamsters as pets, then why not rats?' she thought. When one of Martin's rats had babies, Chloe asked her mum if she could have two pet rats for her birthday present. Her mum and dad didn't like the idea, but then Chloe got an excellent school report and they decided to give Chloe the present she wanted.

'There’s one very important rule,' said Chloe's mum. 'The rats live in your bedroom and they never go to other rooms, especially not the kitchen!'

In her room, Chloe opened the cage. First she picked up Roxy and put her on the floor. Then she picked up Zena and put her on her shoulder. Roxy loved to explore. She climbed furniture and went under Chloe's bed. Zena was quieter and liked sitting on Chloe's shoulder while Chloe sent messages to her friends or read a book.

Someone knocked on the door. 'Hi, Chloe,' called Mum. 'Are you there?'

'Yes, Mum,' said Chloe. 'Come in.'

'I'm going to my aerobics class. I'll be back at seven o'clock. Dad's on his way home. He's making pasta tonight.'

'OK, Mum. See you later', Chloe replied.

Mum closed the door. Chloe put Zena back in the cage and called for Roxy. 'Roxy?' said Chloe. 'Roxy, where are you?' Roxy usually came when Chloe said her name. Chloe started to look for her. Where could Roxy be? 'She must be here somewhere,' thought Chloe, 'but Mum was here and Mum opened the door! Oh no! Roxy could be in the bathroom or living room ... or even the kitchen!'

Chloe started to search the house. First, she looked in her parents' room and the bathroom but Roxy wasn't there. Next, she went downstairs and looked in the kitchen. She opened cupboards and drawers, calling Roxy's name all the time. She looked under the table and behind the fridge. She looked in the washing machine too, but Roxy wasn't there.

'Hi, Chloe!' said Dad as he came into the kitchen with a bag of tomatoes and pasta. 'Are you OK?' he asked.

'Yes, I'm ... I'm ...' Chloe wanted to say 'I'm fine', but she wasn't fine and she needed Dad's help. 'Dad, I've ... I've ... I've lost Roxy!' she said.

'I see,' said Dad, putting down the shopping bag. 'Don't worry, we'll find her. She can't be far!'

Chloe and her dad looked all over the house but they couldn't find Roxy anywhere. Chloe went upstairs to look in her room for the third time. Then, she heard a key in the door and Mum calling, 'It's me, I'm home'.

'Oh, no!' thought Chloe. 'Mum's going to be angry!' She decided to stay in her room and wait for Dad to tell Mum about Roxy. Then Dad laughed and Mum called out, 'Chloe, come downstairs'.

Chloe went downstairs and there was Mum with a smile on her face and Roxy on her shoulder.

'Oh, Mum, you found her!' said Chloe. 'Where was she?'

'When I arrived at the gym,' said Mum, 'I opened my bag and found Roxy. She was sleeping in one of my shoes'.

'Oh, sorry, Mum. Are you angry?' asked Chloe.

'No, I'm not angry. I picked her up for the first time and do you know what? Now, I think I like rats too!'

Modern Stories : A Little Friend

Let us enjoy reading this one of Modern Stories of A Little Friend . 

That was a bad day for our Mr. Lion King. During his chase to catch a rabbit he sprang into a small bush from where he came out not with the rabbit but with a large thorn in his palm. 

He cried for help. He tried his best to pull out the thorn. He shook his hand, tried to pull out the thorn with his mouth etc. but all his efforts was in vain. The thorn began to smile at Mr. Lion. 

Then he asked other animals for help. But they all feared the lion. So no animals came to help him. 

At last the lion approached the clever fox. The king asked, “Can you pull out the thorn please. I am suffering very much with pain." 

The fox said, “I am not very expert in this task. But I have a little friend who is very expert in this work. I will surely ask him to help you. But I have some demands." 

“What are your demands?" asked the king. 

“It is not just food or money Your Majesty! You should allow me to give you five kicks on your back!" the fox said. 

The lion king asked with surprise and anger “Do you want to kick me? Don’t you know who I am?" 

“I know! I know! But it is not my need to remove thorn from your palm. If you don’t want I am going. Good Bye" said the fox. 

“Hey! Wait! Wait!" said the lion and he began to think for a moment “I am suffering with the pain of the thorn. It has to be pulled out. Let him kick me five times. I just want to remove the thorn. After taking the thorn I will eat up his little friend." 

The fox then began to kick the Lion King with his permission. One, two, three… like that. The fox called his little friend. 

There comes a little porcupine. He pulled out the thorn with great ease. The pain in the palm of the lion was reduced. But his mind became filled with anger, grief and disappointment. What to say! He was very much disappointed in thinking how he can take revenge for the five kicks he got from the fox. How can he eat the porcupine with thousands of quills? At last he had to bow down before the great intelligence of the clever fox. 

Animals in the city

One night in December 2011, a bear came into the city of Vancouver in Canada. It walked through the city streets past houses, shops and offices. Then it found some food in bins outside a restaurant and started eating. In the morning, someone saw the bear and called the police. The police came with a vet from the city zoo. They put the bear in a lorry and took it to the mountains outside the city. Luckily, the bear was safe. But what happens in other countries when big animals come into cities? In Vancouver it is unusual to see a bear, but in some cities you can see big animals on the city streets every day.

Big animals usually come into cities to find food. In Cape Town in South Africa baboons come into the city when they are hungry. They go into gardens and eat fruit from trees. They even go into houses and take food from cupboards and fridges! Baboons are strong animals and they can scare people. But the city can be dangerous for baboons too. Sometimes, cars and buses kill baboons in accidents. Human food is very bad for the baboons’ teeth because it has a lot of sugar. Now, there are Baboon Monitors working in Cape Town. Their job is to find baboons in the city and return them to the countryside.

In Berlin in Germany, pigs sometimes come into the city to look for food. They eat flowers and plants in parks and gardens. Sometimes they eat vegetables from gardens and they walk in the street and cause accidents. Some people like the pigs and they give them food and water to drink. Other people do not like the pigs and they want the government and the police to stop them entering the city.

In Moscow in Russia, there are 35,000 wild dogs. The dogs live in parks, old houses, markets and train stations. Some dogs live in groups and others live alone. Many people in Moscow like the dogs. They give them food and water. Some people make small houses for the dogs in their gardens. This helps the dogs in winter, when the temperature in Moscow is -10 ºC and there is a lot of snow and ice.

Many animals live in cities. In some cities, you can see birds, insects, mice and squirrels every day. But sometimes, it is dangerous when big animals come into cities to find food. We need to find ways of stopping animals coming into the city without hurting them. 

Pollution

The word, ‘pollution’ means to make dirty. Pollution causes imbalance in the environment. Environmental pollution is a serious problem. Nearly 35 percent of India’s total land area is subject to serious environmental pollution.

Industrialization has led to urbanization, which has added to the pollution problem. Air pollution is the most dangerous form of pollution. land and water pollution have worsened the situation. Pollution causes several types of harmful disease. We must control pollution for our survival.

The word pollution ‘pollution’, has been derived form a Latin word, ‘pollutionem,’ which means to make dirty. Pollution is the process of making the environment. i.e. the land, water and air dirty by adding harmful substances to it. Pollution causes imbalance in the environment. This imbalance has threatened the very survival of life. It is a threat to the whole world.

Environmental pollution is a serious problem of the industrialized societies. The industrial development and the Green Revolution have adversely affected the environment. People have converted the life supporting systems of the entire living world into their own resources and have vastly disturbed the natural ecological balance. Serious degradation and depletion have been caused thought overuse, misuse and mismanagement of resources to meet the human greed.

Environmental pollution is defined as the unfavorable alteration of our surroundings. It is by product of man’s activities through direct or indirect efforts of changes. These changes could be in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of land, air or water that harmfully affect human life or any desirable living thing. Human population explosion, rapid industrialization, deforestation, unplanned urbanization, scientific and technological advancement etc. are the major causes of environmental pollution. Nearly 35 percent of India’s total land area is subjected to serious environmental pollution. Three fourths of the earth consists of water, yet there is is a scarcity of potable water. In India, all the sources of water like rivers, lakes, ponds and wells have been polluted and are unfit for drinking. As a result of the increased use of fertilizers, the rivers, seas and oceans have become contaminated with harmful pollutants. It is estimated that more than 500 tons of mercury enters the ocean every year. Oil slicks, pollution caused by the flow of industrial waste, sewage and fertilizer have also threatened the aquatic life.

Industrialization has led to urbanization. The migration of rural population to the cities in search of work has created an unhealthy environment. It ha led to overcrowding, establishment of slum areas. Towns and cities are full of smoke, fumes, dirt, dust, rubbish, gases, foul smell and noise. Air, water and land pollution have further worsened the very survival of human beings.

Air pollution is the most dangerous form of pollution. It results form gaseous emission from industry, thermal power stations, domestic combustion etc. Due to air pollution, the composition of air is changing all over the world. Most of the gases and air pollutants are produced by burning fuels. Burning of coal produces carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide etc. which are responsible for acid rain. Chlorofluorocarbons are widely used as propellants and as refrigerants which cause ozone depletion.

Water pollution adversely changes the quality of water. It disturbs the balance of the ecosystem and causes health hazards. Water becomes polluted by the presence or addition of inorganic, organic or biological substances. Noise is also one of the major pollutants. The general noise level in the cities is rising alarmingly. Nuclear explosions and nuclear tests also pollute the air. The Taj Mahal in Agra is affected by the fumes emitted by the Mathura refinery. Reports estimate that the monument would get defaced with a span of twenty years because of the harmful effluents of the mission from the refinery.

Soil pollution usually results from the disposal of solid and semi-solid wastes from agricultural practices and from unsanitary habits. The soil is heavily polluted day-by-day by hazardous materials and microorganisms, which enter the food chain or water and create numerous health problems.

The emission of greenhouse gases has led to climatic changes. The increase in pollution has resulted in global warming. Global warming is an average increase in the Earth’s temperature due to greenhouse effect as a result of both natural and human activity. The term climate is often used interchangeably with the term global warming. The ice-caps in the polar regions have begun to melt fast. This has resulted in the rise of the water level of the seas and oceans. Grass sprouting in Antarctica and snowfall in the desert of the United Arab Emirates are all the warning signals of global warming. These are caused by the Greenhouse Effect. India is a tropical country. Destruction of forests has to led to climatic changes. It has also led to the extinction of many rare species of wildlife.

It is now considered by the overwhelming majority of scientists that global warming is the most important threat to humanity. It is becoming more apparent that humanity may be facing more drastic problems in the near future as a result of global warming which will be unavoidable unless great measures are taken very soon.

The Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSM) and The Indian Public health Association had urged the Indian government and the civil society to take prompt action to prevent the effects of global warming on health.

According to the fourth assessment report of UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it is important to study the impact of global warming at the grass root level and chalk out ways to tackle it.

Pollution causes different types diseases. Air pollution causes allergies, asthma, lung cancer and bronchitis. Radioactive pollutants cause respiratory problems, paralysis, cancer, and other diseases. Excessive noise pollution can lead to deafness, anxiety, stress, increase in the rate of heart beat and other health problems. The depletion of the ozone layer can also result in skin diseases.

In order to fight this menace of pollution, vigorous efforts should be made. The Anti-pollution law should be strictly practiced. In order to check water pollution, the sewage and the factory waste should be properly treated and cleaned before being discharged. Trees should be planted everywhere and vehicles should be made eco-friendly.

Public education and awareness of the relationship between climate change and human health is key to deal with problems more effectively. General awareness is must to save our planted from destruction. All the nations of the world should work unitedly to control environmental pollution.