优秀散文欣赏3

Finding out about ourselves 发现我们自己

　　SARS has affected people's daily lives in some important places. What has it shown us about ourselves？ What lessons can we draw from its spread？

　　The fight against SARS shows two sharply contrasting groups of people - medical staff working in the frontline with the risk of being infected and some pharmacies， merchants and the like making high profits from the disease.

　　To some extent， SARS helps us increase our awareness about health and realize the importance of family. In the special May Day holiday， people can be seen everywhere， from gymnasiums to parks， doing different kinds of exercise to keep themselves fit. We also spent more time staying at home， communicating with our parents and friends. What's more， we suddenly found that simple acts such as washing hands and the happiness we cherish today were long ignored.

　　The outbreak of SARS urges people to change their unhealthy habits or customs， which may add fuel to the fire. Meals served individually should be encouraged. That is， each one has his own portion of food instead of sharing it from common plates. This practice will greatly reduce the possibility of the spread of germs. We should also confine spitting or littering in public places. For pet lovers， they should take measures to prevent infections being transferred by animals.

　　The government should learn how to deal with emergencies from this SARS spread. Participation of and cooperation with the people are vital in curbing the crisis. Thus， the government should take the responsibility to inform the public. Blocking information will always intensify， instead of ease， panic. There is also an urgent need to set up a nationwide public health network， to improve the response to public health emergencies such as the SARS epidemic.

　　Everyone turns pale at the mention of SARS. Some even hide home with food stored. However， I think it is not necessary to be so scared. Epidemics are not rare in human history. As long as we treat and prevent it in the right way， we will finally conquer it. Mankind's future depends on ourselves. （344 words）