We know that trees are useful in our everyday life. They1 us many things, such as wood, oxygen, rubber, medicines and many other things. They can2 tell us a lot about our climate(气候）. The following are reasons. If you3 a tree, you can see that it has many rings(年轮). Most trees grow one new ring4 year. Because of the reason, we know5 a tree is. A tree over a hundred years old means that it has more than a hundred6 When the climate is dry or very cold, the trees do not grow very much and their rings are usually 7 When it is wet and warm, the rings are much thicker. If the rings are suddenly very thin or suddenly very thick, this means that the 8changed suddenly. If we look at the rings on this tree, we can learn about the 9 for a hundred years. We can see10 our climate is changing today.
How much do you know about air pollution? When people talk about air pollution, they usually think about outdoor air 1. But do you know that there is also 2 pollution inside homes, offices, hotels and other buildings? The air in your home can be 2 to 100 times more polluted than the air outdoors! In fact, some American doctors say that 50％ of illnesses have something to do with 3 indoor air.
A lot of pollution comes from 4 activities such as smoking and cooking. As most people 5 about 80％-90％of their time inside buildings, it is important to take indoor air pollution seriously too.
Air pollution influences our health in many ways. When the air is polluted, not only 6 children and old people suffer from it, but people with 7 problems suffer as well. Indoor air pollution can 8 people's eyes, noses and throats. Air pollution, both indoor and outdoor, can also lead to lung cancer and heart disease! In the Great Smog of London in 1952, 4,000 9 died in a few days because of the pollution! It is 10 that half a million young children and women die each year in India because of indoor air pollution!
My mum is in her seventies. She has 1 a lot. She has faced challenges and seen both successes and failures.
Recently I asked her to give me three pieces of 2. After several minutes, she said that she needed some time to think about it. This 3 me because she'd always been ready with advice.
The next day, she gave me a piece of paper with three pieces of advice. She said that these were the 4 that she could come up with. She didn't tell me to save 5 for a better life or work hard. What she told me gave me another 6. Here's the advice my mother 7 wrote for me.
◆Make each day meaningful by 8 someone, or just making that person smile.
◆Don't 9 about life's troubles but remember the good times.
◆Don't worry about things you can't do anything about.
Everyone 10 someone to give a hand to. My mum is that person in my life. The advice she gave me has made me the person who I'm today.
When I was a boy of twelve, I lived in South Carolina with my family. Every morning many 1 would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn't any sound that can be 2 than the song of the birds. I decided to 3 a young bird and keep it in a cage so that I could have my own musician. I finally caught one and put it in a cage. The bird was 4 and cried loudly, but finally it became quiet in its new home. I felt happy and 5 my little musician carefully, giving it food and water.
The next day, the bird's mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird 6 up everything she brought. But the following morning, I found it lying on the bottom of the cage, dead. I was very 7! What had happened?
Arthur Wayne, a famous scientist, happened to hear me crying over the death of my bird. He told me the 8. "A mother bird, finding her young child in a cage, will sometimes bring it poisonous food. She thinks it's better for her young to 9 than to live in a cage."
Since then, I never catch any birds or put them in a cage. All the birds have the right to 10 in the sky.
Do you know how to study better and make your study more effective?
We all know that Chinese students usually study very 1 for a long time. This is very good, but it doesn't 2 a lot, for an effective student must have enough sleep, enough food and enough exercise. Every day you need to go out for a walk or visit some friends or some nice places. It's 3 for your study. When you return to your studies, your mind will be refreshed (清醒的) and you'll 4 more and study better.
Psychologists (心理学家) have 5 that learning takes place in this way. Here take English learning as a(n) 6. First you make a lot of progress and you feel happy. Then your language study seems to 7 the same. So you will think you're learning nothing and you may 8. This can last for days or even weeks. Yet you needn't give up. At some point your language study will again take another big 9. You'll see that you really have been learning all along.
If you get enough sleep, food and exercise, studying can be very effective and 10. And don't give up along the way. Learn slowly and you're sure to get a good result.
Annie works in a big company. She lives 1 in Chicago. She often does everything on her own. One day, she 2 down from her bed and broke her leg, and she had to save herself. She tried to call her friend Lisa. But she dialed a 3 number. The call 4 Taylor, an 18-year-old girl. She was a college student and she lived hundreds of miles away from Chicago. At that time Taylor was reading in bed and she thought it was someone 5 a joke and making fun of her. When she was going to hang up the 6, she heard a woman saying, "Help! Help!" From it, Taylor thought something 7 must have happened to the woman. After she got the 8 name and address. Taylor called 911 at once. Then she tried to make the woman, Annie feel 9. She spoke to Annie on the phone till the doctors 10 at Annie's house. Annie was saved and she wrote a letter to Taylor to thank her.
A primary school bus driver stopped the bus in a gas station because he had to use the bathroom. Instead of 1 the engine and taking the key with him, the 2 driver left the bus running. And he 3 to set the brake (刹车) because he was in a hurry. "It was 4 outside, and I didn't want the temperature of the coach to drop fast," he told a police officer.
The bus 5 started moving away from the 6. As the bus picked up speed, the kids began shouting and crying. Ten-year-old Jake 7 forward to the driver's seat and help the steering wheel (方向盘) immediately. He pressed hard on the brake pedal (踏板) and managed to stop the bus as it came nearer to a 8. Jake turned off the engine at last. After the 9 arrived at the scene, they praised Jake for his great effort and captured (捉拿) the driver.
"It would be hopeless if the car ran into the river," said the police officer.
Jake wasn't impressed with what he had done. "Stopping the bus," he said, "was as 10 as playing Grand Theft Auto Ⅲ." It is his favourite action video game. He was not interested in being a hero at all.
Body language, which is known as the "silent language" of every culture, can be the key 1 successful communication. We point fingers or move another part of the body to show 2we want to say. 3 is important to know the body language of every country or we may be misunderstood. In the United States, people greet each other4a handshake in a formal(正式) introduction. The handshake must be firm. If the handshake is weak, it is considered(认为) impolite or5. Space is important to Americans. People in America usually stand two and a half feet away when 6to each other, so they do not face each other directly. Americans get uncomfortable when a person stands too 7. They will move back to have their space. If an American touches another person by accident, he says "Pardon me" or "Excuse me". Americans like to look at the other person in the eyes when they are talking. If you don't do so, it means you are bored, hiding something, or are not interested. But when you stare at someone for a long time, it is considered rude and 8, 9 a culture's body language is sometimes very difficult. 10 you don't know what to do, the safest thing to do is smile.
Joey O'Leary, a ten-year-old boy, lived in a small town, in the USA. He had a pair of green pants that he 1 most, but the pants were already short for him. One day, his father thought of a(n) 2. He said to Joey, "Let's put your green pants into a big bottle(瓶子), and then float it 3 the river. We can put a note with your name and 4. So whoever finds the pants will know that they are your favourite pants." Joey thought that it was a5 idea, so they just did that.
The bottle floated for weeks. Finally, it got to the Gulf of Mexico. It was caught by a 6 Mexican boy Pablo and his father. They were so poor that they sometimes had nothing to eat. When they caught the bottle and saw the pants and note in it, Pablo was so 7. The pants were just what he had wanted. He later tried them on and was surprised to find that they were 8 for him.
When Pablo got home, he wrote a 9 to Joey. After that, Pablo and Joey wrote letters to each other every week. They became lifelong 10. It was all because of a pair of green pants.
Once lived a family with eighteen children. Two of the children loved painting very much, but the family was too 1 to send both of them to study at the 2 college at the same time. After many discussions, they would toss (抛) a coin. The loser would go down into the mines (煤矿) to earn money and 3 his brother to study. And the winner would learn art at the 4. Albecht Durer won the toss and Albert went down into the mines.
Albecht Durer worked hard and his paintings were much 5 than those of most of his teachers. After graduation, he made a lot of money for his paintings.
When Albecht Durer returned, the family held a big dinner for his great 6. Soon after the meal began, Albecht Durer said to his dear 7, "Albert, now you can go to the art college and your 8 will come true. I will take care of you."
But Albert said 9, "Brother, the four years in the mines has done too much to my hands, so it's too late. Now I can't even hold a glass."
To show his great love and respect, Albecht Durer 10 his brother's hands with fingers towards the sky. He called his drawing "The Praying Hands", which became very famous years later.
