WIRES is short for Wildlife Information and Rescue Service. It is an Australian  organization, established(成立) in 1985 to care for injured and orphaned(失去母兽的) native wildlife. WIRES has a network of hundreds of volunteers who rescue and care for native animals until they are well enough to be released (释放)into the wild. Volunteers look after rescued animals in their own homes and are trained in the special needs of native wild animals.
    When Australians find a native animal in trouble, they often call WIRES for help. WIRES may be asked to look after a possum that has been attacked by a cat, rescue a large lizard that has got its head caught in a drink can, or care for a baby animal who has lost its mother. People call WIRES when they want to move a dangerous snake away from their garden or when they find a seabird that has swallowed(吞下) a fishing line or an owl with a broken wing. Sometimes kangaroos jumped onto the road in front of cars and are run over. Australians are encouraged to check the pouch(育儿袋)of dead kangaroos in case there is a baby in it. WIRES volunteers find themselves caring for many babies orphaned in this way.
Each year, in the summer, parts of Australia suffer from(受苦) huge bush fires. These fires not only destroy human homes and put people in danger, but they also destroy animal habitats(栖息地)and endanger the animals living in the bush. After a big fire, WIRES and other organizations go into the district to pick up surviving animals. They are treated for burns, shock, smoke and other problems and then cared for until new location can be found for them.
    WIRES is also involved in educating people in the importance of caring for wildlife and wildlife habitats. Volunteers visit schools and other public places to talk about native animals. Sometimes they bring a bat or some other interesting animals with them to show to people who may never have seen one up close before.

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    You've got plenty of emails from your mom, and maybe even a few from dear old grandma. But have you ever received a message from a river?

    Now, Ireland's River Lee is sending out much information, thanks to wireless(无线的) technology. In a program called the DEPLOY project, scientists have put some sensors(传感器) in rivers that can find pollution levels.

    Instead of asking scientists to collect water samples several times a day, the government can now examine pollution levels in the water, and find out if there is anything polluted entering the river. This makes it much easier for scientists to protect the environment, since problems can be discovered before a serious pollution accident really happens.

    People in the area can also receive free reports from the river, so that they can find out whether the water is safe for swimming or boating on a certain day. And people can also know if the water is clear enough for them to drink and use.

    The DEPLOY project has not only started in Ireland, also the same programs have started in thousands of places around the U.S. Now you live in a world in which you could receive information with your mobile phone about environment. The technology should help to make us know more about the pollution that surrounds us—which just might get us all a little more involved with trying to clean up our world.

A

    What picture do you have of the future? Will life in the future be better, worse or the same as now? What do you hope for about the future? Scientists think that life will probably be very different in 2050.

    First of all, it seems that people won't use TV channels by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a "menu" and a computer will send the program directly to the television.

    Water will become a very serious problem. We'll need much more water, but there won't be enough. Some scientists think that water would be the cause of war.

    Cars will run on new clean energy and they will go very fast. And there won't be any accidents with the help of computers. On the other hand, space planes will take people around the world in two hours.

   Robots will work in factories instead of people. Many factories have already used robots. Big companies prefer robots—they do not ask for money, and they work for 24 hours a day.

    In a word, by 2050, our life will change a lot and our future will be quite different from now.

    Man has a big brain（大脑）. He can think, learn and speak. Scientist once thought that men are different from animals because they could think and learn. They know now that dogs, rats, birds can learn too. They are beginning to understand that men are different from animals because they can speak.

    Animals cannot speak. They make noises when they are afraid, or angry or happy. Apes（类人猿）can understand some things more quickly than men. One or two of them have learnt a few words. But they cannot put words together to make sentences. They cannot think as we do because they have no languages. The language is a wonderful thing. Man is able to build a modern world because he has language.

    Each child can speak his own language very well when he is four or five, but no animal learns to speak. How do children learn it? Scientists don't know. They only know that man can speak because he has the brain.

    For thousands of years, humans have explored(探索)the Earth. Nowadays, we are exploring space. Astronomers (天文学家) are the modern﹣day explorers, Now, many astronomers are looking for new planets and new places for humans to live in the future. But where do astronomers start looking？

    First of all, astronomers look for a star. That's because our own Earth moves around a star (the Sun). More importantly, it is the correct distance( 距离) from the Sun for heat and light. So when astronomers have found the star, they look at the planets around it. In recent years, astronomers have found nearly 400 new planets with stars. However, many of these planets are either too near to the star or too far away.

    However, if the planet is in a good position, astronomers look for three key things: water, air and rock. Water is important because all life needs water. Humans can drink it and they can also grow plants with water. And plants produce air for humans to breathe and food to eat. Rock on a planet is also important. That's because there is often water under the rock.

    After many years of scrutinizing, astronomers have found a planet that is similar to the Earth. It's Gliese 581g and it's near a star. The astronomers think it has water and rock and the average(平均的) temperature is between -31℃ and -12℃.That's cold, but not colder than Antarctica or the Arctic Circle, for example. Gliese 581g is bigger than the Earth. A year on Gliese 581g is only 37 Earth days instead of 365. But astronomers do not think these are big differences and some of them think Gliese 581g will be a new Earth. However, Gliese 58Ig is twenty light years from the Earth.