The universe looks like a pretty quiet place to live. But the universe is filled with dangerous things, all struggling to be the one to wipe us off the planet. Happily for us, they're all pretty unlikely, but if you wait long enough, one of them is certain to get us. But which one?

1). Death by Asteroid (小行星)

    Of all the ways we might meet our untimely death, getting wiped out by an asteroid is the most likely. Why? Because we sit in a universal shooting gallery, with 100 tons of material hitting us every day. The problem, though, occurs every few centuries when something big this way comes. If you could ask a dinosaur, I'd imagine they would tell you to take this seriously.

2). Death by Exploding Star

    When a huge star ends its life, it does so with a bang, which sends death spreading across space in the form of high-energy radiation. Many studies show that the bang would have to be closer than about 75 light years to do us any harm. The good news: no stars so close are able to do the deed.

3). Death by Dying Sun

    The sun is important to us; without it, we'd freeze. But the sun is also middle-aged, already halfway to running out of fuel, expanding into a red giant, and cooking us to a fine crisp. Even long before then, it'll warm up enough to raise our average temperature and cause a runaway greenhouse effect, boiling our oceans. Happily, that's a long time from now.

4). Death by Black Hole

    Black holes are misunderstood. They don't wander the galaxy looking for tasty snacks in the form of planets and stars; they turn around the Milky Way just like the hundreds of billions of other stars do. But it's possible that one could wander too close to us. If it did, planetary paths would be disturbed, causing the Earth to drop into the sun or be thrown out into deep space.

    Given that it could be trillions of years or more before even that happens, we don't have to worry too much about black holes.

    My advice? Go outside, look up, enjoy the sun, the moon, and the stars. They may be there forever as far as any one of us is concerned...and forever is a long, long time.

    Most damagingly, anger weakens a person's ability to think clearly and keep control over his behaviour. The angry person loses objectivity in evaluating the emotional significance of the person or situation that arouses his anger.

    Not everyone experiences anger in the same way; what angers one person may amuse another. The specific expression of anger also differs from person to person based on biological and cultural forces. In contemporary culture, physical expressions of anger are generally considered too socially harmful to be tolerated. We no longer regard duels (决斗) as an appropriate expression of anger resulting from one person's awareness of insulting behaviour on the part of another.

    Anger can be identified in the brain, where the electrical activity changes. Under most conditions EEG (脑电图) measures of electrical activity show balanced activity between the right and left prefrontal (额叶前部) areas. Behaviourally this corresponds to the general even-handed disposition (意向) that most of us possess most of the time. But when we are angry the EEG of the right and left prefrontal areas aren't balanced and, as a result of this, we're likely to react. And our behavioural response to anger is different from our response to other emotions, whether positive or negative.

    Most positive emotions are associated with approach behaviour: we move closer to people we like. Most negative emotions, in contrast, are associated with avoidance behaviour: we move away from people and things that we dislike or that make us anxious. But anger is an exception to this pattern. The angrier we are, the more likely we are to move towards the object of our anger. This corresponds to what psychologists refer to as of ensive anger: the angry person moves closer in order to influence and control the person or situation causing his anger. This approach-and-confront behaviour is accompanied by a leftward prefrontal asymmetry (不对称) of EEG activity. Interestingly, this asymmetry lessens if the angry person can experience empathy (同感) towards the individual who is bringing forth the angry response. In defensive anger, in contrast, the EEG asymmetry is directed to the right and the angry person feels helpless in the face of the anger-inspiring situation.

    After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.

    Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.

    The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf – grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park's red foxes, and completely drove away the park's beavers.

    As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.

    The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone .Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red fores have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

    Actually, long-distance bicycle camping is one of the most pleasurable activities I have ever experienced.

    I generally sleep poorly at night, but in the woods on a tour, I sleep like a baby, falling asleep with the music of insects. In the morning, I am awakened by the cheeps of birds. I eat a snack before getting up, and then I quickly pack my sleeping bag, air mattress (垫), tent, and other things and get on with my road. I'm slower in the morning, having less speed but a greater desire to stop at pleasant spots and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Traveling by bike allows me to stop anywhere, such as grasslands, lakes, woods, and scenic spots. Near lunch, I find a small grocery and buy some bread, sandwiches and fruit. Then I will find a town park or other shady spots to wait out the high mid-day sun. In the afternoon, my speeds are higher, and I spend less time on stops. In the late afternoon, I start riding more slowly, and I start thinking about where I will stop. I finally find a place in the early evening, cook a simple meal and have a rest. As it starts to get dark, I put up my tent, crawl in and fall asleep.

    There are exciting times and difficult times as well. Visiting strange or famous places and accomplishing goals are always exciting to me. I meet and talk with interesting people along the way, sometimes other traveling cyclists. Appreciating beautiful views, meeting wild animals, and traveling up and down hills also. On the other hand, I may run into a rainy or hot spell(一段时间), have to repair my bike, or just find myself in a bad mood. The problems are infrequent and are easy to deal with. The pleasures remain in my mind for years.

    Are you afraid of moving up to senior high school? It is a completely new experience, but you shouldn't worry. We've got a guide to help you.

    You're not alone. Remember that everybody else in your year is in the same boat. You may not notice it, but they're just as nervous as you are.

    Moving to senior high school is a chance, not a problem. Things are different, and all you need to do is to be polite and learn the new rules.

    The teachers will help. If you don't know what to do or are worried about something, then ask for help. Teachers are probably the best people to turn to, because they have experience in helping new students. Pay attention to what your teachers say.

    Everything changes. There are lots of differences between junior high school and senior high school. You will have your lessons with different teachers in different rooms. You will have homework for different subjects on different days, so make sure you get organised. Make sure you know which rooms your classes are in and which days you have your different subjects on.

Other points:

    If you've got an older brother or sister at the school, then ask them for advice.

    Be yourself! It sounds simple, but things will become better if you just act naturally.

    Having early nights makes a difference. You'll also find it easier to get up in the morning!

A Life in Danger

    Lucy, aged 15, lives in Bournemouth with her parents. Her parents aren't poor, and she was at a private school when she started getting bullied. This made her very unhappy and she began to misbehave. She made some new friends who went clubbing a lot. Later she even took drug and stole money to buy drug. Her parents were so worried about their daughter and so angry about her behavior that they decided to send Lucy to Turn-About Ranch (TAR), a tough camp for problem teens in Utah, in the USA.

Lucy didn't like the idea of going to the ranch（牧场）in Utah, but after spending three months there, she's changed her attitude. She said, "The staff at TAR cared about our emotional well-being but they also wanted us to be disciplined and respect the rules. They told us not to take any drugs, not even tobacco or alcohol, and they made us get up at 6.30 a.m. every day and to school work as well as jobs around the ranch. TAR is a real, working ranch with cows and horses, which we had to take care of.

At TAR they asked us not to wear make-up or jewelry or use hair products. They told us that teenagers with problems often use a cool appearance as a mask to hide behind and that they needed to break down those barriers to help us look inside at the confusion which causes our problem behavior. They also wanted us to take responsibility for all our actions."

Her time there has made her more self-confident, less aggressive and much happier. She's started a college course, she's got a part-time job, and she's also doing voluntary work helping underprivileged children. She hasn't taken any drugs since she left TAR. Lucy says, "TAR made me think very hard about the friends I used to see and where my life was going. I realized that the drugs were starting to become the only thing in my life that I cared about, which meant I stopped enjoying other things and treated people badly. I ought to have realized that, and I know I shouldn't have done a lot of things that I did. The ranch has really opened my eyes. They told me to believe I could achieve something with my life, and from now on I want to try."