Some countries are better than others at looking after the environment. In Europe, Germany(德国) and northern European countries work very hard to improve the environment. The people in Germany put their rubbish into different bags--paper in one bag, plastic in another. Laws do not allow people to burn too much coal.  

    In the l970s, as people learned more about environmental problems. The "Green" movement(运动) began and soon spread all over Europe. The "Green" movement tries to get governments to protect the environment. It collects information about how industry is damaging(毁坏) the environment and tells newspapers.

C

    When we say a person blows his own trumpet(喇叭)，we mean he tells other people how good and successful he is．That is usually an act of arrogance(自大)．But teachers at Wimbledon High School once asked their students to blow their own trumpet．

    “Some students are under too much pressure and they find it difficult to accept that they have been successful．”said Ms. Hanbury, head of this famous all -girls school in London．“They push themselves hard and might never be happy．”That's why the “Blow Your Own Trumpet Week” was held in the school．

    In the“Blow Your Own Trumpet Week”,the teachers asked their students to share their stories of success and failure(失败)．They also asked them to tell how well they did in each subject．In this way, the school wanted to help students to know they were all good at something and that they didn't have to be good at everything．

    Before that, the school ran a“Failure Week”to help students deal with setbacks(应对挫折)．The students learned how to get better from setbacks quickly, so they wouldn't think it was the end of the world if they didn't do well in an exam．

根据材料内容完成下列任务。

    Is it difficult for you to get up in the morning? Are you often late for work or school? Yes? Then a scientist called Mike has a special bed for you. His Bed will get you up in the morning! Here is how it works!

    The bed is connected to an alarm clock. First, the alarm clock rings. You have a few minutes to wake up. Next, a tape recorder in the bed plays soft music and then your girlfriend's beautiful voice comes, “Wake up, darling, please.” A few minutes later, loud music comes from the tape recorder. At the same time, you may hear the voice of your boss. Your boss shouts angrily, “ Wake up at once, or you'll be late!” If you don't get up after that, you'll be sorry! A plastic “foot” is in the bed. It kicks you in the head. Then the bed waits for a few more minutes. What! You're still in bed! Slowly the top of the bed rises higher and the foot of the bed goes lower. Finally, you fall off the bed and onto the floor. You are out of the bed and awake!

    Mike made his bed because he wanted to take part in a competition. Mike won one of the top prizes for his bed.

    Bob and I live in the same building. His room is on the tenth floor, and mine, the ninth. He is kind but careless.

    One day Bob and his friends went to an island for traveling. On the island, they swam, fished and had a picnic. They enjoyed themselves very much. Three days later, they decided to come back by boat. On the way, their boat hit a rock and soon went down. They were all in danger. Luckily, all of them were out of danger with a villager's help. At that time, Bob was quite hungry and tired, so he hoped to get home as soon as possible.

    When he got to the building, it was already midnight. As the lift(电梯）didn't work, Bob had to go upstairs on foot. He stopped by my door and took out his key to open it. Of course, he could not open the door. He tried it again and again, but failed. He became angry and shouted. " What's wrong , my god?" The noise woke me up. I opened the door. I understood at once what was happening and said," You are wrong. It's my room, Bob!"

    "Oh, no, Mike!" Bob shouted, "It's my room. You have opened the door by mistake!"

    The play takes place in a typical, old Beijing teahouse. The main characters are teahouse's owner (Wang Lifa)and his customers, who all live in the same neighbourhood. They come in and out of the teahouse and talk to each other.

    The play reflects(反映) changes in the lives of almost 70 characters. It includes three parts. The first act takes place in 1898 at the time of the Qing Dynasty. The second act jumps forward 20 years and the final act takes place in 1948.

    In Teahouse, the writer Lao She says goodbye to the old Chinese society and hello to the new one. It's about the changes that have taken place in Chinese society in almost 50 years. All types of people come to the teahouse in Beijing. Some come to do business. Others come just to sit and pass the time. There are some good, kind people and there are also some bad, nasty(讨厌的) characters. They meet, they talk, they argue, they gossip(闲聊)and then they get on with their lives.

    Teahouse was first put on in 1958. It is still one of the most popular plays in China. It is a favourite work by Lao She, one of China's most popular writers. Anyone who is interested in Chinese life and history should see the play. It helps one to understand Chinese culture better.