These days haze(雾霾) is around us here and there. In fact, everyone has the power to change their living habits to help reduce it. Many local governments call on their people to take action to make the air cleaner.

    Transport is one of the biggest contributors(促成物) to haze. When, where, bow, why and what you drive all affect air quality. When one drives to work for one year, he uses as much energy as a bus rider uses in 10 years. So walk or ride your bicycle to work or school whenever possible. If it is necessary, you can use public transport instead of your car. Each person using public transport for a year instead of a car can save nearly a tonne of pollutants, including CO₂, from going into the atmosphere.

    Carpooling is another way to reduce carbon emissions (排放). Carpooling is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car. It immediately reduces your car's emissions by half.

    What you do inside your living space can have a big effect on the air quality outside it. You can do a lot of things inside and around your home that will help you pollute less and save some money.

    A large amount of our energy supply comes from burning coal, another contributor to haze. By cutting down your electricity use, you are cutting down on haze. So you may try to reduce your use of electricity by turning off lights, using your air conditioner wisely during the summer months, or updating some of your electrical appliances to low-energy models. For example, you can use energy-saving lamps that require less energy and last 10 times longer than common bulbs.

    The world uses about a thousand million (百万) tons of water a day. Water is a human right and everyone should have their share. Yet more than 700 million people around the world have trouble getting clean, safe water.

    Treating wastewater is a good way to provide fresh water for us. And it also helps the environment by keeping waste out of rivers and oceans. 80% of wastewater around the world is not treated at all, and it is running into oceans. But now we have got the technology to treat and reuse the wastewater.

    While 75% of our planet is covered with water, only about 2% is fresh water—that comes from rivers, lakes, ice and snow. The rest, 98% of the water, is in seas and oceans. It is too salty to drink. Then desalination businesses come in. More than 19,000 factories have been built around the world, mostly in coastal countries. They process (加工) more than 92 million tons of water every day. But the technology they use requires a lot of energy.

    Scientists are working to create a less costly technology. They want to produce 20 times more clean water and make sure everyone has enough. But for now, the world still faces each day with not having enough water for everyone.

Good morning, everyone! Nice to meet you in China. I'm an American girl(美国女孩).My first name Gina and Smith is my last name. My telephone number is eight five eight six seven eight eight. This is my good friend. She is a Chinese girl. Her name is Sun Mei. Her telephone number is eight six seven four zero two nine. 

What's that in English? Oh, yes, it's a CD. It's Sun Mei's CD. She likes (喜欢)music very much. 

What's your name, my friend? Please tell me.

Some people learn a second language easily. Others have trouble learning a new language.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} There are several ways to learn English easily.

The first step is to feel positive(积极的) about learning English. If you believe that you can do it, you will do it. You do not have to understand everything all at once. It is natural to make mistakes when you learn something new. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In other words, do not worry about taking risks.

The second step is to practice your English. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You will get used to writing it in English, and you will feel comfortable when you express your ideas in English. Several weeks later, you will see that your writing is getting better. What's more, you must speak English every day. You can practice with your classmates outside the class.

The last step is to keep a record of your language learning. You can write this in your journal(日记) every day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Did you answer a question correctly? Did you understand the things that the teacher explained? Perhaps the lesson is difficult, but you should try to understand it.

You must be positive about learning English and believe that you can do it. It is important to practice English every day and make a record of your achievements. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A tornado (龙卷风) is a kind of strong storm with air which moves in a circle quickly. They can move over 200 miles per hour and cause a lot of damage. As they move across the land, they can easily pick up cars, trucks, and even houses, and then throw them very far. It is important to find a safe place if a tornado gets close. 

A safe place could be a basement or the lowest floor. If you are in a home without a basement, try to find a first-floor bathroom or a small room without windows in the middle of your house. You should curl up (蜷缩) into a ball and cover your head and neck with your hands. 

But there are some people who actually want to get close to tornadoes. They are scientists who want to learn more about tornadoes. One of the best ways to do this is to get as close as possible to the tornado. They use special tools to measure (测量) what is happening in and around a tornado. 

One special tool is called a tornado probe (探测仪) . Inside the tornado probe, there are sensors (传感器) to measure wind speed, temperature, pressure, and direction. Some probes even have cameras, so the scientists can see and understand what it's like to be in a tornado.

To be able to get these measurements, the scientists have to get a tornado probe near or into a tornado. Scientists will try to guess where a tornado will go next. Then they drive to that location and put down the probe. If they do not guess correctly, they pick up their probe and r another place. If they are right, the tornado will go near or even right over the probe. Then they take all of the measurements from the probe and use them to predict where future tornadoes may form and travel. And they can give people some warning to keep away from a dangerous tornado. 

Listening is one of the basic skills. Good communication always starts with good listening. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Ask Good Questions

When someone comes to you with a problem, it is natural for you to give them advice. However, instead of giving advice, asking good questions is more important. This can show that you are interested in what people are telling you.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Avoid too much Nodding

Nodding while listening to people shows that you are listening carefully. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you nod too much, it may make people feel uncomfortable as they may think you are just trying to agree with everything.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

You also need to be patient while people are speaking. It is rude to speak while others are still talking. Even if you want the speaker to explain something for you, please wait until they finish their part.

Follow Up

To show your further concern about people, you can go beyond just listening to them. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It is an act that shows your care and support.