Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of (尽管) this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his pen-name.

    Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's tender care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all of his friends and neighbors. He didn't like to go to school, and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi (密西西比河). He was nearly drowned (淹死) nine times.

    After his father's death in 1847, Mark twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full-time writer.

    In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him a great fortune (财富).

    Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments (投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of their children passed away.

    At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

    Thousands of years ago, Britain was covered by thick forests, home to many animals which no longer live in the United Kingdom. But all this has changed. Now the population of the United Kingdom has increased to sixty-five million. Three-quarters of Britain consists of fields, towns or cities. Although 25 percent of land is countryside, new methods of farming mean that there are fewer birds and small animals living in fields than ever before. Now, the United Kingdom does not have large wild carnivores (肉食动物). In Scotland, there are only 400 wildcats-Europe's rarest cats-but these are much smaller than wolves.

    Some people would like to change things, however! Some organizations and writers say that Britain needs to become more natural again. They suggest that trees and plants that grew in the United Kingdom before towns and cities were built should be allowed to grow again. They even say that large wild animals which have not lived in the United Kingdom should be helped to return and live wild. They call this "rewilding".

    Not everyone agrees. In the last twenty years, over one million trees which originally grew in Scotland have been planted and there are plans for more - but wild animals? Some people ask if wolves will attack sheep or even humans. They are also angry that rewilding might mean an end to walking in the hills which so many people enjoy. So far, there are no wolves or bears in Britain's forests - but soon there might be!

    I was recently asked what inspires me most. That was easy to answer: I live and breathe track and field. It is the only sport that has allowed me to spread my wings and truly fly. I have struggled a lot in my life after being diagnosed(诊断) with a learning disability at the age of three. I was also born four months too early, weighing less than four pounds. Even at 17, I'm still working to catch up. Mentally I'm on the level of a 12­year­old. I had to repeat the third and fifth grade, which caused me a lot of stress and embarrassment.

    I was joked so much that I would often hide in the bathroom instead of going to class. My parents always gave me lots of love and support, but I still felt worthless most of the time. I'm also quite shy, so making and keeping friends has always been a challenge.

    Then one day when I was 12, my life changed forever, My parents decided my younger brother and I should try track. From that moment on my life was different. I was a natural mid­distance runner. When I was on the track, the other kids just saw me and my speed. No one saw my learning disability. For the first time in my life I felt normal.

    When I entered high school, I joined the track team and the coach quickly saw my talent. I was selected to run on the A team for cross­county and the A team for indoor and outdoor track. I'm on the school team for the 4×400­meter and 4×800­meter relays, and colleges are even interested in me!

    My cross­county team won the 2011 County and Regional Championship. When I accepted my award, my mom cried because she was so proud of me, and for once, I was proud of myself.

    Even though I'm a special­education student, I now know that my learning disability does not define(限定) me. I can hold my head up high because track has allowed me to spread my wings and truly fly!

    People have strange ideas about food. For example, tomato is a kind of very delicious vegetable. It is one of useful plants that can be prepared in many ways. It has rich nutrition(营养) and vitamin in it. But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous(有毒的). They called tomatoes "poison apples".

    President Thomas Jefferson, however, know that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup. This beautiful pink soup was served at the President party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his honored guests about the fact.

    America is the world's largest food exporter. But the worst drought in half a century is hitting corn and wheat harvests. The drought across the central United States adds to concerns about world food supplies and prices in the coming years.

    Experts say by 2050, the world will have to produce at least sixty percent more food to feed a population growing bigger and bigger. China, a major food importer, is looking for producers around the world to guarantee future food supplies.

    China has invested in food production in Australia and New Zealand. A new source of supply is Ukraine. Ukraine was known as the breadbasket of Europe because of rich corn and wheat harvests a century ago.

    Galyna Kovtok is chief executive of Ukraine's largest agricultural business, ULF. She predicts that within a few months her company will be approved to export corn to China. That will make Ukraine the first country outside the Americas to do so.

    ULF will soon have almost two million tons of elevator storage capacity as it prepares for the Chinese market. Chinese money is financing the building of six grain elevators. But the company's equipment is largely American, including half-million-dollar John Deere combines to harvest wheat.

    ULF'S grain production per hectare (公顷) is now halfway between Ukrainian averages and the high yields of the American Midwest. But farming depends on the weather. Across the Black Sea region—in Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan--drought this year is pushing harvests down by fifteen to twenty percent.

    Traditionally, the Black Sea region is the main source of wheat for North Africa and the Middle East. But this year, on the supply side, Russia may have to stop exports. And, on the demand side, Africa and the Middle East are now competing with China.

    At the same time, a new report says large parts of Asia may face long periods of severe drought within ten years. It says northern China, India, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Pakistan will be especially hard hit. It says other parts of Asia are likely to face longer and wetter monsoon seasons (雨季) because of climate change.

Sharks have been swimming in the ocean for millions of years. They were on Earth even before dinosaurs! At the top of the world's ocean's food chain, sharks help keep the population of other ocean animals in balance. A large drop in the number of sharks can cause serious problems for all ocean animals. Saving sharks makes sense!

Many people are afraid of sharks. But most sharks are harmless. Only a small percentage of sharks are known to attack humans. It adapt (适应) well to new habitats and eat whatever is available. However, today, sharks are in trouble. Nearly one－third of the 400 shark species are in danger of extinction, largely due to over－fishing. Each year, tens of millions of sharks are caught and killed just for their fins. The fins are used to make shark fin soup.

Humane Society International (HSI) joined with the Jane Goodall Institute's Roots and Shoots program and Beijing Zoo to protect sharks. An exhibit at the zoo, "the Price Behind the Taste—Protect Sharks. Don't Eat Shark Fins", was designed to tell people that shark finning is cruel and unnecessary. It's hoped that the activity will help put an end to the practice.

Shark fin soup is also eaten in the United States. In fact, the numbers of some shark species in US waters have dropped 90 percent in the last 30 years. To slow the fall, laws against the sale of shark fins have been passed in several states, including Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and California.