A seabird named Lydia recently made a 26-day nonstop(不间断的)journey of about 2,500 mi­les, just to search for food for her baby. She is fitted with a satellite tracking device (卫星跟踪仪). Her trip started on Oct. 18 from Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. The trip is known as the lon­gest nonstop journey by one of these endangered seabirds.

      Before that, this kind of birds was known only to fly a few hundred miles from where they live, staying away for just a few days at a time. They usually fly over the sea.

      The scientists feel it strange that Lydia made such a long, nonstop journey and flew overland. So the above facts raise some serious questions about efforts to stop the decline(减少)of the birds. The number of the birds has fallen by 10 percent over the past 20 years.

Besides, the scientists are surprised that she was away from her baby for such a long time. They wonder why she needed to go that far. Maybe it shows that fish resources (资源)around Christmas Island are not large enough now. That might explain the slow decline of the bird 一 sea pollution(污染) is serious.

    History is still a compulsory (必修的) subject at lower levels and pupils still choose to study it at higher levels. However, there is an outgoing discussion about whether schools should continue to teach history. This passage will deal with the arguments that oppose and support teaching history in school, concluding that we should teach history, because the value of the subject goes beyond the classroom.

    First of all, many pupils suggest that history is one of the less interesting school subjects and that governments should spend the time and money on subjects that are more useful. Some people argue that math and English are should spend the money on more important so we can have a society with a good basic education. Other people say that teaching science, as this can move a country forward and benefit the economy. However, when we teach history, we are just looking back at the past. The economic benefits of this area are less obvious.

    On the other hand, there are several reasons why it is a good idea to teach history. Teaching history is important because students should be able to understand the background to current issues in the news. This will create better-informed citizens. Another reason is that it helps pupils to understand the culture and background of the society they live in. In addition to learning about the past, history teaching can help students to think for themselves. Finally, it also improves pupils' reading and writing skills, which can help them become better students.

    In conclusion, though there are clearly arguments on both sides, it seems to me that we should of the classes. I would say the teaching of history helps to create well-educated generation.

    Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts, so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming deserts all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the deserts. People are doing bad things to the earth.

    Some places on the earth don't get much rain. But they still don't become deserts. This is because some green plants are growing there. Small green plants and grass are very helpful to dry places. Plants don't let the hot sun make the earth even drier. Plants don't let the wind blow the earth away. When a little bit of rain falls, the plants hold the water. Without the plants, the land can become a desert much more easily.

    Chinese are very generous when they begin to educate their children. No caring about money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad. They also want their children to take extra-course activities because they think their children may have a good start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend a lot of money on education.

    However, what most parents fail to see is that the best education they can give their children is usually very cheap. Parents can see that their children are skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize is that today's children are lack of(缺乏)self-respect and self-confidence.

    The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.

    Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework. These activities are teaching a child not only to read, but also to think. And that is more important.

    Hi, I'm Linda Smith. My first name's Linda, and my family name's Smith. I'm a 12-year-old middle school student. The cute girl is my sister, Mary Smith. She's 8 years old. These are my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We're Americans, but we're not in the USA. We are in China now.

    Look! This is a photo of my room. It's very nice and clean. Here are some books on the desk. An eraser and three pencils are in the pencil box. What color is my schoolbag? It's black. You can see a Dog on my bed, but it's not mine. Its name's Pluto. It's my sister Mary's. Are those my dictionaries? No, they aren't. I borrowed (借) them from my teacher, Ms. Black. She teaches(教) me English at school.

    My room isn't big, but it always(总是) brings me happiness(带给我快乐). I love it.