Breathing in polluted air on busy roads is as harmful as passively smoking ten cigarettes a day, new research has found. The drop in pollution had the same effects as avoiding four cigarettes a day. One of the researchers, Saskia van der Zee, explained why they compared the effects of pollution lo passive smoking. “We thought that passive smoking would be easier to understand,” she told The Times. "You don't want your neighbors to come into your house and smoke three cigarettes every day."

    Earlier this week, doctors warned that Britain is facing a major health emergency unless diesel(柴油)cars are taken off the roads. Emissions (排放物) from diesel cars arc already contributing to smog which has been linked to the deaths of 40,000 people a year. Health charities, medical leaders and environmental groups have called for a modern Clean Air Act lo bring pollution under control. Separately, more than 300 doctors in the Doctors Against Diesel group have written to Theresa May, calling for a diesel reduction.

    Professor John Middleton, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said, “Diesel is the primary source of nitrogen dioxide(二氧化氮)in urban areas and is linked to health effects that begin before birth and extend throughout life, from childhood lung development to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. It is high lime lo handle the problem.”

    London is already planning to introduce an “emission zone” which diesel drivers would be charged to enter, and other cities are set to follow. But exerts are desperate to find new ways to control the damage done by pollution. Diesel drivers in Westminster have been told they may soon be charged 50 percent extra for on-street parking. And Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London，submitted a £ 3,500 plan to encourage drivers to switch to petrol or electric cars.

    “Cutting diesel emissions would therefore have an immediate effect on children's personal exposure, and improve their long-term health.” A government spokesman said.

    Do you want to learn English better?If you do,the following classes might be suitable for you.

Junior Courses

    Our English courses for juniors arc good for all the young people who want to develop their English language skills by taking part in exciting cultural and social activities.We offer this course to groups at every LSI school year found.We accept individual（个人的）young learners in our schools in the UK,the USA and Canada in our summer and winter camps.

    Teaching methods and social activities in the junior course are specially designed to suit kids and teenagers.Our English for junior courses are a great way for learners to make friends with other teenagers from all over the world.LSI offers English language courses to suit all abilities and levels.

Evening Classes

    LSI offers general language classes and exam classes in the evening.Students can take evening classes at a number of different LSI schools around the world.LSI London Central has a special foreign language department which offers classes in over 40 languages.Evening language classes are taught in open groups at LSI school buildings.We also organize language training that can be arranged either in or outside the school at any time for individuals and closed groups.

    Our evening language courses are for everyone.We train business people who require language skills for specific purposes and those who expect to gain some basic survival skills for their holidays.We provide quality training for all students at all levels,whatever their purposes are.

Dear Daisy,

    Phew! I'm so glad the day is over. I'm really tired, but my first day at school went well.

    First of all, we met outside the school building. I was very nervous because my primary school only had 300 pupils but in the middle school there are about 1300. What a difference! The older pupils are really big. I felt so small waiting there in front of the school.

    The head teacher came out and told us to go into the school hall. Then he called our names out to tell us which class we were in. My class teacher is called Mrs. Black. She took us to our classroom. It's on the 5th floor. We aren't allowed to use the lift! I couldn't believe it.

    We spent all morning with Mrs. Black looking at our timetables. Everyone in the school had a different timetable. I'm worried that I'll forget my timetable and go to the wrong room.

    Lunchtime was OK. I had salad, fish and fruit, which was quite good, and then I went to play football with some of the other boys. They were all friendly and I don't think it will take me long to make friends.

    After lunch we started lessons. I had maths and then history, where we started to learn about ancient Greece. That looked interesting. 1 have to do some homework tonight to find out how the ancient Greek people lived, so I'm going to do an Internet search and look it up in the library.

    So far so good. I am quite looking forward to tomorrow, even though I've got science. I hate science!

Yours,

Jason

    Theme parks are magical places where adults can act like children and kids have the time of their lives. Here are the top four theme parks across the world.

    Ferrari World－Yas Island. Abu Dhabi

    Abu Dhabi in the Middle East is home to the world's largest indoor theme park. The main attraction is the Ferrari Rossa-officially the fastest roller coaster in the world. The ride goes from 0 to 240 kilometres per hour in less than five seconds. The force is so strong that those daring enough to go on it have to wear safety glasses.

    Tickets:￡ 40 per adult and half price for children under 1.2 metres tall.

    Alton Towers-Staffordshire, England

    Alton Towers is the most visited theme park in the UK. The park offers thrilling rides such as the popular 800-metre long horror roller coaster. Or if you're interested in experiencing the sense of flying, head for the famous Airflying, where you'll need to avoid objects and trees as you fly. The park also has many other attractions, including live shows.

    Tickets:￡ 43 per adult and ￡21 per child. Children under the age of 3 get in for free.

    Disneyland Paris－Paris, France

    Disneyland Paris' two theme parks create a fantasy world that both children and adults can enjoy. Disneyland Park gives girls the chance to meet their favourite Disney Princesses and to explore Sleeping Beauty's castle. Exciting roller coasters will keep the whole family entertained for hours on end.

    Tickets: ￡34 per adult and ￡27 per child. Children under the age of 3 get in for free.

    Oakwood Theme Park－Pembrokeshire, Wales

    For those who are eager to experience speedy(高速的)turns and drops, this is the park for you. Be daring and go on the Megaphobia roller coaster, a wooden coaster making you scream.

    Tickets:￡ 38 for adults, ￡ 20 per child. Children under 3 years get in for free.

    If you want to spark a heated debate at a dinner party, bring up the topic of genetically modified foods. For many people, the concept of genetically altered, high-tech crop production raises all kinds of environmental, healthy, safety and ethical questions. Particularly in countries with long a grain traditions—and vocal green lobbies—the idea seems against nature.

    In fact, genetically modified foods are already very much apart of our lives. A third of corn and more than half the soybeans and cotton grown in the U. S. last year were the product of biotechnology, according to the Department of Agriculture. More than 65 million acres of genetically modified crops will be planted in the U. S. this year. The genetic genie(鬼怪) is out of the bottle.

    Yet there are clearly some very real issues that need to be resolved. Like any new product entering the food chain, genetically modified foods must be subjected to rigorous testing. In wealthy countries, the debate about biotech is tempered by the fact that we have a rich array of foods to choose from and a supply that far exceeds our needs. In developing countries desperate to feed fast-growing and underfed populations, the issue is simpler and much more urgent: Do the benefits of biotech outweigh the risks？

    The statistics on population growth and hunger are disturbing. Last year the world's population reached 6 billion. The U. N. estimates that nearly 800 million people around the world are undernourished. The effects are devastating. About 400 million women of child-bearing age are iron deficient, which means their babies are exposed to various birth defects. As many as 100 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindness.

    How can biotech help? Biotechnologists have developed genetically modified rice that is fortified with beta-carotene—which the body converts into vitamin A—and additional iron, and they are working on other kinds of nutritionally improved crops. Biotech can also improve farming productivity in places where food shortages are caused by crop damage attributable to pests, drought, poor soil and crop viruses, bacteria or fungi.

    If you're feeling overwhelmed by all the features and apps available on smart phones these days and miss the good old days when mobile phones were simple communication tools, you'll probably love Light Phone 2, a stylish " dumb phone" designed to remove time-wasting distractions(使人分心的事物) from your life.

    The original Light mobile phone could only be used to make and take phone calls, but its creators recently decided that in order to improve its usefulness while still keeping users safe from smart phone distractions, it needed a few extra features. They recently announced Light Phone 2 is just as tiny and stylish as the original ones, but also features text messaging functions and an alarm clock.

    Data from company Flurry shows that people in the US spend around five hours a day on their smart phones, while a study from the firm Asurion found that Americans check their phones an average of 80 times per day. Those are some pretty alarming numbers, and to make matters worse, scientists report that too much screen time has a bad effect on our brains, especially those of children.

    Light Phone 2 will never replace your Apple phone, but it can at least help you mitigate the effects of smart phone addiction by allowing you to "go light" every once in a while. You can stay in touch with the important people in your life, but you'll be free from the apps distracting you from the wonders of the colorful world.

    But becoming free of smart phone distractions doesn't come cheap. The Light Phone 2 is expected to be priced at around $400, which is far more expensive than some smart phones. However, a lot of people seem to think the phone and what it promises to do are worth the price, as evidenced by the success of Light's latest crowd funding(众筹) campaign. With 24 days left until deadline, the company has already raised $360,000, blowing past its $250,000 goal.