Do you notice music playing there when you go somewhere? Today most stores, stations restaurants and other places play music. You might even hear music in an office or on a farm.

Scientists believe that music changes the way people behave. They think that Western classical music makes people feel rich. When a restaurant plays classical music, people spend more money on food and drinks. When the restaurant plays modern music, people spend less money. Without music, people spend even less.

Scientists also believe that loud, fast music makes people eat faster. In fact, people eat their food faster when the music gets faster. Some restaurants play fast music during their busy hours. This gets people to eat faster and leave more quickly. Restaurants can make more money this way.

Some scientists think that music makes people think and learn better. They say that music helps students be more active. It is true that people learn better when they are relaxed. And listening to music can help people relax.

    Next time you hear music somewhere, be careful. It might change the way you do things.

阅读下列短文,从每小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个最佳选项。

Going Green

Green is no longer just a color. It is a new way of thinking about the world and a way of living your life. It's catching on all over the world. More and more people decide to "go green" because they know that we only have one planet to live on. We won't be able to live on it much longer if we keep wasting energy, and destroying(破坏) our home with air, land, and water pollution.

"Green Living" means:

    Understanding that your choices affect(影响) not just you, but everybody everywhere.

    Understanding that your choices affect not just today, but the future.

Understanding that when we talk about "saving the planet" or "saving the environment," we are actually talking about saving ourselves!

You may be thinking: "Hey, I'm just one person, on a planet with billions. I can't really make a difference." Well, have you ever seen a group of people do "the wave(波浪)"? It always starts off with one or two people, jumping up and down like crazy. Soon thousands of people are joining in. "Going green" is just like that. It starts with small, simple actions. It can soon build into a wave that will change the whole planet and lead us all to healthier, happier lives.

    Many students have already shared with us their efforts to help the environment:

Gabrielle, 12, writes, "I have helped my community plant a garden and I ride my bike or skateboard to school."

Kaitlyn, 10, says, "Lots of paper towels are thrown away, so I use a reusable cloth towel to dry my hands instead."

"I always recycle(重复利用)" says Natalie, 13. "You can call me a recycler! I always look at the bottom of things. I want to see whether they have the little sign that tells you it can be recycled. So I almost recycle everything!"

Now it's your turn to think about how you can "go green". Make important choices and take actions to improve the environment right around you and the health of the whole world.

    There are over 37 000 known kinds of spiders（蜘蛛）in different shapes and sizes in the world. The largest spiders live in the rain forests of South America and are known as the "bird-eating" spiders. These spiders can grow up to 28cm long and they eat small birds. The smallest spiders are from Western Samoa. These tiny spiders are less than 0.5mm long. They live in the plants that grow on mountain rocks.

    Some people like to keep spiders as pets but most people don't like touching them. A great number of people are afraid of them mainly because of their poison—something will make them hurt or even die. But in fact, only thirty kinds of spiders are very dangerous to humans. Spiders provide benefits for humans by catching and eating insects such as flies and mosquitoes (蚊子).

    Spiders are different from other animals because they make webs to catch the small insects for food. The special silk of a spider's web is light and strong—five times(倍)stronger than steel. Some people have tried to raise spiders in order to collect their silk but no one was successful in doing it. One reason is that it takes 670 000 spiders to produce half a kilo of silk and all of these spiders need living insects for their food. Besides, spiders are usually solitary (独自的) animals and they need keeping alone.

    All in all people are amazed to learn that there are so many secrets in spiders!

    Zhalong is a nature park in Heilongjiang in Northeast China. It is one of the world's most important wetlands. The area provides food and homes for wildlife. It is an ideal home for different kinds of plants, fishes and birds.

    Many birds live comfortably in Zhalong Nature Park all year round, while some only stay for a short time. There are many fish in the wetlands, and the birds can easily catch them for food. Zhalong Nature Park is an important living area for the rare red-crowned cranes. There are not many red-crowned cranes in the world. Some of them live in Zhalong.

    Some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means that there will be less and less space for wildlife.

    More and more birds are in danger because they do not have enough living space. Many of them died. The Chinese government wants to protect these endangered birds, and they can be safe in Zhalong.

    Every year a lot of tourists go to Zhalong to watch birds. This year members of our Bird Watching Club are going to study the different kinds of birds in Zhalong and the changes in their numbers. The study will begin next month.

    We do a bird count once a year. We are now inviting the second school students to help. We need more people to help us count and do something to help the birds. Many people do not understand the importance of the wetlands. We hope this information will help them understand it and make them actively take action to protect wildlife.

    A small robot may help children who are ill in hospital or at home. These children may feel lonely without their friends or classmates. The robot takes their places at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends.

    The robot is called AV1. A Norwegian company called No Isolation created the robot. Dolva explains how the robot AV1 works. She says from home, children use a tablet or phone to start the robot. Then they use the same device to control the robot's movements. At school, the robot becomes their eyes, ears and voice.

     "So, it sits at the child's desk in the classroom and the child uses a tablet or a phone to start it and control its movements and talks through it. So it's the eyes, the ears and the voice at school." The robot is equipped with speakers, microphones and cameras that make communication easy.

    AV1 is large and looks like a human for a reason. Dolva says this is important because the robot is supposed to be a friend of the children. "It can't be just a tiny camera because the other kids can't pick it up and take it with them. This is supposed to be their friend." And robots are, quite simply, cool. Hopefully AV1 will help some children feel less lonely while they are not in class.