In common with other countries, Britain has serious environmental problems. In 1952, more than 4,000 people died in London because of the smog. The government introduced new laws to stop smog from coal fires and factories and the situation improved a lot.

      Today, London is much cleaner but there is a new problem: smog from cars. In December 1991, there was very little wind in London and pollution increased a lot. As a result, about 160 people died from pollution in just four days.

      One of the problem is the new "out of town" shopping centres. In the past, people often walked to shops near their homes or went by bus. Now, many people drive to the new shopping centres. Because the small shops have disappeared in the downtown, more people have to travel to do their shopping.

      Critics say that Britain needs better and cheaper public transport. Transport in Britain is very expensive. An early morning train trip from Glasgow to London (about 600km) can cost about £100, for example. A short 15-minute bus trip can cost over £1.00.

      Many people are trying to reduce the use of cars in Britain. Some cities now have special bicycle paths and many people cycle to work. Some people also travel to work together in one car to reduce the pollution and the cost.

People live around the world. They like to have celebrations (节日). In China, people celebrate Spring Festival. It is in January or February. They wear red clothes because red is the color for good luck. Chinese children also get money from their parents or grandparents for the Spring Festival. In Gambia (冈比亚), people celebrate Independence Day (独立日). It is in February. They wear bright clothes and play music at the celebration. In England, people celebrate May Day. It is in May. They wear beautiful clothes to celebrate the coming spring. The children like to dance on this day. In America, people celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It is in November. They have a very big dinner with their families or friends. They eat turkey and a lot of other delicious foods. They have a long talk after the dinner.

    THE HISTORY OF LIVING IN SPACE

    Space travel is nothing new. The first spacecraft with a human on board blasted into space In 1961. since then, people have not only been travelling to space, but many of them have also lived there for extended periods.

Food

    All the meals on space stations are put together on Earth and sent to the space station, along with the astronauts, by space shuttle. Because the food has to last a long time (sometimes up to three months), a lot of it has to be preserved by dehydration or canning.

    The space station does not have a freezer to preserve food, but It does have a cool room to keep fruit and vegetables fresh.

Astronauts also eat many other foods such as cereals, cereal bars, nuts and dried fruit that do not need any special preparation.

    Eating

    Astronauts have a set timetable each day. This tells them when to do everything, including when to have their meals. At meal preparation time, they start getting their food ready, which often includes adding water to re-hydrate the dehydrated foods.

    Without the help of gravity, sitting down to eat can be tricky. Astronauts sometimes have to strap themselves and their food into place. Because of lack of gravity, astronauts cannot use ground salt and pepper, and all drinks must be taken from bottles. They also have to be careful that crumbs do not fly off and get stuck in vents and instrument panels.

    With their long tusks (象牙), elephants look strong. However, it is this feature that makes the animal endangered. Many of them are killed for their tusks. People make elephant tusks into crafts (工艺品) and jewelry and sell them to rich people.
    But can these priceless body parts grow back? The answer is no, Live Science said. The elephants' tusks are actually part of their teeth. Nearly all African elephants and most male Asian elephants have these long teeth. About one-third of the tusk is in the animal's skull (头骨). The tusk has a nerve (神经) running down its center. This makes it similar to your teeth. Once you lose a tooth, you will never grow a new one.
    Elephants use their tusks to protect themselves, lift things, dig water and gather food. But losing the tusk will not kill them. The way in which they lose the tusk is what matters. Usually, people get tusks by culling (限量捕杀), which means killing old and weak elephants. They also take tusks from the elephants that have died naturally.

    However, these sources aren't enough to keep up with the demand for ivory. Therefore, some poachers (偷猎者) kill healthy elephants and cut their faces open to remove the tusks. About 27,000 elephants are killed by poachers each year, according to National Geographic.
    As a result of poaching, some African elephants gradually evolved (进化) without tusks, which has allowed them to survive. In Mozambique, about 90 percent of African elephants were killed for their tusks and meat from 1975 to 1992, National Geographic reported.
    Scientists found that about a third of younger females—the generation born after 1992—never developed tusks.

    People travelled to see the buildings, the food, the national dresses in foreign countries because they thought they would not be the same as those of their own countries in the past. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}They all have their Hilton or Sheraton Hotels everywhere. They all have their McDonald's, their KFCs and their Pizza Huts. Office buildings look the same everywhere, and most city centers are full of office buildings.  And of course, people are driving the same brands of Japanese or European cars.

    Then why is the foreign travel more popular nowadays? What do tourists hope to experience m a foreign country that they can not experience at home? The answer could be that people could be very interested in the past.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Most people travel overseas to find out what foreign countries' history and culture used to be like, not what they are like today. Tourists visit different kinds of museums in foreign countries so that they can learn their history and culture.

    Every country also has its own beautiful places for tourists to visit. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It is not just its old buildings, its works of art or beautiful places, but also the people who live in it. This is why a country such as Thailand attracts millions of people. The tourists come mainly because of the friendliness of the people there. It is why the Pacific islands are also so popular. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    It was Saturday again. Grace and Karen disliked, Saturdays. Unlike their classmates, they had to get up early at seven every Saturday to prepare for their lessons. Grace had to attend the drawing lesson and Karen had to attend her ballet lesson. "How I wish I could do something different today," said the twins with one voice. All at once, an idea came to Grace and Karen at the same time. "Do you want to be me for a day?" they asked each other. It seemed like a wonderful plan to them. After giving each other a description of their own friends, Grace put on Karen's ballet dress while Karen put Grace's brushes and paints into her bag. Then they left for their classes.

    When the drawing lesson started, Karen was lost. Unlike Grace, Karen was poor at drawing. When the drawing lesson finally ended, Karen didn't dare to hand in her work.

    Meanwhile, Grace was struggling in the ballet class as well. As she had no idea about the dance steps, she had to follow her classmates blindly. As a result, she kept knocking into them. Their ballet teacher became impatient with her, "Karen, you should remember the basic steps. You can't rely on copying what others are doing."

    When Karen and Grace got home, they were tired out. They decided that they would never try to be someone else they were not. It seemed that the grass was not always greener on the other side.