March 20th is World Water Day every year. According to a report from the United Nations, more than half of the world's major rivers have serious water loss and are polluted.

    The Yellow River, the world's fifth longest river, watered some of the oldest farms on earth.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Its source（源头）on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is drying up. In most of the past 35 years, it didn't reach the sea.

    The Nile in Egypt, running 6, 650 km, is the longest river in the world.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Now it is down to 2 billion m³ or so. Australia's Murray River reaches the sea only every other year. One fifth of America's Rio Grande has no water, either.

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    Mostly it's damming（筑坝）and global warming that make rivers dry.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Now about 45, 000 of them lie across the world's rivers. They hold back around 15% of the world's fresh water from running to the sea.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Warmer weather takes water away. The glacier（冰川）are becoming smaller. The source of the Yellow River is drying up because of it. Global warming has had certain effects on water sources. Droughts （干旱） happening around the world make people pay more attention to this fact.

    There are many wetlands in China and some of them have become the world's important wetlands. The Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands are among them. They are in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. They are home for many different kinds of birds and animals. The world's largest Milu Deer Nature Reserve(自然保护区) is in them. More than700 milu deer live freely there. There are not many red—crowned cranes in the world, but every winter you can see some in the Red—crowned Cranes Nature Reserve in the Yellow Sea Wetlands.

    The temperature in the wetlands is usually neither too high nor too low. There is a lot of rain and sunshine, too. They are usually good places for wildlife. Offering food and home for some special kinds of animals and birds is not the only reason why we need to protect wetlands. Wetlands are important because they also prevent(阻止) flood(洪水). But some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife.

    Luckily, more and more people are beginning to realize(意识到) the importance of wetlands and wildlife. Every year, on February 2^nd, many activities are held to tell people more about wetlands.

    There are some easy things you can do to protect(保护) the environment and the earth. Choose ideas from the list or come up with a few of your own.

    ●Plant flowers grass or trees.

●Whenever you visit a park or beach, take away what you bring there—-keep rubbish in a bag until you can put it in a dustbin.

    ●Turn off the lights, TV sets when you leave the room. This saves a lot of electricity.

    ●Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. You can save some water by not letting it run. Also, use a glass cup instead of a paper cup because this saves paper.

    ●Keep the doors and windows closed in winter to keep warm air in.

    ●Give your old books and magazines to a library instead of throwing them away.

    ●Give your old clothes to poor children you know instead of throwing them away.

    ●Use both sides of paper.

    ●Stop pouring dirty water into the rivers or the lakes nearby.

    ●Encourage all your friends to do the same things you do to help protect the earth.

    You don't have to wait until Earth Day to do these things. Make every day Earth Day.

    If everyone makes a contribution (贡献)to protecting the environment, the world will become much more beautiful.

Vision—phones(可视电话)

    Many inventions are very useful in our daily life. They have greatly changed our life. For example, radios, telephones and televisions are widely used in the world. When you turn on the radio, you can listen. But when you use the telephone, you can not only listen to others but also chat with them. However, you can't see anything at all. The television is much better than both of them. People can watch TV and listen to it, but they can't take part in what they see.

    Today, some people are using a type of telephone called the vision phone. With it two people can see each other when they are talking

    Vision-phones can be of great use when you have something to show the person when you are calling him or her. It may also have other uses in the future. Some day you may be able to call up a library and ask to read a book over your vision-phone. You may be able to do some shopping through it too. Perhaps in the future, the vision-phone will come into wide use in our everyday life.

    There was a world's advanced robot exhibition in Moscow. Over 20 skilled robot performers from all over the world took part in the exhibition.

    The exhibition was opened by British-born Titan, a world-famous dancing robot that had performed together with artists. Besides its quick moves, the robot is also known for its stand-up comedy and beautiful voice.

    Robot Hespin, a life-sized humanoid robot can make others happy. The robot not only sings and dances but also acts as a museum guide. It's very impressive. It can even hold conversations with humans.

    Then there is Cubic, an ordinary boxy robot that has been created to make our lives easier. It can read the latest news, switch off lights, and order pizza. Cubic can hold basic conversations and tell jokes.

    South Korea's friendly robots not only dance but also clean floors. Germany's famous metal rock band performs wonderfully.

    Most of the robots seem to have some kinds of dancing skills. The organizers say that their main purpose is to create a meeting place or a global platform to enable the people of Russia to experience some of the world's most advanced robots.