Today there are many fires than in the past. Over 100,000 wildfires burn each year in America. Russia has 20,000 to 35,000 wildfires every year. Australia has on average 60,000 each year. These fires destroy（损害）huge areas of forests and burn hundreds of homes.

Many experts believe there are several reasons for this sudden increase in fires. The first reason is climate（气候）change. Recent weather has been warmer and drier. This leads to dangerous fire conditions. When lightening strikes（发生雷电），dry grass easily catches fire. Hot winds add to the problem. The wind spreads a fire quickly. In 2010, Russia had the hottest and driest summer in a century. In just one month, 500 fires destroyed over 2,000 homes. Some people lost their lives.

Traditional fire-fighting practices are another reason for the increase in fires. In America, firefighters used to quickly put out every fire. They didn't allow the grass and trees to burn. As a result, today many forests have thicker vegetation（植被）.Thicker vegetation means more fuel（燃料）for fires. Also, without fires from time to time, forests become overcrowded and unhealthy. Some trees are dead. The dead wood then easily catches fire. So surprisingly, America has many more fires today partly because of its past fire-fighting practices.

Scientists now understand that a fire can be a natural part of a healthy forest. As a result, countries like Australia allow more fires to burn naturally. Sometimes, fire fighters even start fires to get rid of（去除）dead wood. Of course, they carefully control the fires. The fire thins out old trees. This allows sunlight to reach the ground. As a result, fires help new trees to grow. Therefore, if a fire is not a serious threat（威胁）to people, firefighters may let it burn naturally.

    Why don't birds get lost on their long flights (飞行) from one place to another? Scientists have studied this puzzle for a long time. Now they're starting to fill in the blanks(空白).

    Not long ago, experiments showed that birds use the sun to guide them during daylight hours. How do birds fly at night? Tests with artificial stars, which are made by people, have proved that certain night-flying birds are able to follow the stars in their long-distance flights.

    They found a bird that spent its lifetime in a cage and never flew under a natural sky. But it was born with the ability to use the stars to look for the direction. This bird's cage was placed under the sky filled with artificial stars. Any change in the position of the artificial stars caused a change in the direction of the bird's flight. From the experiment, they found that the bird tried to fly in the same direction as those artificial stars moving under the natural sky.

    But the stars are of course birds' main ways of navigation (航行), when the stars are hidden by clouds, they can still find their way by such landmarks (路标) as river courses, mountain ranges (山脉), coast lines and so on. Because of this ability, people use the dove (鸽子) to send messages in some fields. For example, the doves were used to send messages in both World War I and World War II. During that time, thousands of doves were used to carry important messages in order to save the lives of many thousands of people. So it is also the symbol of peace.

    But when it's too dark to see these things, the doves are not able to find their way. They only circle helplessly and get lost.

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    Since ancient times, human beings have looked up at the night sky. Comets (彗星) and meteors (流星) flying through the blackness were seen as signs from the gods. They were used to tell the future of human lives.

    In 2013, a meteorite shower hit an area in Russia. It injured around 1,200 people. In ancient times, this would have been a strange and terrible experience. Today, thought, science offers simple explanations for the occurrence (事件).

    Meteorites are small pieces of debris (碎片) that float around in space. Sometimes, they come near a planet, such as Earth. When they enter our atmosphere, they often heat up and become very bright. This is why they are sometimes called “fireballs”. They are usually made of metals, such as iron (铁), and other minerals (矿物). The Russian meteorites were stony, with iron making up 10 percent of them.

    Meteorite showers, such as that in Russia, happen when a large meteor enters the Earth's atmosphere and, due to heat, breaks up into small parts. Most of these are very small — smaller than a grain of sand — and so don't even make it to the ground. But others can cause a lot of damage.

    The meteor in Russia weighed 10 tons when it entered our atmosphere, and broke up about 20-30 miles (30-50 km) above ground. The sky was filled with bright lights and loud noises. Many windows were broken. The damage cost Russia around 206 million yuan.

    The spring season brings warm weather, flowers and other changes for people to enjoy. For some restaurant cooks, the most exciting spring arrival is ramps.

    Ramps are a wild plant in the eastern mountains of North America. They are one of the first plants that grow in the spring, usually between April and May. They are recognized(意识) by their red stem(茎), and two long and wide green leaves. They are also famous for their strong taste, similar to onions(洋葱).

    Ramps are not as well-known as other vegetables, but they have a long history in the United States. In the Appalachian Mountains, ramps have been an important food for a longtime. During spring, it is common for small towns in the Appalachian area to hold large ramp dinners for the community.

    However, over the last 30 years, ramps popularity has grown quickly. They are now a highly-desired vegetable for many nice restaurants in cities like New York and Washington D.C.

    One reason the plant is popular is that it grows in the wild. It is difficult to grow them on farms. Most restaurants get them from foragers, who collect ramps by searching forests for some small pieces of land where they grow. Ramps have a short season. Within a few weeks of full growth, the plant is done for the year. This shot life is some reason for their popularity.

    And that popularity could lead Io their disappearance from Earth. In 1995, the local government in Quebee, Canada, stopped people selling the plant to businesses in order to protect the plant against being over-dug.

    The season is short, but it has not ended yet. If you are in the right place, you still have time to try a taste of ramps yourself.

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    Today people can use the phone to talk with others almost anywhere on the earth. But when you use the phone, you don't see the person you are talking with. That may change in the near future.

    Today some people are using a kind of telephone called the picture phone or vision phone. With it, two people who are talking can see each other.

    Picture phones can be useful when you have something to show the person you're calling.

    They may have other uses in the future. One day you may be able to ring up a library and ask to see a book. Then you'll be able to read the book right over your picture phone. Or you may be able to go shopping through your picture phone. If you see something in the newspaper that you think you want to buy, you'll go to your phone and call the shop. People at the shop will show you the thing you're interested in right over the phone. You'll be able to shop all over the town and never leave your room!