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    Air pollution is one of the most common types of pollution in the world nowadays. It is quite serious in many places, especially in big cities. It can do great harm to our environment such as making the earth warmer, causing acid rain or destroying the ozone layer. As for human beings, air pollution causes all kinds of breathing problems.

    There are several reasons for air pollution. Firstly, many cities have a lot of factories and there we need to make food, clothing and other things. Every year these factories pour millions of tons of smog into air. Secondly, power factories can also give out harmful air. For example, in 1986 there was a bad accident at a nuclear power station in Russia. A cloud of radiation crossed the whole Europe. It is said that 125,000 people died in Russia as a result of illnesses caused by this accident. Thirdly, there are more cars in cities now. Once they are out in the streets, they will take in fresh air and give out dirty gas. Besides, smoking cigarettes also makes air pollution worse as will as damaging(损害) our health.  

    Scientists have always believed that snails are not able to find their way home. But Briton Ruth Brooks, a retired teacher, has found that it is not true.

    Brooks began an experiment on snails after she got mad with the snails in her garden.

    The snails had eaten her vegetables. She didn't want to kill them, so she took them to another place. But she found they always seemed to come back.

    Brooks did an experiment. She marked the snails in her garden with nail polish(指甲油).

    She placed the snails in the area around her home and made notes of their movements.

    She found that snails have a strong homing instinct (本能); the longest returning snail traveled back 90 meters. Brooks has been named Britain's best amateur (业余的) scientist after her work won the BBC Radio 4 project, So You Want To Be A Scientist.

    She said, "I've always wanted to know whether the snails that eat my plants just come back when I move them, and if they do, what is their homing distance?

    "I would say on the evidence (证据) that it would be safe to take your snails away beyond 100m or even further. If you put them somewhere nice with some food, you can be almost certain that they won't come back."

    Many animals are in danger of dying out. We can see the number of animal species decreases faster and faster and this trend will continue. From 1980 to 2010, at least I million animal species disappeared. Worse still, more and more wild animals are in great danger. It is not a piece of terrible news; it is a fact, a harsh reality. Unfortunately, we may not see these animals in the near future.

    Why is the number of animal species declining year by year? Apparently animals have become victims of fashion industry. Animal skin has been used to make fashionable clothes and these clothes are sold at a high price. So some greedy people begin to kill animals in a large quantity.  This irresponsible behaviour not only breaks the balance of nature but also endangers the living environment of human beings.

    As far as I am concerned, something must be done to stop this illegal action. We believe "no buying, no killing". First, we must make concerning laws to protect these animals in danger.  Second, we must take some measures to protect animals effectively. Animals are our friends and part of our environment. Third, we should raise people's awareness to protect animals and our environment.  In this way, we can build a harmonious society and ensure a sustainable development.

    In earliest times, men considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries (神秘的事物) of nature. Some ancient peoples believed that lightning and thunder were the weapons (武器) of the gods.

    In reality, lightning is a flow of electricity formed high above the earth. A single flash of lightning 1.6 kilometres long has enough electricity to light one million light bulbs (灯泡).

    The American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to show the connection between electricity and lightning in 1752. In the same year he also built the first lightning rod (避雷针). This device (装置物) protects buildings from being damaged by lightning.

    Modern science has discovered that one stroke (闪击) of lightning has a voltage (电压) of more than 15 million volts (伏特). A flash of lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travel at a speed of 30 million meters per second.

    Scientists judge that there are about 2,000 million flashes of lightning per year. Lightning hits the Empire State Building in New York City 30 to 48 times a year. In the United States alone it kills an average (平均数) of one person every day.

    The safest place to be in case of an electrical storm is in a closed car. Outside, one should go to low ground and not get under trees. Also, one should stay out of water and away from metal fences. Inside a house, people should avoid open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things.

    With lightning, it is better to be safe than sorry?

    What is the best way to help control air pollution in our towns and cities? Choose public transportation instead of private cars, or reduce the total amount of cars on the street. These can be useful. But here is a more creative way—write a poem.

    "I write in praise of air. I was six or five, when a magician opened my fist(拳头), and I held in my hand the whole of the sky."

    Professor Tony Ryan (the science expert) and Professor Simon Armitage(the words expert), from the University of Sheffield, UK, came up with the idea.

    But in fact, the poem is not the key part. It is the poster that the poem was written on that plays the biggest part. The poster is 10 meters by 20 meters. It is coated with nanoparticles(纳米粒) of titanium dioxide (二氧化钛). It can absorb the waste from around 20 cars each day if you put it by a busy road. The poster is now displayed on one of the University of Sheffield's buildings.

    It doesn't get rid of all the pollutants from traffic, but it will eat up things called nitrogen oxides (氧化氮). These play a part in breathing problems, including asthma(哮喘).

    The technology is cheap. "It would add less than £100 to the cost of a poster and would turn advertisements into catalysts(催化剂) in more ways than one," Ryan told the BBC.

    He's also working on another idea, which is to add the nanoparticles to washing powder, so that your clothes soak up these poisons while you walk along. And you wouldn't be able to see or feel anything different.