Baseball is one of the favorite sports in the USA. Children play baseball in sports fields or in parks. At summer picnics, there is often informal (非正式的) baseball game. Boys and girls, young and old take turns to bat. Each team has 9 players.
   American football is perhaps the most popular sport in the USA. The football season begins when the baseball season ends. More people are interested in football than baseball. When there is an important game, thousands of people sit beside the radio or in front of the television to hear the result.

    In the deserts(沙漠)of North Africa and Saudi Arabia lives the smallest fox with the largest ears. This animal is the fennec fox.

Fennec foxes have ears that are 5 to 6 inches long. That's big for an animal that weighs less than four pounds. Their ears help shed (去除) body heat. And, as you may have guessed, they also provide great hearing.

    It's also interesting to think about the hair of fennec foxes. Why would a fox that lives in the desert need a thick, fur coat? Actually, the desert isn't always warm. During the nighttime, a desert can be terribly cold! A fennec fox's fur keeps them warm during those desert nights. They also have long bushy tails that they use as a blanket. And the hair on their feet protects them from the hot sand in the daytime.

    Fennec foxes live in small communities of dens (兽穴).They spend most of the day sleeping in their dens, out of the hot sun. Then, when night comes, they come out in search of food. In addition to(除……之外) their great hearing, fennecs also use their great sense of smell and big eyes to track down dinner.

    Fennecs eat both meat and plants. They like eating birds, eggs, insects, snails, fruit and leaves best. Fennec fox mothers have one to five babies at a time. Sometimes they are in danger. They have to be careful with predators (捕食性动物), such as caracals (a type of wild cat) , jackals, eagle owls, hyenas and humans. Humans catch them for their fur and to sell as pets.

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    Researchers from two universities in Britain recently carried out a very interesting project. They aimed to find out what modern family needs from their home. The lucky family chosen to take part in the project was the Joneses parents Paul and Eve and their two sons, Jimmy(16) and Harry(13). They have just spent two months living in a specially designed hi- tech future house, where cameras recorded everything they did.

    TV while you bathe

    So what's in this modern house? It boasts(拥有) five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The sitting area has a huge TV and a digital picture frame- you can decide which photos you want to appear and change the picture as often as you like. The baths all have waterproof TV screens and DVD players. There is a remote control(遥控器) in every room which controls everything in the house from the lights to the cooker. The floors are all made of glass and all have under floor heating. The windows clean themselves and there is even a robot called "Iron Man" to do the ironing. Dirty washing goes into a lift which takes the clothes automatically to the washing machine. The "Iron Man" then does all the ironing.

    So how did it go?

    The Jones family were over the moon to be chosen to spend some time in the house. Here's what they said:

Paul: It was great. The house was so comfortable. One day our friends called round with their dog. The dog felt so warm and comfortable; he even slept on the floor! Oh, but there was one problem. One night we were all in bed and all the lights switched themselves on for no reason. It was a bit frightening!

Jimmy: I loved it, but I wish there had been a robot to help me with my homework.

Harry: Staying in was as much fun as going out!

Eve: I loved the TV in the bath but I never watched it before going to work in the morning. If I did, I don't think I'd ever get out!

    The Jones family are now back in their very ordinary home, but planning some hi-tech additions as soon as they can afford them!

The experts hope that results from their project will help developers meet the needs of a 21st-century family. One of the experts wrote a few sentences about his findings on this project: