E

    The Earth is our home; we must take care of it. This means keeping the land, air and water clean. Pollution is a dirty word. To pollute means to make things unfit or unclean to use. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, taste it and drink it. Pollution is beginning to threaten (威胁) our health, our happiness and our life. Man has been polluting the earth from the time he first made fire, washed his clothes in the river and threw his waste on the ground. When land was used up or water became dirty, men moved on to another place. At first, the problem was not so serious because there was plenty of clean air, land and water. There weren't so many people then and their wants were fewer. All the dirty things could be absorbed (吸收) by nature and soon covered over. But this is no longer true. The increase of population and the development of industry(工业)have changed that. Man is slowly poisoning (毒害) his environment. Through the use of poison, man has polluted the land, killing the animals. By putting dirty water and chemicals into rivers and lakes we have polluted our drinking water, killing the fish.

    Our increasing population is part of the problem. More people, more waste.

    Where is this all to end? Are we turning the world into a big rubbish dump (堆存处), or is there any hope that we can get rid of (摆脱, 除去) the pollution? Luckily, millions of people have been warned of the danger of pollution. Large numbers of people are now working hard to bring pollution under control.

    Everybody needs water. Everything needs water. We use water to wash the bowls(碗), clothes and ourselves. We use water to plant trees, flowers and crops(庄稼). Where does all water come from? It comes from clouds.

    Some of rain goes into the ground. Many people get it under the ground. Some rain water goes into the hills. It runs into lakes and rivers. Many people get it there.

New Science and Technology

Look carefully before you cross

    The city of Daye in Hubei Province is using new technology to stop people from crossing against red lights. The city has set up special posts (杆) on its sidewalks. The posts can recognize (识别) human faces. If they catch a person crossing at a red light, they will send water drops at him or her.

High-tech building

    China not only builds things quickly, but also tries to use new and high technology. About twelve years has passed since the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. About 550 kilometers of the railroad runs over ice-covered earth. When the ice-covered earth gets warm during summer, it can make the railway move. Chinese scientists built special structures to solve this problem.

Musical road in Holland (荷兰)

    In a village of Holland, there is a musical road. With the help of something special, the road can play a song. But if a car drives at a speed of over 60 km/h, the sound will become noisy. The local government thinks it will encourage drivers to control the speed. They will have to slow down in order to hear the song instead of the noise.

Henry is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} American businessman. One day, when he was sailing (航行) on a boat near San Francisco, he was carried out into the sea by a strong wind. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (luck), he was discovered and picked up by a London-bound( 开往伦敦的) ship. So he {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (land) in London by accident. Alone and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (hunger), he walked on the streets of the city. Unexpectedly, he {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (call) into a big house. There two rich{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (brother), Oliver and Roderick, gave him a letter and told {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(he) not to open it until two o'clock of the day. Henry didn't know it was a million-pound (百万英镑) bank note. He left the big house and went into a cheap restaurant to get something to eat. Everyone was impolite and impatient to him. Why? {#blank#}8{#/blank#}he was in rags (衣衫褴褛) and looked dirty. Then, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} everyone's surprise, he handed the owner a million-pound bank note to pay for the meal. On seeing the note, all the people in the restaurant became friendly and tried their best {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (please) Henry. Don't you think it's the most unbelievable story in the world?