Arctic foxes (北极狐) live in the Arctic. They grow about 50 centimeters long, not including the tail, 30 centimeters tall and weigh from 3 to 7 kilos.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The white ones are white in winter, but gray­brown in summer. The blue ones are blue­gray all year round. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And the long fur covers their whole body to keep them warm in the low temperature in the Arctic.

    Arctic foxes mainly feed on birds, birds' eggs and other small animals. Teamwork is the way they look for food. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Baby Arctic foxes are very lovely. They don't open their eyes until a week after their birth. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They begin to look for food on their own when they are about six months old. The next year they can live alone.

    Now the number of Arctic foxes is becoming smaller and smaller, because people kill them for their fur to make beautiful coats. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

从下面五个选项中选出能填入文中空白处的最佳选项。

    When you wave to a friend, you are using body language. When you smile at someone, you mean to be friendly. When you put one finger in front of your mouth, you mean "be quiet". Yet, people in different countries may use different body languages.

    Once, an Englishman was in Italy. He could speak little Italian. One day while he was walking in the street, he felt hungry and went into a restaurant. When the waiter came, the Englishman opened his mouth, put his fingers into it and took them out again and moved his lips. In this way, he meant to say, "Bring me something to eat." But the waiter brought him a lot of things to drink, first tea, then coffee, then milk, but no food.

    The Englishman was sorry that he was not able to tell the waiter he was hungry. He was ready to leave the restaurant when another man came in. The man put his hands on his stomach, and this body language was good enough for the waiter. In a few minutes, the waiter brought him a large plate of bread and meat.

    Finally the Englishman had his meal in the same way.

    The summer holiday is coming. What a perfect chance to plan a trip! How about backpacking (背包旅行)? Maybe you're too young to do it. But it doesn't matter. Follow me and you'll learn about an interesting way to travel.

    Have you ever noticed foreigners with big bags on their backs? They wear jeans and T-shirts, and have guidebooks or maps in their hands. They look curious (好奇的) about everything they see. They enjoy themselves without a tour group. That's right! They are backpackers.

    Backpacking is a popular way for Westerners to travel outside of their country. It's cheap so that people can travel more and see more places. Most backpackers are young people because backpacking needs a strong body, courage and freedom.

    Backpackers usually do some homework before setting out. They search for information about their destination (目的地) country: food, fun places to visit, hostels (青年旅舍) and things to buy. They are sure they know how to change planes or where to get the train.

    Backpacking is a freer way to travel. You can change your destination whenever you want. It also allows travelers to explore and see more. And you can decide how long to stay there. If you go with a tour group, there may be a lot of rules and you may not be free to do things as you like.

    Food is life; it gives us the nourishment(营养) we need to stay alive and be healthy. Usually, we eat because we are hungry or need energy. Brian Wansink, a professor at the University of Illinois, says we also eat certain foods because they make us feel good, and remind us of happy memories. Wansink calls this kind of food comfort food. For some people, ice cream is a comfort food. For others, a bowl of noodles makes them feel good.

    How does a food became comfort food? Professor Wansink believes that we connect food with important times, feelings, and people in our lives. "When I was a child, my mother made a kind of delicious soup; I loved it. Now, I often eat this kind of soup when I am tired or worried, and it helps me feel better," says one of Wansink's friends.

    Do men and women choose different comfort foods? Wansink's research at the University of Illinois says "yes". In his study, the favourite comfort food for both men and women was ice cream. After this, men usually preferred hot, delicious foods like soup or noodles. Women liked sweet things such as chocolate and candies. Men and women like to eat comfort foods when they are happy, but women eat these foods more when they are sad or worried.

Give water, save lives

A bottle of water may not seem like much to you, but thousands of bottles will be of great help for people who live in drought-hit(遭受旱灾) areas in China.

Since last autumn, there has been very little rain in Southwest China. Some places, especially in Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, have experienced a serious drought. Crops (庄稼) died, the land cracked(裂开), and wells (井) and rivers dried up. More than 20 million people are having difficulty in finding safe drinking water.

After learning about the drought, many people around the country helped by giving water, money and other things.

Last week, every member of the Communist Youth League (共青团员) and Young Pioneers(少先队员) were encouraged to give one bottle of water to the drought-hit areas. Students in primary schools and middle schools quickly joined the activity. In Yuhua Primary School in Xi' an, 900 students bought over 1,000 bottles of water with their pocket money. They also wrote their wishes on the bottles.

The serious drought has also made students realize the importance of saving water. Students from Nanshan Middle School in Huizhou, Guangdong went on the street to tell people to take part in water-saving activities.

"I've heard that some children in drought-hit areas don't have enough drinking water. They have to drink muddy ( 含有泥土的 ) water. I feel really sad about that," said one student. "I decide to take a shower twice a week instead of every day to save water," he said.