According to a new scientific research, we are rapidly going close to major climate change and the effects on the environment could be quite serious. Geographers predict that climate zones could completely disappear within the next eighty years. Where will crops be grown if this happens? When the climate changes a lot, polar regions will get colder and tropical regions will get even hotter. As a result, where will animals be forced to move on the earth?

    Climate changes like these could lead to the spread of diseases. Tropical storms and hurricanes(飓风) will not only increase but may also become stronger. If the changes come too quickly, animals and plants may not be able to adapt(适应) right away and could disappear from the earth.

    According to Science Daily, a new study predicts that, by the year 2100, many of today's familiar climates will be taken place by climate unknown in today's world. It is urgent that we reduce the risks of far-reaching results for the whole world. The planet itself has been showing signs of change. In 2004, a huge tsunami created by a major earthquake killed thousands in Sumatra and in 2008, thousands more died in China in another big earthquake. Egypt was hit in 2009 with a major earthquake and Haiti was destroyed seriously and became ruins in 2010 by another big earthquake.

    Not long ago, scientists discovered ice melting(融化) in west Antarctica(南极洲). This is very worrying because temperatures in this area have remained rather constant(不断的) and actually even lower at time. Melting occurs when temperatures increase and since temperatures have remained, the ice should not be melting. However, satellite data(数据) shows melting around west Antarctica.

    Within just the last few months, new reports from around the world have been coming in and most agree that our climate situation is much worse than previously expected. At this point, it doesn't matter what is causing it, but rather, what can be done about it. On the other hand, our world is getting more and more unstable(不稳定) every year. Natural disasters(灾难) are becoming more frequent(频繁的) and serious.

    However, other planets are experiencing global warming as well as our own and some scientists believe there may be some connections between these. No one knows anything for sure at this point because there is simply not enough data.

    Many people may sometimes wish it could be summer all year round. However, as nice as summer is, we really need the other seasons as well.

    Then why do we have different seasons? We know that the Earth spins on its own axis (轴线). This makes day and night. In 24 hours the Earth turns round once. When we are facing the sun, it is day. When we face away, it is night. Simple!

    We travel around the sun in a circle. So why does it get colder in winter and hotter in summer? It's because the axis of the Earth is tilted (倾斜的). It means that in summer some places, such as the UK, are leaning towards the ssun. The temperature rises. As the Earth travels around the sun, these places begin to tilt away and the temperature drops. It becomes winter.

    This is why when the UK has winter, Australia has summer. Imagine having Christmas dinner on the beach! But not all countries have seasons. Countries near the equator (赤道), the line which goes round the middle of the Earth, don't have different seasons. The weather stays almost the same temperature all the year round. Can you think why this is? The middle doesn't tilt very much, does it? This means the seasons don't change much.

    Then what about the North and South Pole? What are the seasons like there? Because they get very far away from the Sun, their seasons are very extreme. There are only two seasons near the North and South Pole: winter and summer. What's more, they only have one sunrise and one sunset a year. It is dark for six months of the year and light for six months of the year. What problems would there be if you had to live somewhere that was dark for six months of the year and light for six months of the year?

    Goal(射门)! Football, or soccer, is one of the world's most popular sports. The game first came from old China, though the modern football game began on the streets of old England. The rule is simple: get the ball in the other team's goal, not using your hands or arms. With simple rules and easy equipment(设备), people can play football anywhere. But the game needs teamwork.

    The men's game came into the Olympics at the 1900 Paris Games in France. The women's game came into the Olympics at the 1996 Atlanta Games in Georgia. At the Olympics, players play for two 45-minute halves, with 11 players on each team.

    At the Olympics, we make 16 men's and 12 women's teams into groups of four teams. Each team plays against every other team in their group. The best eight teams in the men's and women's competitions move onto the quarterfinals. In the end the best one will become the winner of the game.