Why do plants grow in some places and not in others? Why does some land have so much growing on it, while other land has almost no plants growing on it at all?

    To grow,  plants need several things. One is warmth. In very cold places almost nothing grows. Plants also need water. In very dry parts of the Earth only a few unusual plants can grow. That's why dry deserts(沙漠) everywhere are almost not covered by trees or grass.

    Plants must also have a place in which to put down their roots and grow. They find it difficult to grow on hard land. The town is built on hard land. The plants here have only the soil(土壤) found between the cracks of the stones to grow in.

    Another thing plants must have before they can grow is food.

    What will happen if we try to make things grow on the sandy beach? A few plants, such as beach grass, will grow in sand, but most plants won't. Even if the weather is warm enough and we water the plants each day, many of them will die because the sand on this beach has almost no plant food.

    The Earth is about 4, 600 million years old Man lives on the Earth for only 35, 000 years. But we change our Earth in many ways. Many things we do are good, but some are not good for the Earth.

    Water pollution

    A lot of people, birds and fish die each day because of water pollution. Factories pollute the water. As a result (因此), the water in many rivers and lakes is now very dirty.

    Air pollution

    In big cities, factories, cars and buses are the main causes of air pollution. Many people in cities now have health problems. For example, Mexico City used to be a beautiful sunny capital, but today there are many clouds in the sky. And many people get ill because of the polluted air.

    Soil (土壤) pollution

    In order to have a better harvest (收获), some of the farmers use chemicals too much in their fields. That's bad for the soil.

    Hope for the future

    These problems are very serious for our future, so all of us should do something to protect the environment. If we can stop pollution, our Earth will become more and more beautiful.

    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.

   Phil White has just returned from an 18,000-mile, around-the-world bicycle trip. White had two reasons for making thisepic journey. First of all, he wanted to use the trip to raise money for charity, which he did. He raised £70,000 for the British charity, Oxfam. White's second reason for making the trip was to break the world record and become the fastest person to cycle around the world. He is still waiting to find out whether he has broken the record or not.

   White set off from Trafalgar Square, in London, on 19th June, 2004 and was back 299 days later. He spent more than 1,300 hours in the saddle (车座) and destroyed four sets of tyres and three bike chains. He had the adventure of his life crossing Europe first, and then the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and finally the Americas. Amazingly, he did all of this with absolutely no support team. No jeep carrying food, water and medicine. No doctor. Nothing! Just a bike and a very, very long road.

   The journey was lonely and desperate at times. He also had to fight his way across deserts, through jungles and over mountains. He cycled through heavy rains and temperatures of up to 45 degrees, all to help people in need. There were other dangers along the road. In Iran, he was chased by armed robbers and was lucky to get away with the little money he had. The worst thing that had happened to him was having to cycle into a headwind on a road that crosses the south of Australia. For 1,000 kilometers he battled against the wind that was constantly pushing him. This part of the trip was slow, hard and depressing, but he made it in the end. Now Mr. White is back and wants to write a book about his adventures.

Reading for pleasure (消遣) is the easiest way to become a better reader in English. It is also the most important way.

Some students say they don't want to read for pleasure. They say they want to use their time to learn the rules of the language and new words. They say that pleasure reading is too busy.

Many experts (专家) say that pleasure reading is very important for learning English. Dr. Stephen Krashen, a famous expert on learning languages, says that pleasure reading helps you learn many important things about English. Students learn more grammar and more words when they read for pleasure. They also learn more about good writing.

Dr. Krashen tells us that pleasure reading helps each student in a different way. Each student needs to learn something different. Pleasure reading makes it possible for each student to learn what he or she needs.

Reading for pleasure is not the same as studying. When you read for pleasure, you choose your own books, and you don't have to remember everything. There are no tests on your pleasure reading books. Pleasure reading will help you：

•learn how English speakers use English

•read faster in English 

•find examples of good writing in English

•learn new words 

•learn about the culture of English speakers