Water covers 70% of the Earth, but only 3% of it is clean and suitable for human consumption. Even if you live in an area with enough rainfall, using water requires energy to process, pump, heat, re-pump, and reprocess it.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Save water from your taps.

    Turn the tap off while you are brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your hands, doing dishes, and so on.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Get wet, and then turn off the water while you soap up. Turn it back on for long enough to wash away the soap.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Take a timer, clock, or stopwatch into the bathroom with you and challenge yourself to cut down your showering time. You could even play music while in the shower and challenge yourself to cut down the number of songs it takes you.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Use wastewater from the bath, washing machines or dish washing on the garden.

    If possible, connect a pipe to the outlet on your machine to send the water outside onto your garden. When hand-washing dishes, rinse (冲洗) the dishes into a container, and empty the container into your garden.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Either pour it directly into the bowl, or use it to refill the toilet tank when you flush.

A. If you're not sure whether wastewater is suitable for plants, you can use it to flush (冲) your toilet.

B. Not all toilets will be able to flush effectively with a reduced amount of water.

C. Turn the tap off when you shower, too.

D. Replace your clothes washing machine with a high-efficiency washer.

E. Shave outside the shower, or turn off the shower while you shave.

F. Take shorter showers.

G. Fortunately, there are ways to save water for everyone.

    If anyone had told me three years ago that I would be spending most of my weekends camping. I would have laughed heartily. Campers, in my eyes, were people who enjoyed insect bites, ill-cooked meals, and uncomfortable sleeping bags. They had nothing in common with me. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    The friends who introduced me to camping thought that it meant to be a pioneer. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We sleep in a tent, cooked over an open fire, and walked a long distance to take the shower and use the bathroom. This brief visit with Mother Nature cost me two days off from work, recovering from a bad case of sunburn and the doctor's bill for my son's food poisoning.

    I was, nevertheless, talked into going on another fun-filled holiday in the wilderness.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Instead, we had a pop-up camper with comfortable beds and an air conditioner. My nature-loving friends had remembered to bring all the necessities of life.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} We have done a lot of it since. Recently, we bought a twenty-eight-foot travel trailer complete with a bathroom and a built-in TV set. There is a separate bedroom, a modern kitchen with a refrigerator. The trailer even has matching carpet and curtains.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It must be true that sooner or later, everyone finds his or her way back to nature. I recommend that you find your way in style.

A.This time there was no tent.

B.Things are going to be improved.

C.The trip they took me on was a rough one.

D.I was to learn a lot about camping since then, however.

E.I must say that I have certainly come to enjoy camping.

F. After the trip, my family became quite interested in camping.

G. There was no shade as the trees were no more than 3 feet tall.

Test-taking tips

    Do you sweat, check your pencil, and feel butterflies in your stomach as your teacher hands out the test paper? A lot of people feel anxious when it is time to take a test. Here are some tips for taking tests:

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Your memory recall will be much better if you have had enough rest. In a scientific study, people who got enough sleep before taking a math test did better than those who stayed up all night studying.

    Read the test through first. Once you have the test paper in front of you, read over the entire test, checking out how long it is and all the parts that you are expected to complete.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}If something seems unclear before you start, do not worry: ask the teacher.

    Focus on addressing each question individually. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Instead, answer the best way you can or skip over the question and come back to it after you have answered other questions.

    Relax. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Of course you cannot get up and move around in the middle of a test, but you can wiggle your fingers and toes, take four or five deep breaths. As we all know, it can be easy to forget things we know well. During a test, if you forget something and start to get nervous, it suddenly becomes much more difficult to remember.

    Finished already? Although most teachers will let you hand your test paper in early, it is usually a good idea to spend any extra time checking over your work. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} On the other hand, if you have 5 minutes until the bell rings and you are still writing, end up whatever you are working on without panic.

A. This will allow you to decide how much time you have for each section

B. Be sure you have studied properly

C. Get enough sleep the night before the test

D. As the teacher hands out the test paper, be sure you know what is expected of you

E. As you take the test, if you do not know an answer, do not worry about it

F. You can also add details that you may not have thought you'd have time for

G. If you are so nervous that you blank out, you might need a mini-break

    Color is fundamental in home design——something you'll always have in every room. A grasp of how to manage color in your spaces is one of the first steps to creating rooms you'll love to live in. Do you want a room that's full of life？Professional？Or are you just looking for a place to relax after a long day？{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, color is the key to making a room feel the way you want it to feel.

    Over the years, there have been a number of different techniques to help designers approach this important point. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, they can get a little complex. But good news is that there are really only three kinds of decisions you need to make about color in your home: the small ones, the medium ones, and the large ones.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. They're the little spots of color like throw pillows, mirrors and baskets that most of us use to add visual interest to our rooms. Less tiring than painting your walls and less expensive than buying a colorful sofa, small color choices bring with them the significant benefit of being easily changeable.

    Medium color choices are generally furniture pieces such as sofas, dinner tables or bookshelves{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They require a bigger commitment than smaller ones, and they have a more powerful effect on the feeling of a space.

    The large color decisions in your rooms concern the walls, ceilings, and floors. Whether you're looking at wallpaper or paint, the time, effort and relative expense put into it are significant. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. While all of them are useful

B. If you're experimenting with a color

C. Whatever you're looking for

D. Small color choices are the ones we're most familiar with

E. It's not really a good idea to use too many small color pieces

F. Color choices in this range are a step up from the small ones in two major ways

G. So it pays to be sure, because you want to get it right the first time

The Four People You Don't Want to Sit Next to on a Plane

    Let me begin by promising you that I am not an angry person. I would actually vow that I am inherently happy and all-around quite friendly and nice. But one thing that really grinds my gears, is being seated next to a nightmare neighbor on an airplane.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Perhaps you normally like them, but when you are sitting next to them on a plane it's a different thing. They usually spend all the flight moving around and dropping their toys on the floor, and when they're drinking their orange juice it ends up on your trousers. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. So you can't have the little sleep that you were planning.

    Conversation makers

    You recognize this type as soon as you sit down. They immediately start talking about the plane, or the weather, or they ask you a personal question. It's very difficult not to talk to these people. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Nervous fliers

    These are the people with white faces who sit down and immediately ask for something to drink. Every five minutes they call a flight attendant to ask if there are any problems with the plane. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The best thing to do is to pretend to sleep.

    Space invaders

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. But they have a terrible habit of taking up all their room, and some of your room too. They usually sit so that you can't move, with their arms and legs in your space.

A. Naughty kids

B. Well-behaved parents

C. They also tell you about air crash

D. Some people want to talk all the time

E. The people are not necessarily very large

F. Then they decide they want to have fun with you

G. You'll probably have to keep talking until the plane lands

Be a Green Child

What does it mean to be green? "Green" is more than just a color. It also means taking special steps to protect the environment. Why green? Plants are green, and without them the Earth wouldn't be such a lovely home for us human beings. What can we do? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Reduce It!

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} For instance, a shorter shower means you use less water and less fuel since your house uses fuel to run the heater that warms up the water.

Reuse It!

Sometimes people call ours a "throwaway society". It means that we're always throwing away old stuff (东西) and buying new stuff. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For instance, if your baby brother becomes older and loses interest in his plastic basketball hoop (篮圈), why not give it to another family who has a little kid?

Recycle It!

Recycling has never been easier. Many communities will pick it up right in front of your house and some towns even require it. Recycled goods go to a recycling center, where they can be turned into new cans, bottles, and paper.

Enjoy It!

It's true that rubbish and pollution are problems, but the Earth remains a huge and beautiful place that's ready for you to explore. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Go for a hike, visit local nature centers and gardens, and climb up mountains.

But before you travel the globe, take a look at your own backyard. Is there a spot where you could plant a tree or put in a little fruit or vegetable garden? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Here's a four­step guide to being green.

B. Many times, even if you no longer need something, someone else just might.

C. You can start locally by visiting the naturally beautiful spots in your city.

D. Turn off the tap when you're brushing your teeth.

E. Get out there and get your hands dirty.

F. You can watch with pride as your tree takes root and your garden plants grow.

G. When you use less of something, you do a good thing for the Earth.