阅读理解

Every single one of us can help to deal with climate change and prepare for the effects.

We all have an effect

on the environment through our use of resources (资源) and burning fossil fuels for everyday activities such as driving cars and heating our homes. If we all do our best to protect our environment, then we can make a real difference.

Consider the environmental effects of:

1       the energy used in your home

2       the way you travel

3       the food you eat

Do everything you can to reduce your carbon footprint (足迹) and not only will you be making fewer effects on the environment, but you511 probably find that you'll also save money and lead a healthier life.

Increasing water efficiency in your home reduces the amount of energy used for water treatment and can save money and fight against climate change at the same time.

Other things you can do

Here's a list of some simple things you can do that will help reduce your carbon footprint:

1       insulate (使隔热) your home

2       turn down your central heating by one degree (度数)

3       use energy efficient lighting

4       try not to fly

5       share a car with others

6       ride your bike for short journeys

7       eat local, seasonal, fresh, unprocessed (未加工的) food

8       reduce the amount of waste you produce and reuse or recycle as much as you can

    Do stars only appear at night? The answer is no .Venus （金星） is the one and only star that can be seen in the daytime. It shone at its brightest in the night sky on February 17^th, 2017.

    Venus is the second planet from the sun in our solar system. It is the second brightest natural object, behind Earth's moon, in the night sky. Why is it so bright?

    First of all, Venus is the closest planet to Earth. It is also covered by highly reflective （反射的）clouds, which can reflect about 70 percent of the sunlight striking（照射） it, almost twice as much as Earth does.

    Some called 2017 the year of Venus, because the planet is at its brightest when it goes further away from the sun, and nearer to Earth. The brightest moment happened once in February, and happened again, during daylight, on April 30^th.

    If Venus is so bright and close to us, isn't it a better choice for human exploration than Mars? It is closer to Earth than Mars and it's closer to Earth in size. The closer distance to the sun means solar power would be easier to generate （产生） as well.

    However, with a temperature of about 465℃on the surface, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system!

    But scientists never give up. Recently, a team of NASA and Russian scientists created new computer equipment that can stand the temperature of 480℃. It can work under Venus-like conditions for almost 22 days.

    The next step, according to the scientists, is to send a probe（探测器）to Venus by 2025.

    Can we "design" a baby like we design a handbag? It may sound crazy, but a "designer baby" could be possible now. Of course, at the same time, there are both agreements and disagreements with it.

    The "designer baby" idea comes from the research that allows scientists to make changes to human DNA and genes (基因). Usually, it is done when the baby is still just an embryo (胚胎). By doing that, scientists hope that "designer babies" will less possibly be born with some certain serious illnesses.

    During the 21st century, the idea became so popular that the research developed very quickly. Now, it has been firstly used to help born babies with their illnesses. One example of this is that Dr. Adrian Thrasher of University College London was able to save a 1-year-old child from leukemia (白血病) with the help of it. People learned that it was not only illnesses they could change, but also a baby's gender and looks. A well-known event happened in 1996. An American couple, Monique and Scott Collins, decided to use this research to help them choose the gender of their next baby. They wanted to have a baby girl for they have had three sons. Moreover, people could also decide babies' eye color, hair color and even things like height or how sportive babies will be.

    Some people argue that it is not ethical (道德的)to design babies like designing a bag. It is strongly against the nature's rules. Besides, it may not have any bad influence on the baby now, yet no one knows what will happen to him and his children after many years.

    The Legendary Berlnuda Triangle (百慕大三角): A Mystery No More

    For years, people have believed that an area of the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Florida, USA was a dangerous place. They thought planes and boats passing through here were likely to disappear. By 1964, a writer had called the area the "'Bermuda Triangle". The name stuck, and so did the mystery.

    In 1945, five US Navy planes, called Flight 19 took off from Florida and never came back. After they disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle, different ideas had begun to spread that the area was a dangerous place. Even before this famous flight, several ships had disappeared in these waters. People had many different ideas about why this appended. Some people even believed that a huge octopus (章鱼) was responsible!

    However, scientists believe that weather is part of the problem. Unusually shaped clouds above the area create strong winds that go down into the water, creating huge tsunami (海啸) waves that can take down boats or low-flying planes. And many researchers believe that there's no mystery, at all Ship goes down and plane accidents happen all over the world. It just seems to happen more in the Bermuda Triangle because there's more traffic.

    The Bermuda Triangle is also one of the deepest areas of the Atlantic, with some areas being 8 km (5 mi.) deep. So, remains are hard to find which makes the disappearances seem even more mysterious. In 2011, the Flight 19 planes were found, showing that they didn't completely disappear. But no matter how much evidence（证据） there is that the Bermuda Triangle is no more dangerous than any other part of the ocean, many still believe that you mustn't go there.