More and more people like bicycling and it is no surprise. It is fun, healthy and good for the environment(环境). Maybe that's why there are 1. 4 billion bicycles and only 400 million cars on roads worldwide today. Bikes can take you almost anywhere, and there is no oil cost!

    Get on a bicycle and ride around your neighborhood. You may discover something new all around you. Stopping and getting off a bike is easier than stopping and getting out of your car. You can bike to work and benefit(受益) from the enjoyable exercise without polluting the environment. You don't even have to ride all the way.

    Folding(可折叠的) bikes work well for people who ride the train. Just fold the bike and take it with you. You can do the same on an airplane. A folding bike can be packed in a suitcase. You can also take a common bike with you when you fly. But be sure to look for information by getting on airline websites. Not all airlines are bicycle-friendly to travelers.

    Health Benefits of Bicycling:

    It helps to prevent heart diseases.

    Bicycling helps to control(控制) your weight.

    A 15-minute bike ride to and from work three times a week burns off five kilos of fat in a year.

    Bicycling can improve your mood(心情).

    Exercise like bicycling has been shown to make people feel better, more relaxed and self-confident.

    Bicycling is healthier than driving.

    If music makes you smarter and exercise helps you to think, surely exercising to music can turn you into an intelligent(聪明的) person.

    A team of scientists from Ohio State University did tests on 33 volunteers who were getting better from heart problems following operation(手术). They found that people who exercised while listening to "The Four Seasons" did much better on language ability tests than without music.

    "Facts suggest that exercise improve the learning ability of people with heart problems," said the scientist Charles Emery, who led the study. "And listening to music is thought to enhance understanding. We just wanted to put the two results together." he added.

    The volunteers said they felt better after exercising with or without the music. But their improvement on the test doubled after listening to music during exercise. Scientists have shown it is true that music can be good for health. It helps cut down stress, sadness and nervousness. And it also wakes up the body and improves memory and thoughts.

    In medical fields, music is used widely for patients who have had headaches before and after operation. "The Four Seasons" was used because of its soft tempo(节拍) and better results in earlier research.

    "Exercise seems to cause better changes in the nervous system and these changes may have a direct result on learning ability." Emery said. Scientists have been studying the result of music on understanding since the early 1950s. By 1990, scientists were using Mozart's music to help children with speech disorders. Mozart was chosen because his music is not overexciting. A study showed students who listened to Mozart scored higher marks in an intelligence test. With important exams coming, your parents will not probably allow you to listen to music. But perhaps now you have good reasons to argue with them.

    There is a lot of salt on the Earth, and it mixes very well with water.

There is some salt in all water. Water on the land runs into lakes and rivers. These rivers run into the seas and oceans. They carry a little salt with them. Some of the ocean water moves into the air and clouds. It evaporates. Salt cannot evaporate. It stays in the oceans.

    The water in the oceans has more salt than river water. There is about 3. 5% salt in the ocean water. Some seas have more salt than others.

    Some of the water leaves the lakes. It evaporates, but the salt cannot. These lakes are very salty. There are two famous lakes like this. They are the Dead Sea in the Middle East and the Great Salt Lake in Utah(犹他州）in the United States. They are much saltier than the Atlantic Ocean（大西洋）and the Pacific Ocean(太平洋）.

    1970 was World Conservation(保护) Year. The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world was in danger. They hoped something could be" done.

    Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1,300 kinds of plants, trees and flowers in Holland(荷兰), but now only 866 are left. The others have been destroyed (毁灭) by modern people and their science. We are polluting earth, air, water and everything around us. We can't live without these things. If things go on like this, we shall destroy ourselves.

    What will happen in the future? Perhaps it's more important to ask "What must we do?". More and more young people have known this. Many of them are helping to save our earth. For example, they plant trees. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of 11 kilometres of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a song called "No one's going to change our world". It was made by Cliff Gichard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve tigers, elephants and pandas on the earth.

    The weather has always been much talked about in our daily life. But bad weather is sometimes hard to stop, no matter who he is-rich or poor, young or old-in every part of the world. Maybe that is why there are so many expressions about the weather, especially about rain

    Sometimes, when you need rain, you do not get any. Other times, you get rain when you don't want it. Take a football game for example. A sudden heavy rain can stop a wonderful game, making the players and the 20, 000 persons watching the game run for cover. If the game can't go on, people who have bought the tickets are given "rain checks". These are special tickets that will let them watch a later game for free.

    "Rain checks" now means a second chance at something. Often, a rain check has nothing to do with rain.

    Shops may give you a "rain check" when they sell something all out-a TV set, for example at a special low price. After all the TV sets are gone, the shop gives rain checks to those who wanted to buy one. The rain check lets a person have another chance to buy the TV set later, at the same low price, after the shop receives some more from the factory

    "Rain check" is also used in our daily life. It's a way of accepting invitation, but for a later time. You may ask for a "rain check if you are asked to a friend, s house for dinner, but can't be there. You say, "T would love to join you for dinner, but I'm busy. Could I have a rain check?" You are asking, in other words, if you could join your friend for dinner at another time.