Elephants are the largest living animals on land. More than 500 1 kinds of elephants were found on the earth over the last 55 million years. Only 2 kinds are still alive today: the African elephant and the Asian (or Indian) elephant. These elephants can only be found in 3 places. However, the older kinds lived in cold places a long time4. An example is the mammoth (猛犸象) — the largest hairy elephant.

    The mammoth was the largest living elephant, which was about seven tons. 5 the elephants today, mammoths had black or dark brown hairs 6their bodies. All the mammoths had tusks (长牙).

    Scientists found most of the extinct (灭绝的) animals by 7 the fossils, 8 their bones and teeth that could be found. However, mammoths are quite different. During the Ice Age, mammoths died and were covered 9 in the ice. The ice kept them very well. So scientists could find the 10 body of the mammoth.

    We each have a memory. That's why we can still remember things after a long time. Some people have very good memories and they can easily learn many things by heart, but some people can only remember things when they say or do them again and again. Many of the great men of the world have got surprising memories.

    A good memory is a great help in learning languages. Everybody learns his mother language when he is a small child. He hears the sounds, remembers them and then he learns to speak. Some children are living with their parents in foreign countries. They can learn two languages as easily as one because they hear, remember and speak two languages every day. In school it is not so easy to learn a foreign language because the pupils have so little time for it, and they are busy with other subjects, too.

    But your memory will become better and better when you do more and more exercises

    In the years, I will be 24 years old. Our city will be a1living place then. There will be many tall buildings and trees. Many people will visit our2. Almost every family will have one or two solar(太阳能的)cars.

    People will3their cars to work every day. The libraries will have more computers, and people can 4books on them. The restaurants will have robot waiters to bring you 5. Schools will have more teachers from England to6you English. With the7of new transportation(交通方式), travel will be fast. You can only need two8to get to Africa! Machines and robots will do heavy and difficult jobs9we will have more time. What do you think? Do you think this idea about life10will come true?

    It's March 12^th. Li Li and Lin Tao are digging on a hill nor far from their school. In China, people across the country plant trees1on this day.

    The idea of planting trees was first put forward in 1911 by Sun Zhongshan, the great2 in China's history. He said more trees were needed as a3against flood(洪水)and drought. In 1915, April 5^th was named as Tree Planting Day. Then, in 1979, the day4to March 12^th, to 5the date on which Sun Zhongshan died.

    "Everyone has heard of the Great Wall of China," says Li Li. "But have you heard of the Green Wall of China? That's the biggest tree planting 6 of all. "The Gobi Desert in the north of China was 7every year. So in 1978, a tree planting project was started to 8 Gobi spreading. The government and local farmers have been planting millions of trees to build a great green "wall" along the edge of the desert.

    "Tree planting has become a tradition in China now," says Lin Tao. "Almost everyone does it on March 12th. Many people also plant a tree on a 9 day. My parents planted a tree when started school. And my cousin planted 10 on his wedding (婚礼) day. We do it for the environment and for ourselves."

    As we know, there are four seasons in a year. When spring 1, it's getting warmer and warmer. Everything comes back to life. Trees turn 2. There are beautiful flowers and grass here and there. Children can 3 kites in the sky. 4 summer, the weather becomes hot. 5 people can take part in more activities outside, such as running in the morning, taking a walk in the evening, going camping, 6 in the river, travelling with family, and so on. 7 comes after summer. It's a harvest season. We can taste 8 of fresh fruits. The weather is neither too hot nor too cold. People feel comfortable. It usually snows in winter in my home town. Snowing 9 me excited. Children are 10 in making snowmen outside. A heavy snow will predict a good year. The four seasons bring us happiness and pleasure. We should love and treasure (珍惜) them.

    Some people say they have an answer to the problems of cars crowding and pollution. In many cities, hundreds of people ride bikes to work every day. In New York city, some bike riders have even1a group：Bike for a Better City. They say it more people rode bikes to work, there would be fewer cars and less dirty air.

    For several years this group had tried to get help for bike riders. They want to have special roads for bikes only, because when bike riders must use the same roads2cars, there may be an accident. Some people from Bike for a Better City feel if there were bike roads, more people would use bikes.

    But3bike roads have been ready yet.

    Not everyone thinks it is a good idea. Drivers don't like it, and some shop owners don't either. And most people live quite far from the city and have to travel by car. Still 4has been done about it. On Saturdays and Sundays, the largest open park in New York is5to cars and the roads may be used by bikes only, but the group still says this is not enough and goes on fighting6bike roads.