Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father's wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loves experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.

     “Dad will be really mad if he finds out you've been playing with his new computer” Jason said, “He told us not  to touch it.”

     “He won't find out,” Mark said, “I'll just have a quick look and shut it down.”

    Mark had been scolded before for touching his father's equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.

It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It's an experimental model,” his father had explained, so don't touch it under any circumstances.” But his father's warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colours, shifting and changing, and then two big white words appeared in the centre of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”

     “Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It's a computer game. I knew it! Dad's only been pretending to work. He's really been playing games instead!” A new message appeared on the screen:

“ENTER NAMES

VOYAGE 1

VOYAGE 2

    Mark's finger flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.

“INPUT ACCEPTED.

START TRANSPORT PROGRAM.

AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED( 自动回收程序已启动).”

    The screen turn even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.

     “I think we'd better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled out in terror, reaching for the power switch. A beam(光束) of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒)，until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed：

“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL．

DESTINATION:  MARS.

RETRIEVE DATE:  2025

    Energy goes from one plant or animal to another. A food chain shows how this energy moves. Each time an animal gets eaten, its energy is passed onto the animal that eats it. The food chain is very important because it keeps the balance of nature. If one part of the food chain disappears, it can affect all the other plants and animals. Any threat to the food chain is a threat to the environment's biodiversit(生物多样性). The food chain helps keep animal populations in balance. However, if something happens to increase or decrease one of the links in the food chain, that balance is broken. If one animal becomes endangered, it puts all the animals above it at risk.

    Some of the threats are natural, such as wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, floods and so on. But the biggest threats to the food chain come from you and me. These threats include overhunting, overfishing, logging, farming, development, pollution, etc. The food chain is endangered anywhere humans have had an effect on the natural environment.

    A recent study shows that the overfishing of large sharks is damaging the food chain along the US Atlantic coast. Canadian and American scientists say sharks are being killed in great numbers for their meat and fins(鳍). Now, not enough sharks are around to eat the cownose(牛鼻) ray. The ray's population has increased and they have eaten up the shellfish to the point where it has hurt commercial(商业的) fishing.

    Many of us disturb the natural environment in our own backyards. It's up to us to take care of the environment and try not to disrupt the natural food chain. If we don't act responsibly, animals will start disappearing.

    Three men traveling on a train began a conversation about the world's greatest wonders.

    "In my opinion, "the first man said, "the Egyptian pyramids are the world's greatest wonder. Although they were built thousands of years ago, they are still standing. And remember: the people who built them had only simple tools. They did not have the kind of machinery that builders and engineers have today."

    "I agree that the pyramids in Egypt are wonderful," the second man said, "but I do not think they are the greatest wonder. I believe computers are more wonderful than the pyramids. They have taken people to the moon and brought them back safely. In seconds, they carry out mathematical calculations that would take a person a hundred years to do."

    He turned to the third man and asked, "What do you think is the greatest wonder in the world?"

    The third man thought for a long time, and then he said, "Well, I agree that the pyramids are wonderful, and I agree that computers are wonderful, too. However, in my opinion, the most wonderful thing in the world is this thermos."

    And he took a thermos out of his bag and held it up.

    The other two men were very surprised. "A thermos?" they exclaimed. "But that's a simple thing."

    "Oh, no, it's not," the third man said. "In the winter you put in a hot drink and it stays hot. In the summer you put in a cold drink and it stays cold. How does the thermos know whether it's winter or summer?"

    Do you like to show off your expensive items? You could find yourself without friends! Scientists prove that expensive status symbols make you look less socially attractive.

    Items such as a fancy car and a Rolex watch are often thought to increase our social standing(地位) and often come with a high price tag(标签).According to the latest research, however, it has the opposite effect and people would prefer to be friends with someone who places less value on material objects.

    "Often we think that status symbols will make us look more socially attractive to others," says Stephen Garcia, the study's leading author from the University of Michigan. He adds, "However, our research suggests that these status signals actually make us look less socially attractive.

    The researchers conducted six studies which assessed how people presented themselves and how people viewed strangers. People who chose to wear higher status items tended to get a negative response, but people wanted to be friends with people who preferred lower status symbols.

    The study took the role of the luxury(奢侈) item to see if it was possible that the expensive item itself played a part in people's reactions. The definition of a status symbol changed based on a person's socioeconomic status, but the same effect of keeping off potential friends was seen regardless of social position.

    "At a social level, we may be wasting billions of dollars on expensive status symbols that finally keep others from wanting to associate with us, "says Kimberlee Weaver Livnat at the University of Haifa. She says, "And to the extent that close friendships are important to well-being, and we may be unintentionally hurting ourselves."

    However, Patricia Chen of the National University of Singapore said this does not necessarily mean status symbols are a bad thing. She says, "Our findings right now only apply to the formation of new friendships. Status symbols may be beneficial at other times and in other settings, such as when trying to establish new business contacts."

In early February 2019, 51-year-old Rainer Schimpf and his team set out to film South Africa's famous Sardine Run off the coast of Port Elizabeth. The migration of billions of South African sardines, is a big draw for hunters, especially seabirds and dolphins. The two species work together to herd the large group of fish into smaller shoals (浅滩), which are then eaten by not just the birds and the dolphins, but also sharks and Bryde's whales.

In an attempt to find the best scene of the amazing natural phenomenon, which has been the subject of many films, Rainer got into the middle of a swirling ball of fish. Suddenly the sea churned (翻腾), and the experienced diver and his photographer Heinz Toperczer, who was filming from the boat, instantly realized something strange was going on.

Toperczer later said, "As Rainer moved towards the shoals, suddenly the water churned widely up, dolphins shot out of the water and then a whale appeared and caught him!"

Rainer, who was swallowed in darkness inside the whale's mouth, was trying to survive. "I held my breath because I thought he was going to dive down and release me much deeper in the ocean," the diver said.

Fortunately for Rainer, the whale quickly realized he was no sardine! "I felt huge pressure around my waist (腰部) which is when I guess the whale realized his mistake," he said. "As the whale turned sideways, he opened his mouth slightly to release me, and I was washed out, together with tons of water, of his mouth." Though the entire event lasted just 1. 8 seconds, it felt like a century to Rainer.

Still holding his underwater camera, the diver swam to his boat, where he was quickly rescued by the members of the team. The terrifying adventure did not worry Rainer for too long. After checking to ensure he had no injuries, the diver returned to the water. Fortunately, the rest of the adventure went peacefully.

A visually-challenged man from Beijing recently hiked (徒步) 40 days to Xi'an, as a first step {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (journey) the Belt and Road route (路线) by foot. 

On the 1,100 kilometer journey, the man Cao Shengkang, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} lost his eyesight at the age of eight in a car accident, crossed 40 cities and counties in three province. Inspired by the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (hold) in Beijing, Cao decided to cover the route by hiking as a tribute (致敬) to the ancient Silk Road. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} friend of his, Wu Fan, volunteered to be his companion during the trip. 

Cao and Wu also collected garbage along the road, in order to promote environmental {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (protect). Cao believes this will make the hiking trip even more {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (meaning). The two of them collected more than 1,000 plastic bottles along the 40-day journey. 

In the last five years. Cao {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (walk) through 34 countries in six continents, and in 2016, he reached the top of Kilimanjaro, Africa's {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (high) mountain. 

Now, Cao has started the second part of his dream to walk along the Belt and Road route. He flew 4, 700 kilometers {#blank#}9{#/blank#} Xi'an to Kashgar on Sept. 20, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (plan) to hike back to Xi'an in five months.