In the UK, bus journeys are very common. Buses are often convenient（便利的）for the people who live or work in the city center. Passengers can avoid heavy traffic and not have to pay for the parking. However, taking the bus is just a necessary but boring part of life: they get on the bus, pay for it and sit or find a place to stand when it is crowded. Everyone seems sad and bored.

 In Latin America, however, bus trips can be wonderful. For a start, films are showed on the buses between cities for passengers to have fun along the journeys. Local buses do not show films, but drivers usually turn on the radio and it can be great for passengers to listen to songs and get relaxed.

 Even better than films and music are the sights and sounds on the buses. Local buses always go to parts of the town that passengers would not visit by themselves. There passengers can see shops that they have never heard about. And they can also see other cultures of the town from the windows of the buses.

Besides, passengers' luggage（行李）is also interesting. It is common to see a happy dog's head getting out of somebody's bag or a lovely chicken“speaking cheerfully”under somebody's arm. Once on a bus in Peru, a farmer even tied a sheep to the top of the bus. It was quite surprising.

 In all, taking the bus in Latin America is really fun and unforgettable.

    My sister Alli and I have been trying to get people to stop dropping cigarette butts (烟蒂) for seven years.

    One day, we were walking in our hometown and saw hundreds of cigarette butts on the ground.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    They made the town look so ugly that we decided to start a group to make people stop dropping butts. We called it "No Butts About It!"

    At first, we drew pictures with "The Earth Is Not Your Ashtray (烟灰缸) " written on them. We put the pictures around our hometown--in parks, by beaches, and along roads.

    We wanted to make people understand that dropping butts does harm to the environment. Most smokers don't think that dropping butts harms the earth.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Later, we wrote to companies and asked them for money to help us. We used the money to buy ashtrays to give smokers.

    We wanted smokers to carry the ashtrays with them so they didn't have to drop butts.

    At the moment, we are trying to get cigarette companies to put an ashtray in each pack of cigarettes.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Many people have started to join our group since it began.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}And there are even groups in England, Australia and India !

    Many newspapers have written about my sister and I over the last seven years. And we have won many prizes for our good work.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}We just want to make the earth a better and cleaner place for animals, plants and people.

    One day it will be.

A. My sister and I set up a "No Butts About It" group.

B. But we are not interested in prizes.

C. Today there are 45 other "No Butts About It" groups in America.

D. They made the ground dirty.

E. But it does! All rubbish does.

F. Many smokers like to drop butts here and there.

G. Some companies would like to do it.

    Eyes are important. It's necessary for us to take care of them for our whole lives.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} No. In fact, if we do a few simple things every day, we can protect our eyes and reduce (减少) the risk of hurting them.

    Most doctors agree that we can improve and protect our eyes by eating lots of fresh fruit. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Vegetables like carrots are good for our eyes. We need to protect our eyes when spending a lot of time in bright sunlight. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}What's more, it is important to protect our eyes when we work at some places. For example, we should always wear goggles (护目镜) in chemistry labs. And we should not spend too much time in front of the computer or television screen. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}That is why we should take a short break every fifteen or thirty minutes if we have to use the computer for a long time. Keeping good eyesight is also important. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. We can do some eye exercises to keep good eyesight.

B. Is it difficult to protect our eyes?

C. Using computers for a long time may cause eye problems

D. It's important for us to eat all kinds of vegetables.

E. The best way is to wear sunglasses.

    John, a farmer, was riding his cart(运货马车)along the country road. He had to arrive at the market early so that he could sell his vegetables. It rained heavily the day before, so it was very difficult for the horse to move on in the mud(泥). {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    It was more difficult for the horse to move the cart. John climbed down from his seat and stood beside his cart.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} He felt really sad. But he didn't try to pull the wheels up by himself. Instead, he looked up at the sky and started shouting, "I am unlucky! {#blank#}3{#/blank#}"

    After some time, an old man walked by. "Do you think you can move the cart by simply looking at it and shouting?" he asked. "Did you try to get the wheels out of the mud by yourself? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Come on, put your shoulder(肩) to the wheels, and you will soon find the way out."

John did as the old man said.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} John learned his lesson. He thanked the man and went happily on his way.

Why Live Near the River?

Imagine pioneers traveling west in the 1800s. In those days, it was hard to find running water and shops where to buy things. As time went by, most pioneers had to make their homes near a river so that they could get water easily.

How did rivers help people live in the past?

Back in the pioneer days, people grew their own food, caught their own fish, and collected their own water.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}People also used rivers as roads, traveling on boats. Traders shipped goods (货物) to people from other areas.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

When building many factories right next to rivers for the water's power to make machines work, some people choose to live near a river for working. They use the river to ship large goods, and some of them work at these factories where power factories provide electricity for homes and businesses.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Who wouldn't want to live near a river?

Some people are nervous about living near rivers because rivers can cause floods (洪水). Every once in a while, floodwaters rise higher than a house, ruining (毁坏) many things in the house.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Such waste causes water to smell bad and pollutes the crops (作物) we eat. Water and crops in polluted areas can make people very sick.

How do people decide where to live?

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Rivers can provide jobs and fun activities in a beautiful place. However, those living by rivers should be willing to accept possible problems as well.