Some countries are better than others at looking after the environment. In Europe, Germany(德国) and northern European countries work very hard to improve the environment. The people in Germany put their rubbish into different bags--paper in one bag, plastic in another. Laws do not allow people to burn too much coal.  

    In the l970s, as people learned more about environmental problems. The "Green" movement(运动) began and soon spread all over Europe. The "Green" movement tries to get governments to protect the environment. It collects information about how industry is damaging(毁坏) the environment and tells newspapers.

    Members of an international organization are called the Global Greeters. They offer travelers the chance to get to know a city as well as local people do.

    Unlike the professional guides(专业导游), the volunteer greeters act more like neighbours. They take visitors to visit the city–either on foot or public traffic—to discover favourite neighbourhoods, cafes and parks.

    All the programs work a little differently, but the basics(基本项目) are the same. The tours are free and last anywhere for two or four hours. Volunteers can be all ages, and their ages and interests try to match the travelers.

    New York City(USA)

    Big Apple Greeter is the pioneer “welcome visitor” program founded in 1992 by New Yorker Lynn Brooks. More than 300 volunteers now can welcome guests from all over the world in 22 languages. Greeters explain the New York City subway and bus systems and show guests around one or more of their favourite neighbourhoods. Like many greeter organizations, Big Apple accepts online donations to help with its daily costs.

    Houston(USA)

    Houston Greeters will organize activities such as golf, biking or an outing to an Astros game(太空人队的比赛). Another activity is to arrange a tour in need of a particular interest.

    Chicago(USA)

    Chicago Greeters help visitors visit one of the city's many famous neighbourhoods. The group organizes walks through Ukrainian Village on the Near North Side and Andersonville, home to Scandinavian restaurants and shops and Middle Eastern bakeries. Guides will also organize tours around themes such as fashion, film or public art.

    France

    In France, English speaking volunteers for Parisien d'un Jour lead visitors through hidden corners of Paris, often ending with a lively discussion on a café balcony. Guides in Lyon organize walks around themes such as shopping, markets and sports.

    Last Friday night I went to a great party. It was a birthday party for my English teacher Mrs Brown. Students in my class all went to celebrate(庆祝) her 40^th birthday. We began to prepare for(为……做准备) the party two weeks before that, but Mrs. Brown didn't know anything about it.

    We all met at a restaurant at a quarter to seven. There were about 30 people. Mrs. Brown's son took her to the restaurant and they arrived at seven o'clock. Just before seven, we all stayed in one room of the restaurant and it was dark in the room.

    When they got to the restaurant, Mrs. Brown's son asked her to go into the room first. Then we all shouted, "Surprise!"

    Mrs. Brown was really surprised. She jumped when she heard us. Then we sang "Happy Birthday to You" and she knew what was happening(发生). We all had a great dinner and then a delicious birthday cake.

    For her birthday, Mrs. Brown got a beautiful quilt. We all printed(印) our photos on it. So it was a very special quilt.

    Mrs. Brown enjoyed the party, and we enjoyed it, too.

Information Card

    About the year 1900, Charlie Chaplin (卓别林) was often seen waiting outside the back entrances of London theaters. He looked neither tall nor short. He was hoping to get work in show business. Luckily, he soon got a chance to act and it was also his first performance on the stage.

    But twenty years later, this same Chaplin became the greatest, best-known comedian (喜剧演员) in the world. Any regular visitor to the cinema must have seen some of Charlie Chaplin's films. People everywhere have laughed at them until tears have run down their faces. Even people who don't understand English can enjoy Chaplin's films because they mostly have no sound. It isn't what he says that makes us laugh. It is based on little actions which mean the same thing to people all over the world.

    Chaplin lived most of his life in America and died in Switzerland on Christmas Day in 1977, at the age of eighty-eight. There was sadness all over the world at the news of his death.

    I did not grow up in a family with books.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}My process of being a reader seemed amazing. I got lost in one book that opened up my world and changed my life. My primary school teacher always gave her pupils time to read for pleasure in school. She believed it would improve reading greatly. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}It was a biography(传记) of actress Greta Garbo. I picked it up and began to read from cover to cover. The words I read attracted(吸引) me and I was excited. I realized that there were other women like Greta who had made great efforts and changed their lives. I recognized(认识) myself in her. 

    From then on, my teacher had a hard time keeping me supplied(提供) with books. She dug up all the biographies of women that she could find.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    It has been a long road. I am now a physics professor in a university. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Recently, someone gave me Justice Sonia Sotomayor's autobiography. Once again, I am encouraged and am imagining new possibilities for my life. 

    Do you know what makes lightning (闪电)? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Lightning strikes happen when ice and water in clouds rub (摩擦) together, and cause atmospheric (大气层的) changes. When this happens, it creates a static charge (静电). Lightning can strike inside the cloud, between two clouds or between a cloud and the earth. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Lightning can be very dangerous. Every year, lightning kills people because it can start big fires or because it reaches a temperature of 28,000℃. About 1,000 people are hit by lightning every year in the United States, and about 100 of them die as a result.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Scientists think that there are more than three million lightning strikes every day in the world. An American man, Roy Sullivan, who worked in a park, survived from the most lightning strikes. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}And he keeps the highest world record.

    Lightning is sure not something to play with. When lightning strikes, it's best to stay inside a large building. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Also, do not lie down on the ground, or the electricity may go through you and cause a heart problem.