It seems that everywhere around the world, people are sending more time at work {#blank#}1{#/blank#} less time with their families and friends. People are {#blank#}2{#/blank#} than ever before!

    In the past in many countries, the father worked and the mother stayed home, took {#blank#}3{#/blank#} of the children, and did the food shopping, cooking and cleaning.  At present, in most of the families, parents need work on weekdays, so they {#blank#}4{#/blank#} have to do the shopping, cooking and cleaning in their free time. Parents don't have as much time with their {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, however, they often had time in the past. There are also many single-parent（单亲的）families. In these families, the single parents has to do everything.

    These days ,many children come home {#blank#}6{#/blank#} school to an empty apartment or house .A lot of children spend many hours {#blank#}7{#/blank#} day in front of the television .Even the families are together, it is common for families members to do things by themselves. For example, they {#blank#}8{#/blank#} programs on separate TVs in different rooms, they use the Internet, they {#blank#}9{#/blank#} friends on the telephone, and they do other individual by themselves.

    Isn't it strange? Thanks to technology（科技）, people are able to communicate so {#blank#}10{#/blank#} with people far away, but sometimes they don't communicate with people their own homes.

    There are wild elephants in Malaysia, Thailand and several other countries but most people {#blank#}1{#/blank#}them. Elephants dislike the hot sun. They {#blank#}2{#/blank#} in the cool shelter of the jungle, coming out at night to feed on the vegetation on the fringe of the jungle.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}they are big animals, elephants can move silently when necessary. When there are no hunters(猎人)near them, elephants often make a lot of noise. They tear up young bamboo shoots and eat noisily. But as soon as hunters appear, the elephants {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. A big bull elephant stretches out(伸展)his sensitive trunk and moves it round slowly, searching for the scent of his enemy. His large ears protrude from the side of his head and he listens for the slightest sound. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}he detects(察觉)any danger, the bull taps on the ground with his trunk. Tonk! Tonk! This is the danger signal(信号).{#blank#}6{#/blank#}the elephants disappear into the protection of the jungle.

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#}an elephant will attack(攻击)human beings, particularly if it is defending(保护)its young or it has been wounded. An angry elephant can trample an enemy to death or pick him up with his trunk and smash his hated enemy on the ground. Sometimes hungry elephants damage

(毁坏)crops but usually they {#blank#}8{#/blank#} human beings. In recent years, poachers have killed huge numbers of elephants in Africa to get their ivory tusks.{#blank#}9{#/blank#}, many countries have banned(禁止)trade in objects made of ivory.{#blank#}10{#/blank#}, elephants are still in danger of disappearing completely from many countries where they have lived peacefully for thousands of years.