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　　Every person leaves a footprint．That's what I learnt when I started to work as a private investigator 10 years ago．People pay restaurant bills with their bank card, check into hotels or travel around．In every case, they leave a trace．And because of this, I'm able to track them down even when they don't want to be found．

　　The first thing I do when I want to find out where someone is staying is to go to the neighbourhood where he used to live．It's human nature to tell stories－which is why neighbours will tell me all they know when I ring at their houses．Sometimes, someone even talks about his friend's dishonesty．Then I produce a pattern of my subject's life：if he likes to have a holiday in Spain or in Italy, if he prefers two or three-star hotels and where he might hide his assets(资产)．When I've got this life pattern, I start my research．

　　Nine times out of 10, I find the people I'm looking for．I once investigated a lorry supplier who owed ￡500,000 to a subcontractor(分包商)．The subcontractor wanted to find out if it was worth bringing charges against the supplier．I found out the supplier had moved assets to his son, who founded a new company offering the same product．It was all done within the law．There was no money to be got from that operation．

　　However, I asked the son if I could speak to his father and he told me that his parent was on a long holiday in Spain and wouldn't be back for a while．It didn't take me long to find out that the father wasn't in Spain．

　　I went back to the son and this time he told me that his father might in Bulgaria, and I found him doing winter sports in a beautiful mountain area．He was living in a big house on a large piece of land he had bought for ?400,000．This was exactly the kind of asset my customer was looking for．

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　　The UN Environment Programme says that rising temperatures could mean the end for some migrating animals．

　　Migrating or mobile animals move through several environments as they travel away from the cold of winter to warmer areas．Birds may fly from one part of the world to another, perhaps stopping at feeding grounds on the way．Whales and turtles(海龟)cover vast areas of ocean．The report says that changes in any one of the places which these animals use can cause serious harm．“Obviously these animals have developed their travelling patterns over thousands of years．But climate change is almost certain to be extreme over the next 25 to 50 years and it is extremely unlikely that these animals can change their habits fast enough,”said the report author Dr．Robert Hepworth．

　　Hardest hit by rising temperatures are turtles．Scientists have found that at higher temperatures, turtles produce far more female eggs than male ones．In parts of Malaysia, turtle birthing sites are producing only females, the report says．It also provides evidence that some turtles are more likely to develop cancer as the waters get warmer．

　　With birds, the main problem is climate-related damage to important areas at either end of the travels or at resting places along the way．About one-fifth of migrating birds are now in danger because of climate-related changes including rising sea levels, land loss and more violent storms, the report concludes．

　　Other animals picked out as particularly in danger include：

　　●the North Atlantic Right Whale, whose main food(tiny shrimp)is disturbed by the change in ocean flows．

　　●the White-Nose Dolphin, which is out-competed by other kinds of dolphins in warmer waters．

　　The report is not all bad news．Even with major climatic changes, protecting the environment can still help mobile animals to recover．“We need governments to start taking action at the national and international level．The clock is running,”said Dr．Hepworth．And some animals are already adapting, with the report mentioning whales that are changing their feeding behaviour, finding new feeding grounds and new foods to eat．

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　　For Chinese students the end of their senior year is filled with studying and stress as they prepare for the college entrance exams in June．But for American high school seniors the experience couldn't be more different．The end of senior year is a celebration of their time in high school and involves parties, games and fun．

　　Senioritis is a commonly used expression．It means seniors have a disease which makes them unable to do work．This starts in April when seniors find out where they have been accepted to university．

　　Unwilling to do school work, seniors have plenty of other activities to focus on．

　　Many schools have a“Senior Show”, in which only seniors are allowed to perform．Some seniors sing or dance but many of them perform skits(小喜剧), where they make fun of their favorite teachers or their friends．“For example”, a group of boys may dress up and imitate a group of their girl friends．It is all very light-hearted．

　　The“Senior Show”is usually a part of Senior Week, which is a week specifically dedicated(专用的)to seniors．During this week, seniors usually get academic or athletic awards they have won over their high school careers．The seniors also vote for one of their male and female classmates who they believe is the best-looking or funniest or most involved, etc．These are then published in the yearbook．

　　The yearbook is an important part of high school for seniors．It is usually dedicated to them and has all their pictures and a quote from them in it．Then seniors go around and get it signed by their friends so they can always remember their time together．

　　Of course during all of this time, seniors are preparing for the Senior Prom, which is an important moment in American culture．It is the most important dance in a young American's life．

　　The end of senior year is a truly special and wonderful time for American students．It's something they will remember for the rest of their lives．

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　　In the future your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!

　　For each prediction that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile．Many of these predictions didn't consider how people would want to use the technology．Or if people really needed it in their lives or not．Let's look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past．

　　Robot Helpers

　　Where's the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course．And he's probably not coming anytime soon．Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other Manufacturing environments．

　　Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people's home．

　　So why hasn't happened? Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy．And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weirD．At home we seem to be doing fine without them．

　　Telephones of tomorrow?

　　In 1964 an American company introduced the video telephone．They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes．But of course the idea hasn't caught on yet．

　　Why? The technology worked fine, but it overlooked something obvious：people's desire for privacy．Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just stepped out of the shower? Probably not－it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology available doesn't always mean people will want to use it．

　　And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It's not so crazy anymore! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination．Keep watching the news－or perhaps the sky outside your window－to see what the future will bring．

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　　A tropical fish that lives in mangrove swamps(湿地)across the Americas can survive out of water for months at a time, similar to how animals adapted to land millions of years ago, a new study shows．

　　The Mangrove Rivulus, a type of small tropical killerfish, seeks refuge in shallow pools of water in crab caves, nut shells or even old beer cans in the tropical mangrove swamps of Belize, the United States and Brazil．

　　When their living place dries up, they group together on the land in hollowed logs(圆木)and breathe air through their skin instead of their gills(腮)until they can find water again．The fish, whose scientific name is Rivulus Marmoratus, can grow as large as three inches．

　　The scientific breakthrough came after a trip to Belize．

　　“We kicked over a log and the fish just came dropping out,”Taylor told Reuters in neighboring Guatemala by telephone．He said he will publish his study on the fish in The American Naturalist journal early next year．

　　In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can survive for up to 66 days out of water without eating, and their metabolism(新陈代谢)keeps functioning．

　　Some other fish can survive briefly out of water．The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can move about over land for hours at a time, while lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can survive out of water, but only in a sleeping state．

　　No other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and remain active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at Canada's University of Guelph．

　　“These animals live in an environment that is similar to conditions that existed millions of years ago, when animals began making the evolution from water onto land,”she said．

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Dear Mr．Barton,

　　I'm writing in the name of the residents' association(居委会)to inform you of our feelings regarding your behaviour(行为)．We've really had just about enough of you．Although we have tried to speak to you civilly on several occasions, you have always responded with a stream of verbal abuse(谩骂)．

　　Ever since you moved in three months ago, you have shown very little consideration for the other residents of the building, despite numerous complaints．For the past six weekends in a row, you have held extremely noisy parties, which have not finished until the early hours of the morning．It's just not on! As you are aware, most of the people here are old people or have very young children, and the noise keeps them awake all night．You don't have to be so noisy, do you?

　　Last weekend the situation deteriorated further when two of your acquaintances(相识)were involved in a fight on the first floor landing．The disturbance was so bad that the police had to be called．What's more, your mates left the stairs in a terrible state－they even broke two windows on their way out! We feel that this type of bad behaviour is unbearable．

　　We strongly recommended that you arrange payment for this damage to the windows, soon．If you don't and you carry on being a nuisance(令人讨厌的人), we will kick you out! Legal steps will be taken if necessary．

Yours sincerely

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　　When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing．His mother took him to see the famous showman, P．T．Barmum．Mr Barmum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show．He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled the world together．

　　He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb．He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act, and tell jokes．When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads．To stir up(激起)great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England．

　　During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people．He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall．

　　Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money．By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich．He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five．

　　Fortunately for Tom, Mr．Barmum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well．One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher．Tom was able to win her love, and they married．

　　The ceremony(庆典)and reception(宴会)were the talk of the town．They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests．Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding carriage．The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut．

　　Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war．Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade(变淡，变暗), communities throughout the country sponsored(主持)“Tom Thumb”weddings．In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremonies for fun．

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　　How can a creature weighing over 5 tons and normally taking 150 kilograms of food and 120 liters of water per day survive in a desert environment?

　　In the southwest African country of Namibia, and the Sahara lands of Mali further north, the desert elephant does just that．

　　Although not regarded as a separate species from the African elephant, the desert cousin differs in many ways．Their bodies are smaller, to absorb less heat, and their feet are larger for easier walking across sandy surfaces．They are taller, to reach higher branches．They have shorter tusks(象牙), and most importantly, longer trunks to dig for water in riverbeds．

　　Desert elephants can travel over 70 kilometers in search for feeding grounds and waterholes, and have a larger group of families．They drink only every 3－4 days, and can store water in a“bag”at the back of their throat, which is only used when badly needed．Desert elephants are careful feeders-they seldom root up trees and break fewer branches, and thus maintain(保持)what little food sources are available．Young elephants may even eat the dung(粪便)of the female leader of a group when facing food shortage．

　　During drought they are unlikely to give birth to their young but with good rains the birthrate will increase greatly．Desert elephants have sand baths, sometimes adding their own urine(尿液)to make them muddy! As we continue to overheat our weak planet, it can only be hoped that other animal species will adapt(适应)as well to change as the desert elephant．

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　　While reading a book in English, every few lines of text, you run across a word or two that you don't know．You look up every new word in the dictionary．Bad move．All that does slow you down．Even electric or CD–ROM dictionaries can get in the way of your reading progress．A dictionary is like a road map．It can help you if you get lost and point you in the right direction．But if you stop to look at the“map”each time you take a step, you'll get nowhere fast．

　　On your English learning“journey”, a dictionary can be a helpful“travel companion”－if it is not overused．To help you start thinking in English, use an English-to-English dictionary．Otherwise, you will always depend on your native language and end up translating in your head．

　　A good dictionary can help you do more than just find the meaning of a word．It can help you verify(test and check)spelling, check word forms and grammar usage, find example sentence and learn pronunciation．Some dictionaries even provide exercises to teach you how to use their resources．

　　Take time to get to know your dictionary．Learn the pronunciation symbols．Understand what the abbreviations(缩写字)mean．Try to master the important grammar rules．Look for charts, diagrams and lists that might be useful in the future．You will discover how helpful it can be to make friends with your dictionary．And as they say,“A friend in need is a friend indeed．”

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　　Lisa is ten years old．She is disabled because she has brain damage．She could not do even the simplest thing until a year ago．She could not comb her hair or feed herself．Her parents loved her．And they treated her like a baby．

　　Mr Ching has a daughter and a son．They are both grown．They live far from their father．Mr Ching felt lonely．He decided to become a foster grandfather to a disabled child．And that was how he met Lisa．

　　Foster grandparents are grandparents who are not related by birth but foster grandparents love the children they care for．They also help the disabled children in special ways．They help to dress and feed the children．They read to them and tell them stories．They also help with disabled children's therapy．Therapy is the treatment of a disease or disorder．It helps the children overcome their disabilities．

　　Mr．Ching became a foster grandparent to Lisa when she was nine years old．At first, Lisa was shy．She was afraid because Mr．Ching was a stranger．But he came to see her every day．Gradually she began to trust him．At last Lisa let Mr．Ching do things for her．

　　Ching speaks for most foster grandparents when he says,“We all benefit(获益)．The disabled children benefit because we help them live more useful lives．And we benefit because we know the children need us and love us．For any person，there's no greater happiness than that!

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