With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills(泄露) on people, nature, and the environment．

　　Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．

　　Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．

　　Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．

　　Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!

　　We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power(太阳能), electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．

　　If the world’s millions of cars were 10％ more efficient(高效的)－and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient－we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．

　　Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to participate in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to showcase the image of the host country and city．The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China．

　　Ⅰ．Basic Requirements for Volunteers

　　●Be willing to participate in voluntary services of Expo 2010;

　　●Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30, 1992 and Expo City Voluntary Service Station volunteers before April 30, 1994;

　　●Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;

　　●Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;

　　●Possess necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;

　　●Be in good health to meet the requirements of corresponding voluntary positions．

　　Ⅱ．Further Information for Volunteers

　　●Source

Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers．

　　●Signup methods

Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup．They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations．

　　●Time

May 1－December 31, 2009

　　Ⅲ．Volunteer Training

　　Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training．General training is carried out through the Internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice．

　　Ⅳ．Volunteer Types

　　●Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and volunteer management．

　　●Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo’s information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site．They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid．

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　　Shopping in the United States changes a lot．About ninety years ago most people shopped in small stores that were owned by one person or a family．Women went from the bakery to the butcher’s to the grocer and on to the fruit and vegetable seller in order to get their food for the week．Then, about sixty years ago, supermarkets were born．In a supermarket, people could get all the different kinds of food they needed without going to different stores．

　　The next big change in shopping in the United States was the shopping mall．A shopping mall is a group of stores under one roof．Because malls allowed people to shop without worrying about the weather, they soon became very popular．The mall became a place for people to socialize in addition to shopping．If you walk through a mall, you will see older people sitting, chatting and drinking coffee．Malls are places for teenagers to hang out．Many teens will often just“go to the mall”and spend time with their friends．

　　The recent change in American shopping was the superstore．Large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Toys“R”Us have been built all across the United States．Because they are so large, they can buy goods at a great discount and sell them much cheaper than smaller stores．Sometimes, when they are built near small towns, many of the small town stores have to close．They just cannot compete with their giant neighbors．

　　And now, online shopping is becoming more and more popular all over the States．People are too busy to go to the physical stores, so they go shopping over the Internet．Online shopping has lots of advantages．For instance, online stores are usually available 24 hours a day．Searching or browsing online shops can be faster than browsing the physical stores．While, online shopping also has its disadvantages．People are at higher risk of being cheated on the part of the merchant than in a physical store．And privacy of personal information may be let out．

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　　A senior United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF)official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare．A．H．M．Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for China and Mongolia said that China“can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily．”

　　China's child population makes up one-fifth of the world's total．“The reason behind the tremendous(巨大的)achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society,” he said．

　　“What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need．”The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing．

　　The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks, sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a“Share the Sunshine”party, as a prelude(前奏)to celebrations to mark the Children's Day．

　　The Beijing children's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children．

　　A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400－500 yuan a month for an average orphan．An average Chinese workers earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year．

　　Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children．

　　She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling．

　　By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1.25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms．

　　Three“Hope Stars”also attended the party．They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory studies in the poverty-stricken regions．They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the up coming Atlanta Olympic Games this year．

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　　June 26, 2000－the Human Genome(基因组)Project, a great ＄3 billion, 15-year task aimed at drawing the genetic(遗传的)map of humans, is now more than 90 percent completed．The scientific and medical communities are very excited about the chances genetic research provides for getting rid of diseases and prolonging(延长)human life．But those communities and policy makers also are careful about the scientific door they are opening as the project uncovers the mysteries of life．

　　For the last few years, the genetic advances in the developing field of biotechnology have provides material for all kinds of work, but the developments of modern science in unlocking the secrets of the human genetic code have opened a world of possibilities for human health, as well as for the popular imagination．

　　While European and Japanese researchers are making rapid progress in decoding(解码)human DNA, the leading organization for genetic research is in the United States, which began in 1990, is“unlocking the code”of the human body to learn how to defeat fatal(致命的)diseases．Already, the Human Genome Project has become widely known and praised for finding the genes connected with terrible diseases as yet(迄今), and making progress toward separating the genes that show a sign of breast cancer or AIDS．

　　Once these genes are found and studied, researchers can develop new ways to attack infections, and genetic diseases．Medical companies are very interested in mapping the human genome, as they expect to develop a lot of new drugs for these illnesses．

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　　Breathe, wave and smile．Along with more than 300 other seniors, I marched into the stadium on the afternoon of May 10．The audience burst into deafening cheers．The huge stadium shook with all the whistling and clapping．

　　It was as if a Hollywood superstar had walked on stage．And indeed, every single senior that day was a star of the moment．Each deserved it．The seniors had been preparing for four years for this once-in-a-lifetime moment－the commencement(graduation ceremony)．

　　Seated, I waited anxiously for the opening address．As a foreign exchange student, I was not able to receive a diploma．However, I still had the wonderful feeling of being part of things．Like the other graduates, I was dressed in marron cap and gown．

　Our principal, Mr Glover, delivered a short, warm greeting．The US national anthem followed and then, hands on chests, a solemn Pledge of Allegiance(美国的爱国誓言)．

　　Students who had excelled academically gave farewell speeches．The tears in some eyes convinced me that many had deep feelings about the occasion．It was as the class motto says,“Life brings us tears, smiles and memories．The tears dry; the smiles fade; but the memories last forever．”

　　Then came the core(the most important part)of the commencement．Hundreds of names were announced．Each graduate walked across the stage to receive his or her diploma from the principal．From the different cheers each graduate got, we had the funny sense that it was a kind of competition of who could cheer the loudest．

　　To be honest, the presentation of diplomas got boring．A girl sitting next to me even started yawning．But it wasn't boring for those receiving the diploma：they would treasure the moment the principal placed the sacred brown document in their hands for the rest of their lives．

　　A new page in the book of that person's life had turned．They were glimpsing their futures：futures of challenge, hardship, perhaps loneliness too, which would take all of their courage．

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　　The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare's time is estimated(估计)to have been about five million．Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand．In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms．

　　In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate(足够的)working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages．The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation．

　　The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language．Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers．It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations．It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies．Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West．

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　　During all this time I never stopped thinking about escape(逃亡)．When I traveled across to the other side of the island(岛屿), I could see the other islands, and I said to myself, “Perhaps I can get there with a boat．Perhaps I can get back to England one day．”

　　So I decided to make myself a boat．I cut down a big tree, and then began to make a long hole(洞)in it．It was hard work, but about six months later, I had a very fine canoe(独木舟)．Next, I had to get it down to the sea．How silly I was!Why didn't I think before I began work?Of course, the canoe was too heavy．I couldn't move it!I pulled and pushed and tried everything, but it didn't move．I was very unhappy for a long time after that．

　　That happened in my fourth year on the island．In my sixth year I did make myself a smaller canoe, but I did not try to escape in it．The boat was too small for a long journey, and I did not want to die at sea．The island was my home now, not my prison, and I was just happy to be alive．A year or two later, I made myself a second canoe on the other side of the island．I also built myself a second house there, and so I had two homes．

　　My life was still busy from morning to night．There were always things to do or to make．I learnt to make new clothes for myself from the skins of dead animals．They looked very strange, it is true, but they kept me dry in the rain．

　　I kept food and tools(工具)at both my houses, and also wild goats(山羊)．There were many goats on the island, and I made fields with high fences to keep them in．They learnt to take food from me, and soon I had goats' milk to drink every day．I also worked hard in my corn(玉米)fields．And so many years went by．

阅读理解

　　Why do you think people who live in some hot countries eat very spicy(辛辣的)food?Is it because the spices make the food taste better?Is it just because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents liked hot food, or is there some connection between spices and healthy food?

　　Researchers from Cornell University think that it is because spice plants have some important chemicals(化学物质)．These chemicals can kill bacteria(细菌)which spoil food．“Most common spices can kill 75 to 100 percent of the bacteria in food,”explains one of the scientists．The bacteria grow more easily and spoil food more quickly at higher temperatures．For this reason, it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates．

　　Do you like your food spicy?Your answer probably tells something about the country you come from．If you like spicy food, it is possible that hundreds of years ago, when there were no fridges, people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling．The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live longer, healthier lives．Today, in a time of fridges, the spices just make the food taste good．

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　　Spiderman(蜘蛛侠)is one of the most famous comic book heroes of all time．He was created by Stan Lee in 1963 and was first introduced to the world in the pages of Marvel comic books．

　　Spiderman's story is the story of Peter Parker, a child who lost his parents and lives with his aunt and uncle．Peter is a shy, quiet boy wearing glasses and has few friends．One day, on a high school class trip to a science lab, he gets bitten by a special spider．Soon Peter realizes he has amazing powers：he is as strong and quick as a spider and also has a type of sixth sense．He no longer needs his glasses and he can use his super power to fly through the city streets!Remembering something his Uncle Ben has told him, that“with great power, there must also come great responsibility(责任),”Peter decides to use his powers to fight enemies who do cruel things to people．And so, Spiderman is born．

　　Life is not easy for Peter even though he is a superhero．He is in love with Mary Jane but cannot tell her about his amazing powers．Besides, his best friend Harry hates Spiderman!Peter is also short of money and time．He has to sell photos of Spiderman(himself!)to a newspaper and he keeps losing his other jobs because he's so busy saving people!Yet he has to fight different kinds of cruel enemies．