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　　As the population of the planet increases, so does the number of homes, businesses, parking lots, schools, airports and roadways．All these structures use electricity and need to be lighted．Humans demand these lights．They want their homes more comfortable and they want their streets sage．The problem is that researchers are finding that all the light is having a negative effect on humans and wildlife as well．

　　Less than 10 years ago I drove to a thinly populated section of my town, lay down in the middle of the road and watched an attracted meteor shower(流星雨)．The area was short of homes, street lights and traffic．If I did that today, I wouldn’t be able to see the meteor shower as well, and I would surely be run over by a car．

　　Nowadays scientists are finding light pollution can be almost as bad as carbon dioxide pollution．If you’ve ever taken a flight at night, the view is beautiful, but you must remember that all the light you see is wasted electricity．The crew of the space shuttles see an even bigger picture of how extensive the wasted electricity is worldwide．

　　Additionally, electricity needs to be generated, and the generation of electricity creates pollution by giving off greenhouse gases．This affects the air we breathe and our quality of life．

　　Scientists are also studying the effects of light pollution on wildlife．Thousands of birds die each year when they crash into highly lighted buildings, as they become puzzled by the light．It has been long known that tiny sea turtle hatchlings become lost and follow lights on the shore instead of heading towards the sea．

　　Fortunately, light pollution is one of the easiest sources of pollution that can be corrected without a negative effect．Following some guidelines and a little searching on Google can give you many ideas on how to reduce your contribution to light pollution．

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阅读理解

Andrew Carneigie, known as the King of Steel, built the steel industry in the United States, and, in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America．His success resulted partly from his ability to sell the product and partly from his policy of expanding during periods of economic decline, when most of his competitors were reducing their investments．Carnegie believed that individuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt strongly that the wealthy should use their fortunes for the benefit of society．He opposed charity, preferring instead to provide educational opportunities that would allow others to help themselves．“He who dies rich, dies disgraced”, he often said．Among his more noteworthy contributions to society are those that bear his name, including the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a library, a museum of fine arts, and a museum of national history．He also founded a school of technology that is now part of Carnegie-Mellon University．Other philanthropic(慈善的)gifts are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to promote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund scientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a center for the arts．Few Americans have been left untouched by Andrew Carnegie’s generosity．His contributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communities throughout the country and formed the nucleus of the public library system that we all enjoy today．

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　　My wife passed away a few years ago, and I went through the worst time in my life．I even wanted to kill myself．Just for kids, I had to continue to live and work as small-town doctor at my medical clinic in Hawaii．My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone．Then they asked me to have a family trip．

　　On our trip, we turned on the TV at the motel and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center．Seeing it falling down, I said to my kids：“I’m going to Afghanistan”．And a few weeks later, international Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in provinces where people had no health care．In these field clinics surrounded by frightening shoots or deadly bombs, we were eventually serving 27,000 patients a month in a very busy schedule．Tired and nervous, I gradually had a sense of achievement, a sense of purpose, and my depression went away．

　　In the years to follow, I went to Indonesia after the tsunami, Pakistan after the earthquakes, Sudan after the civil warm and Iraq after more and more bombs．Each time after disasters one after another, hundreds of people were killed, wounded and many more had to flee．We once set up movable clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees, and it was supposed to hold 13,000 originally．Flu broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire．Water and food were also serious problems．“Adventures or not?” I often asked myself．

　　When my wife passed away, I thought my life was done．But in reality, it was just getting started．At the end of her life, she went unconscious．I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit and the exciting adventures we would have．

　　I think about the moment many times during my “adventures”．I didn’t know how predictive those words would be．But I know that she is still with me．

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　　When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears．But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying．

　　So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain．Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying．

　　Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional(情感的)health, and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying．

　　Besides, tears attract help from other people．Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort．Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we' re very sad until we cry．We learn about our emotions through Crying, and then we can deal with them．

　　Just as crying can be healthy, not crying－holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering－can be bad for physical(身体的)health, Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses．If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry．But when you feel like crying, don't fight it．It's a natural－and healthy－emotional response(反应)．

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　　Do you love holidays but hate the increase of weight(体重)that follows? You are not alone．Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods．Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods．

　　With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight．The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much．You don't have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy．The following suggestions may be of some help to you．

　　Do not miss meals．Before you leave home for a feast(宴会), have a small, low fat snack(小吃)．This may help to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods．Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables．A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full．Use a small plate; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough．

　　Better not have high fat foods．Dishes that look oily or creamy have much fat in them．Choose lean meat(瘦肉)．Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables．If you have a sweet tooth, try mints(薄荷)and fruits．They don’t have fat content(含量)as cream and chocolate．Don't let exercise take a break during the holidays．A 20 minute walk after a meal can help burn off extra calories(卡路里)．

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　　An earthquake happens when two plates rub(碰撞)together．The earth plates travel in different directions and at different speeds．If one plate is slowly forced underneath the other, pressure builds up until the plates break apart．This process causes the ground to move．It is an earthquake．In other words, earth-quakes are the shaking of the earth’s surface caused by the earth’s rocky outer layer as a result of the energy stored within the earth．The strain within the rocks is suddenly released(释放)．

　　The damage an earthquake causes depends on where it is and the time it is happening．If an unpopulated region is struck, there will be low loss of life or property．If it hits a large city, there may be many injuries and much destruction．Many of the areas at risk are largely populated now．Major earthquakes hitting those areas today could produce terrible damage．

　　Actually, there are several million small earth-quakes every year．Large earthquakes such as the 1964 Alaskan quake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, cause millions of dollars in damage．In the last 500 years, millions of people have been killed by earthquakes around the world－including 240,000 in the 1976 Tang Shan earthquake in China．

　　A 60-second or less earthquake can cause devastation that continues for years after the first tremor(小震)．In 1972, a series of severe earthquakes struck Managua, Nicaragua．Fifteen years later, the city still looked the way it had a week after the earthquake hit, because the country did not have the necessary money to rebuild it．

　　The shaking of the earth is sometimes not the greatest disaster．It is in the ensuing fires and floods that often the greatest damage occurs．In the 1906 earthquake, it was the fires caused after it that did the majority of the damage．An earthquake can also destroy dams high above a city or valleys, causing floods to sweep down and sweep away everything in their path．

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　　Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go into their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening．

　　One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper．Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent．With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own．

　　Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town．Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country．If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden．Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature．

　　Some people, however, take no interest in country things：for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants．Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London．An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s(two weeks)visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want：the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night．

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　　Reading is very important to help you learn English．To learn as much as you can from reading, you need to read different kinds of English．This book provides not only different kinds of English but also a good way to check your reading ability．

　　There are four parts in the book：

　　Part 1 is Messages：In this part somebody wants to wad information in writing to somebody else．There is a test on timetables and a test on text messages．

　　Part 2 is People：In this part all the tests are about people．For example, there is an informal letter between friends．There is formal(正式的)English in biography(传记)．There is a job application as a model to help with your writing, as welt as testing your reading．

　　Part 3 is Places：In this part, too many different kinds of English are shown, some informal and some formal．There is the informal English of a holiday postcard．There is also the formal English in a letter of complaint．

　　Part 4 is Things：You will find some descriptive writing in this part．There are descriptions of clothes and of a computer．

　　You can do these tests in any order you like, or you can do all the tests with a formal or informal text．I enjoyed writing this book and I hope you enjoy using it,

阅读理解

　　So much to do, so little time．So much information, so little time to read．In this age there is more information than ever before．There is not enough time to read everything we want to read．However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading．This article will not make you read 3,000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly．You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don'ts of speed-reading．

　　When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out．Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud．The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head．Most people tend to read this way．Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously(极大的)．

　　How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read．Get some reading material, preferably a book．Find out how many words are on the page．Time yourself one minute．Start your timer and start reading．When the timer sounds, stop at once．If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute．

　　The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it．Don't say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance．Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed．This is the first and most important step in speed-reading．

　　The next step is technique．As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique．You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal(水平的)surface, such as a table or desk．Next, should be able to see the entire page．This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words．Lastly, you should be focused．It's hard to read with a lot of noise．Find a quiet place to read．This will help your understanding of the text．You need something to guide your eyes while reading．Then right, you should use your hand．Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger．That is a great technique, only now you're using your hand to underline each line．Move your finger smoothly across page．No need to go rush, start out slow．Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide．This will increase your speed．

　　The third step is practice．Practice makes perfect．Set time intervals．Read using different techniques, but make sure you understand what you're reading．