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　　We all know that birds use their feathers(羽毛)to line their nests．But have you ever heard of a bird eating its own feathers? It is a bird which lives in the water and it is called the grebe．The grebe's feathers are silky to touch and are black or gray in color．It is usually 7 to 10 inches long and has short wings and a pointed bill(鸟嘴)．It eats its own feathers and feeds them to their young ones too．And, it always prefers soft feathers, which it gets rid of throughout the year．

　　Scientists believe that its feather-eating habit is linked to the process in which it throws waste．The grebe has a unique excretory system．It throws out one or two balls of waste through its mouth every two days．The main food of grebe is fish．So the ball of waste has something hard to digest(消化)like fish bones and scales(鱼鳞)．And there are parasites(寄生虫)．It is important for the grebe to throw these parasites out．If it didn't, they would make it sick．According to scientists, the feathers add fiber to its waste．It makes it easier to form(形成)the ball of waste and to throw it out．

　　Another interesting characteristic is its toes(脚趾)．They are united to form a web near the base, while the rest are rounded like an umbrella．The shape of its toes helps it to swim．In fact, the grebes are excellent swimmers and they use their feet only for diving force under water．

　　The grebe makes its nest on floating leaves or plants and lays about two to ten eggs in it．Both the male and female grebe hatch(孵化)the eggs and take care of the young ones．The young grebes have stripes(条纹)on them．

　　There are 18 to 20 species of grebes living around the world, some of which are endangered．

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　　The American book Who Moved My Cheese has been a bestseller all over the world．It teaches people how to face challenges in their lives．Now its author Spence Johnson has written a book just for teens．The book tells us that when facing changes in our lives, like a new school or new friends, don't be afraid．Instead, use this change to make a better life．The book gives an example of a change at school．A school is changing from having two terms to three terms because there are too many students．

　　Several teens are talking about this．Most of them are unhappy and worried．But Chris is not．He laughs and tells a story about two mice, two “little people” and some cheese．

　　The four are in a maze(迷宫)looking for the cheese．Here, cheese means something important in life, like moving to a new class or getting into college．But they find the cheese is gone．The mice realize that they can't change what has happened and have to find more cheese．This means finding different dreams．The little people, however, can't do this．They are afraid of changes so they found no cheese．

　　After Chris finishes this story, the friends understand one thing：to get more cheese, move in a new direction quickly．His friends understand how this can be used in the changes all teens face, such as doing well at school or having good relationships or just feeling good about yourself．

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　　Welcome to Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world．Windsor is one of the official residences(住所)of the Queen, who sometimes stays here．

　　Free audio tours are available on leaving the Admission Centre at the start of your visit．There is a descriptive audio tour for blind and poor-sighted visitors．

　　Visitors can explore the history of the Castle through a tour of the Precincts with an expert guide．Tours depart at regular intervals throughout the day from the Courtyard and finish at the entrance to the State Apartments．

　　For those visiting with children, a special family tour and various activities are offered during school holidays and at weekends．Please note that, for safely reasons, pushchairs are not permitted in the State Apartments．However, baby carriers are available to borrow．

　　Visitors arriving at the Castle after 15∶00 from March to October are advised to visit St George's Chapel first before it closes．

　　Shops offer a wide range of souvenirs designed for the Royal Collection, including books, postcards, china, jewellery, and children's toys．Please ask at the Middle Ward shop about our home delivery service．

　　Bottled water can be purchased from the Courtyard and Middle Ward shops．Form April to September ice cream is also available．Visitors wishing to leave the Castle for refreshments in the town may obtain re-entry permits from the castle shops．Eating and drinking are not permitted in the State Apartments or St George's Chapel．

　　Non-commercial photography and filming are welcomed in the Castle．Photography, video recording and filming are not permitted inside the State Apartments or St George's Chapel in consideration of other visitors．

　　As Windsor Castle is a working royal palace, visitors and their belongings should get through airport-style security checks．For safety and security reasons a one-way system operates along the visitor route．

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　　Mr．Brown worked in a factory of a small town．He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business．He was quite excited because he had never been there before．Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in London．Mrs．Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters．As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand．To his regret, he lost it at the station．

　　On the train Mr．Brown sat opposite to an old woman．The woman's umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it．When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off．

　　“Wait a minute, sir,” shouted the old woman．“That's my umbrella!”

　　Now Mr．Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella．His face turned red at once and said in a hurry, “Oh, I'm very sorry, Madam! I didn't mean it!”

　　Seven days later Mr．Brown left the capital．To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again．Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself．“It seems that I had a better result than the other four women．” She thought．

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　　Most laws in the United States and Canada are similar to laws in other countries．For example, it is against the law everywhere to murder a person, and it is illegal to steal money．Everyone knows these laws, but foreign students or tourists in a new country may not know some of the local laws．For instance, a legal action in Peru may be against the law in Korea, and an illegal activity in an Asian city may be perfectly legal in a European city．On the other hand, laws may be the same in various countries but vary in different cities or states of the same nation．

　　In many cities in the United States, for instance, it is not legal to “jaywalk．” This law may seem strange to visitors．Sometimes they cross a street, and a police officer gives them a ticket．Then they need to pay a fine of ＄10 to ＄25．They soon learn to cross a street only in a crosswalk or at a corner．It's against the law to cross in the middle of the street．

　　Most people know that states in the United States have different laws about the legal drinking age; this age varies, but in most states no one under twenty-one can buy alcohol, even beer or wine．Also, in most U．S．cities, it is illegal to drink alcohol in public．Of course, liquor is legal in restaurants and bars, but it's against the law to drink a can of beer, for instance, on a public street．Some people put the can in a paper bag and drink; nobody can see the beer, but it still isn't legal．In addition, it is illegal to have an open liquor bottle inside a car．

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　　Olivia and Jack are the most popular names in Britain for babies born in 2008, according to a survey made by the website Bounty．Jack has been top for 14 years since it took over from Thomas．

　　Grace－made famous by the Hollywood star Grace Kelly－slipped back into third place behind Ruby, the name of singer Charlotte Church's daughter．

Summer climbed 28 places from 44th to 16th．Ava－the name of singer Myleene Klass's daughter－also leapt 15 places to 19th．

　　The troubles of the singer Amy Winehouse perhaps had an effect on the popularity of the name．It dropped three places to 23rd．Rebecca is also on the wane(变弱), ranking 48th．So is Courtney, which ranked 88th．

　　Theo, obviously inspired by England's teenage football hero Theo Walcott, is among the biggest climbers in the boy's list, rising from 70th to 58th．

　　An employee of Bounty said, “Baby names have witnessed the biggest changes over the last decade as parents are increasingly influenced by celebrities．The Bounty baby name poll also shows parents are continuing to be creative and inspirational about the names they choose for their children．Some parents want a name that's totally unique, and names such as Zebedee, Selim and Zenon are now emerging and growing in popularity．Others are simply breaking with convention and becoming bolder in their choice of names．”

　　“While politicians' names may be growing in popularity in America, British politicians don't influence our choice of names in the UK．Traditional royal names continue to be supreme(最高的)in the boys' top 100,” The employee said．

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　　Are there fastest ways to lose weight? Yes, there are! This is no magic trick or miracle．It just needs sensible actions．

　　●Drink water

　　No, you don't have to fill up like a tub, but ensure that you drink 8 to 10 glasses of water every day．Don't substitute for juice．With adequate water intake your body will be able to metabolize(新陈代谢)fat more effectively．And if you have a glass of water 10-15 minutes before your meal, you will feel full once you start eating．Another fun fact, did you know that you can lose 62 calories by drinking ice cold water?

　　●Eat 5 times a day

　　Start with breakfast．The more you eat for breakfast, the less food you will want to eat at night．Please don't skip this meal as you'll end up swallowing everything in sight for the rest of the day．You don't need to gobble up 5 large meals．Eat sensibly so your body doesn't crave for food．

　　●Use weights

　　Needless to say, exercise is crucial to weight loss．You can't expect to sit on the sofa all day, sip water and lose weight．Join a good gym that lets you work with weights．It will help you build muscle and your metabolism rate will increase．You'll soon see the fat come off and in its place muscle will develop．

　　●Smaller bowls

　　It's better to substitute the huge bowls you usually use for small ones－when food starts to fall off, you'll know it's enough．Try to get these new bowls in dark colors．Dark blue will be your best choice since it is the number one color that fights off the appetite．Avoid red/orange/yellow colors in your dining area－they are the ones making your appetite go sky high．

　　●Read between lines

　　Food and drink products are all out to get you．They scream “Buy me! Buy me!” They could be “fat free” but they could still have a lot of calories．You need to analyze the nutrition label on the cover．Find out what's good for you and what isn't．Knowing in advance can help you stay away from products that are calorie-enriched．

　　●Don't punish yourself

　　Go easy on yourself at least one day in a week．If you begin to dislike your diet then there's something wrong．Find a diet that suits your body type and your lifestyle．

阅读理解

　　It's interesting that the arrival of snow has a different effect on people in different countries．For some countries it is an important happening to celebrate each year, while for others it is a catastrophe(灾难)．

　　There are countries between these two extremes that normally expect snow some time over the winter months, but never receive snow regularly or in the same quantities every year．Britain is one such country, for which the arrival of snow quite simply creates problems．Within hours of the first snowfall, however light, roads are blocked, trains and buses stop in the middle of traffic．Normal communications are affected as well, telephone calls become difficult and the post immediately takes more time than usual．Almost within hours, there are also shortages(缺乏)–bread, vegetables and other things – not because all these things can no longer be produced or sent to shops, but mainly because people are frightened, and go out to store up these commodities, “just for fear that something bad should happen．”

　　Why then does snow have this effect? After all, the Swiss, Austrians and Canadians don't have such problems．It is simply because there is not enough plan and preparation．We need money to buy equipment to deal with snow and ice．To keep the roads clear, for example, requires snow ploughs and machines to spread salt．The reason why a country like Britain does not buy some ploughs is that they are only used for a few days in any one year, and the money could be more useful in other things such as hospital education or helping the old．