阅读理解

　　Maybe you know floods, droughts, earthquakes, sandstorms and so on．But have ever heard of typhoons?

　　Typhoons are some of the worst storms, usually around the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea．Most happen in July, August and September．

　　How does a typhoon happen?When lots of sea water gets hot in the summer sun, it evaporates into the air．This makes the air hotter．When the air gets warm enough, it starts to move higher up into the sky．Then, cooler air around it rushes in．It fills the space that is left．After the air gets warmer, it starts to move quickly, making wind．The wind goes in circles, and it keeps moving higher in the sky．The warmer the air gets, the quicker the wind moves．And when the wind moves faster than 30 meters a second, a typhoon begins．

　　A typhoon has two parts, One is called the“eye”．In the eye, the wind does not move so fast．The other part is the wall of clouds around the eye．This is where the strongest with and hardest rains are．

　　Typhoons are very dangerous．In 2004, Typhoon Yunna killed 164 people in Zhejiang, and 24 people were missing．In May 2006, Typhoon Pearl hir Guangdong and Fujian, and thousands of houses were damaged．

　　What to do when a typhoon hits

　　Stay inside, Close all the windows and stay away from them．

　　Try to bring all of your things inside．Strong winds could even blow away your bikes!

　　Listen to the radio or TV for important information．

　　If you’re told to go to a safer place, do so right away．

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　　They’re best friends．They go to school together every day．They often go to the shopping mall at weekends．Both of them have hair the colour of honey(蜂蜜)，but one has big blue eyes and the other deep brown eyes．

　　One of the friends, Jenny Siegle, is in a wheelchair．The other, Augie, is an amazing dog who helps Jenny．Jenny, who is 14 years old, is a quadriplegic(四肢瘫痪者)，which means she cannot use her arms or legs．Augie is a Freedom Service dog who is Jenny’s arms and legs．

　　How does Augie do this?In school, he picks up the pencil or notebook that Jenny drops．Jenny is also training Augie to pull off her jacket so Jenny doesn’t have to ask anyone for help．

　　At home, Augie brings her the newspapers．He even helps clean Jenny’s room．When Jenny asks him．Augie goes to get her parents or sister．Augie also carries his food dish back to Jenny so she can fill it with dog food．Then Augie puts it back neatly in its place．

　　At the mall, Augie wears a pack that tells everyone he is a Freedom Service dog．When Jenny wants to buy things,Augie carries them to the counter(柜台)．He gives the cashier Jenny’s wallet and waits for the change(找零)。

　　P．J．Roche, who started Freedom Service Dogs, says,“These dogs are a social bridge, Kids who don’t know Jenny come up to talk to her because she’s got a dog．”Augie is truly Jenny’s best friend and helper and her bridge to the world．

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阅读理解

　　The Venus flytrap is a kind of meat-eating plant．It grows in very few places, such as wetlands near the coast of North Carolina in America．

　　The Venus flytrap is not a large plant．It grows to be only about a foot tall．The plant has white flowers in the spring, but it is the plant's leaves that make it so interesting．The ends of the leaves have folding parts with stiff, tiny hairs(带小硬刺的可折叠部分)．These are the plant's “traps(捕捉器)”．

　　What does the Venus flytrap eat? As you might guess, the Venus flytrap eats flies(苍蝇)．It also eats spiders, ants, and crickets．The Venus flytrap makes most of its food with sun, air, and water, just like other plants．Living things just give it extra nutrition(营养)to grow well in wetlands．

　　How does this plant trap and eat living things? The Venus flytrap uses a sweet liquid(液体)to attract its food．When a fly lands on one of the plant's open traps, hairs on the surface make the trap closed．As soon as the trap closes, the fly is dinner!

　　If you want to have your own Venus flytrap at home, you have to buy the plant from a special place．You can't take a Venus flytrap from where it grows! There are laws about taking it out of the wild．

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阅读理解

　　Everybody hates rats．But in the earthquake places of the world-Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey-rats will soon be man's new best friends．

　　What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue(救援)dogs．Why? Because they can smell people．Dogs save lives．They help rescuers to find living people．But dogs are big and they can't get into small spaces．So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives：the rat．

　　How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people．When this happens, the rat's brain gives a signal．This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals．When the rat's brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive．The rat has smelled that person．

　　Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better．Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “ ‘Robot’ noses don't work well when there are other smells around．Rats are good at that．” Rats can also see in the dark．They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don't need electricity．

　　The “ rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “ It would be fantastic．A rat would get into spaces we couldn't get to and a rat would get out if it wasn't safe．” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building(but only after an earthquake, of course．)

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