One of the most exciting archaeological (考古的) discoveries in history was made in November 1922, when Howard Carter was   (1)  in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. After many months of digging, he finally   (2)  an unknown tomb (坟墓).

  (3)  with his friend Lord Carnarvon, who was providing the money for his work, Carter entered the   (4)  tomb. At first there was   (5)  , because the tomb was   (6)  , and it was clear that it had been robbed (盗窃) at some time in the past.   (7)  , one of the workers eventually uncovered a small stairway that led down to another door that had not been  (8)  .

been   (12)  . The tomb of King Tutankhamun was full of treasures of   (13)  value. There were over 5,000 objects of silver, gold and precious stones which had lain there   (14)  for thousands of years.

Lord Carnarvon’s   (15)  at discovering the treasures did not last long. Many of the local people were afraid of   (16)  the kings’ tombs, and believed that the kings would punish anyone who   (17)  them. Lord Carnarvon had paid little attention to these   (18)  , but only a few weeks later, he   (19)  fell ill and died; at the exact time of his death, all the lights in Cairo went out all of a sudden, and far away in England, his dog also   (20)  .

 The dodo was a ground nesting, flightless bird. It was believed to be of the same family as pigeons. An adult dodo could grow to a height of about a meter and weigh between 45-50 pounds. The natural habitat (栖息地) of this kind of bird lay in the forest of Mauritius.

Seeds (种子) and fruits that were found in the forest were the main food of the dodo birds. As they could easily get the food they required in the forest, they didn’t need to fly. As time went by, they finally lost the ability to fly. It turned out to be a major disadvantage for dodos, as they were left with no ability to protect themselves against human beings’ attacks in their natural habitat, which drove this kind of bird to extinction (灭绝).

The extinction of the dodo started in 1505, when Portuguese sailors set their foot on the IslandofMauritius. Before this, the dodo didn’t face any danger. Besides being flightless, the dodo was not quite wary (警惕的) of human beings, which made it easier for human beings to hunt this kind of bird.

It was not long before animals, like cats, pigs and monkeys, were also introduced to the island by humans. When ships arrived, the rats (大鼠) on these ships came onto the land. Though these animals were not able to attack huge dodos, it was easy for them to attack dodos’ nests on the ground. These animals continued to feed on dodo eggs.

In the end, excessive hunting for meat and destruction of nesting sites and eggs by other animals both led to a fall in the dodo’s population and brought it to extinction. The dodo became a relatively rare bird in Mauritius at the beginning of the 17^th century, and eventually (最终) became extinct. The last reported sighting of a dodo was in 1681.

Recognized as the largest desert in the world, the Sahara Desert runs across North Africa, covering over 3 million square miles from the Atlantic Coast to the Nile River Valley. Except for an occasional oasis，this vast land is mainly made up of sand, stones, and worn out mountains. The burning sun causes daytime temperatures to rise to nearly 70 degrees in the shade, and days without rain commonly last for years.

Paintings found on the walls of caves in the Sahara Desert suggest that a few thousand years ago, large quantities of plants grew there and covered the desert floor. Many curious and unusual insects, birds and animals got enough food that allowed them to grow and reproduce. At that time, huge river systems and many oases supported growing communities where a large number of people lived.

Research scientists believe that the land became a desert for several reasons. For centuries people there have wandered from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing (吃草) land for their animals. These people have always considered the number of animals they have as a sign of wealth. It is considered more important to have 100 sick and starving animals than 15 healthy ones. The large herds (群) have been allowed to go freely and graze on desert plants and grass. Over time, large sections of land have been left uncovered. In addition to allowing overgrazing, these people cut down whatever trees they could find and used them for firewood. The sand was unable to hold on to the great heat of the day, so nighttime temperatures often drop below freezing and nothing was left to hold the soil together.

Scientists have been studying different ways to bring back the green desert. Through research and experiments, they hope to be able to produce plants that will once again support the life there. Huge holes filled with much water lie under the desert surface. Scientists believe this rainwater simply flew down through the sand over hundreds of years and collected in the big, rocky holding tanks. By making use of the sun’s power, scientists in the Sahara have made experiments in which they got huge amount of electricity. This electricity was then used to operate drilling machines and pumps to pull the rainwater from the underground tanks. By drilling the hole one mile deep into the floor of the desert, one machine was able to recover more than 80 gallons of ice-cold water each second, or 288,000 gallons per hour.

Scientists have had some success turning this wasteland into useful farmland. Today the desert is dotted with huge wheat fields watered by a system of pipes that carry water from the underground tanks. Farmers have also learnt that plants grow better if seeds are planted next to stones. Studies show that stones provide protection from the sun, allowing seeds to grow in a shady and cool environment. In addition to that, greenhouses have been built to protect plants from the sunshine so that less water is needed. Another idea is to grow plants that can live on a diet of salt water, since the ocean is so near to the desert.

A small robot may help children who are recovering from a long-term illness in the hospital or at home. These children may feel separated from their friends and classmates. The robot takes their place at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends. They can also take part in class from wherever they are recovering. Anyone who has had a long-term illness knows that recovering at home can be lonely. This can be especially true of children. They may feel left out.

Now, these children may have a high-tech friend to help feel less alone. And that friend is a robot. The robot is called AV1. AV1 goes to school for a child who is homebound while recovering from a long-term illness. And the child’s school friends must help.Theycarry the robot between classes and place the robot on the child’s desk.

At school, the robot becomes the eyes, ears and voice of the child. “So, it sits at the child’s desk in the classroom and the child uses a tablet or a phone to start it, control its movement with touch, and talk through it. So it’s the eyes and the ears and the voice at school.”

The student can take part in classroom activities from wherever they are recovering – whether at home or from a hospital bed. The robot is equipped with speakers, microphones and cameras that makes communication easy. Again, here is Dolva. Inside AV1, there is a small computer connected to a 4G network. A small camera hooked up to a small computer could do the job. But that would not be the same. AV1 is large and looks like a human for a reason. Dolva says this is important because the robot is supposed to be a friend to the children.

And robots are, quite simply, cool. The robot just became available to the public. Hopefully AV1 will help some children feel less lonely while they are absent from class.

 If you look outside, you probably will see some kind of insect. If your first instinct is to kill it, take a moment to think about all of the benefits insects provide to the environment.

  Entomologists, scientists who study insects, estimate that there are more than 800,000 species of insects found throughout the world. Only a few hundred of these insects are considered harmful. Mosquitoes, for example, are considered harmful. They bite humans and other animals, and their bites can cause skin pain and spread disease. Desert locusts also are considered harmful because they destroy crops causing billions of dollars in damage each year.

  However, the number of helpful insect species far outweighs the number of harmful species. Some insects make up a vital part of the food chain. Many different birds, reptiles, fish and even plants eat insects. There are also about 500 insects that people in various parts of the world eat. These insects are considered delicious food and prized for their high protein, mineral, and vitamin content. Other insects produce valuable commercial products such as silk, wax, and honey.

  Of all the insects, perhaps the most important are those that travel from flower to flower and pollinate(授粉) the plants they visit. Agriculture around the world would be very different without the bees, butterflies, moths, flies and wasps that pollinate many crops. In fact, nearly one-third of the food you eat depends on plants that are pollinated by insects!

  While it is true that some species of insects harm or annoy us, you should not automatically reach for the bug spray when you come across an insect. You may be destroying one of the hundreds of thousands of insects that provides many benefits to human beings.

 Right in front of the Minneapolis Central Library, a row of green bikes sits parked in a special stand. Each bike is designed with the logo "Nice Ride"－the name of the city's bike－share program.

   Nice Ride bikes are much like the library books that people come here to borrow. To rent a bike, you simply use your membership card at a Nice Ride bike station. Members can rent one of 1,200 bikes from 138 stations throughout Minnesota's largest city. People use the Nice Ride bikes to go to work, to go out on business, or just to enjoy the city's many bike paths.

   The rise of bike－share programs like Nice Ride is encouraging more people than ever to choose biking over driving. Rising gas prices and concerns about the environment have also gotten people to dust off their bike helmets, pump air into flat tires, and hit the road.

   Why ride? Not only is biking good exercise but switching from a car to a bike also reduces the amount of pollution in the air. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to climate change, is one of the many polluting substances that come out of a car' s tall pipe.

   Bike－share systems are found around the world in cities like London, Paris, Barcelona, and Melbourne, Australia. The largest program－with 70,000 bikes－is in Wuhan, China.

   To make roads friendlier to non－motorists, the U.S. Department of Transportation has invested more than a billion dollars in cycling and pedestrian projects in recent years. The money went toward building thousands of miles of on－street bike lanes and pedestrian－only passages called green ways.

  Qi Haoran, a Junior 1 student, was quite busy over the past winter vacation – and not just with homework. Qi, together with 10 other classmates made a volunteer group to call on people to join the Clean Your Plate Campaign (“光盘行动”).

   The 11 students went to many restaurants and told people the importance of saving food. “Excuse me, do you know that 950 million people around the world still haven’t got enough to eat? Please don’t waste food.” They would say this kind of thing hundreds of times every day.

  The Clean Your Plate Campaign began on the Internet in January. It calls on people to reduce food waste.

   China in these years had serious problems with wasted food. CCTV reported in January that the food Chinese people waste every year is enough to feed 200 million people for a year.

   Chinese people are well known for being hospitable (好客的) and generous（大方的）. Many even feel that they lose face if their guests have eaten all the food.

   Luckily, the campaign has got the support of many. In a restaurant in Xinjiang, the owner give the guests who have eaten all that they ordered a sticker (贴花). People can enjoy a free meal when they have 10 stickers. More than 750 restaurants in Beijing have begun to offer smaller dishes and encourage their guests to take leftovers (剩饭剩菜) home.

   To reduce food waste is a big task, and it needs time. It’s important that everyone does their bit, just like Qi. Did you finish your meals today?

   As time goes on, people have come to realize the importance of protecting the environment. But they can’t deal with everything by themselves. Take small steps, and you can make a difference.
● Think Green. Think about the environment as you live your life. If you turn off lights and TV when leaving the room, you’ll save energy. If you take shorter showers, you will save water.
● Shop Green. Shopping is fun, but buying things you don’t need is wasteful and even bad for the earth. Before you buy something, ask yourself how much you will use it, and whenever

possible, buy things locally made instead of those shipped from far away.
● Dress Green. What really matters is not the colour. It’s how the clothes were made. So look for products made from environmentally friendly(环保的) materials.
● Study Green. What’s better than learning about the environment? Save it while you learn. It can be as simple as using both sides of a piece of paper before you recycle it.

    Going green seems to be fad(时尚) for a lot of people these days.    41     that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad   42     a lifestyle.

    On April 22,2011,we decided to go green every single day for an   43     year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant   44    ourselves to go green beyond easy things.  45     recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things   46    and this was no easy task.

      47    the idea of going green every single day for a year, our  Green Year started. My   48    and I decided to educate people about   49    they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the   50  . We wanted to push the message   51    every little bit helps.

    Over the course of our Green Year, we completely changed our   52   . We now shop at   53    stores. We   54    less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have   55    half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar（醋） and lemon juice, with no   56    cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the   57    of homemade fresh bread. In our home office anyone   58    doing something un-green might be punished.

    Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate   59   . We believe that we do have the   60   to change things and help our planet.