Jack is a retired worker from Rio de Janeiro. Now he is sharing a   (1)   relationship with a penguin which is native toSouth America’s Patagonian region. For the past five years, the penguin seems to have   (2)   its natural migrating (迁徙) route just in order to be able to   (3)   

Jack several times a year.

The   (4)   friendship began in 2011, when Jack found the bird, nicknamed Jinling, trapped in oil on the beach near his house. He brought the penguin home,   (5)   him up, and offered him a good meal and a shady spot to rest in. Since then, the penguin has   (6)   stayed away from Jack for too   (7)  .

Even if the kind man tried to get the penguin to   (8)   the open sea after he got better, the bird just   (9)   coming back. He even took him out in a boat, far from   (10)   and let him loose in the ocean, but by the time he got back home, Jinling was already waiting for him.

  (11)   penguins migrate thousands of miles between breeding colonies in Patagonia and feeding grounds further north inRio de Janeiro, Jinling doesn’t   (12)    Riofor more than four months at a time. He always runs back to Jack’s little   (13)   by the sea, sometimes spending as long as eight months to a year with the old man. And he is a little   (14)  , too –– it seems that he can’t stand other animals getting anywhere close to his   (15)  .

The local fishermen show their   (16)   of the penguin and they think it’s a great   (17)   not only for Jack himself but also for all the villagers. Jinling has been regarded as the village mascot (吉祥物) since 2012.   (18)  , some are still confused by the   (19)   sight of Jinling walking along with Jack wherever he goes. But they think that penguins must know   (20)  they can repay humans’ kindness.

In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The   (1)   is that countries around the world have growing mountains of  (2)   because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we  (3)  a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to  (4)  an object than to spend time and money to repair it.   (5)   modern manufacturing (制造业) and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and  (6)  .

Another cause is our (7) of disposable (一次性的) products. As   (7)   people, we are always looking for  (8)   to save time and make our lives easier. Companies  (9)   thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also  (10)   to the problem. We are  (11)  buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that  (12)  is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we   (13)  useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the  (14)  of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To   (15)   the amount of rubbish and to protect the  (16)  , more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.   (17)  , this is not enough to solve our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions  (18)  throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about  (19)  . Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

 Scientists in Argentina have created the world's first cow to own two human genes that will enable it to produce human-like milk，which is matchless up to now. It is a breakthrough in the area of clone.

    Genetic engineering was used to introduce the “mothers' milk” genes into the animal before birth，according to the National Institute of Agribusiness Technology in Buenos Aires.

    As an adult the cloned cow “will produce milk that is similar to humans” in what will prove “a development of great importance for the nutrition of infants”. it said in a statement.

    “The cloned cow，named Rosita ISA. is the first one born in the world that owns two human genes that contain the proteins present in human milk，”the statement said.

    In April，scientists in China published details of research showing that they had created GM Holstein dairy cows which produced milk containing proteins found in human breast milk.

    But the Argentine team says the Chinese only introduced one human gene，whereas their research involved two genes meaning the milk will more closely resemble that of humans.

    Rosita ISA was born on April 6 and was delivered by Caesarean section because she weighed around 100 pounds，roughly twice the normal weight of Jersey cows.

    Adrian Mutto，from the National University of San Martin said “Our goal was to raise the nutritional value of cows' milk by adding two human genes，the protein lactoferrin and lysozyme，which can provide newly-born babies with anti-bacterial and anti-viral(抗病毒)protection.”

    Cristina Kirchner，President of Argentina，said that the scientific institute “makes all Argentines proud.” She also revealed that she had rejected the “honor” of having the cow named after her. “They came to tell me that the name is Cristina，but what woman would like to have a cow named after her? It appeared to me to be more appropriate to call it Rosita.”

   The computer is a useful machine. It is the most important invention in many years. The oldest kind of computer is the abacus(算盘), used in China centuries ago, but the first large, modern computer was built in 1946. A computer then could do maths problems quite fast.

  Today computers are used in many ways and can do many kinds of work. In a few years the computer may touch the life of everyone, even people in faraway villages.

  In the last few years, there have been great changes in computers. They are getting smaller and smaller, and computing faster and faster, Many scientists agree that computers can now do many things, but they cannot do everything. Who knows what the computers of tomorrow will be like? Will computers bring good things or bad things to people? The scientists of today will have to decide how to use the computers of tomorrow.

The earth's climate is largely controlled by how much of the sun's light and heat is absorbed and reflected. By absorbing the sun's heat, trees cool the air.

    The interaction of this relationship with an area's topography(地势), latitude, and altitude, can create microclimates(微气候), just as trees create microclimates almost anyplace they are by providing a windbreak and shade. Think about it: on a hot, sunny day, it's always cooler beneath a shade tree. A city with more tall trees is cooler in the summer than a similar city with fewer trees, which translates into less energy use and lower cooling costs. Also, in using less energy, less air pollution is created.

     The most important role that rural trees and forests play is taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The living tissue of a tree is a storage vault(拱顶)for carbon, which would otherwise contribute to the greenhouse effect and to global climate change. To put it most simply, more trees can decrease the rate of climate change and help us withstand its effects, potentially resulting in less

intense storms, fewer infectious diseases, a more stable water supply, and fewer wildfires.

    Trees, however, aren't affected by the effects of climate warming. Areas once too cold to support trees now can, and as forests migrate north, harmful insects that were once held at bay by winter freezes can do damage to native species. Tropical vines called lianas(藤本植物) are now growing faster than the trees they climb, causing trees in the Amazon and other rainforests to die at an alarming rate.

    Trees and forests can either be the key to slowing climate change and reducing its effects, or they can become its victims. It's up to us.

C

People from all walks of life are drawn to breathtaking Hawaii. But human outsiders are not the only living things eager to settle down there. The mongoose (a small furry animal that kills snakes and rats) is one of the most hated of these invaders (入侵者). It has brought an awful disaster to native birds on the islands of Maui, Oahu and Molokai for more than a century, and now, it seems, it is spreading. For the first time, one of the creatures has been trapped on Kauai.

“We’ve been sounding the alarm for years, but it’s a very difficult thing to prove,” said Keren Gundersen, the project manager for the Kauai Invasive Species Committee, the University of Hawaii project responsible for catching the mongoose. “It’s a game changer to actually trap one,” she added.

After Ms. Gundersen’s group heard from locals who had spotted the furry animal moving quickly around the Kauai Lagoons resort, they set dozens of live traps and tried hard to monitor them. Two months later, their work paid off. They trapped a mongoose. 

Mongooses were intentionally introduced to Hawaii. Sugarcane (甘蔗) farmers followed the example of Jamaican farmers who imported mongooses to control rat populations. In 1883 the mongooses were let loose in the fields, an approach that proved to be completely uninformed (无知的). As it turns out, rats are active at night and mongooses are active in the daytime. The native rats never came in contact with their natural enemies, and native bird populations began crashing instead.

Today, mongooses continue to eat their way through native birds’ nests and turtle eggs. Costly eradication programs are the only way of keeping the creatures out of the Hawaii islands.

The mongoose was never introduced to Kauai. Still, many have caught sight of gray-brown fur or of a furry tail, with about 70 sightings reported in the last 10 years alone. Trapping efforts continued to be fruitless. 

The trapped mongoose, a mature male, was killed in a painless way before its body was sent off for testing, the group said. Ms. Gundersen hopes that genetic analysis will show whether the mongoose came from one of the other islands. In the meantime, her group is improving its mongoose monitoring and asking locals to keep an eye out for the animals.

    A food additive is any substance that is added to food. Many people are put off by the idea of “chemicals in food”. The truth is that all food is made up of chemicals. Natural substances like milk, as well as man-made ones like drinks on sale in the market, can be described by chemical formulas. Some chemical substances are indeed harmful, but a person who refused to consume any chemicals would find nothing to eat.

The things we eat can be divided into natural and man-made substances. Some people feel that only natural foods are healthy and that all man-made ingredients are to be avoided. But many natural chemicals, found in plants and animals, are harmful when eaten, and some laboratory-made substances increase the nutritional value of food. Other chemicals have natural and man-made forms that are exactly alike: Vitamin C is Vitamin C, whether it comes from a test tube or from an orange. Like “chemical”, “man-made” doesn’t necessarily mean “not fit to eat”.

Food additives are used for many reasons. We add sugar and salt and other things to foods we prepare at home to make them taste better. Food producers have developed a range of additives that stabilize, thicken, harden, keep dry, keep wet, keep firm, or improve the appearance of their products. Additives can make food more convenient or nutritious, give it a longer shelf life, and make it more attractive to the consumer, thus increasing the sales and profits of the producers. 

Food additives are presently the centre of a storm of serious argument. Food producers have been known to use additives that have not been proved safe; some substances in common use have been proved unsafe and have been taken off the market. Many people feel there’s a risk of eating food to which anything has been added. But food additives are now regulated by the FDA of the federal government, and new additives are subjected to strict testing before they can be placed on the market. For most people, the chances of developing serious side effects from the long-term use of presently approved food additives are very slim.

B

‘Iris scan (虹膜扫描) ， please,’ the bank’s computer voice tells you . You step up and the computer reads your eye , comparing it to the stored file it has of your iris. The images had better match—otherwise you won’t be able to get your money.

 Iris scanning and other technologies , such as fingerprint and voice scanning , have appeared in many science fiction movies in the past. Today , these advanced technologies are part of the real world. They are common at work, the bank, the airport, and your local prison. The iris scan, fingerprint scan, and voice scan are all examples of biometrics( 生物测定学) a fast developing area of automatic personal identification technology . Basically , biometrics uses various ways to verify a person’s identity , based on the individual’s unique characteristics ,including fingerprints , voices, irises, body heat patterns, facial images, handprints , signatures and so on.

Biometrics identification systems have a number of advantages over password systems. The primary advantage is that an individual has to be physically present in order to be identified. Another important advantage is that there are no passwords to remember , forget, lose or steal.

 The voice scan is the simplest and most affordable form of biometrics . It only requires a computer, a microphone and the correct software. The software records a subject’s voice and then compares it to a stored voice sample for identification purposes.

 For additional safety, fingerprint and handprint scans can also be employed . Fingerprint scans take the image of a fingerprint and compare it to a stored file of prints. Handprint scans identify the unique features of a hand.

  Iris scans currently give the highest level of accuracy among all the available biometrics systems. Another technology , full facial scans , is currently in use at border crossings and airports. Facial scanning equipment can actually track and identify moving faces within a crowd.

 The potential of biometrics is exciting and encouraging . With continued development , testing , and application , current technologies will become even more effective in the future. Soon , the days of password and car keys will be gone . Just don’t leave home without your fingerprints!

Since the beginning of the last month, smog has covered parts of North China. In December, Beijing saw only five days without smog. The rising PM 2.5 readings terrified many people, and some health experts said that whenever the smog gets serious, hospitals receive more patients suffering acute respiratory（呼吸系统）and heart diseases.

So the need to emphasize environmental protection while developing the economy is heard everywhere.

Smog especially is a common concern. Like a popular online post said, air may be the only thing that is equal for everyone, despite your income orprofession. People with higher incomes are able to drink only bottled spring water and eat only organic food by paying higher prices, but they breathe the same air as everyone else.

At a meeting on Monday, many Representatives have expressed their concerns about the air quality, too. One talked about his experience in Beijing. “After taking a taxi from the capital airport to my hotel, which took about an hour, I washed my nose and found the inside of my nose was black. We should ask ourselves this question: Why do we want to develop? Itˈs for living a better life. Dirty air is definitely not a better life," he said.

China needs to develop its economy and invest(投资) in high-tech. Every Chinese wants a strong country. But without blue sky, clean water and safe food, the achievements in the economy will become meaningless. Space technologies are not to be developed for building a base on Mars so that one day all human beings can migrate to the red planet because they have destroyed Earth.

What the public wants is a strong and beautiful China. Great efforts must be made to promote ecological progress and build a beautiful China.