Anne: I can’t stand this heat. I can’t give my attention to     41   (learn) for the mid-term exam. I guess I will have to go to the library this afternoon.

Mary: The dormitory does not have an air conditioner. I can’t study there,    42    . My roommate and I are thinking about moving out to an apartment    43    has an air conditioner.

Anne: Oh, I     44    (think) about moving for a long time. But if I live in an apartment, I will have to pay a lot of money for electricity. Do you know an air conditioner is     45    (expensive) today than it was 10 years ago? On the other hand, electricity prices have risen sharply.

Mary: I don’t know that.     46      do we have to pay for electricity?

Anne: Five years ago it was     47     (possibility) to run an air conditioner 24 hours a day for just $20 a month. Today running     48    same air conditioner costs more than $40 a month.

Mary: Oh, no. That’s     49     (extreme) expensive and I can’t afford it. Well I guess I will tell my roommate we will go to the library. If     50    doesn’t work out, we will sweat all summer.

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Are Bees Happier in Cities?

　　We often think of them as living happily in wildflower meadows （草地） and rolling fields. But new research suggests Britain’s bees are happier near towns and cities.

　　A new study of wildlife sites across four English counties has found that most are home to fewer species of bees today than they were in the past. It found that the expansion of farmland has actually been more damaging to Britain’s bee population than the concreting over （铺设混凝土） of the countryside for housing. For instance, meadows near Milton Keynes now boast more species of bee than sites in more rural areas.

　　Reading University researcher Dr Deepa Senapathi believes intensive agriculture is to blame. Climate change could be destroying the relationship between bees and plants. That’s according to a study that said warmer springs can change the life cycles of bees, which can throw them out of the plants they rely on. The research is the first clear example of the potential for climate change to destroy such critical relationships between species.

　　While the gardens, parks and churchyards of towns and cities provide bees with a variety of plants to rely on and an extended flowering season, popular crops such as oilseed rape only bloom for a few weeks.

　　Dr Senapathi said, “While concreting over the countryside may appear to be bad news for nature, we’ve found that progressive urbanization may be much less damaging than intensive agriculture.”

　　Urban areas may benefit bees more than farmland by providing a wide variety of flowering plants and an extended flowering season, according to the researcher.

　　“Over the past century, rural landscapes in Britain have become increasingly dominated by large amounts of monoculture—the growing of a single type of plant, which has helped encourage crop production,” she said. “But without a mixture of habitat and food sources, rural areas can sometimes be little better than green deserts for biodiversity （生物多样性）.”

　　Scientists around the country are trying to work out why populations of bees and other insects are falling. Pesticides, climate change and disease may, like intensive farming, be playing a role.

（Note：Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.）

单词拼写：根据所给汉语意思或首字母完成句子,每空一词。

(1)Many of Dickens' books have been ________ (改编) for films.

(2)Let us ________ (陪伴) you to your hotel.

(3)We were not ________ (认识到的)that it was getting dark.

(4)Recent years have ________ (目睹) the collapse of the coal industry.

(5)Last year he ________(捐赠)$1,000 to cancer research.

(6)Teachers often encourage students to p ________ in discussions in class.

(7)Doctors strongly r ________ that fathers should be present at their baby's birth.

(8)Cycling is highly b ________ to health and the environment.

(9)Could you do me a f ________ and tell Kelly I can't make it?

(10)She's o ________ at the moment; she cannot speak to you.

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

   Have you heard about “empty-nest”? The term （1） (origin) referred to elderly people who live alone. Their children leave home for the first time to live on their own（2）to attend a university. Nowadays,its definition （3） (enlarge) in China as more young folk live alone away from their hometowns.

   In recent years, China has witnessed（4） increase of so-called empty-nest youths aged 20 to 39, most of（5）live in major cities.Beijing, Shenzhen,Shanghaiand Guangzhou are home to the （6）(big) number of empty-nesters.

   These young empty-nesters prefer to spend most of their time in their apartments. Outside of work, their main way of interacting with （7） is through social media. Empty-nest youths spend more money on better food, high-quality clothes and digital products，（8）one in five young empty-nesters has no savings or is slightly in debt.

（9）(speak) to Xinhua, Sichuan University sociology professor Wang Yimei said, “ The emergence (出现）of empty-nest youths is a result of imbalanced social and economic development between big cities and smaller towns. It is a natural result of Chinaˈs ongoing urbanization （10）well.”

Shopping online offers lots of advantages you won’t find when shopping in traditional stores. The worldwide stores of the Internet never close. You can order goods directly from any country—anything 365 days a year. Internet sellers often offer lower prices than traditional shops. So if you always buy things from Internet shops instead of traditional stores, you can save a substantial sum(笔) of money. And Internet stores now offer more safe ways than ever before.

Only a few simple tips are required to make sure that your online shopping experience is a safe one.

Use a Secure Web Brower (安全的浏览器) —It will keep your information as a secret so that only you and the seller can read it. Do not order from online stores that do not offer secure services.

Keep Records—Most online stores will email you to check your order. Save these carefully.

Check your bank statements—Check if there are errors. If you find errors, call your bank immediately.

Check the online store’s policies(政策)—Look for information about the Web sites safety, repay and return policies, and statements about how the Web site will use your personal information. If a Web store says nothing about safety, shop somewhere else.

Most Important of All—Keep Your Personal Information Secret! Unless you know the people asking for your personal information and why they are asking for it, never tell anyone your personal information online.

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 If you are a Wet Blanket (a person who doesnˈt enjoy himself / herself and thus prevents others from enjoying themselves) when it comes to nature and your kid, you are most likely a caring, protective parent who wants to keep your child safe and sound. You may be so determined to protect your kid from dirt, sunburn, or scratches (划伤) that you try to avoid the outdoors. Or you may just find muddy clothes and sandy toes require too much time to wash. Perhaps you hate to get dirty yourself. The natural world may just make you nervous and you might worry those bugs (虫子) and bats will suck you dry. It may be that you just never got the chance to be outdoors when you were a kid and now know nothing about what to do with your kid.

While it is every care-giverˈs job to protect their kid, your worries may cause your child to grow up as a Wet Blanket as well. If you prefer the indoors yourself, you may be keeping your kid from outdoor experiences without even realizing it. Your attitudes about nature have a huge influence on how comfortable your kid feels outside. You may need to go against your own nature and "open the door" to get your kid outside!"

You may already realize the value in helping kids spend time outside in nature and know that playing in nature settings helps children grow up mentally (精神上). Perhaps you already introduce your child to nature through books, museums, and zoos. Maybe you just need some ideas of what to do with kids outside. Try some simple nature activities with your kid, or sign up for nature programs to develop you skills. While it may be a challenge for you to overcome your own nervousness about nature, you can raise a child who is happy and confident in the natural world.

One of the easiest ways you can get your kid outside is to become a Door Opener. Even if you don’t enjoy playing on the mud, you can take breath and let loose! Undirected time to explore nature is an important part of raising a caring kid. This might be free time in the backyard, allowing him to wander ahead on a walk or simply providing him with materials for a project. Putting aside your own nervousness and providing "in-the-wings" support will enrich your child’s journey as a nature lover! Belt out a song (引吭高歌), build a snowman, watch the clouds, or plant a seed with your child. Help your child connect his creative side with nature.