The weather is closely related(联系) to our life．It is all around us all the time．It is an important part of our lives．We cannot control it, but it often controls how and   (1)  we live, what we do, what we wear and what we eat．Read this passage and learn  (2)  about the weather．

What is the weather？The weather is just the state of the atmosphere   (3)  any time, such as temperature, wind,  (4)  , sun, etc．What makes the weather change？

As we know, not every place on the earth gets the same amount of sunlight．Some places get  (5)  sunlight．So it’s warmer in those places．Some places get little  (6)  no sunlight in winter．Then those places have colder temperatures．These differences in temperature make the air and water    (7)  around the earth．The movement helps to take the heat energy from the sun across the earth．So the   (8)   changes．

What’s the difference between weather and climate？

Climate is a place’s weather over a long time．The weather changes from day to day and  (9)  from hour to hour．It can be sunny in the morning, cold and wet in the afternoon．But the climate changes very   (10)  over lots of years．

On an airplane as she was flying across the United States, Dr. Jane Goodall noticed a woman sitting next to her. She asked the woman why she looked so    36   , and the woman said she was absolutely exhausted because she’d been up at two in the morning trying to   37    the water.

    Her young daughter was in an environmental group at school and her daughter’s passion had turned to making sure her    38    was eco-friendly. They were staying at the woman’s brother’s house the night    39    her rip, and in the middle of the night her daughter woke up to the    40    of a dripping faucet(水龙头). The daughter asked for    41    turning it off as the faucet handle was    42   . The only way to    43    the leak(裂缝) was to dig to the pipe in the front grass to find the main valve(阀) to turn the water off, and her daughter wouldn’t go to sleep    44    the leak stopped. So at two in the morning    45    in the family was out in the yard helping to    46    to turn off the water.

    Young people have much more    47    to initiate(开始，发起) and accomplish change than what    48    may believe. When children make a change in their lives, families are    49    along to become environmentally friendly.

    The story also shows that small actions can have a big effect. We   50    think about    51    events like Clean and Green Week. Instead, a lot of small changes can make a(n)    52   . If hundreds or thousands of students    53    their families to turn off the faucet to save water, move the air conditioning temperature    54    a degree or two in summer, drive less and make other environmentally-friendly changes, the    55    family may change its behaviors.   

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   (8)   people, we are always looking for   (9)   to save time and make our lives easier. Companies   (10)  thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also   (11)   to the problem. We are  (12)   buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that   (13)   is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we   (14)   useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the  (15)   of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To   (16)  the amount of rubbish and to protect the   (17)  , more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.   (18)  , this is not enough to solve (解决) our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions   (19)   throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about   (20)  . 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.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

      Thousands of years ago, it was common to see many stars in the sky. 41 this changed with the invention of 42 . Cities have gone brighter, using more lights. And that means most people in urban areas will never see beautiful groups of stars. They will never see a _43_  night sky and never be inspired by it.

     Today, people are 44_ by light ----- even at night time. Much of this light _45_ where it shouldn’t be---it creates light 46_ . For example, a person can put a light outside to shine on his own house. But the light could be so strong that it may 47_ shine on his neighbor’s house. The _48_ light shining on the neighbor’s house is one kind of light pollution.

     But is all this light really a big _49_ ? People need light to see, work and drive safely at night, and for many other things! But scientists say that this extra light has proven _50_ on living creatures---animals and humans.

     One kind of animal _51_ by light pollution is the bird. Many birds travel to a different area of the world to lay eggs, 52_ at night. But lights from tall buildings can _53_ the birds off their natural path. They may also crash into brightly lighted buildings, in danger of losing their _54_.

     Human beings experience problems _55_ light pollution too. Light affects some chemicals in people’s bodies. And people who are continually _56_ to light at night have higher rates of health problems.

     People and animals need light, _57_ they also need darkness. Experts say that people must use light _58_ . Only use the amount of light that you _59_. Don’t think that more light is better light. People also can greatly _60_ light pollution by using well-designed lights, which only shine light where it should be. Using less light and better lighting decisions reduces the energy people use.

Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn（打哈欠）and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons(神经元）in our brains.

      Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate(模仿)it, whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further: mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions，they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.

      Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains，but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages，and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to (for example: "The hand took hold of the ball"), the same mirror neurons weretriggeredas when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).

      Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much research suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.

      Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact(互动).Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent(相等物)for neuroscience of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does—well, perhaps you'll understand why.

Car sharing is another way to drive green that’s gaining in popularity,especially in urban areas.People who may not drive every day but still want a car to run errands(差事) or drive on weekends benefit most from car sharing.Car sharing is usually run by a service like Zip car,though there are non-profit and informal car sharing services.Members pay a monthly fee and have access to an entire fleet（车队） of cars when they need one.The cars are parked in fixed spots around the city,so members only need to make a reservation(预约),and then go to the pickup spot.

Car sharing has major environmental benefits because it lessens the number of cars on the road.. Members don’t drive just because they have a car.They plan trips,and if they don’t need a car,they don’t use one.Still,a car is available to them if they need to make a big trip to the grocery store,pick someone up at the airport or if they want to go to the beach for the day.Members also benefit by having access to a car without any of the headaches of ownership.They usually don’t have to pay for gas,insurance or maintenance(保养),and the monthly membership fee is less than a typical car payment.So if you really want to go green but aren’t ready to totally give up a car yet,car sharing may be the way to go.

If you still need to get around,but want to go even greener than sharing a car,share a bus! On the next page,you’ll learn about the green benefits of mass transit.

Grown-ups know that people and objects are solid. At the movies, we know that if we reach out to touch Tom Cruise, all we will feel is air. But does a baby have this understanding?

 To see whether babies know objects are solid, T. Bower designed a method for projecting an optical illusion(视觉影像)of a hanging ball. His plan was to first give babies a real ball, one they could reach out and touch, and then to show them the illusion. If they knew that objects are solid and they reached out for the illusion and found empty air, they could be expected to show surprise in their faces and movements. All the 16-to 24-week-old babies tested were surprised when they reached for the illusion and found that the ball was not there.
    Grown-ups also have a sense of object permanence. We know that if we put a box in a room and lock the door, the box will still be there when we come back. But does a baby realize that a ball that rolls under a chair does not disappear and go to never-never land?
    Experiments done by Bower suggest that babies develop a sense of object permanence when they are about 18 weeks old. In his experiments, Bower used a toy train that went behind a screen. When 16-week-old and 22-week-old babies watched the toy train disappear behind the left side of the screen, they looked to the right, expecting it to reappear. If the experimenter took the train off the table and lifted the screen, all the babies seemed surprised not to see the train. This seems to show that all the babies had a sense of object permanence. But the second part of the experiment showed that this was not really the case. The researcher substituted(替换)a ball for the train when it went behind the screen. The 22-week-old babies seemed surprised and looked back to the left side for the train. But the 16-week-old babies did not seem to notice the switch(更换). Thus, the 16-week-old babies seemed to have a sense of “something permanence,” while the 22-week-old babies had a sense of object permanence related to a particular object.