Believe it or not,oceans and seas are easy to be harmed by the development of human society．They are also influenced by man-made pollution easily．It is human beings that do great harm to the ocean ecosystem(生态系统)．

The coral reefs（珊瑚）that provide food and protection for many ocean creatures（生物）is important toecosystems．However, the coral reefs in almost all the oceansare in dangerof pollution.Chemicals from factories end up in the oceans and destroycoral reefs.If the coral system die,some ocean creatures will be sure to die out．

Protecting the ocean also has something to do with the protection of ocean wildlife like dolphins.The fishing industry depends on modern ways to catch many fish in order to earn more money.But net for fishing also catch other sea animals.The fishing boat workers are advised to check their nets and set other ocean animals free.But the boats are in a hurry to make money and often other ocean animals are caught with fish．

Oil spills(溢出) can destroy the ocean environment because oilcankill all ocean life．The world depends on oil and there is plenty of oil off the shore in many countries.The need foroil is more important than the risk of the oil spill.However,the fact is that one ocean mistake can lead to an ocean environment accident. Itwill cause years ofdamageto the financial ecosystems andkill all the creatures in the area of the spill.The oil will be washed up on the shore and destroy ecosystems along the shore，including birds．

Everyone who cares about the environment should pay more attention to protecting the ocean,and all of us should do something for the protection of the ocean．

More and more people around the world are joining in dangerous sports. Some people climbed the highest mountains; some traveled into unknown parts of the world; some sailed small boats across the largest sea. Now some people begin to look for new excitement.

Bungee jumping (蹦极) and motorcycle racing (摩托车赛) are quite dangerous sports. Bungee jumping only lasts for a few minutes or even seconds. You jump from a high place, about 200 meters above the ground, and there is a rubber band (橡胶带子) tied to your legs. When you jump down, the rubber band pulls you up. About 2,000,000 people around the world have tried bungee jumping.

Why do people join in these dangerous sports. Some scientists say that it is because modern life has become safe and it is not interesting. In the past, people lived in danger. They had to go out and look for food, and life was like a fight but was interesting.

Many people think that there is little excitement in life. They live and work in safe places, buy food in shops, and there are doctors and hospitals to look after them if they become ill.

Australia is nearly 7.7 million square kilometres.Itˈs the sixth largest country in area after Russia，Canada，China，the United States and Brazil.

There are rainforests and large plains in the north，snowfields in the southeast，desert(沙漠) in the centre and croplands in the east，south and southwest.About one third of the country lies in the tropics(热带地区)．Australia has a coastline of 36，735 km if it were possible to drive non－stop along the whole coast at 60 km/h，it would take about 24 days to complete the trip.

Australia is the worldˈs smallest continent(洲) and the sixth largest country being equal(相等的) in area to the USA without Alaska.The continent is one of the oldest lands.It is more than 3，000 million years old，and it is the flattest of the continents.

The population of Australia is more than 20 million.It is one of the worldˈs most urbanized countries，with about 70% of the population living in the ten largest cities.Most of the population is concentrated(集中) along the eastern seaboard and the southeastern corner of the continent.

When you look at the sky at night, the moon looks bigger than the stars. Actually, the moon is much smaller than the stars and the sun. It's much smaller than the earth. But the moon is much closer to us than any star. That is why it looks so big. If you hold a coin close to your eye, it looks big. If you look at it across the moon, it looks small.

The moon moves around the earth. It makes one trip in about four weeks. The moon looks flat to us. But it is a round ball, like the earth.

People once thought the moon had fire on it. They thought the fire made it bright. Now we know the moon is like a mirror. It gets its light from the sun.

Our sunlight comes from the sun, too. What is the sun? The sun is a star. The stars we can see have their own light. There are many big stars we cannot see. Their light had burned out. Others are still bright, but they are so far away that we cannot see them. The sun looks bigger and much brighter than other stars because it is the nearest of all stars. The sun and the other stars we see are very hot, but the air around us saves us from the heat of the sun.

  The sun gives us light and warmth. It makes plants grow and turns leaves green. It makes life possible on our earth. It is a life giving star.

Piggy banks have been around for a long time, but did you ever wonder why people liked to make their banks in the shape of a pig?

Pigs have nothing to do with money. They don’t store food like a camel or a squirrel. So how did we end up using a pig as the style of a bank? Believe it or not, it happened by mistake.

During the fifteenth century, metal was very expensive. Dishes and pots were made of a type of inexpensive orange clay called pygg, which was pronounced just like pig. At this time, there weren’t banks like we have today, so people would store their money at home.

When people had extra coins to save, they would place them in clay jars or pots. Since the type of clay was called pygg, people called the jars pygg banks. Over time this evolved （发展）into piggy banks.

After a few hundred years, people forgot that the word pygg referred to the clay the banks were made from. The English language was also changing and the word pig was more commonly used. So in the nineteenth century, when English potters began to make piggy banks, they thought their customers were asking for banks in the shape of pigs, not banks made from pygg.

Today piggy banks are made from all kinds of materials, and they also come in a variety of shapes and animals. But the term piggy bank is still used.

①materials     ②price    ③colour      ④shapes

What is your zodiac (生肖) animal? According to the Chinese lunar calendar (农历), 12 animals mark 12 different years. It is the basis of the Chinese zodiac. Nowadays, Chinese zodiac animals have worldwide fame and are increasingly popular among western people.

The zodiac is an important part of Chinese culture. People believe that the characteristics (特点) of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. For example, people born in the Year of the Tiger are considered powerful and brave.

 Zodiac animals also have some social functions. When people think it is not proper to ask: “How old are you”, they may change their question to “What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.

 Zodiac animals are not special to China. Many countries share a similar zodiac culture with China. For example, in the Japanese zodiac, a wild boar (野猪) takes the place of a pig and the Vietnamese (越南的) zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit.

 But have you ever wondered how these 12 animals were chosen to represent each year? According to legend, the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝) invited all the animals to join him for Chinese New Year. Only 12 animals went to see him. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place.

Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.

Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people. Most of the radio programs are music.

Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in many places. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tapes. Some of the money from these tapes comes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star.

There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk（民间）music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. This was started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.

Much meaning can be carried clearly, with our eyes, so it is often   (1)  that eyes can speak.

Do you have such kind of   (2)  ? In a bus you may look at a stranger but not too long. And if he   (3)  that he is being looked at, he may feel uncomfortable. The same in daily life. If you are looked at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down, to see if there is

  (4)  wrong with you. If nothing goes wrong, you will feel   (5)  toward the person who is looking at you that way. Eyes do speak, right?

      Looking too long at someone may seem to be impolite. But sometimes things are different. If a man looks at a woman for more than 10 seconds, it may mean that he wishes to attract her attention, to make her understand that he   (6)  her. When two people are in a conversation, the speaker will only look at the listener from time to time,   (7)  make sure that the listener does pay attention to   (8)  he or she is saying. Lovers will enjoy looking at each other or being

looked at for a long time, to show something that   (9)  cannot express.

      Clearly, eye contact should be done according to the   (10)  between two people and the place where you stay.

The United Nations said that the world’s population will increase from 7.2 billion today to 8.1 billion in 2025. By 2050, it will reach 9.6 billion.

According to the report on World Population Prospects(预测), India’s population will surpass(超过) China’s in around 2028 when each of the two countries will have a population of around 1.45 billion. India’s population is expected to grow to around 1.6 billion and then slowlydeclineto 1.5 billion in 2100, while China’s will start decline after 2030, possibly fall to 1.1 billion in 2100.

According to the report, Nigeria’s population will surpass the US’s population before the middle of this century and Nigeria will start to take China’s place as the second-most populous(人口稠密的)country in the world by the end of this century. By 2050, Nigeria’s population will reach more than 440 million, and it will be nearly 914 million by 2100.

The population of developing countries will increase from 5.9 billion in 2013 to 8.2 billion in 2050. However, the population of developed countries will remain generally unchanged during that period, at around 1.3 billion.

Africa’s population will increase from 1.1 billion today to 2.4 billion in 2050, and may reach 4.2 billion by 2100.

The populations of several countries are expected to decline by more than 15% by 2050, including Belarus, Bulgaria, Cuba, Latvia, Ukraine, etc.

      If you have time，if you love sunshine and swimming，why not come to Australia to have a lovely holiday？You will enjoy every minute of being here．Of course，there is still some information that you have to know before you come．

The sun

In Australia，you can see many kinds of plants and animals and many beautiful views．However，you should be careful．Our sunlight is very strong and you may get sunburn，If you want to go out，you had better wear a hat and a shirt with collar and long sleeves and donˈt forget to take your sunglasses and sun cream，Donˈt look at the sun directly．

Swimming

We have so many beautiful places to swim---- beaches，lakes，rivers and creeks．Most of our public beaches here have life-saving service．Yellow and red flags tell you the area that you are advised to swim in．If there are no flags or lifeguards on the beach，youˈd better ask the local people before you go into the water．

Banks and money

Banks are usually open between 9:30a.m.and 4:00 p.m.on Monday to Thursday and 9:30a.m.to 5:00p.m.on Friday．Travellers can change money at all the banks and some of the larger hotels．