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　　Recently, a solar powered(太陽能動(dòng)力的)plane took to the sky for the first time．It had passed an important test on the way to travel around the world．

　　The plane took off from an airport in Switzerland(瑞士)at 45km an hour．It slowly rose above the fields and into the sky．

　　“There has never been an airplane of that kind that could fly－never an airplane so big, so light, using so little energy,”said Bertrand Piccard, a leader of the project．

　　During the 90-minute flight, the plane did several turns．It climbed nearly 1.6km above the countryside．

　　Engineers plan to test a night flight before July．Then they will use the results of the tests to build a second plane．They plan to travel around the world in that plane in 2012．

　　The plane flies at 70 km an hour．That is faster than a bike and slower than a car．Piccard and pilot Andre Borschberg will take the plane around the world．The pilots will keep the plane in the air for up to five days at a time．

　　“We want to fly it day and night with no fuel(燃料),”Piccard said

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　　My name is woof．You think that we have a great life, right?Wrong!I am going to tell you why．

　　First of all, we are bored．Bored．bored．And bored．Do you ever think about what a dog does all day?Nothing．Nothing at all．Our owners are busy, you know, working, going to school, away from home all day．So what are we supposed to do?Watch the house or apartment?Sure．That is like watching paint dry or grass grow．Boring．That's why we get so excited when our owners come home．We bark and run around and act as if we are very happy．But we only do this because we are bored all day．If we are lucky, our owner take us for a walk．

　　Then there is the food．We eat the same food, meal after meal, day after day, week after week, month after month．Help!Would you like to eat the same thing all the time?No, you would not．So what makes you think we dogs like it?We don't．We hate it．

　　Another thing-television．Another thing-television．Dogs hate television．Our owners watch these stupid programs, hour after hour, night after night．Are there any programs for dogs on television?No．Not a single one．

　　So what can we do?What else can we do but sleep?And so we sleep．We dogs are not lazy, we are bored．

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　　Germs(細(xì)菌)are everywhere．You can't see them, but they are on your desk, on your computer, and even in the air!

　　Like people, germs move around the world．They fly with us on planes．When food, clothes, and other things travel around the world, germs travel, too．Some germs are safe, but some are dangerous．Germs cause illnesses like colds and the flu．

　　The world's weather is changing．Cooler countries are getting warmer, so insects from hot countries can move there．Some of these insects, like mosquitoes, carry dangerous germs．These germs cause headaches, fever, and can even kill people．

　　Under Your Skin

　　Your skin protects you from germs．It stops some germs, but not all．They can enter your body when you eat, or when you have a cut．Germs are on your hands, too．They enter your body when you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth．

　　Fighting Germs

　　Your immune system(免疫系統(tǒng))protects you, too．When germs get inside your body, your immune system finds and kills them．Special cells(細(xì)胞)move around your body and fight germs．They help you stay healthy．Other cells make antibodies．Antibodies help your body find and stop germs．

　　What can you do to fight germs?You should wash your hands with soap and water．Soap kills many germs, and water washes them away．

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　　When I was seven years old my mom was diagnosed(診斷)with cancer．The doctors told us my mom might be saved with surgery(手術(shù))．But it could also kill her．She chose to have it．

　　The day before the surgery I was off school, and my mom planned the best day of my life, everything I loved at seven and everything that would put a smile on my face．The day began with her waking me up saying,“Kate, I have a surprise for you．Come and see．”The surprise was a doll I had wanted for the longest time．Throughout the day, she told me everything that she thought I would need to know to grow up and be a good person; she told me to be the best I could be and that I would always make her proud．We had a picnic in the park, and it was so cold that we moved to the car．The day was filled with laughter．For the first time in a long time I could see she was really happy．I would never forget her smile, or the way her eyes shone as if we were the same age．It was the best day of my life, and I will never forget the conversations we shared．

　　My mother managed to live through the surgery．Now when I look back, I realize that the best day of my life could be her last and this could be the last day I would remember with her, the last one we shared．I also understand how unselfish a mother is．

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　　There have been many great inventions or things that changed the way we live．The first great invention was the one that is still very important today——the wheel．This made it easier to carry heavy things and to travel long distance．

　　For hundreds of years after that there were few inventions that as much effect as the wheel．Then in the early 1800s the world started to change．There was little unknown land left in the world．People didn't have to explore much any more．They began to work instead to make life better．

　　In the second half of the 19^th century many great inventions were made．Among them were the camera, the light and the radio．These all play a big part in our daily life today．

　　The first part of the 20^th century saw more great inventions．The helicopter in 1909, movies with sound in 1926, the computer in 1928, jet planes in 1930．This was also a time when a new material was first made．Nylon came out in 1935．It changed the kind of clothes people wore．

　　The middle part of the 20^th century brought new ways to help people get over diseases．They worked very well．They made people healthier and allowed them to live longer．By the 1960s most people could expect to live to be at least 60．

　　By this time most people in developed countries had a very good life．Of course new inventions continued to be made．But man now had a desire(渴望)to explore again．The earth was known to man but the stars were not．Man began looking for ways to go into space．Russia made the first step．Then United States took a step．Since then other countries, including China and Japan, have made their own steps into space．

　　In 1969 man took his biggest step away from earth．Americans first walked on the moon．This is certainly just a beginning, though．New inventions will some day allow us to do things we have never yet dreamed of．

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　　Because earthquakes happen without warning, it's important to take steps now to prepare．Because you don't know where you will be when an earthquake happens, prepare some supplies for your home, workplace, and car．

　　1．Water．

　　A person needs at least 1/2 gallon of water daily just for drinking．Store at least 1 gallon of water per person per day and be prepared for a 72－h(huán)our period．It is suggested that you buy bottled water．Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open it until you need to use it．Also, do check the“use by”date．

　　2．Food．

　　It's always a practical idea to keep a supply of non－perishable(不易腐爛的)food on hand．Have an enough supply of canned food, powdered milk, dried fruits, non－salted nuts and canned juices for at least 72 hours．

　　3．Flashlights(手電筒)and spare batteries．

　　Keep a flashlight beside your bed, at your place of work, and in your car．Do not use matches or candles after an earthquake until you are sure that no gas leaks．

　　Prepare a battery－powered radio and spare batteries．Most telephones will be out of order, so radios will be your best source of information．

　　4．Clothes．

　　If you live in a cold place, you must think about warmth．You might not have heat after an earthquake．Think about your clothing and bedding supplies．

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　　Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house．Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences．He always told me,“You should have goals like climbing the mountain．”Without the mountain－climbing that we both enjoyed, we couldn't have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy．I really got a lot from the mountain－climbing．It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience．

　　Once we climbed a very high mountain．It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old．During the first few hours of climbing, I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds' singing．But as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs．I wanted to quit climbing, but my father said to me,“You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can't see it before you reach the top．Only there can you see all of the nice things, which is just like your life．”

　　At that time, I was too young to understand his words．But later after that, I got to know the meaning of hope in life．I found myself standing at the top of the mountain, and the sky was as clear as crystal．

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　　When you carry your heavy schoolbag on the way to school or home, do you know the fact that the heavy schoolbag influences your interest in learning knowledge?Don't worry．You may be able to say goodbye to your heavy schoolbag in the near future．

　　Instead of burying(埋葬)your face in an ocean of textbooks, newspapers, magazines and novels, you will soon find that an E-book reader can take the place of them all．

　　An E-book reader is a new kind of mini machine designed to hold thousands of text files and display them on the screen as real text printed(印刷)on a paper page．

　　In the same way in which the iPod(a kind of MP3)has changed the way people enjoy music, E-book readers could change the way that books are read．Some scientists have predicted that E-books will be used widely in our daily life, especially in schools．

　　The size of an E-book reader is the same as that of real books．Its screen is different from that of a computer．It is as thin as a piece of paper．The words on an E-book reader's screen look exactly the same as those on real pages．However, you can do more with an E-book reader than you can with a real book．The reader can change the size of the words and connect to the Internet to download new books．