For many people who live in cities, parks are an important part of the landscape.

They provide a place for people to relax and

play sports, as well as a refuge from the often harsh environment of a city. What people often overlook is that parks also provide
considerable environmental benefits. => allay, alleviate, reduce; cities with rooftop gardens are cooler than those without rooftop
gardens; Parks require much space while rooftop gardens do not; increased space for private relaxation; do not require the use of
valuable urban land; argumentative; A viewpoint is established and then defended

Not so long ago almost any students who successfully completed a university degree or diploma course could find a good career quite easily.
Companies toured the academic institutions, competing with each other to recruit graduates. However, those days are gone, even in Hong
Kong, and nowadays graduates often face strong competition in the search for jobs. => in the past, finding a good career was easier in Hong
Kong than elsewhere; future; discuss their own abilities in relation to what the employer is looking for; only consider careers which are suited to
them as people; examine the careers …; get informatin about a number …; being prepared …; it is better …

Social parasitism involves one species relying on another to raise its young. Among vertebrates, the best known social parasites
are such birds as cuckoos and cowbirds; the female lays egg in a nest belonging to another species and leaves it for the host to
rear => Ants belonging to the genus Polyergus have an unusual relationship with ants belonging to the genus Formic; rear; are
social parasites; egg; The Polyergus are heavily dependent on the Formica; dig; dulotic

Do you think you're smarter than your parents and grandparents? According to James Flynn, a professor at a New
Zealand university, you are! Over the course of the last century, people who have taken IQ tests have gotten increasingly better
scores-on average, three points better for every decade that has passed. This improvement is known as "the Flynn effect," and
scientists want to know what is behind it. => an increase in IQ test scores over time; our environment and experiences; our
intelligence; Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effe; children finding things out themselves; to give an
example of technology that improve our visual intelligence; People today have more visual intelligence
Learning means acquiring knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors. It is common to think of
learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, and people continue to
learn throughout their lives. => Acquisition of academic knowledge; Interpersonal communication; the changes to which people
have to orient themselves; It takes place more frequently in real life than in academic institutions; thoroughly understand the
behaviors of the objects of their interest; recovers; Psychologists are all interested in memory as much as behaviors; general
principles of learning

Where one stage of child development has been left out, or not sufficiently experienced, the child may have to go back
and capture the experience of it. A good home makes this possible - for example, by providing the opportunity for the child to
play with a clockwork car or toy railway train up to any age if he still needs to do so. This principle, in fact, underlies all
psychological treatment of children in difficulties with their development, and is the basic of work in child clinics. => offers
recapture of earlier experiences; only if excessive demands are avoided; should be balanced and moderate; serve a dual purpose;
will free a child from disillusion when he grows up; famil; make their children lose faith in them
According to airline industry statistics, almost 90 percent of airline accidents are survivable or partially
survivable. But passengers can increase their chances of survival by learning and following certain tips. Experts say
that you should read and listen to safety instructions before take-off and ask questions if you have uncertainties. You
should fasten your seat belt low on your hips and as tightly as possible. Of course, you should also know how to
release mechanism of your belt operates. During take-offs and landings, you are advised to keep your feet flat on the
floor. Before take-off you should locate the nearest exit and an alternative exit and count the rows of seats between
you and the exits to so that you can find them in the dark if necessary. => Guidelines for increasing aircraft passenger
survival; before take off; The two closest to the passenger's seat; keep their heads low; carry personal belongings in
an emergency; expanded; damage; How to proceed once you are away from the aircraft
   Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, was from a wealthy well-known family. As
a child, he attended private school, had private tutors, => political aspects of Roosevelt’s life; Roosevelt voted for Al
Smith; responded immediately; opened the banks a few at a time; complete; fondness; threat

At 7 pm on a dark, cold November evening, thousands of people are making their way across a vast car
park. They're not here to see a film, or the ballet, or even the circus. They are all here for what is, bizarrely, a global
phenomenon: they are here to see Holiday on Ice. Given that most people don’t seem to be acquainted with
anyone who's ever been, the show's statistics are extraordinary: nearly 300 million people have seen Holiday on Ice
since it began in 1943; it is the most popular live entertainment in the world. => the conditions that the skaters put
up with; resounds loudly; the range of companies involved in the production; skating moves; the skaters' positions
on the ice; by presenting familiar material in an unexpected way; through difficult personal experience; It is difficult
to dislike it
Before the 1500’s, the western plains of North America were dominated by farmers. One group, the Mandans, lived in
the upper Missouri River country, primarily in present – day North Dakota. They had large villages of houses built close together.
The tight arrangement enabled the Mandans to protect themselves more easily from the attacks of others who might seek to obtain
some of the food these highly capable farmers stored from one year to the next. => The agricultural activities of a North American
Society; guard their supplies of food; They could grow crops despite adverse weather; Harvesting corn; catastrophe; slices;
planned for the future
Even with his diverse experience as an elected official at the state level, Andrew Johnson was the first president of the
United States ever to be impeached, primarily because of his violent temper and unyielding stubbornness. His career started in
1828 with his collection to the city council of Greenville, Tennessee, and after two years as an alderman, he took office as
mayor. His advancements followed in rapid succession when he was elected to the Tennessee state senate, then as the state
governor, and later to the U.S. House of Representatives for five consecutive terms. => Andrew Johnson’s career as a politician;
He was elected to several important posts; His personal characteristics; had an extensive background in politics; detrimental to
his presidency; exonerate; failed by a minimal margin

Even before the turn of the century, movies began to develop in two major directions: the realistic and the formalistic
=> Styles of filmmaking; Most films are neither exclusively realistic nor formalistic; realism and reality; The director; abundance;
it obviously manipulated images; concrete; A travel documentary

Because geologists have long indicated that fossil fuels will not last indefinitely, the U.S government finally
acknowledged that sooner or later other energy sources => Conversion of the industry and the economy to nuclear power;
receptive; minimal; idea; the expectation for increase in the number of nuclear plants; overlooking the possibility of a meltdown,
however remote; stopped; has been decelerated but not terminated
According to some accounts, the first  optical telescope was  accidentally invented in the 1600s  by children
who put two glass lenses together while playing with them in a Dutch optical shop. The owner of the shop, Hans
Lippershey, looked through the lenses and was amazed by the way they  made the nearby church look so much
larger. Soon after that, he invented a device that he called a "looker," a long thin tube where light passed in a straight
line from the front lens to the viewing lens at the other end of the tube. In 1608 he tried to sell his invention
unsuccessfully. In the same year, someone described the "looker’’ to the Italian scientist Galileo, who made his own
version of the device. In 1610 Galileo used his version to make observations of the Moon, the planet Jupiter, and  the
Milky Way. In April of 1611, Galileo showed his device to guests at a banquet in his honor. One of the guests
suggested a name for the device:  telescope. => It was invented by accident; He sold his invention in 1608; in 1611; It
refracted the light; He improved it; in the 18th century Galieo; in caucasus mountains
The modem comic strip started out as ammunition in a newspaper was between giants of the American press in the
late nineteenth century. The first full-color comic strip appeared in January 1894 in the New York World, owned by Joseph
Pulitzer. The first regular weekly full-color comic supplement, similar to today's Sunday funnies, appeared two years later, in
William Randolph Hearst's rival New York paper, the Morning Journal. => Features of early comic strips in the United States;
They owned major competitive newspapers; They provided a break from serious news stories; Hearst convinced Outcault to
leave the World
  Venus, also called the Morning Star and Evening Star, is the second-closest planet to the sun and the brightest object
in the night sky. The planet orbits the sun every two hundred and twenty four Earth-days and is sometimes referred to as Earth’s
sister planet because the two share both a similar size and bulk. What is not similar, however, is Venus’s atmosphere in
comparison to Earth’s atmosphere. => it is very bright; atmosphere; Venus’s surface temperature and pressure make it
uninhabitable by humans; the rapid increasing amounts of carbon dioxide; might suffer the same greenhouse effect as Venus;
generation
Researchers in the field of psychology have found that one of the best ways to make an important decision, such as
choosing a university to attend or a business to invest in, involves the utilization of a decision worksheet. => A tool to assist in
making complex decisions; fundamental; has the most points assigned to it; describing a process; creative; human mental
capacity has limitations; change
Orchids are unique in having the most highly developed of all blossoms, in which the usual male and female
reproductive organs are fused in a single structure called the column. => Flowers; the structure of its blossom; combined;
200,000; The labellum; an airport runway; orchids; seperate
  One of the factors contributing to the intense nature of twenty-first-century stress is our continual exposure to media
– particularly to an overabundance of news. If you feel stressed out by the news, you are far from alone. => Our continual
exposure to the media; printing, transportation, and telecommunications were not developed; upsetting; send out frightening
stories about potential dangers; The only source of stress in our modern life is the media; fall; a source of chronic stress; The
Media - A Major Cause of Stress
The tourist looking at the African savannah on a summer afternoon might be excused for thinking that the wide yellow
grass plain was completely deserted of life, almost a desert. With only a few small thorn trees sticking out through the veldt,
there seems to be almost no place for a living creature to hide. => The temperature prevents much activity; The animals go on
with their normal activity; General non-fiction; easily make a mistake of; a large number of; To be alert to the possibility of
danger; a Marshall eagle
 The ability of falling cats to right themselves in midair and land on their feet has been a source of wonder for ages.
Biologists long regarded it as an example of adaptation by natural selection, but for physicists it bordered on the miraculous.
=> The explanation of an interesting phenomenon; the righting of a tumbling cat; The purpose of the photographs was to explain
the process; It was a relatively new technology; turns; flexible; By analyzing photographs
With Robert Laurent and William Zorach, direct carving enters into the story of modern sculpture in the United States.
Direct carving - in which the sculptors themselves carve stone or wood with mallet and chisel - must be recognized as something
more than just a technique. Implicit in it is an aesthetic principle as well: => stone or wood; The material is an important element
in a sculpture; determines; Sculptors are personally involved in the carving of a piece; observed; Paris; a departure from; It is
made of marble
In the American colonies there was little money. England did not supply the colonies with coins and did not allow the
colonies to make their own coins, except for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which received permission for a short period in
1652 => the American monetary system of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; scarce; for a short time during one year;
Paper money; resolve; Only the US Congress could issue money; Gold could be exchanged for silver at the rate of sixteen to one
A survey is a study, generally in the form of an interview or a questionnaire, that provides information concerning how
people think and act. In the United States, the best-known surveys are the Gallup and the Harris poll. => The principles of
conducting surveys; interviews; are not based on a representative sampling; accurate; Carefully worded questions; utilize;
respondents often do not complete and return questionnaires; can produce more information
In the United States in the early 1800's, individual state governments had more effect on the economy than did the
federal government => The roles of state and federal governments in the economy of the nineteenth century; higher education;
sometimes built in part by state companies; inspecting materials used in turnpike maintenance; goals; It made it increasingly
possible for settlers to obtain land in the West; Regulation of the supply of money
What we today call American folk art was, indeed, art of, by, and for ordinary, everyday “folks” who, with increasing
prosperity and leisure, created a market for art => appreciated portraits; In Connecticut and Massachusetts; It became five times
larger; beginning; horse-drawn carriage; The invention of the camera; had no formal art training; profitable
    Archimedes’s Principle is a law of physics that states that when an object is totally or partially immersed in a fluid, it
experiences an upthrust equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. The principle is most frequently applied to the behaviour of
objects in water, and helps to explain floating and sinking, and why objects seem lighter in water. It also applies to balloons.
=> It receives an upward force, equal to the weight of the fluid displaced; quantity; takes the place; float with an equal volume
of its volume under water; has a special shape; upward push; fresh water is ‘lighter’ than sea water; objects seem lighter in
water
 In the West, cartoons are used chiefly to make people laugh. The important feature of all these cartoons is the joke and the
element of surprise which is contained. Even though it is very funny, a good cartoon is always based on close observation of a
particular feature of life and usually has a serious purpose. => Humour, unexpectedness, and criticism; educating ordinary
people; purposes; a contrast between Western cartoons and Chinese cartoons; Chinese Cartoons and Western Cartoons;
spreading the Chinese ideas and cultural values throughout the world; the dominant cultural influence of the West over the
East
Around the year 1500, hunting people occupied the entire northern third of North America. They lived well from the
animals with which they shared these lands. Hunters of sea mammals had colonized the Arctic coasts of Canada and Greenland
between four and five thousand years before. Land-hunting people had lived throughout much of the northern interior for at least
12,000 years. => The circumpolar environment of the sixteenth century; region; tundra; 8-9 months; not flowing; lack of
supplies; cement
Social parasitism involves one species relying on another to raise its young. Among vertebrates, the best known
social parasites are such birds as cuckoos and cowbirds; the female lays egg in a nest belonging to another species and leaves it
for the host to rear. => Ants belonging to the genus Polyergus have an unusual relationship with ants belonging to the genus
Formica; rear; are social parasites; The Polyergus are heavily dependent on the Formica; Raid another nest; enlist; The Polyergus
and the Formica move to a new nest; dulotic species of ants (line 5)