Like it or not, people like to give labels (标签) to singers—Adele, pop; Eminem, rap; Taylor Swift, country. But that rule doesn’t seem to be ________ for Bruno Mars. The 35-year-old US singer is, in the eye of The New York Times critic (评论员) Jon Caramanica, one of the most versatile (多才多艺) ________ .

After hearing the musician display a lot of music styles ranging (延伸) from pop to hip-hop to rock, Caramanica said, “There is ________ Mars doesn’t belong.”

Mars won many awards at the American Music Awards, ________ Artist of the Year and Favourite Male Artist.

________ many of today’s popular singers, Mars didn’t get to where he is via (凭借) a talent show on the Internet. After he left his hometown of Hawaii for Los Angeles, California, to ________ his dreams at 17, Mars “was refused and refused and refused for years”, as he told the Mercury News. ________ he was able to appear on stage (舞台), he had to prove himself by producing and writing songs for others.

So what makes Mars ________ finally? “Spending thousands of hours in a studio learning how to write a song, learning how to play different chords, training myself to sing,” he said in a(an) ________ on US TV show “60 minutes” last year.

________, it seems that Mars forgot to mention one thing: his amazing talent. He is a talented singer.

Jazzy new signs in subway stations have been catching the eyes of commuters(通勤者) in Washington, D.C. Instead of rushing to get on a train, people stop to read poems written by kids.

The lighted posters, called “Metro Muse”, appeared at 10 train stops in the busy city. On display: 12 thoughtful compositions to celebrate kids’ creativity and to promote reading.

Writer Laurie Stroblas began the District Lines Poetry Project in 1994, hoping to give bus riders something better to look at than ads or graffiti. She had been leading poetry workshops in public schools, so she asked her students to lend a hand.

“The response(反应) was unbelievable,” says Stroblas. Later, she decided to transfer her ideas to the buses and picked new poems with the advice of 150 students. Organizations donated enough money to keep Metro Muse in subway stations all winter. In spring, a new crop of poems sprouted(萌芽) on city buses.

What were the poems about? Snow falling, the arrival of a new year, love, fear, and peace. Cindy Rosales, a sixth grade student at Oyster Elementary School, was inspired(激励) by her favorite type of music: “Kindness is the jazz,” she wrote. “Bring the big jazz in. The big whole jazz.” Like most poets, the kids had mixed feelings about letting the public read their private thoughts. “I would feel glad that someone read my poem,” one girl said. “But I would feel sad if they missed their train.”

Reth liked to study ants. He could sit for hours watching thin lines of tiny ants march back and forth. He kept a notebook, pencil, and magnifying glass with him so he could watch the ants closely and keep notes.

The magnifying glass was a great tool. With it, Reth could see the ants’ antennae wave as they marched along. He did not keep the glass on the ants for too long, though. It focused the sunlight and could burn the ants. Reth took a quick look through the glass. Then he scribbled notes. He wrote down what the ants looked like and what they did.

When Reth had enough notes, he went home and looked in his encyclopedia. It told about all kinds of ants, from army ants to fire ants. He compared his notes with the descriptions of ants in the text. Since Reth lived in a suburb, he mostly saw common garden ants. Sometimes he saw carpenter ants. He hoped to travel to the jungle one day so he could see giant Amazon ants, farmer ants, and army ants.

One afternoon Reth found a boy named Henry near the anthill. Henry was poking(戳) at the ants with a long stick.

“Why are you doing that?” Reth asked.

“I like to watch them scurry(急赶) around,” Henry replied.

“If you disturb the ants,” Reth said, “they won’t be able to get the food they need to their nest.”

“So what?” Henry asked.

Reth explained to Henry that ants collected food for their young and the queen, who were unable to leave the nest. He also let Henry look through his magnifying glass. Then he let Henry read his notes.

“Ants are like little people!” Henry exclaimed. Reth took Henry to his house and showed him the encyclopedia.

“These army ants sound really cool,” Henry said. He and Reth talked about going to the jungle to see different kinds of ants. From that day on, Reth and Henry watched the ants together, and Henry had a new respect for the hard-working insects.

The Chacaltaya ski area sits upon a small mountain glacier(冰河)in Bolivia. Although the area is less than a kilometer long, it once hosted international ski competitions. In the past ten years, however, the snow has melted(融化) very quickly. As Chacaltaya glacier melts, dark rocks are uncovered. These rocks absorb more heat, causing the snow to melt faster. The cycle seems unstoppable in the long run. Today, the snow is almost gone, and so are Chacaltaya’s days as a popular ski resort.

A Global(全球的) Problem

In recent years, scientists all around the world have come to a terrifying(可怕的) conclusion.Global warming is a real problem, and one largely caused by human activity. But as experts discuss how to solve the problem, ice in mountains such as Chacaltaya, and near the North and South Poles, is melting faster than even the most pessimistic(悲观的)environmentalists once feared. Ten years ago, scientists warned that the Arctic Ocean(北冰洋)could lose all its ice in   about a hundred years. Now, they think it could happen much sooner. As climate scientist Mark Scrreze puts it, “Reality is exceeding expectations.”

Glacicr Run

The ice sheet of Greenland is also melting more quickly than scientists predicted. Its largest outlet glacier, Jakobshavn Isbra, is moving toward the sea faster than we thought. In fact, the glacier is moving twice as fast as it was in 1995. Rising air and sea temperatures are two well-known causes. Researchers have also discovered other unexpected processes that cause them to melt faster. For instance, water from melting ice runs down cracks(裂缝)in the glacier and gets between the ice and the rock below. This makes it easier for the glacier to go into the warmer sea water.

Some researchers believe that Greenland’s melting if it continues, could add at least a meter to global sea levels by 2100. If the ice sheet of Antarctica, now largely unaffected(未受影响的),begins to melt, the next few centuries could see at least a two-meter rise in sea levels, forcing ten of millions of people out of their homes.

Drying Out

While the melting of glaciers may flood some areas of the Earth, global warming is making the water disappear from other places. Many scientists think the glaciers of the Himalayas and the Andes could disappear in this century. As a result millions of people in India, Bangladesh. Bolivia and Peru who depend on water from mountain glaciers like Chacaltaya could find themselves in critical situation. An increasing number of heat waves and droughts worldwide also suggests global warming is having an influence on humans right now. and that it could change the face of the world in the future.

How can we avoid these terrible consequences(后果)? “We have to have a serious and immediate change in attitude(态度),”says Laurie David, a producer of the movie An inconvenient truth, which helped to raise awareness(意识)of the problem. Many believe that an attitude of hope makes a good beginning. As most would agree, an informed public is clearly in a better position to help address this critical issue.

Second only to water, tea is one of the most popular drinks in the world. Whether you like it boiling hot, poured over ice, or served with milk and tapioca pearls, there’s a lot to love about tea. But how much do you know about it? Let’s test your knowledge to see if you’re a real tea master.   

1.How many types of tea plants are there?

A.One.             B.Two.             C.Three.               D.Four.

Although there are thousands of different types of teas, they all come from one plant—Camellia sinensis, a bush native to East Asia. The differences come from where the plants are grown and how their leaves are treated after harvest. Leaves used to make green tea are processed（加工）for instance, they can be lightly-steamed or oven-dried—while those used to make black tea are left to dry.

2.On average, which country’s citizens drink the most tea?

A.China.          B.The United Kingdom.     C.Turkey.                 D.Japan.

It’s true that the British have the reputation (名声) of being great tea lovers, but they don’t drink as much tea as the people of Turkey. A single Turkish citizen uses more than three kilograms of tea leaves per year, which is enough to make over 1,200 cups of tea!

3.When did tea become widely popular in Britain?

A.In the fifteenth century. B.In the sixteenth century. C .In the seventeenth century.   D.In the eighteenth century.

Tea came to England from China in the seventeenth century, but it was so costly that only noble people could afford it. It wasn’t until the first tea shop opened in 1717 that common people got chances to drink tea. By the middle of the eighteenth century, nearly everyone in England was drinking tea.

4.Why did people start adding milk to tea?

A.To improve the flavor.   B.To make it cool enough to drink.   C.To protect their cups.   D.To make it healthier.

In the 1700s, many average British folks didn’t have the strong, well-made tea sets that richer people used. Their thinner cups often broke when boiling water was poured inside. Adding milk first helped cool the tea and prevented the cups from breaking.

While tea lovers will argue (争论) endlessly about how to make a great cup, there’s only one rule. The perfect cup of tea is the one that tastes best to you. No matter how you like it, just enjoy!