2 . Alice is in a very strange (奇怪的) land! There are a lot of animals and they can speak, run and cook! Some of them always help her. So she makes friends with them. There are some mushrooms (蘑菇), too. When she eats a mushroom, she becomes very big or very small. There is a Queen. She is not so kind. She is often angry with other people and she often says, “Cut off his head!” Alice is so afraid of her. She doesn’t like this place. She wants to go home because she misses her family.

(——From Alice in Wonderland)

6 . Oil becomes more expensive and difficult to find. It’s becoming less and less, too. Scientists are looking for other energies, including solar (太阳能), wind and even nuclear (核能) power.

Solar boards (板) catch energy from the sun and turn it into electricity. One of the world’s largest solar power stations is in Germany. What’s more, solar energy produces no waste.

Wind, the fastest growing kind of energy, is another way of collecting energy from the sun. As we all know, Holland is famous for its wind electricity. And it’s also called Windmill Kingdom (风车之国).

Nuclear power produces electricity more cheaply with no carbon (碳) waste. And more countries join the nuclear group. China has built twenty-two nuclear power stations, too.

7 . When we talk about the Vikings, we usually think of the Viking soldiers. They sailed to other countries across the sea and fought with the people there. But in fact, at that time most Vikings stayed in their home countries of Norway, Denmark or Sweden. They lived peaceful lives. Some Vikings lived with their families on farms without any neighbors, but most lived in towns. Towns were often near the sea or a river, so ships could arrive easily. It was an important place for people to buy and sell lots of different objects, including clothes, food, plates, jewellery and many other useful things. So they really did well in trading.

(—From The Vikings)

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