Dinosaurs died out suddenly about 65 million years ago. Some scientists think it came after an unexpected incident when a huge rock from space hit the earth and put too much dust into the air. Others think the earth got too hot for the dinosaurs to live on any more. Nobody knows for sure why and how dinosaurs disappeared from the earth in such a short time.

Water had also appeared on other planets like Mars but, unlike the earth, it had disappeared later. It was not immediately obvious that water was to be fundamental to the development of life. What many scientists believe is that the continued presence of water allowed the earth to dissolve harmful gases and acids into the oceans and seas. This produced a chain reaction, which made it possible for life to develop.

Since the 1970s many new applications have been found for me. I have become very important in communication, finance and trade. I have also been put into robots and used to make mobile phones as well as help with medical operations. I have even been put into space rockets and sent to explore the Moon and Mars. Anyhow, my goal is to provide humans with a life of high quality. I am now truly filled with happiness that I am a devoted friend and helper of the human race!

As for virtual reality, concerned critics have warned that there could be dangers in this powerful new medium. Will we have VR games in which people can commit virtual crimes（犯罪）? After people get used to VR, will they want to return to reality? Will we forget how to live and work with real people? On the other hand, some people think that VR will help us improve the world. By experimenting harmlessly inside a VR world, we will be able to see the dangers we may face in the future. Then we will be able to avoid them in real life.

Geography plays a part in making dialects. Some people who live in the mountains of the eastern USA speak with an older kind of English dialect. When Americans moved from one place to another, they took their dialects with them. So people from the mountains in the southeastern USA speak with almost the same dialect as people in the northwestern USA. The USA is a large country in which many different dialects are spoken. Although many Americans move a lot, they still recognize and understand each other's dialects.

8 . It was raining. I went into a café and asked for a coffee.     1     I was waiting for my drink, I realized that there were other people in the place, but I sensed     2    . I saw their bodies, but I couldn’t feel their souls     3     their souls belonged to the     4    .

I stood up and walked between the tables. When I came to the biggest computer, I saw a thin, small man     5     in front of it. “I’m Steve”, he finally answered after I asked him a couple of times what his name was. “I can’t talk with you. I’m     6    “, he said. He was chatting online with somebody - probably someone he didn’t know - and,     7     he was playing a computer game - a war game. I was     8    .

Why didn’t Steve want to talk with me? I tried     9    to speak to that computer geek (怪人),     10     not a word came out of his mouth. I touched his shoulder, but no     11    . I was unhappy. I put my hand in front of the monitor, and he started to shout, “    12    !”

I took a few steps back, wondering if all those people in the café were looking at me. I    13    , and saw nobody showed any interest.

    14    , I realized that the people there were having a nice conversation with their machines, not with people. They were more     15     having a relationship with the     16    , particularly Steve. I wouldn’t want to     17     the future of human beings if they preferred sharing their lives with machines     18     with people.

I was worried and I sank in my thoughts. I didn’t even     19     that the coffee was bad,    20     Steve didn’t notice there was a person next to him.

9 . Invited by Mr. Ye Huixian, host of the well-received TV programme ＂Stars Tonight＂, Miss Luo Lin, Miss Asia of 1991, appeared as the guest hostess on the Shanghai TV screen last Sunday.

Born in Shanghai and taken to Hongkong when she was only six years old, Luo Lin has never dreamed of being Miss Asia. Her childhood dream was to be an air hostess. Before she took part in the competition, she had been an airhostess in Cathay Airline for seven years. However, it still took her three months to learn the art of walking on the stage, dancing, singing, making-up and other proper manners, designed by the Asia TV Station.

＂It’s really a hard job for me. I won’t enter for such competition any more. Anyhow, I am quite lucky. I am also glad to have had more chance to work for the social welfare since I won the title. This time, in Shanghai, I’d love to make a deep impression on my TV audience,＂ said Luo Lin with a sweet smile.