1 . Suddenly Uncle Henry stood up. “There’s a cyclone coming, Emily,” he called to his wife. “I’ ll go to look after the stock.” Then he ran towards the sheds where the cows and horses were kept.

Aunt Emily dropped her work and came to the door. One glance told her about the danger close at hand. “Quick, Dorothy!” she screamed. ”Run for the cellar(地窖)!“ Toto jumped out of Dorothy’s arms and hid under the bed, and the girl started to get him. Aunt Emily, badly frightened, threw open the door in the floor and climbed down the ladder into the small, dark hole. Dorothy caught Toto at last and started to follow her aunt.

Then a strange thing happened. The house circled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon. It was very dark, and the wind blew horribly around her, but Dorothy found she was riding quite easily. After the first few twists and turns, and one other time when the house tipped(倾斜)badly, she felt as if she were being rocked gently, like a baby in a cradle(摇篮).

At last she crawled over the swinging floor to her bed, and lay down upon it; and Toto followed and lay down beside her. In spite of the swinging of the house and the crying of the wind, Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.

During the last twenty years there has been increasing concern with the quality of the environment. Along with air and water pollutants, noise pollution has been recognized as a serious pollutant. As noise levels have risen, the effects of noise have become more obvious.

Noise is described as unwanted sound. Causes of noise pollution include traffic, aircraft, rock bands, barking dogs, television, garbage trucks, and noise from neighbors, voices, alarms and boats. Studies show that over forty percent of Americans are disturbed at home or lose sleep because of noise pollution.

Noise has bad effects on people. Noise interferes (干扰) with human activities at home and work, and is in various ways dangerous to people’s health and well-being.

When we think, talk, listen to music, or sleep, we need quiet. Even low levels of noise can be annoying or frustrating. Sudden increases in volume can make sounds annoying. The quieter the background is, the more unpleasant a noise can be.

Noise can also make instructions or warning unclear, resulting in accidents.

Long exposure to noise levels above eighty-five decibels (分贝) can damage inner ear cells and lead to hearing loss. Noise can result in the uncontrolled fear response and can cause adrenaline (肾上腺素) to be pumped into the bloodstream, the heart rate to quicken, muscles to tense, breathing to increase, and the digestive system to slow down.

Local government has the responsibility to fight noise pollution. For example, it can regulate the speed of trains through their community. On the other hand, ad responsible citizen will never make noise pollution wherever he is.

4 . Can you survive an unannounced storm? Although there is expert broadcasting and we are equipped with cell phones, there’re still some instances(情况) when the violent weather takes us by surprise.

While most Atlantic hurricanes form off the coast of Africa giving plenty of early warning, sudden Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico hurricanes form and move rapidly in less than a day’s time, endangering everyone and everything in their path.

Oil workers were trapped off the shore when sudden storms appeared. Natural scientists have been stuck in coastal areas without storm warning. Ten years ago a Texas National Guard group was trapped on the beach by rain-forced flooding and had to ride out(经受的住) a major hurricane during a training exercise. There’ve been a few instances when travelers were trapped on an island or in a coastal area and unable to escape in time.

Escaping from the storm-threatened areas is generally a choice for most of us—but not for all. Each year thousands of islanders across the Caribbean face the danger of hurricanes without so much as a public shelter to hide in. Most ride out the storm in their homes.

But there’re a few things you can do to prepare yourself for some unexpected emergencies. Being prepared for the unexpected may be your best and only defense. If you’re headed outdoors for a few days or weeks, you should always carry a flashlight (手电筒) with extra batteries, a Beidou device (装置), and a basic medical box. If you’re traveling in your car, remember you may suffer high winds. You’d better not stay inside to avoid being blown away along with your car. Keeping your head and your courage up is essential to survival in any type of danger. Let common sense guide you and always be prepared for the worst.

7 . Have you ever wondered what wild animals do when no one is watching? Scientists have been able to record the “private” moments of wildlife with leading-edge technology. Low-cost, dependable and small modern cameras are of big help.

Cameras placed in hard-to-reach places have taken videos of everything from small desert cats to later snow-loving felines (猫科动物) in the northern Rocky Mountains. These cameras are important tools to learn new information on wildlife.

Some videos help scientists see the effects of climate change. For example, the desert animal javelina (矛牙野猪) and the tree-loving coatimundi (南美浣熊) have been caught on cameras north of their normal home. This could mean global warming is enlarging their living area northward.

Researchers use cameras, along with Global Positioning Systems or GPS. They attach GPS devices to animals living in or around Yellowstone National Park. Then they can record their movements, or migrations (迁移). These cameras can be left in the wild for days, weeks or even months. They can provide information on how many animals are moving over a given period of time.

Putting those cameras in place requires careful planning. Videos recorded by those cameras can show details about animal behavior. However, they have their problems too. Animals such as wolverines (狼獾) and bears sometimes attack them. Scientists do not know if the attacks are the result of anger or interest. Also, the devices have become popular tools to help hunters look for animals. Some people argue that it is unfair to use the cameras that way. Even with such problems, wild cameras are clearly important scientific tools in researching wild animals.