阅读理解

　　Vladimir Balderas was a 12-year-old boy when he started working in the fields．His workday began before the sun rose and ended as it set．He and his parents labored in the heat weeding sugar beets and clearing rocks from the fields．

　　They rarely got a day off．Now, Vladimir is 14 years old and he is still working in the fields．Every April, his family go north to begin months of grueling(令人筋疲力尽的)farm work．“It's hard,” Vladimir said．“It's a lot of work．We have to walk a lot in the fields．At the end of the day, I feel so tired．”

　　It is estimated that 250 million kids like Vladimir are forced to work in hard, often dangerous jobs, all over the world．They mine precious metals, weave rugs and work in factories．As many as 500,000 kids in the U．S．and more than 100 million worldwide labor on plantations and farms．What's more, experts estimate that more than 100,000 children and teens are injured on farms each year．They use sharp knives and scissors designed for adult hands．Most of them operate heavy machinery and work with poisonous agricultural chemicals．

　　“If you get hurt, there is no one to help,” said Santos Polendo who spent 10 years working in the fields．He had to carry 40-pound buckets of tomatoes in sweltering heat．He often suffered backaches, knee pain and headaches．“Sometimes, the heat was so bad, it gave me headaches for a week straight,” Polendo says．

　　In April, Vladimir will travel north with his family to find fieldwork．Migrant families move regularly to find work in the fields．Because migrant children miss so much school, as many as 65％of them drop out．Last year, the Department of Labor cut funds(专款)for migrant-youth programs in 31 states．The programs had provided kids with teachers and resources and replaced income that parents lost when their kids stayed in school．

　　The Association of Farm Worker Opportunity Programs is fighting to restore the money for migrant education and training programs and to increase earning for adult farm workers．The group is also pressuring Congress to provide kids working in agriculture with the same protection as other working kids．

阅读理解

　　Paul, the oracle octopus(神算章鱼), was given a replica(复制品)of the World Cup as a reward for his perfect eight-for-eight record in predicting the results of matches．

　　The two-year-old octopus with possible supernatural powers turned into a worldwide celebrity for accurately predicting the German team's five World Cup wins as well as their two defeats．Paul also tipped Spain to beat Netherlands in the final．

　　“We have had a lot of offers for Paul but he will definitely be staying with us and returning to his usual job-making children smile,” Sea Life spokeswoman Tanja Munzig in Oberhausen said after presenting Pual with the World Cup replica．

　　There's no rational(合理的)reasons why Paul always got it right．Bettors around the world made small fortunes based on Paul's guess, said Graham Sharpe, media relations director at William Hill in London．“I've seen a lot of things in my lifetime but this is the first time I've ever seen people making their picks based on what an octopus tells them．We had people coming in saying they didn't know how to place a bet but heard about this German octopus and wanted to bet with him．It's funny．But he kept getting it right．” said Sharpe．

　　Sharpe said that anyone who had placed a 10-pound accumulator bet(累计下注)on Paul's prediction from the start of the World Cup would have won 3,000 pounds(＄4,500)by the end of the tournament．

　　Paul's home at Sea Life aquarium(水族馆)in Oberhausen has been crowded with visitors and media from across Europe．Many networks broadcast his predicting live．Many networks broadcast his picks live．Hundreds were on hand to watch the World Cup replica lowered into his tank on Monday, 12 July, 2010．