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　　With its private hidden coves(小海湾)and pink beaches．Bermuda is a perfect place for relaxation and romance．Though this tiny string of Atlantic islands covers only 21 square miles．there's much to see and do．Spend tile days boating，golfing，shopping or swimming with dolphins．Explore secret caves，visit historical museums and churches．Bermuda's nightlife offers everything from fine dining to fast food，jazz clubs to Irish pubs．

　　Even though a large number of people live 011 this small island, you should never feel crowded．There are no ad boards or signs，and relatively few cars to spoil the beauty of the countryside．Most houses seem to fit quite naturally into the scenery．

　　Bermuda consists of nine parishes(教区)．Pembroke，which surrounds the capital city of Hamilton．is the largest parish in population；St．George has the largest land area。

　　Because of its small size．it's easy to get to know tile island．There's much to see．Whether you travel by bike．ferry，bus，or taxi．You'll need plenty of time．though，because the pace is slow．Cars and other motorized vehicles must observe tile top speed of 15 mph in Hamilton and St．George,20 mph in the countryside．The speed limits are strictly enforced．and there are severe punishments for breaking the rules．

　　Once you've done all the must-sees, you'll want to walk around and make discoveries on your own．The best parishes for walking are Somerset, St．George, and Hamilton．

　　But don't fill your days with too much structured sightseeing．You'll want time to lie on the beach and play in the water ,and to enjoy moments like sitting by the harbor in the late afternoon, enjoying the views as the sailing boats pass by．Absorbing Bermuda's beauty at your own pace, and stopping to chat with the occasional islander, is really the point．

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　　Nowadays more and more people are talking about genetically modified foods(GM foods)．GM foods develop from genetically modified organisms(有机体), which have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques．These techniques are much more precise where an organis m is exposed to chemicals to create a non-specific but stable change．For many people, the high-tech production raises all kinds of environmental, ethical(伦理的), health and safety problems．Particularly in countries with long farming traditions, the idea seems against nature．

　　In fact, GM foods are already very much a part of our lives．They were first put on the market in 1996．A third of the corn and more than half the cotton grown in the U．S．last year was the product of biotechnology, according to the Department of Agriculture．More than 65 million acres of genetically modified crops will be planted in the U．S．this year．The genetic genie is out of the bottle．

　　However, like any new product entering the food chain, GM foods must be subjected to careful testing．In wealthy countries, the debate about biotech is not so fierce by the fact that they have a large number of foods to choose from, and a supply that goes beyond the needs．In developing countries desperate to feed fast-growing and underfed populations, the matter is simpler and much more urgent：do the benefits of biotech outweigh the risks?

　　The statistics on population growth and hunger are disturbing．Last year the world ' s population reached 6 billion．The U．N．states that nearly 800 million people around the world are unhealthy．About 400 million women of childbearing age don' t have enough iron, which means their babies are exposed to various birth defeats．As many as 100 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindness．

　　How can biotech help? Genetic engineering is widely used to produce plants and animals with better nutritional values．Biotechnologists have developed genetically modified rice and they are working on other kinds of nutritionally improved crops．Biotech can also improve farming productivity in places where food shortages are caused by prop damage attributable to drought, poor soil and crop viruses．

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　　Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely．The " standard" retirement age varies from country to country, but it is generally between 50 and 70, according to the latest statistics, 2011．However, for a long time, people have got into an argument about whether the age of retirement should be increased or reduced in their own countries．

　　There are several arguments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able．Many people think that older employees have a large amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire．Besides, older employees are often extremely faithful employees and are more willing to implement company policies than the young．A more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people．To force someone to resign or retire at 60 or 65 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that effectively their useful life is over．

　　Allowing old people to work indefinitely(无限地), however, is not always a good policy．Some people took the strong view that age alone is no guarantee of ability．Many young employees have more experience or skills than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area for most of their working lives．Having compulsory retirement allows new ideas in an organization．On the other hand, older people should be rewarded by society for their life' s labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy leisure．They can have time to do whatever they like, that is, they can have their own plans or roles and achieve their retirement goals．

　　With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers．However, this can affect the older individual' s freedom－and right－to work．In my opinion, giving workers more choices over their retirement age will benefit society and the individual．

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　　Mattel Inc．is recalling 4.4 million Polly Pocket toys with magnets(磁铁)after some of them caused serious injuries to children who swallowed magnets that fell off．Tiny magnets inside the toys may fall off without being noticed by parents and babysitters．The magnets can be swallowed or placed in children' s noses or ears．When more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestine perforations(肠内穿孔)which can be deadly．

　　The Consumer Product Safety Commission received 170 reports of the magnets coming out of these recalled toys．There were three reports of serious injuries to children who swallowed more than one magnet．All three suffered intestine perforations that required operations．A 2-year-old child stayed in hospital for 7 days and a 7-year-old child was hospitalized for 12 days．

　　The recalled Polly Pocket toys contain plastic dolls and accessories(附件)that have small magnets．The magnets measure one-eighth inch in diameter(直径)and are fixed in the hands and feet of the dolls, and even in the plastic clothing, hairpieces and other accessories to help the pieces stay on the dolls or the dolls' houses．

　　The model number is printed on the bottom of the largest pieces on the toys．Contact Mattel if you cannot find a model number on your product to determine if it is part of the recall．Polly Pocket magnetic toys currently sold in stores are not included in this recall．The model numbers included in the recall are：B2632, B3158, B7118, G8605, H1537 and H3211．The toys were on sales in department stores and toy stores from May 2006 through September 2009．

　　Consumers should immediately take these recalled toys away from children and contact Mattel for the return of the toys．For more information contact Mattel at 888 597-6597 anytime or visit the company' s website．

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　　Amie Carton was only 18 months old when she had the accident that scarred(留下创伤)her for life．The curious child reached up to get the wire of a hot kettle in the kitchen and poured boiling water over her body．

　　Her mother Ruby called an ambulance which rushed her to a nearby hospital．Twenty percent of Amie' s body had been burned and all of her bums were third-degree．There, using tissue taken from unburned areas of Amie' s body, doctors performed complex skin grafts(移植)to close her wounds and control her injuries, an operation that took about six hours．Over the next 16 years, Amie had 12 more operations to repair her body．

　　When she started school at age 4, other pupils made cruel comments or simply wouldn't play with her．" I was the only burned child in the street," she recalled, " some children refused to become friends because of that．”

　　Today, age 17, Amie can only ever remember being a burned person with scars; pain is a permanent part of her body．She still has to have two further skin grafts．Yet she is a confident, outgoing teenager who offers inspiration and hope to other young bums victims．She is a member of the Scottish Burned Children's Club, a charity set up last year．This month, Amie will be joining the younger children at the Graffham Water Center for the charity' s first summer camp．"I'll show them how to treat others' unkind stares as unimportant and not worry about them," she says．Amie loves wearing fashionable sleeveless tops, and she plans to show the younger children at the summer camp that they can too．"I do not go to great lengths to hide my burns scars," she says, "I gave up wondering how other people would react years ago．"

Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

　　How the Grand Canyon was created remains one of the geology’s greatest mysteries．Some evidence suggests that the process was a gradual one in which the Colorado River(which runs through the canyon)slowly cut deeper and deeper into the ground over millions of years．But volcanic(火山的)rock samples taken from the canyon(峡谷)now suggest that the canyon was downcut instead．

　　Downcutting is when a flood of water rushes over a landscape with enough force to cut deeply into the ground and leaves behind a canyon．Such a flood is usually released when a natural or artificial dam bursts．

　　Robert Webb, a research geologist with U．S．Geological Survey, says natural dams seem to have formed and broken across the Colorado River several times during the last million years．The dams were built when lava(熔岩)from the eruptions(爆发)of nearby volcanoes flowed into the river．The lava hardened into hard rocks and blocked the river, causing it to back up and form a lake．Each time the lake grew so huge that it broke the rock dam, releasing a flash flood that furthered the downcutting process and deepened the canyon．The most recent dam break happened 165,000 years ago, says Webb, and released 15 million cubic(立方)feet of water per second．

　　Downcutting is not just an earthly event．Satellite photos sent back from Mars(a planet)suggest that the process has happened there, too, say researchers at the National Air and Space Museum．

　　The photos, taken by the Mars Global Surveyor, indicate that an enormous lake existed on Mars 3.5 billion years ago．The lake, which was big enough to flood Texas and California, eventually spilled into a large nearby hole．One edge of the hole broke, releasing a flash flood that quickly carved out a grand canyon about 2,100 meters deep and 885 kilometers long．Astronauts call the canyon MA’adim Vallis．

　　The existence of downcutting on Mars is just one more piece of evidence that the cold, dry planet was once warm and wet．

Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

　　A 63-year-old man who hasn't slept for more than two decades has been told there is nothing wrong with him by doctors．

　　Ukrainian Fyodor Nesterchuk from the town of Kamen-Kashirsky said the last time he managed to sleep was more than two decades ago．

　　"I can't remember the exact date and I don't know why it started, but all of a sudden I found it more and more difficult to nod off until eventually I was awake the entire night．I used to read boring scientific magazines in the hope that they would send me to sleep．But as soon as I felt my eyes getting closed and put the magazine down, I would find myself wide awake again．I thought it would just be a period of time but it has gone on for over two decades now and I've simply had to get used to it．Now when everyone else sleeps I get stuck into a good book," said Nesterchuk．

　　All attempts by doctors to put him to sleep have failed．Local doctor Fyodor Koshel who has examined Nesterchuk extensively and has been unable to make him fall asleep, said he has no idea of the cause of the insomnia and added medically there is nothing wrong with him．"We have no idea why he can't sleep, maybe it's the result of a past illness．But in terms of medical science, he's not in any pain and so there isn't anything actually wrong with him," said Dr Koshel．

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　　A group of graduates, successful in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor．Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life．

　　Before offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups-porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking and cheap, some exquisite and expensive-telling them to help themselves to the coffee．

　　When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said："If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones．While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress．Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee．In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink．What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups．And then you began eyeing each other's cups．

　　Now consider this：Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups．They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live．Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us．"

　　God brews the coffee, not the cups．Enjoy your coffee!

　　"The happiest people don't have the best of everything．They just make the best of everything．"

　　Live simply．Love generously．Care deeply．Speak kindly．Leave the rest to God．

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　　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．