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Have you ever wondered why there are so many skin colors in the world? Do you know why people living in particular areas usually have a certain color? Biology and history are the two reasons for this.

Skin contains something called melanin, which determines a person’s skin color. The more melanin a person has, the darker his or her skin will be. The amount of and the production of melanin are controlled by genetics, but can be affected by other things, such as sunlight. If a person lives in a place with less sunlight, a person’s body will produce less melanin, making the skin lighter.

Skin color is also affected by another source ---- vitamin D. humans all need vitamin D to build bones. People can get it by eating foods such as fish and milk, or from sunlight, so sunlight absorbed by melanin cannot be used for vitamin D production. Therefore, a dark—skinned person will produce less vitamin D than a light—skinned person when they received the same amount of sunlight.

The connection between vitamin D production and skin color is clear when we look at evolution. The earliest humans lived in Africa, their dark skin produced less vitamin D because of their dark skin. As a result, their skin made less melanin, so they could get enough sunlight to produce vitamin D. their skin gradually got lighter and they lost hair. Now, people living in areas with strong sunlight like Africa, have darker skin, while people living in other areas have lighter skin. The exception to this is the Inuit, who live in a place with little sunlight, but have dark skin because they eat a lot of fish and have enough vitamin D.

Evolution has given us a rainbow of skin colors. Humans have always had melanin to determine our skin color. What has changed through history is the environment where we have lived. This has in turn changed our melanin production, and eventually, skin color.

Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people and many animals like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper - a little bird called a honey guide.

The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees' nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey and the wax always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.

Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined(坚定的) in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.

1.Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?

2.What do the words "the follower" in Paragraph 2 refer to?

3.The honey guide is special in the way              .

4.What can be the best title for the text?

On a hill 600 feet above the surrounding land, we watch the lines of rain move across the scene, the moon rise over the hills, and the stars appear in the sky. The views invite a long look from a comfortable chair in front of the wooden house.

Every window in our wooden house has a view, and the forest and lakes seldom look the same as the hour before. Each look reminds us where we are.

There is space for our three boys to play outside, to shoot arrows, collect tree seeds, build earth houses and climb trees.

Our kids have learned the names of the trees, and with the names have come familiarity and appreciation. As they tell all who show even a passing interest, maple（枫树）makes the best fighting sticks and white pines are the best climbing trees.

The air is clean and fresh. The water from the well has a pleasant taste, and it is perhaps the healthiest water our kids will ever drink. Though they have one glass a day of juice and the rest is water, they never say anything against that.

The seasons change just outside the door. We watch the maples turn every shade of yellow and red in the fall and note the poplars’（杨树）putting out the first green leaves of spring. The rainbow smelt fills the local steam as the ice gradually disappears, and the wood frogs start to sing in pools after being frozen for the winter. A family of birds rules our skies and flies over the lake.

1.What can be learned from Paragraph 2?

2.By mentioning the names of the trees, the author aims to show that           .

3.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

4.What is the main purpose of the author writing the text?

Here is your best chance to travel around the UK in 2012: More than 200 B&Bs (bed & breakfast) across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are selected to offer you amazing services for your stay at their lowest prices! Don’t miss it. Just collect the vouchers（活动券） in our B&B Daily printed from 01/ 04/ 2012 to 07/ 04/ 2012 and book the stays for your travel following the terms and conditions below:

● The offer includes a room for the night and a breakfast the next morning.

● The offer is of two kinds: £20 per room, per night, valid（有效的） during stay period of 2/ 04/ 2012--- 31/ 05/ 2012 and then again 01/ 08/ 2012--- 31/ 10/ 2012; £35 per room, per night, valid during stay period of 01/ 06/ 2012 --- 31/ 08/ 2012.

● The offer is valid for a basic twin or double room only.

● The stay must be booked directly with the chosen B&Bs before 28/ 04/ 2012.

● If voucher holders book either the £20 or £35 per room per night, any additional services such as

lunch, evening meal or activities may require an extra charge. But these are not required in order to take up the offer. Please check directly with your chosen B&Bs to see what extra services are available.

● Vouchers must be presented on arrival. If no vouchers are presented, the B&Bs may reserve（保留） the right to charge at full price for every night of stay.

● Vouchers may not be used together with any other offer.

● The voucher holders must pay for the stay in full at the time of booking. Additional £10 may be paid to confirm（确认） the booking and will be returned on arrival.

● The B&Bs reserve the right to refuse voucher holders’ bookings for people under the age of 18.

1.The voucher can be used for a stay at the chosen B&B on           .

2.How much should be paid for a two-night stay in October 2012 at a chosen B&B?

3.By taking up the offer, the voucher holders can choose to           .

One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文) showing how it was used.

This was a huge task. So Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as "Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire," 50 miles from Oxford.

Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next years, he became one of the staff's most valued contributors.

But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline(拒绝) to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell（地窖） at the Broadmoor Asylum (精神病院) for the Criminally insane.

Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.

In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.

Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined（下定义） 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.

1.According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary           .

2.How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?

3. Prof. Murray and Dr. Minor became friends mainly because           .

4.What does the text mainly talk about?