Atlantis

    More than two thousand years ago, in 360 BC, the Greek writer, Plato, described a beautiful city. He said that it was lost somewhere under the ocean. He called this city Atlantis. This was the beginning of the legend(传说) of Atlantis.

    Plato said that the people of Atlantis had been rich and happy. There were amazing palaces and ports in the city. The houses had fountains with hot and cold water, and the walls were covered with silver and gold. Farmers grew food for all the people outside the city. It was sad to think that no one would go there again.

    For two thousand years, everybody thought that Atlantis was just a fantastic story. They thought that Plato had invented it. But then in 1882 an American called Ignatius Donnelly wrote a book about Atlantis. He believed that there was really a beautiful lost city under the ocean. Thousands of people read his book and wanted to find the lost city.

    A lot of people believed that Atlantis was on an island in Greece called Santorini. Santorini used to be much bigger than it is today. About 3,500 years ago, a huge volcano (火山) erupted(爆发) and most of the island sank under the ocean. Some people say it was in Spain, Asia or even in England. People have been looking for the lost city for more than a hundred years, but nobody has ever found it.

Orchids and the environment

    The orchid is a beautiful flower that can grow indoors or outdoors. There are over 25,000 different species of orchids, so it's one of the largest families of p in the world. Orchids can come in many different cas well, such as white, purple, pink, blue and yellow. There are several conditions that help orchids grow so well. Orchids need the right temperature, as well as the right amount of sunlight, soil, and water in order to l.

    F indoor orchids, it is much easier to control these conditions. For example, orchids usually need to be watered once a week, and you can control how much water you give to the plant. Also, many orchids grow best if they had indirect sunlight b direct sunlight will burn them. Indoor orchids can be placed near windows with curtains or blinds. This will protect them and give them the indirect sunlight they need.

    However, as to orchids that grow outdoors in the wild, global warming can become a threat. Unfortunately, global warming affects temperature, light and rain. All these factors will affect the way orchids live and grow. Most orchids will live c within a narrow temperature range of 18.3 to 23.8 degrees Celsius. Global warming can increase temperatures beyond the natural range for these flowers. Unfortunately, this can destroy orchids because they can't survive in hot, dry conditions. Second, air pollution can create acid rain. Acid rain is created when gases from fossil fuels combine with water in the air to form acids. When acid rain falls on plants and trees, it destroys the n balance of the soil and kills them.

    Years ago, many zoos kept all kinds of animals in small cages. Small cages made it easy for people to see the animals, but a small cage is not a good place for an animal tofree.

    Today zoos keep animals in different kinds of cages. The cages are very big and. They usually have plants and lakes. The cages look like the animals' habitats (栖息地).

    Zoos help toall kinds of animals. How do zoos do this? Zoos teach people how animals live in the wild. Zoos want people to help protect the animals' wild habitats. Many plants and animals are going extinct. Mammoths(长毛象), Asian elephants, are now extinct, There are no mammoths in the world today. Scientists say that seventy-four different kinds of living things go extinct every day!