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　　This ticket can save you up to 45％ on the standard fare(车费)．You have to travel after the rush hour period Mon．?Fri．,but can travel at any time on Sat．or Sun．

　　Big City Savers

　　These are special low priced tickets on certain trains．You have to book in advance－at the latest by 16∶00 the day before you travel．It’s first come, first served．

　　Weekend Returns are available(有售)for most journeys over 60 miles．Go on Fri．,Sat．or Sun．,and return the same weekend on Sat．or Sun．and save up to 35％ on the standard fare．

　　These are available for most journeys over 65 miles．Go any day and return within a month．Monthly returns save you up to 25％ on the standard fare．

　　For ￡20 this railcard allows you to take a second adult(成人)and up to 4 children for only ￡3 each when you buy single or return tickets．You can travel as often as you like until the card becomes out of date．

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　　Welcome to Ontario Parks, a new body set up to manage Ontario’s most treasured special places, the parks in our area．

　　We are entering a very exciting year for Ontario Parks．Last season we asked some 15 000 visitors in 45 parks how we could improve our programs and services．We also looked at the thousands of comment(意见)cards we received．As a result, new comfort stations have been added, the number of campsites(营地)has been increased, and we’ve made other facility(设施)improvements．In addition, we’ll be providing more educational programs．This year, for example, more than 40 parks will offer special day and evening activities to excite your curiosity(好奇)about nature and history．

　　Through the Internet, you’ll be happy to know that you can now explore(探索)all 270 parks on line．Let your family plan your park vacation, study a map of canoe routes, listen to the call of a loon or find up-to-date information about programs, services and facilities．

　　So come and discover what Ontario Parks has to offer．Our parks are places to go with families and friends, for relaxation(放松)and fun, or simply to get away from it all．They are places where we can enrich(丰富)our souls and “recharge our internal(内部的)batteries”．They provide chances to explore nature, see wildlife, swim, canoe, camp, hike, picnic, ride a bike…You’ll enjoy some of the best outdoor experiences available anywhere in the world．

　　We urge(激励)you to make 2006 the year that you come out and have an Ontario Parks experience!

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　　When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety．But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm．These people are willing to risk(冒……危险)being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an- hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up．

　　“Storm chasing(追逐)” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby(喜好), especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent(经常的)storms between March and July．A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop．

　　Although anyone can do it, storm chasing is extremely dangerous．The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds．Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain．If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season．

　　Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement．“Storm chasing is 95％ driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing．“Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers．”

　　However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it．“When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley．“Every storm is an example of the power of nature．It is the greatest show on Earth．”

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　　It seems strange that while three-quarters of the world’s surface is covered with water, getting an adequate(足够的)supply of it that’s fresh, clean, and safe to use for drinking, cooking and washing, is one of the most important problems that faces humanity．Most of the earth’s water is salt water in the oceans, only three percent is fresh and only a small part of that is possible．It may be trapped deep underground, and anyway unequally exist around the globe, so droughts and floods happen now and then．Of the remaining fresh water, much is polluted and dangerous to use．

　　A large part of UNICEF’s(联合国儿童基金会)work is bringing safe water to people and educating them in basic health care．Some diseases spread by polluted water are the most common causes of death and illness in children under five in the developing world．

　　Although water gives life, it can also carry some kinds of disease－a leading cause of blindness among children．Mosquitoes, and flies that live near in water bring yellow fever, malaria(疟疾)and sleeping sickness, so good piped water supplies are needed to reduce the need for people to gather in such an area．

　　In the country, women and children spend a major part of their time going out to collect water, often walking many miles each day to provide just the limited family needs for cooking, washing and drinking．And they can’t carry much while walking over rough fields bearing a heavy bucket(桶)．

　　Because children have to play their part in family life, and that includes getting water, they may be unable to go to school, or be so tired when they get there that they have difficulty learning．They may even have to spend the whole day without a drink as there may not be any clean water there, either．

　　Last year, UNICEF aimed to get almost 90000 water systems set up, to benefit 20 million people, working where it is most badly needed, often just to ensure keeping alive．A well may mean the difference between life and death．

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　　Of all the fish we catch in the world, we eat only three quarters of it．The rest goes to glue(胶水), soap, margarine(人造奶油), pet food and fertilizer．

　　Fishermen usually freeze fish they catch at sea．Back in port, they defrost the fish, make the fish have no bones in it and sell it as fresh fish．

　　Over ninety-five percent of fish caught is in the northern hemisphere(半球)．Thus, only about five percent of all fish caught is from south of the equator．

　　The Japanese are the world champion fish eaters．They eat twice as much fish as the Scandinavians, and five times as much fish as the Americans．

　　The Russian sturgeon(鲟鱼)is the most expensive fish in the world．The eggs of the sturgeon are called caviar(鱼子酱)．

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　　About one million years ago, the Ice Age began．The Ice Age was a long period of time in which four great glaciers(冰川)pushed southward to cover almost all the upper half of North America, and then melted away．Each glacier was a thick sheet of ice and snow that spread out from a center near what is now Hudson Bay in Canada．The winters were long, and the cool summers were too short to melt much of the ice and snow．The ever-growing sheet built up to a thickness of two miles at its center．

　　As all glaciers do, these great glaciers slid(滑动)．They pushed down giant trees in their paths and scraped(刮削)the earth bare(光秃秃的)of soil．Many animals moved farther south to escape．Others stayed and were destroyed．

　　When winters of little snow came, the summer suns into the edges to the ice sheets．As the glaciers melted, rocks, soil and other things that had mixed with the ice and snow were left．New hills, lakes and rivers were formed．

　　The last of the great glaciers began its melting about 11 000 years ago．Its melting formed the Great Lakes．These lakes are today little changed from their early sizes and shapes．The largest of the North American river systems was also influenced by the glaciers．This is the Mississippi-Missouri- Ohio system．These rivers were miles wide at first．Through the years they settle into their present channels．

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　　In 1950 an ordinary but imaginative electrical engineer named Christopher Cockerell began an experiment that was soon to change the world．He came up with an idea to make boats go faster, by using a vacuum cleaner(真空吸尘器)．

　　Using his wife’s vacuum cleaner he was able to reverse(使倒转)the motor so that it blew instead of sucking．The air that blew out beneath(下面)acted as a cushion(垫子)against surfaces．Years later, his principle(原理)of cushioned air made it possible for the first hovercraft(气垫船)to be successfully built and tried out．A journey along the Amazon River proved to the world that the hovercraft was both wonderful and useful．

　　The invention that began in the kitchen and the boatyard of an ordinary home led to a thousand other inventions．Today hovercrafts carry passengers in comfort over rough channels and seas．

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　　Microwave cooking is probably the best cooking discovery besides fire．In fact, it might be better than fire, since microwaves, instead of a flame or an electric element, cook the food．

　　Microwaves are short radio waves, similar to heat and light waves．They work by movement．They cause the molecules(分子)in food to move, which produces friction(摩擦力)．(It’s similar to rubbing your hands together when they’re cold．)The friction produces heat in the food(not in the oven), and the heat cooks the food．

　　There is a legend behind the use of microwaves for cooking．

　　Percy Le Spencer was employed by the Raytheon Company during the World War Ⅱ．One day on 1942 he was working with magnetrons(电磁管), which can produce microwaves．When he pulled a candy bar from his pocket, it was a melted mess．Although Spencer was working on scientific experiments, not trying to invent a new way of cooking, he realized that it was the microwaves that had melted the candy．Spencer knew that if microwaves melted candy, they would cook other foods as well．The Raytheon Company agreed, and in 1947 it introduced its Radarange to the public．

　　The first ovens were suspected(怀疑)of causing health problems, but the new models were safe when the factory’s instructions were followed．Microwave cooking now can be found in many homes all over the world．

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　　Alexander Bell travelled to Washington D．C．to visit Joseph Henry, one of the greatest scientists of the day．

　　Joseph Henry had never met the tall, thin, dark-haired young man who walked with a quick step into his office that March day in 1875．But he had heard of the Bell family and their successful teaching methods with the deaf．He was soon impressed(留下印象)by the carefulness of his young visitor who explained his theory of sending voices by electricity．When Bell had finished his explanation, Henry said, “You have the idea for a great invention．Work at it．”?

　　“But, sir, there are mechanical(机械的)difficulties to overcome(克服)that would require a knowledge of electricity and I don’t have it．”

　　“GET IT!” was the great scientist’s advice．“Without these two words of encouragement,”Bell said later,“I should never have invented the telephone．”

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　　Today, roller skating is easy and fun．But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all．Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist．That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin．Merlin’s work was making musical instruments．In his spare time he liked to play the violin．Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams．People called him a dreamer．

　　One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy ball(化装舞会)．He was very pleased and a little excited．As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party．He had an idea．He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room．

　　Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll．Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe．These were the first roller skates．Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin．?

　　On the night of the party, Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin．Everyone was astonished to see him．There was just one problem．Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates．He rolled on and on．Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall．Down fell the mirror, breaking into pieces．Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!