阅读理解

　　The weather is getting hotter and you'll be getting thirstier playing basketball or riding home from school．A cold drink may be just the thing．But be careful what you pour down your throat．Something that looks cool may not be good for your health．

　　There are plenty of so-called energy drinks on the market．Most of them have an attractive color and cool name．Their nutrition lists also contains various things from vitamins to ginseng(人参)．Sounds great!

　　But after a careful check you may find that most energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine(咖啡因)．These drinks are typically aimed at young people, students, busy people and sports players．

　　Makers sometimes say their drinks make you better at sports and can keep you awake．But be careful not to drink too much．Caffeine raises your heartbeat．Because of this, the International Olympic Committee has limited their use．The amount of caffeine in most energy drinks is at least as high as in a strong cup of coffee or strong tea．

　　Research by Australian scientists has found that many teenagers are affected by caffeine．The results of their survey show that 27 percent of boys aged 8～12 take in more caffeine than their parents．

　　There are potential(潜在的)health risks linked to energy drinks．Just one can of energy drink can make you nervous, have difficulty sleeping and can even cause heart attacks．

　　Teenagers should be discouraged from consuming drinks with a lot of caffeine in them, an expert from the Australia Nutrition Foundation said．

阅读理解

　　The weather in Britain changes very quickly．One day may be fine and the next day may be wet．The morning may be warm and the evening may be cool．You may go to bed with the stars shinning brightly, and wake up with rain falling heavily．This is what we mean when we say that the weather is very “changeable”．

　　In some parts of the world you can be quite sure what the weather is going to be like．You can make your plans for the next day or even for the next week, knowing exactly what sort of weather to expect．It is much more difficult to do this in Britain．It may be fine today and you may arrange to go to the countryside tomorrow．But when tomorrow comes you may find that you have to give it up because it is too wet．Making plans for activities out of door in Britain is therefore rather difficult．

　　People talk about the weather more in Britain than in most parts of the world．When two Englishmen are introduced to each other, if they can’t think of anything else to talk about, they talk about the weather．The weather is also considered a safe topic of conversation．If you do not know each other well enough to talk about personal matters, you can at least sound friendly by talking about the weather．When two people meet in the street and they have no time to stop and talk, they will often say something about the weather as they pass, just to show their friendliness．

　　As the weather is so changeable, it is of course quite important．It plays a big part in the lives of the British people．It has even been said that it is partly responsible for the character of the people．The British have to change their plans very often according to the weather and this has made them good at dealing with difficulties．But even if you can’t believe this story, you won’t have stayed in Britain long before you believe that the weather is certainly an important part of British life．Every daily newspaper publishes something about the weather．Both the radio and the television give reports on the weather several times each day．