The lion is called the king of all animals. Once it was also called as the king of the desert (沙漠). However, lions 1 live in any desert now. Their colour may 2 different from yellow to brown and males (雄性动物) can be from blond to black. The male lions 3 up to 190 kg and are about 1.20 metres tall while the females（雌性动物）weigh nearly 130 kg and are 1 metre tall. They 4 beautiful fur, strong legs with sharp claws and a long tail.

Panthera Leo (非洲狮) lives in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. 5 it feeds on many kinds of animals. When it's 6 its food, it can reach the speed of 60 km per hour and jump even 12 metres. The lion likes to eat its food at once, 7sometimes it has to hide the food because of hyenas (土狼). Hyenas are the only animals which kill lions for food.

The lion lives in small families820 to 30 members. In each family there is usually one 9 male with two or three females with small baby lions. 10, the lion population is in great danger mainly because of people's hunting.

There are about 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs(瓢虫) in the world. They come in many different colours like blue, yellow, white, orange and black.

In many cultures, people think ladybugs can bring good luck. Most people like them because they are beautiful and not bad for people's health. But farmers love them because they eat plant-eating insects. One ladybug can eat up to 5,000 small insects in its lifetime!

Ladybugs are colourful for a reason. Their colours tell other animals, "Eat something else! I taste terrible."

Ladybugs are happy in many different habitats, such as forests, cities and along rivers. Ladybugs like to keep warm. When the weather turns cold, they look for a warm place to hibernate (冬眠), such as inside houses.

Here are some other facts about ladybugs:

● Though most ladybugs eat small insects, a few kinds eat plants.

● Ladybugs will clean themselves after a meal.

● There are more than 400 kinds of ladybugs in North America.

Birds can see colours, just as people do. Birds need to see colours when they fly because they need to find places to land (着陆). Colours help them know 1 the place is and what it is like so that they can catch flying things in the air or land on something they think safe.

Birds can "tell" the differences between colours. But for some 2 animals, such as wolves, the world looks like a black and white photo. Wolves look for food mainly by 3 .

They can hear 4 when the animals they hunt move. But other animals seem to know this. For example, a rabbit will stop moving when it finds there is something 5 . Then the wolves 6 not find it at all. However, birds are better than wolves in these ways. They can see dead insects from far away.

Some birds' eyesight is 7 than people's. They can see small insects 8 they fly in the sky. Because they are able to 9 colours, they can find food easily and 10 if (是否) there are other animals that are dangerous to them.

—OK. I ________.

Death Valley, an area in Nevada and California, is one of the most famous deserts in the United States. Almost 20 percent of this area is below sea level. Badwater, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and it is the lowest point in the United States.

Long ago, the Panamint Indians called this place "Tomesha"—the land of fire. The present name, Death Valley,can date back to 1849, when a group of miners became lost in it and their adventure turned out to be a sad story. Today Death Valley has become a National Monument (遗址) and is crossed by several roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the change created by human has hardly destroyed the special beauty of this place.

Here there are a lot of surprising natural scenes. One of the most surprising and variable (多变的) parts of Death Valley is Devil's Golf Course, where it seems hard for people to tell reality from terrible dreams. Sand sculptures (沙雕) stand on the frightening ground, as evening shadows (暮色) move and lengthen.

In the past 300 years, more than 130 kinds of animals have become extinct. One of these extinct kinds is the passenger pigeon (旅鸽). At one time there were millions of these birds in North America, but now there are none. The last one died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. Another extinct animal is the cape lion (西非狮). The animal has been extinct since 1860. What causes animals to become extinct? Too much hunting is one cause; pollution is another. Governments around the world have begun to protect wild animals in danger. In the United States, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for (承担义务) endangered animals. It has listed nearly 200 kinds of endangered animals in North America.

—He did. But I had to ________ it because I had no spare time.