In the wild, horses are prey to wolves and other animals. Lying down, they are much more vulnerable than they are standing up. So over millions of years their bodies have developed a way of staying upright even when they are asleep.

The reason they are able to do this is a unique system of ligaments – the cords which bind bones together . A horse’s ligaments act like a sling over its whole body. These can lock its joints into a fixed position, so it can stand upright without any conscious muscular effort while it sleeps. It is a pity human beings have not developed a way of doing this. It could be very handy for long queues or travelling on crowded trains!

Lin Hao was thrust into the spotlight Friday night ___ the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing. Lin Hao, holding the hand of the towering 7 foot 6 inch Yao Ming, helped lead the entire Chinese Olympic team into the arena before the official lighting of the torch. Before the Opening Ceremonies concluded, Yao Ming was interviewed on NBC live (4) television ____ what it meant to have the Olympics in Beijing. Then, the interviewer put Lin Hao on the spotlight (who was being carried by Yao), and Yao Ming mentioned how Lin’s act showed how even a 9 year old had the mindset to protect his friends, and how he could pass this story onto his children and grandchildren.

The Spirit of China – Lin Hao

It was a day that was filled with horror. on May 12^th, 2008, a massive (1) earthquake measuring 7.9 on the ritcher scale hit the Sichuan province in China, killing over 70,000 people. Before the earthquake, 9-year-old Lin Hao sat in his 2^nd grade classroom, among 30 students. When the earthquake struck, the entire building collapsed on Lin Hao and his classmates. But before Lin Hao escaped the rubble, he went back into the pile of rubble, kept himself alive (2) and calmed down his colleagues “by singing songs”. The boy was able (3) to save two of them.

When asked why he risked his life to save others, he said, “I was the hall monitor, it was my job to look after my classmates...”

Rumors were heard that the group would be changing their style totally with the help of producer Brian Eno. After the release all theories can be ___: there are some changes, but the group goes wrong when they abuse of the kind of sound used by Eno for U2, 20 years ago, in their Joshua Tree album. Coldplay’s compositions have potential, but they end up having a taste of déjà vu and even when monotony is broken by Hispanic elements, the band offers nothing new, only a record to be played noncommittedly. It’s very little for a quartet that aims to be at the top of the world.

GLOSSARY:

Coldplay – Viva la Vida or Death and all his friends= é o nome

do novo álbum do grupo Coldplay

Déjà vu= impressão de já ter visto algo parecido

noncommittedly= sem compromisso

Nowadays, people can easily organize their next trip anywhere in the world through a travel agent. If you shop around, many travel agents can offer you cheap package tours to many popular destinations depending on the season. Air travel is generally more expensive towards the end of the year, during the Christmas and holiday season. This is the peak period for travel, and people often make travel reservations several months in advance. If you want to avoid peak travel periods, make your travel arrangements during the off-peak periods.

Many young people try to avoid the crowd when they travel, and they often prefer to travel off the beaten track. They often have shoestring budgets and travel by hitch-hiking rather than public transport. They also like to stay at youth hostels and meet other young travellers.

Older people and families often have a bigger budget.

How horses can sleep standing up and

not fall over?

Most of us need eight hours sleep a night. Horses can get by with only half that amount – and unlike us they are able to fall asleep standing up, without falling over!

Although most horses no longer live in the wild, they can still fall asleep as their ancestors used to.

Assim sendo, pode-se concluir, corretamente que, se as molas forem comprimidas igualmente,