People often think of the North Pole and the South Pole as similar frozen wastelands. They are both places with very cold temperatures and few people live there. However, the North and South Poles are not much alike as people may imagine.

The North Pole has no land, only thick ice. Temperatures seldom go above 32°F, at which water turns into ice. Most of the time, it stays below zero. In winter temperatures are usually as low as-30 F.

Although conditions were very poor, people tried for many centuries to reach the North Pole. More than 100 years ago, two men, Robert Peary and Mathew Henson, were able to get to this environment full of troubles and difficulties. They reached the North Pole on March 8th, 1909. It was really a hard trip for them.

There are few things more dangerous than crossing the Arctic on foot. People who stayed there may face many problems: very cold temperatures, sudden storms, and even hunger. Most of the area is uninhabited. Few people can live in such a difficult place.

People might think that with such low temperatures for most of the year, the ice would be thick and hard. However, this is not true in the Arctic. The movement of the ocean water under the ice may often cause many different changes on the surface. Sometimes the ice breaks into two opening lanes of water called “leads”. Anyone who falls into a lead can be frozen to death in a few minutes.

Do you enjoy eating hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries and chips? Do you like soft drinks, candy and ice cream? If your answers are “yes”, please take care. They are junk food! What is junk food? Junk food has lots of fat, salt and sugar, but few nutrients(营养). Most scientists say junk food is unhealthy. Junk food has been popular(受欢迎的) in the world for many years. Why? First, it is cheap to make. Second, it is quick and easy for people to eat. Third, most junk food has food additives(添加剂), so it looks and tastes better, and people can keep it for long time. Junk food is bad for health. Eating too much junk food may bring some health problems.

It's OK to have junk food now and then(有时). How often should you have it? If you are too fat, you should eat little junk food. If you are not overweight, you can have some after you have enough milk, fruit, vegetables and bread.

You may drink bottled water when you are thirsty (口渴的). But plastic (塑料)bottles are bad for the environment (环境). Is there a way not to use a bottle? Try the Ooho bubble.

It is a small ball of water. The water is in a soft container (容器). It has no color, no smell or no taste. It is made from seaweed (海藻) and is safe to eat.

You can make a hole in the container to drink from the Ooho bubble. Or you can just put the whole thing into your mouth.

Three creators (创造者) from the Imperial College London made the Ooho bubble. It is good for the environment. And one container only costs 0.14 yuan, so it is much cheaper than plastic bottles.

But there are still many problems. For example, each water ball doesn’t hold much water. You may have to drink a lot of them before you are not thirsty any more. Or, some may feel it’s not clean to hold the water bubble in their hands. What do you think of it?