Zheng He was an amazing man. He was born in 1371. Eleven years later, he was caught by the army of a rich young man called Zhu Di and made to work for him. Over time the rich man saw that Zheng He was very clever and strong and they became close friends. In 1403 Zhu Di was made the King of China and he asked Zheng He to join his government.

The King wanted to learn more about the world and show other countries his power. He ordered many new ships to be built and made Zheng He their leader. between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led seven sea trips to different parts of the world. He certainly travelled to India, Africa and the Middle East. A few people think his ships have even reached South America and Australia.

Each trip lasted between two and four years and it is believed he sailed more than 50,000 kms during the years of his travels.Zheng He led a fleet with 28,000 men and over 300 ships, such as boats for food, water and even soldiers' horses.

On these trips he brought with him many Chinese goods like silk and medicine to give to foreign kings or to sell for local goods. He returned from each trip with boats filled with expensive things such as gold and treasures, foreign guests and strange animals like a giraffe.

It is a pity that we may never learn everything about Zheng He' s travels. The Columbus of the east, Zheng He, died in 1433. After that, the new king, had these trips stopped and he burned almost all the books about Zheng He's travels, because he believed the trips were unlucky and too expensive. It is only in the last 50 years that historians have begun to carefully study the adventures of great Zheng He.

    The back door of the ambulance(救护车) was suddenly shut and the driver ran to the front, jumped into his seat, and started the engine. Inside were the1 parents, Mr. and Mrs. Green, the mother holding their baby daughter Ally. The little girl had 2 food stuck in her throat and could hardly breathe.

    The driver, Mr. White, 3 his siren (报警器) and flashing light, and started speeding towards the nearest hospital, fighting against4. The cars ahead of him pulled out of the way as he drove through the 5from the back of the 6 the parents were shouting at him to    7 , since Ally had almost stopped breathing. In front of him he saw some traffic lights, with the red "STOP" light shining. Mr. White knew that he had no time to 8 , so he drove straight past the traffic lights, looking to his left and right as he did so.

    Coming towards him from his right was a taxi. The driver had the windows 9, since the car was air-conditioned, and he was playing his radio. He did not10the ambulance. The lights were green, so he drove straight on into the path of the ambulance.

    Mr. White tried to stop his ambulance but it was too late. It hit the taxi. Everybody was shaken but no one was hurt. Mr. White looked to see how little Ally was. He was astonished to see relief instead of 11on the faces of the parents.

    "Look!" cried Mrs. Green. "She is 12again."

    "It must have been the crash." said her husband. "It 13 the food out of her throat." The baby's color was turning to14 , and she was crying in a loud but healthy 15.

    They were all joyful, and quite forgot about the accident, the taxi, and the lines of cars all around them.

    Any introduction to Peking Opera would not be complete without telling of Mei Lanfang. During his stage life, he combined(融合) the traditions of the past with his own creations, creating a style of his own and giving birth to "The Mei Lanfang School". He was also the first artist to introduce Peking Opera to foreigners, winning international fame（名声）in the globe. For half a century, Mei Lanfang was a household name in China.

    Mei Lanfang began his stage life at the age of 8. His teacher said he showed little hope because of his boring eyes. To improve this, he exercised them day after day. He would fly kites and look at them moving slowly in a blue sky. He also kept pigeons in order to look at them flying higher and higher until they disappeared into the clouds. Thanks to his efforts, he managed to change his dull eyes into a pair of bright and expressive eyes and win national fame before the age of 20.

    In over 50 years on the stage, Mei Lanfang played no less than 100 different characters in the traditional Peking Opera performance（表演）. He completely changed both stage make-up and costumes, and made characters' performance. He also wrote many new plays, designing the dances himself. They are part of the great legacy(遗赠) that he left to Peking Opera.

    In 1930, Mei Lanfang started on a successful US tour. There his great performances fascinated the audience, making them realize that Peking Opera was a most valuable form of art.

    This year the US will honour(纪念)one of the country's most famous writers-Mark Twain(1835-1910).Most readers know that his real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but how many know where the pen name "Mark Twain" came from?

    The answer shows Clemens' colourful early life before he became a writer. "Mark Twain" was the cry shouted on a ship when the ship entered a part of a river that was two fathoms(6 feet) deep. "Twain" is an old-fashioned way of saying "two". Twain trained as a ship pilot on the Mississippi river for two years, a time that he wrote about in the humorous Life on the Mississippi(1883).

    The famous river would become an important theme in many of his works-who could forget the journey of Huck and Jim along it in his most famous book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(1884).

    With little education, he had to teach himself how to write stories. Whenever possible, he would go to public libraries. There he spent much time reading and thinking, which greatly helped him with his writing.

    On the other hand, his life experiences gave him wonderful material to write about and attract readers. Twain wrote in a style that has been called "local colour" because it shows great knowledge of local people and their customs.

    The gift is very clear in the two books for which Twain is still celebrated today: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer(1876) and its follow-up The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which many people call "The Great American Novel".

    The most amazing invention in his book is the voice of Huck himself. Huck did not enjoy schooling. It shows in the way he uses language, in a spoken style. Only a master like Twain could copy the way a young southern boy talked so well.