A

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Tony is a sports fan. He likes studying, too. This summer, he would like to visit a place where he can enjoy sports.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Judy lives in high mountains. So she would most like to see the sea and enjoy water sports. And she hopes to go to a country where she can eat different kinds of fresh fruits.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Sam likes places where the people are friendly. He loves to make friends with people who are from different countries. And he hopes to live comfortably there and have a good rest.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Lisa loves animals a lot. She is always trying to do something to protect animals. So she hopes to go somewhere she can have fun staying with the animals she has hardly(几乎不) seen before.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Ron is interested in collecting different things. He would like to go somewhere he can find some new collections. He also loves to eat something sweet.

A. Brazil is the land of soccer. The people are really friendly. Most of them are good at sports. And in 2016, there will be the 31th Olympic Games.

B. Canada is one of the best places to live in the world with fresh air. Canadians are gentle and friendly. You can always see lots of foreigners(外国人) there.

C. Australia is the land of rare(稀少的) animals such as koalas and kangaroos. And the best wool is produced（生产） there. It's a good idea to enjoy operas in Sydney.

D. Switzerland is the land of watches. Of course, being on time is very important to people there. And the country is famous for (著名) its sweet food, like chocolates.

E. Thailand lies to the south of China. It grows all kinds of tropical(热带的)fruits. It has many lovely beaches and it's famous for elephants.

    Marco Polo was from Venice, Italy. In 1271, at the age of 17, Marco went on a trip with his father and uncle to China. Today people often travel to different places around the world. But it was very hard for people from Europe to visit China then. After three and a half years, the Polos reached China in 1275.

    While he was there, Marco Polo worked for Kublai Khan, the emperor of China. He was able to learn and experience many things that were new to Europeans. In his diary, he wrote, "Kublai Khan's palace is the greatest I've ever seen. The streets of the new capital, Dadu, are so straight and so wide." Paper money also took him by surprise, since it was not yet in use in the West at that time. Homes were heated with "black stones… which burn like wood." Those stones were coal, and most of the Europeans knew little about it then.

After 17 years in China, Marco and his family finally returned to Venice. After he returned home, Marco completed a book called The Travels of Marco Polo, full of facts about his wonderful experiences in China.

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    Oldest festivals!

    Festivals and celebrations of all kinds are held everywhere. The oldest festivals would celebrate the end of the cold weather, planting in spring and harvest (丰收)in autumn. Other celebrations were held when they had food. They thought these festivals would bring a year of plenty.

    Festivals of the dead

    Some festivals are held to honor or satisfy and please the dead. In Japan the festival is called Obon. They have lamps on and play music because they think this will help the dead back to Earth. In Mexcio they have the day of the dead in early November. On this important day, people might eat food in different shapes and offer food, flowers and gifts to the dead.

    Festivals can be held as an honour to famous people. One of these is the Dragon Boat Festival in China, which honours the famous poet, Qu Yuan. Another is Columbus Day in the USA, in memory of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in America.

    Harvest festivals

    Harvest and Thanksgiving festivals can be very happy events. People are grateful because their food is gathered for the winter. In European countries people usually decorate churches and town halls with flowers and fruit, and get together to have meals. In China and Japan there are mid-autumn festivals, when people admire the moon and give gifts of mooncakes.

    Spring festivals

    The most energetic and important festivals are the ones that look forward to the end of winter and to the coming of spring. In some Western countries, Easter is an important festival in February which celebrates the return of Jesus and celebrates the coming of spring. In Japan, the Cherry Blossom Festi­val happens a little later. In China, families get together to eat, drink and have fun at the Spring Festi­val.

Information Card

    The ENIAC (电子数学积分计算机) was the first modern computer. It was built in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania (宾夕法尼亚洲). The machine was very big. It was the size of a large room. It was also very heavy. The ENIAC weighed more than 27,000 kilograms. It was very expensive. Plus, it was not easy to use. But it did a good job.

    Over the years, computers got smaller and smaller. They also got cheaper and cheaper. First, big businesses got computers. Then, small businesses bought them. Now, people have computers at school, work, and home. Our small computers are much faster than the ENIAC.

    Nobody uses the ENIAC now. But we still remember it. It is important in the history of computers.

    Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." These are certainly words that millions of volunteers around the world could agree with.

    In the US, April is National Volunteer Month, to praise and thank volunteers who lend their time, talent, and support to what they care about.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} People who volunteer spend their time doing things they feel strongly about. For example, animal lovers may volunteer at an animal centre to help improve the treatment of animals.

    Volunteering allows volunteers to meet new people, try out new skills and explore career choices. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Take Andrew Makhoul, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, as an example. Andrew didn't spend his last spring break relaxing. Instead, the 19-year-old boy decided to do something for people who were less lucky than himself. He travelled to an orphanage (孤儿院) in Guatemala in Central America. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And it depends on volunteers to stay open.

    Andrew doesn't speak much Spanish, but he found communication wasn't a problem, "You communicated with love," according to an article on his university's website. And what he gave out, he got back, "{#blank#}4{#/blank#}" Andrew's first time as a volunteer only lasted a week, but by the end of that week, he knew he'd be back soon — because he saw love and hope.

    US author Sherry Anderson once wrote, "{#blank#}5{#/blank#}" And this is perhaps why volunteers all around the world keep doing what they do — their work is "priceless".
 

A. It is in one of the poorest parts of the country.

B. You could see love when you looked in their eyes.

C. Volunteering means choosing to work without being paid.

D. It's a chance for poor children to get better care and support.

E. Life will be difficult, but I have the confidence to live a happy, full life.

F. For young adults, valuable lessons may also be learned through volunteering.

G. Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless.