How do you feel about your Chinese? Is it good or bad? If you think youare good at Chinese, you can take part in the competition named the “Chinese Characters Dictation Competition (中国汉字听写大会)”. The competition became popular among teenagers. Let's know something about it.

    More and more computers and smart phones are used by teenagers. They spend too much time onthe Internet in playing or chatting. They are used to sending messages by computers and smart phones. As a result, some teenagers forget how to writethe Chinese Characters by hand. The teachers and parents are very worried about it. What can they do?

    Not long ago, they found an interesting game called the Chinese Characters Dictation Competition. The program was similar to the American show “National Spelling Bee”. In this program, middle school students competed among themselves and wrote down the Chinese Characters by dictation. Over two hundred competitors were from forty-six middle schools. The audiences(观众) loved this new kind of competition, too. They tried to write down the Chinese Characters while the competitors were writing them. Butthey found it was also difficult for them to write down all the Chinese Characters.

    Is it an interesting competition? Can you be the winner?

    When a person is hurt or becomes sick, people will give him immediate (立即的 )care. We call it first aid(急救). When there is a sudden(突然的) situation, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, so first aid plays a very important role. Immediate action is necessary when someone loses lots of blood.

    Everyone should know something about how to care for a person with a sudden illness, Even a small cut can be very dangerous. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    When first aiders face a sudden situation, they must keep calm. He or she must know how to control blood and take care of injuries. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    In our country, hundreds of people die in traffic accidents every year because most people don't have first aid knowledge. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} We may face a sudden situation anywhere. One day somebody in our family may get hurt or suddenly become ill. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. 21st Century

    This is a newspaper for English learners of all levels.

B. Yimei Children's Activity Center

    The singing，dancing and swimming lessons are great.

    Tel：8873-6566. Add: No. 54 Baiyun Road.

C. Yigao Computer Selling Center

    Different kinds of computers are on sale. Low prices and high quality.

D. Tianhe Book Center

    There is an English learning book section where you can find all sorts of books about English.

E. Babysitting Service Center

    Tel：8592-6124.

F. The Red Cross

    Money and clothes are both accepted to help the people in flooded areas.

G. Guangzhou's Biggest Audio and Video Market

    It's located in（位于） 3rd Dashatou Road.

    Fires do happen. If there is a fire, you might not have much time to decide what to do. Being prepared and knowing what to do early can save your life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Your family should practice this getting﹣out plan.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}  If you have such a meeting place outside, you can quickly make sure that everyone is out of the house.

    You should also remember that smoke is usually far more dangerous than the fire. A person can die after just a few minutes in a smoke filled room.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Finally, before you open any doors, always feel the door lock first. If the door lock is hot, fire must be on the other side of the door.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} You will have to find another way out. These are simple suggestions.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    The holiday is coming to us. Finally, after months of study, you have some time to yourself. So, why not read a book? Well, some people will say, "Why do you like reading books? We have Internet. It offers a lot of more colorful fun. Books are history!" But I am sure you can learn a lot from books than Internet.

    One clear reason is that a well-chosen book can give you a lot of wonderful words, as long as you have a good dictionary, of course. Believe me, it's far easier to get new words from a book or an article than it is from the TV or the Internet.

    But another more important point is that books give you something that the Internet can not. The general webpage(网页) is picture-heavy and the text is as easy to read as possible. While "easy" may attract you, unluckily it's not helpful for any long-term development of reading skills and the general language level. Because of that, reading on the Internet can't take the place of reading books.

    But perhaps the best reason is that just choosing what you read and doing it independently means that it's something you do by and for yourself. You can choose what you want to read. It's hard work, but you'll find that what once seemed like a duty is now a pleasure.

    A city without cars would be very strange, right? But Venice is such a city.

    Venice is in the northeast of Italy. It isn't built on land, like Beijing or Shanghai, but on more than 110 islands. Seawater is everywhere around the city.

    Even so, travel isn't difficult. The waterways have always been the best way to get around. There are 117 waterways and more than 400 bridges that can lead you where you want to go.

    People in Venice move from place to place by boat. They like to enjoy cool summer nights while taking boat trips. They can talk to other people as they go along.

    Venice grew out of small islands in saltwater lakes when some Italians escaped(逃跑)from a war more than 1,500 years ago, and built homes there.

    Water makes the city special, but it is also a big problem.

    Once, people used too much underground water. This made the city get lower, little by little. Now the city has gone down by 23 centimetres.

    Another problem is the rising seawater. The temperature has risen over the years. This has made arctic(北极的)ice melt.

    Scientists are trying different ways to stop the city from getting even lower.