Can you create( 创造)your own T-shirt? Let me tell you it's easy! In the modern world, designing a personal T-shirt with your own message or favorite image(图像) is nowa piece of cake.

    At first, you can use a digital camera to take some photos. Also, you can download beautiful pictures from the Internet. Of course, you can also draw your favorite pictures by yourself. In a word, you can use your imagination.

    Then, buy some heat-sensitive iron-on transfer paper(感热的可熨的摹写纸) and print(打印) your picture or text using a standard ink jet printer(喷墨打印机). You can print black or colors or even buy other special paper.

    Put the paper onto a clean T-shirt that you bought from the shops, then just use an electric clothes iron(熨斗) and in a few minutes you can make your own T-shirt.You must be confident and proud in this kind of T-shirt.

    The speed, danger and excitement of motor racing have been with us for more than a century. For over a hundred years, drivers have pushed their machines to the limit. Everyone in motor racing has a simple dream: to go faster!

    In the early days, a small number of people raced each other driving unsafe machines on ordinary roads. Today, motor racing is a huge moneymaking industry. Thousands of people are involved. Drivers, mechanics, designers, engineers and technicians work hard in the search for extra speed.

    Cars race along twisting roads or on round tracks. They race across ice and snow, as well as sandy deserts. Mud, dust, grass and steep hills are all part of today's range of racing events. Hundreds of thousands of people turn up to watch races. Millions more people watch the events on television. Top drivers are celebrities and earn huge amounts of money.

    Of course, these drivers don't get to the top overnight. Everyone has to start somewhere. Most drivers learn to race in go-carts when they are young. All drivers must learn about their cars and their engines. They must also be familiar with race rules and what to do in an emergency. Formula Ford is one of the race classes for beginners. Many top Formula I world champions like Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen began by Formula Ford racing.

    The Italian company Ferrari makes some of the world's best racing cars, all painted in its world-famous red colour. Ferrari is the most successful builder of Formula 1 cars. Ferrari has also had some famous Formula 1 champions such as Michael Schumacher. Ferrari prides itself on building the whole machine—the body as well as the engine. Some companies, such as Honda, only make engines for Formula 1 racing.

    Motor racing is expensive. Racing teams need huge amounts of money to keep their cars on the racetrack. Sponsorship is an important way of making money for racing teams. The logos of the sponsors are all over racing cars. The bigger the logo, the more the company will have to pay to the racing team.

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A History of English…in Five Words

    In 1582, Richard Mulcaster, headmaster of a British school, wrote that the English would not go beyond their island. However, it didn't stay that way. Today, English is spoken all over the world.

    English is a colorful and diverse (多样的) language that long has picked up words from many other languages. Here are five words that show the English language's interesting history.

English

    English began in the language spoken by the early Germanic people in the fifth century AD. It is from them that the word “English” comes. First it is the Latin word Angli which means the people of Angul, where the Germanic people were from.

Beef

    Although roast beef is seen as a traditional English dish, the word “beef” was introduced from the French boeuf during the Middle Ages. It was one of a group of words, including pork and mutton, that were taken from the speech of the French who moved in Britain following the Norman Conquest (诺曼底登陆) of 1066. However, the farmers who kept these living things continued to call them by their old English names: cow, pig and sheep. This difference passes on till today.

Dictionary

    Dictionary is a borrowing from Latin dictornarius liber, “book of words”. It first appeared in English in the 6th century, along with a huge number of other words from Latin and Greek. The first English dictionary was written by Robert Cawdrey in 1604. Cawdrey focused only on the difficult words whose meanings would have caused problems for those not educated in Latin and Greek.

Tea

    Tea was brought into Britain early in the 17th century, becoming very popular by the 1650s. By the 18th century it had become a symbol（标志） of fashionable society and a best-selling of the coffee house culture.

    The word tea rises from the Chinese word cha. A love of tea is so ingrained (根深蒂固的) in British life that the expression “cup of tea” has come to stand for anything viewed positively. The saying “It's not my cup of tea.” means: I don't like it.

Emoji

    Emoji began developing in Japan in the 1990s for use by teenagers: the word “emoji” comes from the Japanese e “picture” + moji “letter”. Its successful acceptance in English has been helped by its similarity to words with the e-prefix (前缀) like e-mail. The Unicode Consortium's (统一码 联盟的) official lists emojis and their meanings, but users keep finding creative new ways to employ them. Emojis are just another example of the development and diversity of English.

Smoke alarms(报警器)

    House fires cause many deaths each year and a large number of these fires are unfortunately set by children.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Kids must understand that they, d better not play with fire. You should keep matches and lighters out of their reach.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The main job of such an alarm is to protect you while you're asleep. You should have a smoke alarm outside each bedroom and on each floor of your home. You ought to have two plans for getting out of your house if there is a fire and practise these plans in the dark with your family.

    A smoke alarm warns you of the danger. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Take action immediately. When you come to a closed door, check it with the back of your hand. If it feels hot, there may be smoke or fire behind the door, so take care. Once you are out of your house, call the fire department from a neighbor's house. If a family member or a pet is caught inside, you shouldn't go back in. Firemen know how to perform rescues safely {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Change the batteries at least once a year. You should use the test button each month to see if the alarm and batteries are still working. A smoke alarm lasts about ten years. You ought to change it even if it seems to be working.

    About two out of three fire deaths happen in homes with no working smoke alarms.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Most of these deaths can be avoided.

B. But when you hear it, you don t have much time.

C. A smoke alarm is only good if it's working properly.

D. So, it's important to teach them that fire is a tool, not a toy.

E. A smoke alarm greatly reduces your chances of being hurt in a fire.

    Everyone likes to have fun, but not everyone has much money to spend on entertainment. Here are some free or cheap ways to enjoy yourself.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Go with your friends if you don't want to stay at home. Hike or bicycle with a friend on a nearby path or in a park. If you live in a city, you can go window-shopping. Or you can explore an old part of town and admire the buildings.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Planning and taking pictures can make you aware of the beauty all around you. Photographic equipment can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. You probably already own a camera or a cellphone that can take pictures.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Stop by one to find out what's going on. And while you're there, borrow a book or movie for free. Museums and universities also hold free events. If you can't find a free event, you can volunteer at an event that requires tickets. People who organize concerts and plays need help. You can set up or take down chairs or greet visitors. Sometimes they reward volunteers with free tickets.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Whatever you do, find a friend to share it with. For example, invite a friend for a walk, an event or a time working on your hobby. Hosting doesn't have to be difficult. If your friend comes in the afternoon, you don't have to serve a meal. You can sit and talk, play board games or card games or watch a movie together.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} From the bulb to the computer, our life has changed a lot. If you are interested in a creative activity, you might as well put it into practice, starting from small things in daily life, to make your life more colorful.

A. Our life is more convenient because of inventions.

B. Going outside in good weather can be a lot of fun.

C. Relationships are often the best things in life.

D. While you're out, take pictures of things you find.

E. It's a good idea to stay at home to watch a movie alone.

F. Libraries often hold free public events, or you can get free tickets through volunteer activities.

    Eaten any wood today? You may have! And you possibly brushed your teeth with it and you are even dressed with wood. You might know that paper is made from wood. But we get a lot more from trees than paper! In fact, more than 5,000 wood products make our lives better each day. It's true! From toothpaste to photo film, wood products are all around us.

    Wood resin(树脂) is one of many chemicals we get from trees. When a tree gets hurt, resin will form as a protective(保护性的) coating around the wound to stop the insect. People collect the resin and use it to produce paint, glue and soap.

    There are also tree-based chemicals in many of the foods we eat and drink. Some of these chemicals are used to add colours to soft drinks, others to keep food from going bad too quickly. For example, snack food, milk shake and ice creams can be made with cellulose (纤维素) from trees.

    Our life is full of products that come from trees. Now, how many tree products can you see from where you are sitting right now?