My grandmother is over eighty years old. She always complains about how greatly things have changed, and she often says that life used to be better.

    Families aren't families the way they used to be. If a husband and wife are having problem with their marriage, they don't stay together any more. They choose to divorce. Mothers used to stay at home and take care of their children, but now everyone is busy working; no one has time to look after children at home.

    And the cars! No one walk any more; people get richer and richer, and more and more people buy cars and drive. We used to walk five miles to school every day, even in winter. But now children don't.

    And in school, children don't have to think any more. When I was at school, I used to add, subtract, multiply and divide using my head in math class, but now, children use calculators instead.

    Most families have computers and TVs now. In the past we didn't have computers or TVs, we spent a lot of time talking with our family members. But now, people are too busy to talk to each other. If they have time, they'd watch TV or surf the Internet rather than talk to family members. They are even too busy to eat and think.

    Life used to be simple, but it isn't any more.

Information Card

    Do you often throw away things you don't need anymore? Have you ever thought about how these things can actually be put to good use? Nothing is a waste if you have a creative mind.

    You have probably never heard of Amy Hayes, but she is a most unusual woman. She lives in a house in the UK that she built herself out of rubbish. The windows and doors come from old buildings around her town that were pulled down. The top of the house is an old boat turned upside down. And the gate in front of her house is made of rocks and old glass bottles. Amy recently won a prize from the Help Save Our Planet Society. The president said, "Amy is an inspiration to us all."

    Amy isn't the only one who is good at recycling. Jessica Wong from Hong Kong uses old clothes that people don't wear anymore to make bags. She has been doing this for a few years now. She opened a small shop where she sells her bags, and she has also set up a website to sell them online. She especially likes to use old jeans to make handbags. Her bags are cute and useful. "I plan to write a book about new ways to use old clothes," she said. "I hope people can read my book and enjoy it!"

    Wang Tao set up a small business in Shanghai four years ago. He is known for using iron and other materials from old cars to make beautiful art pieces. Some are large pieces that look like animals or humans, and some are smaller pieces you can put at home. The more popular works can even been seen in art shops around the city. Wang Tao hopes to set up a "metal art" theme park to show people the importance of environmental protection. Not only can the art bring happiness to others, but it also shows that even cold, and iron can be brought back to life with a little creativity.

    The people below are all trying to choose which TV programme to watch. After the description of these people, there is information about six TV programmes A-E. Decide which programme would be most suitable for the person mentioned in questions 1—5 and then mark the correct letter(A—E)on your answer sheet. There is one extra paragraph about one programme which you do not need to use.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Although Rob lead a quiet life in a small village, that doesn't stop him from wanting to find out about the latest scientific development.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Bella enjoys eating out but can't afford to spend very much at the moment as she is saving for a holiday. She has never learnt how to cook, so now might be quite a good time to find out l

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Dan is interested in taking wildlife photographs and enjoys the kind of programme which gives him a chance to see a professional photographer at work.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Gina is a music teacher. Although she prefers classical music, she likes to follow the kind of music that interests the teenagers she teaches.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Ron's wife is in hospital. He wants to finds a programme suitable for his three year old son while he gets on with the housework and prepares a meal.

TODAYS TELEVISION PROGRAMME PREVIEW

 A. TV1 7: 20 p. m. Find out more about Australia's animal life. This film was made last year by one of Australia's best known cameramen, Dougie Bond. He spent over 200 hours filming the birds, animals and fish that inhabit this beautiful continent and for the first time brings some of these unusual animals to our TV screens.

B TV 3 9: 00 P. m. The popular science programme is back with the latest in technology and medicine. This week, cars that run on sunlight and the story of one baby's fight to live.

C. TV1 5: 15 p.m. Busy parents? Bored children? Do you want something educational to entertain your children while you do something else? This popular magazine programme is for the under fives. More music, fun, songs and games with Carla and Larry.

D. TV3 8: 45 p. m. If you've always wanted to cook, now's your chance to learn. In the studio are two chefs who will take you through some simple recipes step by step. This is a repeat of the popular series shown last year, and available from good bookshops.

E. TV3 7: 40 p. m. The latest new music. Pete Hogg looks at the best of the current rap, raga and new Jack swing plus new video releases. This is the programme that tells you all about what's happening on the music scene and brings you interviews with tomorrow's young artists.

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.

Dear Li Ping,

    How are things with you? It was great talking to you yesterday by phone. As I told you yesterday, I am in Jiangsu today. Tomorrow we are getting the train down to the south of the country and then a ship across to Shanghai.

    Let me tell you about the places we have visited so far. I know you want to come here on vacation one day! We started in Zibo and we spent two days in Jinan. We visited many different places and enjoyed lots of things. And the only bad thing was the weather- it rained the whole time when we were there. Can you believe it?

    At least when we got to Jiangsu, the sun was shining! We only stayed for one afternoon in Jiangsu because my friends really wanted to visit Disneyland which is in Shanghai.

    I bought you a surprise gift here. I hope you will like it. OK. That's enough from me for now. I want to post this letter now so you can get it by the weekend.

    See you soon!

Ma Hua