An Englishman was showing a foreign visitor around London" What's that strange building?" asked the visitor. " That's the Tower(塔)of London" " I see. How long did it take to build it?" "About 500 years." "In my country we can build it in five months. "said the visitor. A short time after that they came to St. Paul's Cathedral (大教堂). "Very interesting!" said the visitor. "How long did it take to build it?" "Nearly forty years, "said the Englishman. "In my country we can finish it in forty days." said the visitor. This went on all day. They visited most of the best known buildings in the city. Every time they saw a new one, the visitor asked what it was and how long it took to build it. Then he said that they could do the same thing much faster in his country. At last the Englishman got angry with the visitor though he tried not to show it. A few days later they came to the House of Parliament(议会大厦)and the visitor asked his usual question. "What's that?" The Englishman answered, "I've no idea. It wasn't there last night. "

    Papercutting is a kind of the traditional folk art in China. Papercutting has a long history of about 1,500 years. Let's learn something about papercutting.

    Wonderful meanings

    Papercutting has some wonderful meanings. Some papercutting means happiness and good luck. In the Spring Festival, people paste(粘贴) "Fu" on doors or windows. At a wedding, people paste "Xi".

    The largest Chinese papercutting

    The largest papercutting was made by Gao Xiaodong. It has an area of about 456 square meters. It is as large as a basketball court.

    Why is it red?

    In the old times of China, people think highly of the sun. Red was the color of the sun. They always regarded red as the symbol of hope and life. Now, we can also see red everywhere in China. The walls of old palaces are red. Lanterns are red. Weddings are always full of red things, too.

    Black papercutting in Shanzhou

    Much of the papercutting is red. But papercutting in Shanzhou, Henan Province is black. Black is the best color there. Shanzhou is a dry place. People make black papercutting and wish for rain.

Dorothy lived with her uncle Henry and aunt Em who were both farmers.Their house had only four walls，a floor and a small space under the floor to protect them from powerful winds.The house was in the middle of poor land with strong sunlight and few plants.Aunt Em used to be young and cheerful，but the sun and wind had taken away her happiness.Uncle Henry also looked serious and strict.Only Toto，could bring laughter into Dorothy's life.

One day，they heard low sounds of wind from both the north and the south.Uncle Henry realized a strong wind was coming.He rushed to protect the animals while Aunt Em hurried Dorothy to the basement.Suddenly，the house began to rock and rise to the air.In the center，but Dorothy found herself riding safely on the rising house.

Frightened，Toto ran around the room until Dorothy caught him and protected him from falling through the open door.She closed it carefully to avoid further danger.As hours passed，Dorothy slowly got over her fear.She finally fell asleep on her bed with Toto by her side.The wind had set Dorothy's house down gently in a beautiful country.

As she looked around, she saw green grass, fruitful trees, and colourful flowers.Birds with special feathers sang and flew around.As she stood enjoying the beautiful views, a group of strangely dressed people came near. They wore round hats that rose to a small point a foot above their heads. Three men were dressed in blue, and a little woman wore a white dress. They stopped and discussed in a low voice, as if afraid to come farther.