When I was young, I lived in Scotland with my parents. I had a good time there.

    One morning, I ran to the garden, and said to the old Scotsman who worked there. "Today I am going up the mountain for berries."

    "No, no, Missey, not today." he said, "It will rain."

    "No, it will not rain." I said, "The sun is up. The cook says it will be fine. The glass in the hall does not say rain."

    "Tuts, tuts." said the old man, "I care for no suns, or cooks, or glasses. The pimpernel (海绿) says it will rain, and so it will rain. Flowers, Missey, always tell the truth. When they say rain, go and get your umbrella."

    Sure enough, by noon the rain was pouring down. After that, I looked with great respect at the tiny flower, sometimes brickred, sometimes blue, which could tell about the weather. But the pimpernel is not the only plant that is a weather prophet.

    If you go into the garden, and find the African marigolds shut after seven o'clock in the morning, you may be pretty sure that there will be a rainy day. There is a little single marigold which shuts up in a hurry if the sky becomes clouded. It is called the "rainy-marigold".

    Most plants which we call "weather prophets" shut up for rain. But some plants open for rain. The cause of the opening and closing is probably the difference in light. Most likely these plants shut their flowers because there is too little light.

    But you know there are some plants which become smaller in a strong light and love the shade. You will find that most shade-loving plants, as the verbenas, do not close for rain.

    Lilies, tulips and other flowers that love the sun shut for rain. Tulips are careful not to open their cups very wide in the morning if it is likely to rain. The roses make no change. They seem not to fear wet.

    On the whole, you may be pretty sure, if you go into your garden, and find many flowers as tulips, marigolds and morning glories shut, it will be a stormy day, unfit for picnics or long walks.

It has been eight years since US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian astronaut Mikhail Kornienko returned to the earth after living on the International Space Station(ISS) for 340 days. Times goes quickly, but it still means a lot as it is a record-setting journey — the longest time humans have spent living on the ISS.

▲Here is a small part of the book.

"I Can Look Down on the Earth"

From the ISS, I can look down on the earth. Some parts of the world are covered by gases(气体) from factories and cars. These parts make the earth look sick.

But one of my favourite parts is the Bahamas, which are islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean is a mix of deep and light blues. I am lucky to see it.

"My Room Is Small"

I've been here for three weeks already. Sometimes, I wake up and think I'm upside down. My room is just big enough for me. I sleep in a sleeping bag. However, from the outside, the station looks like huge cans (金属容器) connected to each other. It is about the size of a football field.

"The Hardest Thing Is Putting On Socks"

Getting dressed is a bit hard when you can't "sit" or "stand", but I've got used to it. The hardest thing is putting on my socks. There is no gravity(重力) to help me bend(弯腰) over. I have no trouble deciding what to wear. I wear the same things every day.

Mary is studying in a middle school in Shanghai. She likes Chinese {#blank#}1{#/blank#} very much because it is delicious. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. Mary is watching the dragon boat race with {#blank#}2{#/blank#} classmates Alan and Henry. 

At noon, they all feel {#blank#}3{#/blank#} so they take a bus to a Chinese restaurant. They want to order (点餐) some Chinese food for {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. "I don't want to eat hamburgers. They are not {#blank#}5{#/blank#} for my health," Alan says. "I'd like some rice and chicken. What about you, Mary?" "Many Chinese say if you eat a dumpling with a coin (硬币), you can get good luck," says Mary. "We will have{#blank#}6{#/blank#}important test next Monday, so I'd like to have some Chinese {#blank#}7{#/blank#} to have good luck." 

"Haha! Mary," Alan says. "You can only eat them {#blank#}8{#/blank#} Chinese New Year." "Oh, I know, but now I want to{#blank#}9{#/blank#}some dumplings," Mary says. "And what would you like to eat, Henry?" 

"I'd like noodles," says Henry. "And I'd like some fish, too. It shows you will have lots of money {#blank#}10{#/blank#}fish sounds ‘yu' in Chinese." 

Tony is my good friend. He is an American boy. He lives in Shanghai with his parents now. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

His father is a middle school teacher. His name is Jacky. He is thirty-eight years old. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}He often plays football with his friends after work. Jenny is Tony's mother. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} She works in a hospital near Tony's school. At home, she always does a lot of housework. Tony is a middle school student. He is in Grade Seven. He loves fruit. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} His favorite subject is math. After school, he often plays football with his friends. On Saturday and Sunday, he often goes to the library. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But sometimes, they watch TV and listen to music at home.

A．He thinks it's healthy.

B．He likes football very much.

C．He loves his family!

D．Let's go and buy some food.

E．She is a doctor.

F．And his father goes to play football.