In the deserts(沙漠)of North Africa and Saudi Arabia lives the smallest fox with the largest ears. This animal is the fennec fox.

Fennec foxes have ears that are 5 to 6 inches long. That's big for an animal that weighs less than four pounds. Their ears help shed (去除) body heat. And, as you may have guessed, they also provide great hearing.

    It's also interesting to think about the hair of fennec foxes. Why would a fox that lives in the desert need a thick, fur coat? Actually, the desert isn't always warm. During the nighttime, a desert can be terribly cold! A fennec fox's fur keeps them warm during those desert nights. They also have long bushy tails that they use as a blanket. And the hair on their feet protects them from the hot sand in the daytime.

    Fennec foxes live in small communities of dens (兽穴).They spend most of the day sleeping in their dens, out of the hot sun. Then, when night comes, they come out in search of food. In addition to(除……之外) their great hearing, fennecs also use their great sense of smell and big eyes to track down dinner.

    Fennecs eat both meat and plants. They like eating birds, eggs, insects, snails, fruit and leaves best. Fennec fox mothers have one to five babies at a time. Sometimes they are in danger. They have to be careful with predators (捕食性动物), such as caracals (a type of wild cat) , jackals, eagle owls, hyenas and humans. Humans catch them for their fur and to sell as pets.

    Jim is an English boy. he studies in No. 5 Middle School in Beijing. He gets up at 6:30 in the morning. And he washes his face and brushes his teeth. Then he goes to school by bus. He has four classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. He always helps his Chinese friends with English. He likes music, but he doesn't like math. He thinks it's difficult. He can play soccer and he is good at playing the piano and singing songs. On weekends, he usually goes to the zoo with his friends. He likes pandas because he thinks they are very cute.

Information Card

    Do you like travelling? How can you make your trip interesting? Here's some advice.

    Read!

    Before you leave, you should find some information about the place, such as geography, history and people. You can understand the place better by reading.

    Take photos!

    If you want to take some photos, remember to choose the most special sights. Don't choose the sight you can see in other places. For example, Qingdao and Ningbo arc coastal（海滨的）cities, so don't only take photos of the sea.

You should talk photos of something else, too.

    Taste!

    You'd better taste some specials in the area. Food in some places is very delicious. So why not taste it? Maybe you have just one chance to taste it in your life.

    Write!

    When you visit a place, you should take a pen and a notebook, so you can write down that you see and what you think during the trip.

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    A middle-aged man, Xu Shijie, from Kaifeng is a pedicab (三轮车）driver, or rather, a tour guide. Over the past 15 years, he has served hundreds of foreign tourists. He told them stories about Kaifeng in English.

        ①      With the help of a dictionary, he read English magazines and books in his spare time. He also kept a diary in English. Thus, he could learn more new words and grammar.

    He first talked to a foreign tourist in 2003. He was nervous and not sure whether the tourist could understand him or not. Luckily, the tourist understood him and they talked happily that day. Since then, Xu has studied English even harder. He practiced listening and speaking skills every night. In order to provide a better introduction to Kaifeng, he has also read lots of books about the city's history and culture.

    Xu is now better known as Jason, his English name. He has become the most popular pedicab driver in Kaifeng.    ②     He often helps tourists buy train tickets or medicine. Sometimes, he also helps them find quality hotels.

    Many people call Xu a culture ambassador. XU said he would try his best to live up to the praise and make Chinese culture known to the world.

    We usually use chopsticks and spoons: Americans usually use forks and knives. However, the people in some countries don't use any of these tools. They prefer to eat with their fingers. It sounds messy, but they have ways to keep clean.

    In the southern part of India, people use banana leaves to eat. Everyone gets a small square of banana leaf. Each person washes his or her square of leaf, and then uses it to eat.

    In Ethiopia, food is wrapped in a special kind of bread. This bread is very flat and feels like a wet sponge(海绵). There are lots of holes in the bread to hold food and sauce. A small piece is torn of(被撕下) to pick up food.

    In the Middle East, people eat with only their fingers on the right, hand. They always try to keep the right hand clean. The left hand is used for touching dirty things.