Dear Sonia,

    I'm writing this letter in the classroom. It's snowing outside and I'm sitting by the window.

    Some of the boys are playing on the playground. They are throwing snowballs to each other. Some girls are building a snowman, and some are chasing each other around the tree in front of the classroom. They are leaving footprints everywhere. Our teacher is shouting something loudly to them. In the classroom, some girls are drawing pictures.

     What are you doing?

                                                                                                                                                                           Yours,

                                                                                                                                                                            Tina

A: Do you know what shopping online is?

B: Yes. I buy a lot of things on the Internet.

A: Really? Could you tell me some advantages of it?

B: Of course. First, it is very convenient. You can buy anything you want, and they will send it to your home.

A: Wow, that is great.

B: Yes. What's more, it is much cheaper than the products in a big supermarket.

A: Ah, that is quite a smart way of shopping. What is its disadvantages do you think?

B: Well, the biggest one is that you cannot see the true products. You can only look at the pictures and some introductions(介绍). You cannot try them on if you buy some clothes or shoes. Sometimes you may get the one not fit(适合)you on the Internet.

A: I agree with you. How to deal with(处理)this?

B: You can return(返回)the products if you are not satisfied now. I think shopping online is more and more popular. It will be more and more important in our life.

A: Thanks a lot for your introduction. It helps a lot!

B: You are welcome.

    Experts in nutrition(营养) suggest that we should eat at least five different kinds of vegetables and fruit a day. They are very necessary for our health and help our bodies work well. They can help reduce (减少) the risk of getting ill. There are a lot of vegetables and fruit to choose from and they taste delicious. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    It's easy to buy our food from the local supermarket, so why do we go to the trouble of growing our own? Here are several good reasons: 

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can pick and eat it at once. When you have tried it, you will agree that vegetables and fruit that are eaten straight from the garden taste better than anything you can buy in a supermarket.

    You may want to cut down on your "food miles"-the distance that a product has travelled before it reaches your kitchen. Many food packages are flown halfway across the earth. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Homegrown food is likely to be healthier. Food producers often use fertilizers(化肥) and pesticides (农药) which can end up in your food. If you grow your own, things are different.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} You might also choose to grow some traditional vegetables and fruit. These often have more of the vitamins, minerals(矿物质) and protein(蛋白质) that keep you healthy.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And you can grow your own even if you only have a small backyard or a balcony(R E). Some food can grow well in pots, including lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. You can recycle plastic bottles and cups to grow something. Just make sure there are holes for drainage (排水) and a small plate under them to catch drops of water.

Happy gardening!

    Brandon Forest Park is a place of interest. This large woodland is home to many birds and other wildlife. It's open all year round to visitors.

    In the centre of the park is the Forest Shop and Cafe. You can buy maps in the shop and     there are all kinds of gifts and souvenirs on sale as well.

    The Cafe is open from 9 a. m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It is open from 9 a. m. to 3 p.m. from Monday to Friday. But on Wednesday it's shut all day.

    There's also a large area for visitors to enjoy a picnic lunch. But please don't throw rubbish. Bicycles are for hire(租用). For an hour it costs $3. 5 and for half a day it's $9. 79.

    Special events are held at the park during the summer. There's going to be an outdoor play, a concert and a horse-riding race this summer.

    More information about the park can be found on our website www.brandonforestpark.com.

    On Nov. 18, 1908, three men went up in a balloon. They started early in London. The headman was Augusta Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they were ready for a long way.

    Soon they heard the sea. They carried a usual rope, and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied(系) a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight. It was for use over the sea. They also carried some bags of sand.

    After the Sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 metres, and the air was very cold. The water in the box became ice. Snow fell past the men's basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand; but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to drop(投下) some whole bags of sand.

    One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice.

At last they pulled the box into the basket. They rose to 5, 100 metres! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land. They came down in Poland safely. They had travelled 1,797 kilometres from London!

    Rainforests are magical(神奇的)places on earth, full of life and beauty. They are homes, to millions of birds, insects, animals, and plants. These forests are the world's natural treasure(财富).

    Most rainforests are near the equator(赤道). Some of the largest are in Brazil, South Asia and Central Africa. There are several kinds. Each has different levels of rainfall and different types of soil and temperature.

    In equatorial rainforests, the temperature stays between 25 and 35 degrees during the year. These rainforests get a lot of rain-as much as 4, 000 millimeters per year. Monsoon rainforests are very different. They have long dry periods. Also, their temperature can change a lot from season to season.

    Rainforests are important for many reasons. One is their great diversity(多样性)of life. There are millions of species of insects, animals, and plants. Scientists still don't know about most of them yet. Many rainforest plants could help us make new medicines. Rainforests also keep the soil strong. And they may be important to the earth's climate.

    Unfortunately, rainforests are getting smaller every year. Farmers burn down trees for land. Large companies cut down trees for their valuable wood. Other companies build mines near forests.

    Environmental groups are trying hard to save the rainforests. Hopefully they can, before they're all gone.