To me, music is food and water. I can't live without it. I know this is not true for everybody. Usually lots of people go to concerts or listen to music records. Maybe some of you don't do these and you get along quite well, but music is everywhere in our life. For example, when you see movies or watch TV plays, will you find them interesting if there is no music? I'm sure you will find them boring. And when you are waiting for the train or the plane, you would like some music because it makes the time seem shorter.

    Some people like to sit by the sea and listen to the sound of the sea. Some enjoy listening to the singing of birds. Those sounds are some kind of music. So music has a meaning for everyone to some extent. （程度） Of course, it has special meaning for people like me. We spend our lives playing or writing music.

    Someone said," Through music a child goes into a world of beauty, learn to take care of others and makes his mind and body healthy." Music is really an important part of our life.

    What do you think of your Chinese? It's good or bad? If you think you are good at Chinese, you can take part in a ⑴_________. The competition is Chinese Characters Dictation Competition. ⑵ The competition has been popular among teenagers since(自从……以来) last summer.

    Today teenagers are using computers and smart phones. Many of them lose themselves in digital products such as electronic dictionaries and computers to help with their study. Overuse of these tools will make students too lazy to think and write. Some students even forget the hand writing of Chinese characters. Teachers and parents have been very worried about it. What can they do?

    Such worries ⑶_________ (bring) about the popular TV show, Chinese Characters Dictation Competition, where middle school students stand on the stage to write down Chinese characters. Over two hundred students from forty-six schools competed. 

    Chen Keyu, a Grade 8 boy beat the other competitors. Can you be the next winner?

    You may think there is only sand in the desert of the world, but it is not true. In the desert, as we know, there is a little rain, but it is not enough for most plants. We can still see some plants live in the desert. There is water in some places in the desert. We call these places oases(绿洲).In the oases, there are villages and towns. People grow all kinds of crops in the fields there.

    People also live outside the oases. They have camels, sheep and other animals. These animals depend on the desert plants for their food and do not need much water.

    The animals are useful to the desert people in many ways. They eat the meat and drink the milk of the animals. They use the camels for carrying water, food, tents and something else.

    The people of the desert have to keep moving from place to place. They must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. When there is no more food for their animals, they move to another place. The desert people are friendly. No man in the desert would ever refuse to help the people in trouble and give them food and water.

    Many people think there is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} but sand in the desert. In fact, there is water in some places in the desert. These places are {#blank#}2{#/blank#} oases. People live there and grow all kinds of crops in the fields there. People live outside the oases, too. They have different kinds of animals, such as camels and sheep. The animals are useful to the people {#blank#}3{#/blank#} in the desert. They offer people meat and milk and help people {#blank#}4{#/blank#}things. The desert people keep moving from one place to another. They are so friendly that they would {#blank#}5{#/blank#} refuse to help anyone in trouble.

    It was Saturday again. Grace and Karen disliked, Saturdays. Unlike their classmates, they had to get up early at seven every Saturday to prepare for their lessons. Grace had to attend the drawing lesson and Karen had to attend her ballet lesson. "How I wish I could do something different today," said the twins with one voice. All at once, an idea came to Grace and Karen at the same time. "Do you want to be me for a day?" they asked each other. It seemed like a wonderful plan to them. After giving each other a description of their own friends, Grace put on Karen's ballet dress while Karen put Grace's brushes and paints into her bag. Then they left for their classes.

    When the drawing lesson started, Karen was lost. Unlike Grace, Karen was poor at drawing. When the drawing lesson finally ended, Karen didn't dare to hand in her work.

    Meanwhile, Grace was struggling in the ballet class as well. As she had no idea about the dance steps, she had to follow her classmates blindly. As a result, she kept knocking into them. Their ballet teacher became impatient with her, "Karen, you should remember the basic steps. You can't rely on copying what others are doing."

    When Karen and Grace got home, they were tired out. They decided that they would never try to be someone else they were not. It seemed that the grass was not always greener on the other side.

    Mona has an interesting hobby. She collects stamps(邮票). She spends a lot of time on her stamp collection after school. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They are all in color. Mona likes stamps with pictures of animals and birds on them. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} She also borrows books on animals and birds from her school library. She learns many things about them. Sometimes Mona has many stamps of the same kind. She gives them to her classmates. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Mona writes to her friends in many countries. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} In return, they send her stamps of their countries. Mona's father also gives her stamps.

    He brings them home from his office and he often enjoys the stamps with her. But Mona's mother never gives her stamps because she thinks spending too much time on them is bad for study. Many of Mona's friends collect other things. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But, all of them say that Mona's collection is the most interesting of all.