A forest fire that burned 55 square kilometers was finally brought under control on Wednesday morning. The fire started on Sunday in Black Bear State Park and quickly spread to nearby areas.

    On Monday, police evacuated (疏散) the small town of Lawson and asked the people to leave their homes. The fire destroyed 20 homes in the area and caused heavy damage (损坏) to 40 others.

    Nobody was hurt. Officials said the damage to homes and cars was between $l million and $2 million. The fire spread quickly in the hot, dry weather. Firefighting was difficult because of strong winds. Firemen from 55 fire departments in the state joined the National Fire Service to put out the fire. Some kept fighting for 24 hours. Fire engines (消防车) and helicopters (直升机) dropped water onto the fire. In order to control the fire, firemen cleared a way around the fire.

    Police closed King Road to traffic on Tuesday because of heavy smoke. Thousands of tourists had to drive an hour north to Queen Road to pass the fire area. Local police think open fires left by tourists might be the cause of the accident and ask tourists to follow the rules in case such accidents ever happen again.

    Peter comes from Canada. He speaks English, but he likes speaking Chinese very much. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It's sunny and kind of windy today. He visits Beijing Library. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Bob is in Guangzhou. He is from France. He likes Chinese food very much{#blank#}3{#/blank#}It is sunny today. It's kind of hot. Bob wants to go to Guangzhou Hotel with his friends. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Look, a policeman is helping them.

    Jenny is living in Nanjing. She is Japanese. She thinks Chinese people are friendly. She likes them. It's cloudy today{#blank#}5{#/blank#} A koala is sleeping in a tree. Some giraffes are eating grass and some birds ore singing songs. They are having a good time.

A. But he doesn't know the way.

B. He usually(通常)eats in restaurants.

C. Now he's studying(在学习)Chinese in Beijing.

D. Look! He is talking with people there in Chinese now.

E. Jenny mad her Chinese friends are watching animals in a zoo.

    As a student, I was most afraid to answer question in class, and I found that the students around me were just like me. At the beginning of each class, when the teacher ask a question. I always lowered my head because I was afraid the teacher saw me.

    One day, in a foreign language class, Mr. Black gave us a lesson. He wanted us to be active in class, so ask us some question, but no one answered," Let me tell you a story first," he said. "When I came to the United States to study, the university often invited famous people to make speeches. Before the beginning every speech, I found an interesting thing. The students around me always took a cardboard folded in half, wrote their names in bold(黑体) with the most eye－catching(引人注目的) color and then placed the cardboard on the seat. So when the speaker need the answer from the student, he could see it and call a listener's name directly. I couldn't understand that. My classmate told me the speakers were all top people, who meant chances. In fact, l really saw a few students got great chances because of that."

    After listening the story, l understand that the chance will not find you itself. You must show yourself all the time so that you can find a chance on the card.

    Hey! Mother's Day is coming. Have you planned something good for your mom? If not, try one of these tips.

    What's Her Favorite?

    Buy her something she likes and wrap (包装) it carefully. The best time to give her that is while she is sleeping at night. Put it on the drawer next to her so that when she wakes up she'll be surprised to see it.

    Treat a Queen

    Your house is a palace with a king and queen (it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor). Our mother is the real queen in our life and in our family though (虽然) her duties make her look like she is not. Give the lady a day off and you can do the housework.

    Maybe you could take some of your savings to treat her in the department store. Then, choose nice clothes that would make her look beautiful!

    Have Some of Your Time

    What's your best moment with her? Have you ever had a good time with your mother not talking about your problems? Have you ever told her how much you thank her for the life she gave to you? Maybe you can tell her how happy you were when she was there looking after you during your painful days in your life.

    Tell the magic words

    Those three words can make her heart jump for joy, you know? Just tell her "I love you!" and it would make her smile so sweetly. Just try! We don't want to miss a thing, right?

    Confidence(自信) is very important in daily life. It can help you to develop a healthy attitude (态度). A study shows that the people who are more confident are much happier. They can have more chances to make themselves successful. But how to be more confident? Here are some suggestions:

    Speak loudly When you are not confident，you can't do well what you want to do. You speak in a voice so low that other people can hardly hear you. Try to speak loud enough so that people can understand you clearly. The high voice can help you become more confident.

    Play sports Playing sports makes you tired but completely relaxed. When you do sports，you will be full of confidence.

Encourage yourself Write down a list of things you did during the day and see how many things you have done well. Did you finish your homework? Did you tell a joke that made everyone laugh? Give yourself praise for the good things you've done.

    Get rid of(消除) fear Fear comes along with failure(失败).But it's easy to get over(克服) if you know that failure is part of your life. Don't hide your head just because you said something stupid last time. Try to start again and believe you can do better.

    Pick up what you like to do If you like singing, sing as much as you can. In some ways, a hobby can make you excellent. And it will make you happy and confident.