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1) DIY, which means Do It Yourself, is quite popular in UK. Lots of stores and supermarkets sell DIY things. TV programs show people how to DIY.
2) English people like DIY. There is a saying in UK—“As Englishman's home is his castle”. Huge numbers of people spend their holidays making their homes beautiful “castles”. If there is anything that needs fixing around their homes, such as painting the walls or putting in a new shower, they will do the jobs themselves. They share DIY experience with their friends. More and more people have discovered the joy of DIY. Sometimes people also DIY for saving money. With the economic downturn at present, many people cannot afford a big house. They are looking at how they can make their house better without spending a lot of money. It is not surprising that DIY is so popular.
3) DIY can be difficult. There is a huge market for DIY furniture which people need to get together themselves with a few basic tools. However, people often find it not easy to build a piece of furniture because they can't understand the instructions. Sometimes the instructions are simple and clear, but the furniture itself is difficult to build. One thing is for sure, though most DIY projects are started with the best intentions. Many of them may not get finished. DIY can also be dangerous. For example, anything electrical should be done by a professional worker. Unluckily, many people don't care about this warning and put themselves in danger. It is reported that in just one year over 230,000 people were hurt while doing DIY in UK, including 41,000 who fell off ladders.
4) Therefore, DIY can bring us fun and help us save money, but it is not always as easy as it is thought to be if we bite off more than we can chew. Maybe factories should make products that are easier and safer for us to DIY.

    There are 24 solar terms (节气) in China, and the Grain Rain(谷雨) is one of them. It falls on April 19 this year.

    This solar term is called the Grain Rain because it is known for “rain” that helps the grain grow. From its name, we can guess it means a time of more rain. So if you go out in the next two weeks, you may need to bring an umbrella with you.

    But this is a great time for planting crops. If you miss the time for planting during the Grain Rain, you will feel sorry later. So maybe you can try to plant some flowers or vegetables in your garden. When the spring rain falls, farmers begin to grow crops (庄稼). Farmers often say, “Spring rain is as precious (珍贵的) as oil.” It brings farmers hope for a good year ahead.

    There are also many interesting customs during the Grain Rain. In the northern part of China, people like to eat Chinese toon (椿芽) mixed with eggs. The food made during the Grain Rain tastes wonderful and is good for your stomach. In the southern part of China, the tea leaves are picked during the time. They are called Grain Rain tea, which is famous for its freshness and sweet smell.

    Do you like Sun Wukong? He is one of the most popular novel characters in Chinese history. Not only young children but also adults love him so much. In our mind, he is a great hero in the Chinese novel Journey to the West.

    In the novel, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng beat demons(妖魔) and protect Tang Seng when they travel to the Western Paradise(西天). Sun Wukong was born from a stone. He can change himself into a tree, a bird, or and animal. With one somersault(筋斗), he can travel 108,000li.

    Sun Wukong is clever, brave and always makes fun magic tricks. Chinese people love him very much.

    Sun Wukong is also popular in other countries. Many western children love him and learn kung fu because of him. To them, he is a super hero, just like Superman and Spiderman.

    In the 13th century, the famous Italian traveler, Marco Polo, traveled a long way to China. During his stay in China, he saw many wonderful things. One of the things he discovered was that the Chinese used paper money. In Western countries, people did not use paper money until the 15th century. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    A Chinese man called Cai Lun invented paper almost 2,000years ago. He made it from wood. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} He then put these pieces of paper together and made them into a book.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} We use a lot of paper every day. If we keep on wasting so much paper, there will not be any trees left on the earth. Every day, people throw away about 2,800 tons of paper. It takes 17 trees to make one ton of paper. This means that we are cutting nearly 48,000 trees every day.

    Since it takes more than 10 years for a tree to grow, we must start using less paper now. If we don't, we will not have enough time to grow more trees to take the place of those we use for paper.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} We can use both sides of every piece of paper, especially when we are making notes. We can choose drinks in bottles instead of those in paper packets. We can also use cotton handkerchiefs and not paper ones. When we go shopping, we can use fewer paper bags. If the shop assistant does give us a paper bag, we can save it and reuse it later.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If we all think carefully, we can help protect trees. But we should do it now, before it is too late.

    Stanford is a world famous university on the west coast of the US. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, because the poor boy died of a strange disease.

    Tourists are often surprised at the beauty of Stanford. Among the green trees, buildings with yellow walls and red tops make up a beautiful picture. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. That's because they were the favorites of Mrs. Stanford.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. It stands at the center. It was built by Mrs. Stanford to remember her husband who devoted himself to the university. There, students and teachers can communicate with God, and they can also hold great activities, such as concerts and celebrations.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. It is the landmark of the university. A man named Hoover had done a lot for the university. The things he once used can be seen on the first floor. On the top of the tower, tourists can have a good look at the whole campus.

    As one of the world top universities, Stanford has many subjects that stand among the top ones in the world. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. If you want to study computer in a university abroad, maybe it is your best choice.