Five hundred years ago, potatoes grew in South America. They were an important food for the people who lived in these high mountains. In other parts of the world, however, people didn't know about potatoes.

    The Spanish came to South America in the 1500s. They learned of potatoes and took some back to Spain. By 1570, people grew white potatoes in parts of Spain. By 1580, people in Italy were also growing potatoes.

    From Spain, potatoes travelled to France. In France, however, people were afraid to eat this new vegetable. They thought it was bad for health. Then the King of France tried to make his people eat potatoes. But for many years, the French still refused to eat potatoes.

    Potatoes reached England in a different way. In 1586, the English explorer(探险家) Drake stopped in Colombia. There he probably picked up some potatoes and took them back to England. At first, the English refused to eat potatoes, too. They used potatoes to feed their pigs and chickens.

    From England, the potato travelled to Ireland. The potato grew well in the poor soil of Ireland and soon it was an important food for the people in Ireland.

    In the early 1700s, Irish people brought potatoes to North America. By 1750, many people in New England were growing and eating potatoes.

The Chinese dragon is one of the most important parts in Chinese culture. Chinese dragons look like a combination (结合体) of many animals such as snakes, fish and deer in Chinese culture. They have two horns (角) and a long body. They also have fantastic powers—they can fly in the sky, swim in the sea and can even make rain. 

The Chinese dragon is a symbol of strength and good luck. The emperors of ancient China loved dragons. Their clothes were covered with pictures of dragons. 

We are proud to call ourselves the "descendants (传人) of the dragon". In Chinese, excellent people are often called "dragons". A number of Chinese sayings talk about dragons. For example, "Hope one's child will become a dragon" means hoping he or she will be successful. 

It is said that people born in the Year of the Dragon are creative, active, brave and it's easier for them to get angry. There are also some traditional festivals about dragons in China, such as the Dragon Head-raising Day and the Dragon Boat Festival. The festivals are celebrated differently by us. These two festival s come every year, but the Year of the Dragon comes every twelve years. 

People who are interested in Chinese culture may study dragons and it will be helpful for them to have a better understanding of Chinese culture. As the "descendants of the dragon", it is our duty to work together to pass our traditional culture on to more and more people. 

How many fantastic powers do the dragons have? {#blank#}7{#/blank#}

What does the Chinese dragon symbolize (象征)? {#blank#}8{#/blank#}

How often does the Year of the Dragon come? {#blank#}9{#/blank#}

On March 9, Kiska died（去世） at 47. She lived in a park in Canada for more than ten years. When she was three（冰岛水域） in 1979. Then they went to Canada. They lived there together for a few years. In 1985, Keiko went to Mexico. He even played a role in the movie Free Willy in 1993. After that, he went back to the ocean.

Kiska was not that lucky. She did not go anywhere. In her lifetime, she had five babies, but all of them died very young. This made her very sad. If whales live in the wild（野外）（水箱） went back to the United States in 2011. From then on, she was there on her own. 

About 4 years ago, a bill（议案） passed in Canada. The bill banned（禁止） the whole country from raising whales. But it was too late for Kiska. The bill could not protect her because she was already in  th tank.

What makes smartphones fun and useful? There are many apps that you can use for work and play. Check out some of them here. 

 Let's cheer for an amazing victory! In the 2024 Paris Olympics men's table tennis final, our beloved"Xiao Pang"( Little Fatty) Fan Zhendong beat Sweden's Moregard 4-1 to win the gold medal. This win isn't just about one game-it shows the great spirit of Chinese table tennis!

 Fan's journey to gold wasn't easy. In the quarter-finals, he faced Japan's strong player Harimoto Tomokazu. Fan was losing 0-2 at first, then 2-3. But he never gave up! With surprising fighting spirit and skill, he turned the game around and won 4-3. This exciting match showed

Fan's perseverance(毅力). In the semi-finals, Fan easily beat the French player. The final against Moregard was hard too. Moregard had beaten the top seed Wang Chuqin earlier. But Fan played amazingly and won the gold!

 Let's cheer for Fan Zhendong! He's now won the 2016 World Cup, the 2021 World Championships, and an Olympic gold medal. He's become the sixth player ever to win the"Grand Slam" of table tennis after the Swedish player Waldner and the Chinese players Liu Guoliang, Kong Linghui, Zhang Jike, and Ma Long. 

▲. It's a win for all of Chinese table tennis. His story teaches us that with belief and hard work, we can overcome any challenge! Fan Zhendong is a true sports hero. His victory inspires us all to work hard and chase our dreams. Who knows? Maybe one day, you could be the next Olympic champion!

 Let's all support sports and cheer for our athletes. With more young people like Fan, our country will win even more medals in the future!