Everyone wants to relax (放松) after working or studying for a long time. I have many ways to relax. Let me tell you some of my favorites.

    I am a big sports fan (迷). So I often watch or play many kinds of sports. But my favorite is football. I find it really cool.

    I usually listen to music in my free time. My favorite is some beautiful piano music. Some people can't do things well when listening to music, but for me, it is not the case, I think I can study better with my favorite light music.

    I also like visiting places of interest in China and in other countries, and enjoying nice food there. It helps me to know more about various people and places.

    In ancient Egypt, women did not go out to work. They stayed and worked at home. Many Egyptian men were farmers. Some men were builders or fishermen. Other men worked as artists. Some other important people did not do any farming.

    The weather in Egypt was very hot. Ancient Egyptians did not wear many clothes, Men, women and children often wore simple robes made of thin cloth. On their feet they wore light open shoes. People, including women, shaved(剃) hair from their heads to keep cool.

    Children in ancient Egypt grew up to do the same jobs as their parents. Girls stayed at home with their mothers. They learned to look after the home Boys worked with their fathers. They learned to do the jobs their fathers did. They learned to look after the home Boys worked with their fathers. They learned to do the jobs their fathers did. They only went to school to learn to write if they wanted to become a scribe (抄写员).

    Many of the games played by ancient Egyptians are similar to games we still play today, Children played racing and jumping games. They also played ball games and with wooden toys. Older children played a game like chess.

    The kings of Egypt (the pharaohs) had enough power to master their country. The people thought that the pharaoh was a god. He owned everything. Everyone had to do what he told them to do. The pharaohs built huge tombs. When a pharaoh died, he was buried in the tomb. The tombs were often in the shape of pyramids. When a pharaoh was buried, he was surrounded by treasure and by things to help him in the next world, such as food, clothes, furniture and weapons.

Have you ever counted the number of digits (数字) in your mobile phone number? Your number has 11 digits. You may sometimes find it hard to remember your number. That's because China has the longest mobile phone numbers in the world. Why is that?

    The 11 digits can be divided into three parts. Each part has a different meaning. The first three numbers tell you which mobile phone service company it is. For example, 135 is for China Mobile Communications Corporation and 188 is for China Unicom. The fourth to the seventh digits tell you where the number is registered (注册). And the last four digits are random (随机的).

    The main reason for using 11 digits is that we have the largest population in the world. We once had 10 numbers. But as our population grew, there were not enough numbers for us to use. So we began to use 11 digits starting from 1999. Eleven digits can be used to make tens of billions of mobile phone numbers. That's enough for each person to have seven or eight phone numbers to use in China.

    And mobile phone numbers can be recycled. Usually, the service company will reuse a canceled number after three to six months. If you call a number that you haven't contacted for a long time, you may find that its owner has changed.

    Besides China, Britain and Japan also use 11-digit mobile phone numbers. But their numbers always start with 0. So they cannot create as many numbers as we can. Countries like the United States, Australia and India use phone numbers with 10 digits. Canada's mobile phone numbers are perhaps the shortest in the world: they use seven digits.

Canadian: In my country, the mobile phone numbers use seven digits. Why does this mobile phone have 11 digits—13958583739?

Salesman: We have the largest population. Besides China, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} also use 11-digit numbers.

Canadian: What do the numbers mean?

Salesman: The number {#blank#}2{#/blank#} tells you which mobile phone service company it is.

    The {#blank#}3{#/blank#} to the seventh numbers tell you the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} of its registration. The number 3739 is random.

Canadian: Can you {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the phone numbers?

Salesman: Yes, after three to six months.

    Jason Queally is one of the fastest men in the world on bicycle. But do you really call the thing in the picture a bicycle? Well, yes, Jason's human-powered machine. With its two wheels, is, of course, a bicycle.

Every year, a very important human powered bicycle is held in Nevada, USA. The speed of a bike is measured (测定) for only 200-metres, but players take more than a kilometer to get their bikes going fast. Jason Queally's fastest speed for the 200metre race was 103.5 kilometers an hour.

    At this year's race, Jason failed to reach the finishing line. He was speeding along at about 70 kilometers an hour when he began to lose control of his bike. When he tried to slow down, it began to smoke. Soon the inside of his bike was filled with smoke. He couldn't see, and he couldn't breathe. At 70 kilometers an hour, a crash could be very serious. Jason was frightened, but he managed to stop the bike safely. He would repair his bicycle and try again another time to be the world's fastest man on a bike. Better luck next time, Jason.

    Maybe you're surprised that these bikes go so quickly, but is it useful? It could be. Cars are becoming more and more popular, and they are very safe, comfortable and easy to drive, but they also pollute the air in our cities. Scientists and engineers are learning from fast racing bikes how to make human-powered vehicles that might be useful for daily travel.

    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.