John was born in a rich family. When John finished school, he was already 18 years old. His father said to him, “Get a job in the town. If you stay at home, you will get nothing from me."A few weeks later, John went to an office and asked for a job there. A man took him into a small room and gave him some questions on a piece of paper. John answered the questions quickly, then he gave the paper to the man. The man looked at the paper for a few minutes and asked, “You were born on September 23. But which year you were born in?”John answered, “Oh, every year.”

 根据短文内容判断正误，正确的选择A，错误的选择B。

    John is an American boy. His family is in China now. John likes chocolates (巧克力) very much. But his mother doesn't give him any. They are not good for him, she thinks. But John has a very nice grandfather. The old man loves him very much, and sometimes he buys John some chocolates. Then his mother lets John eat them. She wants to make the old man happy. One Sunday evening John says in his room, “Please, God. Make them give me a big box of chocolates tomorrow. It's my birthday.” His mother says, “God can't hear you, my boy.” “I know, but my grandfather is in the next room. He can hear.”

    This story happened three years ago. Jack was an eight-year-old boy at that time. He was a good pupil. He was good at every subject at school. But he could not get up early. He often slept until nine or ten o'clock in the morning. So he was often late for school.

    Jack's mother didn't want him to be late for school again. So she bought him a clock. She said to him,“ You must get up when you hear the clock ring.”

    “Yes, Mum.” said Jack. After that Jack got up at twenty to seven when he heard the clock ring.

    One day his mother forgot to make the clock ring at the usual time. And the next morning Jack didn't get up. It was six forty-two at that moment. It was time for breakfast. Mother went to see him. Jack was still in bed and his eyes were open.

    “Why didn't you get up?” Mother was angry.

    “You told me to get up when I heard the clock ring. So I am waiting for the bell.”

    “Mum, is the clock still sleeping?” Jack asked.

    A boy called Mike had many friends, and he was proud of it. Whoever he met, he would like to show off how popular he was at school.

    One day, his grandpa said to him, “Mike, I know that you don't have as many friends as you think. Many of them are not true to you.”

    Mike thought maybe his grandpa was right. However, he wasn't sure how he could test whether his schoolmates were real friends or not, so he asked his grandpa. The old man answered, “I have just exactly what you need. It's in my room. Wait a minute.” The old man left, soon returning as if(好像) carrying something in his hand, but Mike could see nothing there.

    “Take it. It's a very special chair. Because it's invisible, it will be hard for you to sit on it. However, if you manage to sit on it, you can use the chair's magic power to tell who your real friends are.”

    Mike took the strange invisible chair to school. At break time he asked everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair.

    “Nobody moves. You're about to see something amazing,” said Mike. Then he tried sitting on the chair. Having difficulty seeing it, he missed and fell to the ground. Everyone had a pretty good laugh. “Wait, wait,” said Mike, making another try. But again he missed the chair.

    Mike didn't give up. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair. Finally, he did it. This time he felt himself in mid-air. Then he experienced the magic that his grandpa had been talking about. Looking around, Mike saw George, Lucas and Diana holding him up, so he wouldn't fall. But some schoolmates whom he had regarded as friends had done nothing but made fun of him. Mike was quite thankful to his grandpa, who helped him test who his true friends were.

    Every January we celebrate the life of a great man, Martin Luther King who fought for civil rights. He believed that all Americans should be treated fairly, no matter what their skin colors were.

    Dr. King was born in 1929 in Atlanta. Because he was dark, he could not go to the same schools as white children. Black Americans also had to use separate restrooms, restaurants, theatres and swimming pools in some states.

    Dr. King thought this was wrong. He was a Christian minister(牧师) who worked for equal right for black people. He helped organize protests to change those unfair laws.

    It was a hard fight. Dr. King was attracted and arrested(逮捕) many times. But more and more Americans grew to understand that it was wrong to treat black people differently from white people.

    In 1963, Dr. King led many people in a march to Washington D. C. where there he gave his famous speech "I have a Dream." He said people should be judged by their hearts, not by their skin colors. His efforts helped bring about new laws to create equal rights for all Americans.

The third Monday of January is a holiday to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King. We should respect his courage in working to improve the lives of so many people.

Twelve teachers and students from the University of Verona in Italy recently went to Liangnong town, Yuyao city, Zhejiang province, to do research and learn about traditional Chinese culture.

The group went to Liangnong's Intangible Cultural Heritage(非物质文化遗产) Exhibition Hall, where they learned about Yuyao's unique cultural heritage and the local ways of life and traditions.

With the help of a skilled baker, they also learned how to make Liangnong Rice Cake, a traditional local food. People in the area eat this cake during special events like the Lunar New Year, weddings, housewarming parties, and birthdays. It'a symbol of the hope for a good life.

" First, we pour the mixed rice flour into the rice cake mold(模具). Then use tools to make square holes. Next, put sweet fillings into the holes," The skilled baker carefully showed the steps of making Liangnong Rice Cake while telling the Italian teachers and students about its history and culture. The finishing touch, which the students found most interesting, was to print Chinese characters on the cake with a special tool.

"Today's experience was fantastic. We learned how to make Liangnong Rice Cake, and I really enjoyed it. This is my first time in China, and I hope to come to China more in the future," said Giordano Giada, an Italian student.

Barbara Bisetto, the head of the Chinese Department at the University of Verona and an expert on Chinese culture, said in fluent Chinese, " China has a long history and a rich and beautiful culture. This time, I also learned about Chinese manners, customs, and traditions. So for me, as someone who studies Chinese culture, it is a very special experience."

This summer camp is a project between Ningbo University and the University of Verona. By inviting Italian students to visit Liangnong, the university wants to present local culture to a bigger world and support rural revitalization(乡村振兴) with cultural strength.