Many people drive their cars to school or work now. So there are lots of cars on the streets. Sometimes, it's not easy for you to get to school or work on time(准时). Then you want to take a plane to school or work. Can your dream come true? Yes!

Four people in Germany(德国) make a new plane—Lilium Jet. It doesn't look like a plane but an egg. Many people think it looks funny. The nice "egg" can take two people and "run" about three hundred kilometers an hour.

    The Lilium Jet is not very big. So it doesn't need an airport(机场). A small place is OK.

    Some people also call the Lilium Jet "a flying car". It's not difficult for you to learn to drive it. You can drive it like driving a car.

    Maybe you can buy one in 2018 if you like it. I'm sure your trip to school or work will be great.

    A lovely rabbit, a cute hamster, some colourful fish, a strange-looking turtle or a snake...What kind of pet would you like? Lots of kids love animals and dream of having a pet.

    But not every family can have a pet. So, in many Western countries such as America, Britain and Australia, primary and middle school classes have their own pets. Looking after a pet is not as easy as you may think! Fish and turtles need clean water and the right food. Hamsters and rabbits need fresh vegetables and a warm place to sleep. Even little mice need good care! What would you feed a pet mouse? How about snakes?

    Class pets teach kids about nature and being responsible. Sometimes the pets have babies. It's very exciting but it also means having more animals to take care of!

    Students take turns to take care of their class pets. Every week the pets have a new “mum and dad” to look after them.

    You may want to know what happens to the class pets during school holidays. At the end of term, the teacher chooses a responsible student. This lucky student keeps the pets at his or her home for the holidays.

    Notes:

1) hamster n. 仓鼠   2) turtle n. 乌龟   3) responsible adj. 负责任的   4) choose v. 选择

When we are talking about animals in China, the most precious (珍贵的) animal we would think of is the panda. In fact, we have one kind of bird as precious as the panda,1many people don't know much about it. The bird is called crested ibis (朱鹮) . It is as2as snow with a red face and looks very beautiful. It is also in danger like the panda.

Crested ibises3in tall trees by small rivers or rice fields. They look for small fish and4small animals for food. About one hundred years ago,5crested ibises lived in China, Russia and Japan. Later, as they lost their homes,6them was getting smaller and smaller. Between 1965 and 1980, people didn't see any of them living in the wild. Luckily, on May 23, 1981, scientists7seven of them in the south of Shanxi Province. 8protect crested ibises in the wild, the Chinese government is setting up nature parks and developing other plans. Now scientists are doing a lot of research to help them to9more babies. Today there are about 1,500 crested ibises living in the wild. Zoos and research centres10after about 500 crested ibises.

    Mr. and Mrs. Brown are from America. They are now teaching English in Zhengzhou. Their son Jack is with them. Jack speaks English. They want him to learn some Chinese. Jack is in Grade Three in a Chinese school. He plays with Chinese children every day. He listens to Chinese, speaks(讲) Chinese, reads books in Chinese and writes in Chinese. He is doing well in his Chinese.

I went to Grand Canyon (大峡谷) National Park in July 2012 for the first time and I knew I wanted to work there as a park ranger（管理员）. Park rangers protect the park's animals, plants, land, buildings, and people.

Now, as a park ranger for Grand Canyon National Park, I share the science, history and beauty of this park with thousands of visitors from around the world.

National parks are like outdoor museums. Park rangers have all kinds of jobs, depending on where they work and what they studied during college. I teach school field trips（实地考察）, work at visitor centers and help people stay safe during their visit.

My favorite part of my job is showing children their first look at the Grand Canyon during school field trips. Children are often amazed at the canyon's size and colors. Sometimes, they think it looks like a painting.

Being a park ranger requires a lot of energy. I walk several miles and talk with hundreds of people each day. Park rangers must enjoy working with people and speaking in front of groups. Nearly 5 million people visit Grand Canyon National Park every year.

Park rangers must also be prepared for any situation. Recently, I broke a traffic jam(堵塞). It was caused by a huge elk（麋鹿）standing in the road. Elks can become dangerous when they get scared, so I asked visitors to stop their cars and take pictures from far away. Believe it or not, I also help protect people from monkeys. It is not allowed to feed animals in national parks. But sometimes, visitors try to feed monkeys.