The film Forever Enthralled was directed by the director(导演)Chen Kaige, and famous stars acted in it, such asZhang Ziyi and Chen Hong. This film shows Mei Lanfang's life.

    Mei, a master of Beijing opera, grew up in a family of Beijing opera performers. He began to perform on the stage(舞台)in 1904 when he was 10 years old. He learnt his acting skills and played female roles and became highly good at singing, dancing and acting. He turned himself into a performer of almost all types of the "Dan" female roles.

    In July 1937, the Japanese army occupied(占领) Beijing. The officer of the army told Mei to perform for them and promised to give him a lot of money. Mei refused to do so, and from then on, he gave up performing on stage during the war. This made him poor until the war ended in 1945.

After 1949, he made the Dan have an important place in Beijing opera through many years of hard working. In his 50-year stage life, he used new acting skills and made lots of good operas. So he became the symbol of Beijing opera.

    One Sunday evening, it was quite dark when old Stanley went for. a walk. He was walking along the sidewalk. Suddenly, he saw a white car coming around the corner at high speed. It was going too fast and crashed into a red car in the street where he was walking. He rushed up to the cars to see if anyone was hurt and needed help.

    The two drivers were arguing." You came around the corner too fast, "one man said." No!" said the driver of the white car." That's not true! Your car was parked in a wrong place. "Stanley listened to their argument and then said the white car driver was wrong to drive too fast. The driver of the red car asked Stanley to prove he was right in court（法庭）. Stanley gave the driver his name

    Next Thursday morning, Stanley was asked to go to the court. The lawyer for the driver of the white car asked him a lot of questions about what he had seen. Then he asked Stanley how old he was.

    "I am eighty-two, "answered Stanley. "Do you usually wear glasses?" asked the lawyer. "Yes, I do, "answered Stanley." Were you wearing them on the night of the accident?" the lawyer asked. "No, "replied Stanley.

    Then the lawyer said, "Why should the court believe you? You are eighty-two years old, you were not wearing your glasses, and it was dark. How far can you see in the dark?"

    Stanley thought about it for a minute. "Well, "he said, "when it's dark, I can see the Moon. How far is that?"

    July is the time for some students to say goodbye to their mother schools. Every time it comes, I will think of my old deskmate, Xiaowei. She is the most unforgettable classmate in my junior high school life. It has been many years since I graduated, but she is still in my mind clearly.

    Xiaowei was a lovely girl with long black hair. On hot days, her hair was sometimes seen to be tied up. She was always wearing a sweet smile. She was an artistic(文艺范的)girl who showed up before me every day. She loved reading novels and drawing.

    She liked reading different kinds of novels, especially on history. She could finish reading a historical novel as thick as our Chinese textbook at an amazing speed.

    Whenever she had free time, she would take out a drawing note and start drawing cartoons with a pencil. She drew from characters' heads to eyes and to faces, but the characters were always long-haired and wide-eyed. One day I couldn't help asking," Why don't you colour them?" She answered simply, "Because I don't have enough time." She kept her works as a secret and never talked about them with others. When we were told that she had won a prize in the drawing competition in her group, my classmates felt surprised.

    There is a folk song called My Old Deskmate, which is sung widely among people of different ages. It was created because the creator, Gao Xiaosong, had never forgotten his deskmate. Whenever I hear it, I will think of Xiaowei. How are you, my old deskmate?

When Mary was just seven, her family moved to a new city. She went to school by school bus. One morning there was something wrong with the clock. When she got up, it was too late to take the school bus. Her mother said she could go to school in her car. 

"But how can you find the way, Mum?" Mary asked, "You went to our school only once. " "Yes, " her mother answered, "but you take the school bus there every day and you know the way. " "Oh, yes, " said Mary. 

They started out and the car went around most of the city before getting there. When they arrived, her mother found that the school was not really far from their house. 

"Why did you make us go so long a way?" her mother asked her. "Well, Mum, " answered Mary, "I know only this way. The bus always goes like this, so the other children can take it to school. "