Liu Wei is very famous in China because he can play the piano with his toes(脚趾).

    One day when Liu Wei was only 10 years old, he played a game with some friends. He lost both his arms because of electricity (电). Liu Wei was very sad when both his arms were cut off after the accident. But soon he had to make a choice. “For people like me, there were only two choices. One was to give up all the dreams which would cause a quick death. The other was to work hard without arms to live an excellent life.” says Liu Wei.

    Liu's dream was to be a pianist. His excellent life included a show on China's Got Talent(中国达人秀) and a wonderful performance playing the beautiful Marriage D'amour with his two feet on the piano. Liu Wei learned to play the piano with his feet. And teaching himself to play the piano with his feet was very hard. Many times he wanted to give it up, but his parents went on encouraging him and he wanted to make his parents proud.

    Maybe you can not believe that Liu Wei is able to play well only with his toes. The audience(观众) were deeply moved and very excited when they watched his performance.

    "I first saw Beijing Opera in London in 1993, and it just shocked me. It was really amazing," says Ghaffar Pounazar.

    The 32-year-old British gave up his work in London and came to a Beijing Opera school. Since then, Ghaffar Pourazar has worked hard on this art.

    On stage, the Beijing Opera actors not only act, they also sing and dance while performing some difficult movements(动作).       ①         When Pourazar first got to China. He couldn't speak any Chinese, and he knew nothing about Beijing Opera. As the oldest student in the Beijing Opera school, he learned more slowly than his classmates, but he didn't give up. Now, he can perform Beijing Opera like a professional(专业人士).

    But Beijing Opera is not as popular as it was before. The young Chinese now spend more time on the Internet. This makes Pourazar very sad. "I used to get really angry at what was happening to Beijing Opera and at the Chinese people. This is part of your culture. You created this amazing thing. but now you are forgetting it, throwing it away."

Pourazar has decided what to do.        ②     Now he is performing a Beijing Opera that is about the Monkey King in two languages, Chinese and English. The Monkey King is a hero in a Chinese story. Chinese people love him very much. In the Beijing Opera, Pourazar acts the Monkey King.

Li Ming's birthday

    It's Saturday today and it's Li Ming's birthday. He is twelve years old. Li Ming is very happy because he gets lots of presents from his family and friends. Now let's see what they are.

    His parents have a birthday party for him. Li Ming's mother makes a birthday cake for him. It's big and delicious. He likes music very much, so his father gives him a ticket to a concert.  His uncle gives a book to him as a birthday present.

    He likes it very much. His sister Betty sends him a birthday card and she makes it by hand. And his friend Tom gives him a football. They often play football after school. Li Ming likes these presents. They sing Happy Birthday together and have a good time.

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    Back in the old days, young men were expected to go out and find jobs to support their families. Most boys dropped out of school(辍学) early, and went to get jobs as teenagers. Some just aged 13 became factory workers or farmers.  

    When Mark Twain finished the fifth grade, he left school and went to work at a printing shop. Thomas Edison got his first job when he was 12. He was a newspaper boy. This way, Mark Twain and Edison were able to help their families financially (经济上), since they did not come from wealthy homes. 

    Although they went to work at a young age, they didn't give up their dreams. Mark Twain tried many different jobs in his life, and he got a lot of experiences which he used as foundations (根据) of his stories. Thomas Edison came up with the ideas of his inventions while calling out the news headlines (标题). 

    No matter what job you are doing, you may find you are preparing for the future. Take every chance you can, and maybe one day you will become the next Mark Twain or Thomas Edison!

    Many Chinese students are good at English grammar, but their spoken English is so poor that they are afraid to speak in class or have a talk with others. There may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English.

    First, they fail to express themselves clearly because of a limited(有限的)vocabulary. The useful way is to enlarge their vocabulary. However, you can still communicate with others with a limited vocabulary, if you are active. Others will understand you with the help of your body language.

    Second, they are worried about making mistakes. Because they are shy and nervous, sometimes they may make mistakes easily. Yet we should know what we aim at is FLUENCE(流利) not ACCURACY(精确) when speaking. So we should speak as quickly and well as we can, even though sometimes we may use a wrong word or tense(时态), but it doesn't matter because others will still understand you.

    The third reason is that they don't pay enough attention to listening to what others are saying. So while you are speaking, you can't find the suitable topic or words to say. You have one mouth but two ears! What you hear is necessary for you to start speaking.

    Fourth, most Chinese students are passive(被动的) language learners. They just sit there waiting for speaking chances, and don't actively look for chances to improve their spoken English. All they can get is to accept the fact that their English remains poor.

    “Practice makes perfect ".So please be active from now on, try to catch every chance to speak wherever you go.

USE IT or LOST IT? It is up to you.