Over the last few centuries, there have been many changes in our lives.

    To start with, people were not able to travel such a long distance in such a short time in the past. Planes were not very popular at that time because they used to be a very expensive way to travel. Nowadays, we have fast, comfortable cars, and more and more people can travel by plane.

    Secondly, in the past, people had to work much harder because they did not have the tools that we have today. Today, most of the difficult and dangerous work is done by computers and machines.

    Thirdly, in the past, the living conditionswere not as good as they are now. There were no bathrooms or running water in many houses, and many people could not buy things like fridges, TV sets or washing machines. Now, most families have several of these things.

    Finally, nowadays, more and more people have the chance to get a good education. In the past, there were fewer schools and the quality of education was much poorer. Also, it is much easier to find the educational materials that you need on the Internet now. 

    The scientific and technological development in the world is amazing. Life now is much faster and busier than it used to be. And we are still creating new things to make our lives better and easier.

E

    Sara wants to buy a motorcycle. She sees an ad in the newspaper for a used one. She calls the telephone number in the ad. The person who is selling the motorcycle lives on Flag Street in Clifton, about 15 miles from Fairview where Sara lives. She'll take a bus to get there on Sunday.

    At the bus station. Sara looks through the bus schedules(时刻表). She sees one that says “Fairview, Clifton" on the front. That's what Sara needs.

    Please look at the bus schedule carefully. Then help Sara make her decision, and answer the following questions.

    Every year, hundreds of thousands of students travel to foreign countries to study. More than 30 percent of these students go to {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Around 15 percent go to France and 10 percent go to both England and {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Australia and Canada are also popular countries with international students. A little{#blank#}3{#/blank#}10 percent go to Australia, and around {#blank#}4{#/blank#}go to Canada. In fact, almost eighty percent of all international students can be found in these {#blank#}5{#/blank#}countries. Now these countries are still trying to increase the number of international students studying in their countries.

    My name is John. I'm twelve years old. I have many friends. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Some are older than me and some are younger.

    My best friend is Jim. He's also twelve years old. He comes from the countryside. We are in the same class. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Jim is good at science and he often helps me with my science. I often help him with his Chinese. He is poor in Chinese, because he never studied Chinese before.

    Jim is 1.70 meters tall. He is taller than me. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} We both have brown hair, but Jim's hair is longer than mine.

    Jim is a little thin, but I am heavy. I don't like sports, so I don't get much exercise. But Jim likes sports very much. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

    After school, Jim and I play ping-pong for half an hour on the playground. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} We help and learn from each other. We are good friends.

    We are living in a colourful world with green trees, red flowers and the blue sky. Everything has its colour. Our moods also have different colours. I am a middle school student. Yesterday, I didn't want to get up early for school, but I was woken up by mum at 6:00 a.m. At that time my mood was like grey fog. I felt tired and sleepy.

    At noon, I helped a blind man cross the road on my way home. The blind man thanked me a lot. I felt very happy and the mood was like the red sun. It made me warm and sweet.

    In the maths class, my red mood changed to black, because I failed the exam. When I got the exam paper, I couldn't stop crying. But Mr Li told me to keep on studying hard.

    After school, I walked home and thought about Mr Li's words. I felt comfortable and energetic.

    The mood was like the blue sky, sunny and peaceful.