You can always see some park workers dressed as movie or cartoon characters(角色) in some theme parks(主题公园）like Disneyland. We call them costumed characters. What is it like to be a costumed character at a theme park?

    Dave Jackson has this interesting job. He works as a costumed character in Disneyland. There are always so many visitors in this park. Every day Dave puts on a Mickey Mouse suit and plays with the visitors to make them happy. Many visitors, especially the young children, take photos with him.

    Some people may think his job is quite easy. But in fact, it's sometimes a little difficult. First of all, the costumes are very heavy. And it's difficult to go to the washing room with a heavy costume. Second, the space he works is very small, so he usually gets tired after standing there for a long time. What's more, the most difficult part is working in hot weather! He always sweats a lot, and the sweat can run into his eyes.

    "My job is not easy, but it is also great fun." says Dave. "Looking back, I must be in quite a lot of people's family photos. It is really cool.

    Mary likes to run. Ever since she was in the third grade, she has been training to run long distances. Now that she was in her eighth grade, her parents agreed to let her run in the Banana Classic. The Banana Classic is a ten-kilometre race. It takes place every year in Mattydale. The winners get a lifetime supply (提供) of peanuts and fruit juice.

    Mary practised by running ten kilometres, twice every day. On the average (平时的) run, she would finish in thirty minutes. Last year's winner finished the race in twenty-six minutes and ten seconds!

    On the day of the race, Mary ran faster than she ever had in the past. As she came across the last kilometre, she was in the fourth place. She picked up the pace (步伐) and quickly reached the second place, just as she could see the finishing line. She ran as fast as she could in a mad dash (冲刺) to the finish line, but she just wasn't fast enough to get ahead of the leader.

    My name is Philippe and my wife's name is Sophie. We're from1. Recently we were faced with a 2situation while traveling by car in the mountains with our hired driver. Just as we began to doze(打盹), the car made a strange, loud noise and then3working.

    We tried communicating with the driver but with little4because he couldn't speak French. He tried to tell us with body language that he was going to get help and then he left.

    We were in a poor area, with 5houses in sight. We started to bear the cries of wild animals Sophie was very afraid. We didn't have much food and it was getting 6and darker I began to lose7. Should we leave the car? Would our driver ever8? Was he a trustworthy man? We were very worried.

A couple of hours passed. 9, the headlights from another car appeared in the dark. A man got out of the car. Finding us cold and hungry, he kindly asked us to10his car.

11we left, he put a note on the windshield of the car with his phone number on it. Then he drove us to a nearby village, and we met his family. His cousin spoke French and he 12us tea and local foods. 13asked us questions and they were excited to have unexpected guests.

    Later that evening, the phone rang. It was our14. He had kept his word and fixed the car.

    I will15forget the warmth we received on that day because we depended on a complete stranger for help.

Dear Sally,

Thank you for your email. Do you want to know about my school days? From Monday to Friday, I'm1 . Every day I have six lessons. In the morning I have2 lessons and in the afternoon I have two. In the evening I3 have lessons. I'm at home with my family. At school, my favorite4 is Chinese. Why do I like it? Because it's very interesting and relaxing. My favorite day is5 . On that day I have Chinese — my favorite subject. And I can have two free days after that day.

Yours,

Mary

Hong Kong is surrounded(环绕着的) by mountains and seas. It lies in southern China, and is China's"South Gate"to the world. In the old days, HongKong was only a small fishing village, but now Hong Kong has become an important trading center and shipping center in Asia and the Pacific. Since HongKong's return to China in 1997, the rule of law system has been perfected.

Hong Kong is made up of three large parts and nearby islands. There are few flat areas in Hong Kong, and only a small part of the coastal area is low,surrounded by hills. Because Hong Kong is one of the most densely(稠密地) populated areas in the world, dozens of high-rise buildings are built on hillsides.

Hong Kong's tourism industry is highly developed. There are all kinds of goods from all over the world, and the prices are very low, so Hong Kong is a good place for buyers. It is also a place where Chinese and Western cultures mix. Food from all over the world is brought together to make Hong Kong a"FoodCapital". Every year,a large number of tourists from all over the world come to visit.