Information Card

    Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences. He always told me, "You should have goals(目标） like climbing the mountain." Without the mountain-climbing that we both enjoyed ，we couldn't have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy. I really got a lot from mountain-climbing. It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience (耐力).

    Once we climbed a very high mountain. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing. I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds' singing, but as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. I wanted to quit climbing. In fact, I hated it at that mountain, but my father said to me, "You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can't see it before you reach the top. ①Only there at the top, can you see all of the nice things, just like in life."

    At that time, ②我太小以至于不能理解他的话。But later after that, I got new hope and confidence. I found myself standing at the top of the mountain. And there, I could see the whole of the sky, which was as clear as crystal (水晶).

    Have you ever been to Singapore? For many Chinese tourists, this small island in Southeast Asia is a wonderful place to take a holiday. On the one hand, more than seventy-five percent of population are of Chinese descent, so you can simply speak Mandarin most of the time. On the other hand, Singapore is an English-speaking country.

    When the ancient Chinese paid their first visit here in the early 14^th century, it was still a small seaside city. Later in the 1820s, the British Empire claimed it as a colony (殖民地). Singapore hasn't been an independent country until 1965. From then on, it has become an important port of trade and business between different countries.

One great thing about Singapore is that the temperature is almost the same all year round. It seldom drops below 20℃. It's warm and wet the whole year. This is because it is so close to the equator (赤道). So you can choose to go whenever you like—spring, summer, autumn or winter! And, of course, it's not too far from China. For those who enjoy the sun and the beach, Singapore is an ideal place.

    On the northeast coast of Singapore, Changi Village is far from the noise of central Singapore. The buildings are modern, but there's still a village terminal (晚期的) atmosphere. There's a small, attractive seaside camp site across the Changi Creek from the bus terminal, where you can watch the planes gliding into Changi airport while relaxing on the sand.

    Most large cities have zoos, but have you ever been to a zoo at night? Singapore has a night zoo called the "Night Safari". It might seem strange to go to a zoo when it's dark. But if you've ever been to a zoo during the daytime, you might understand why Night Safari is so special. A lot of animals only wake up when it goes dark at night, so this is the best time to watch them. At the Night Safari, you can watch these animals in more natural environment than a normal zoo.

    GIY stands for "grow it yourself'. There is a new fashion for growing your own food. And there are a lot of reasons why growing your own food is a good idea.

    GIY helps reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions (排放物). Food in supermarkets travels a long way, which produces a lot of CO₂. If you grow as many vegetables as you can at home, you can help save the earth.

    GIY can be good for people's health. Compared with supermarket vegetables, vegetables you grow by yourself are better for your health. Because they have more nutrients (营养品) and they don't have chemicals.

    GIY can also save your money and make you popular. First of all, seeds are much cheaper than vegetables. And secondly, you can save more by planting the most expensive and the most productive (多产的) vegetables. Thirdly, you can give your vegetables to friends and neighbors, which will make you very popular.

    Don't worry if you don't have much space. To GIY, you don't even need a garden. You can use pots on your balconies (阳台). And don't worry if your space could get much sunshine. You can plant vegetables that don't need a lot of sunshine.

    Grow your own vegetables now. You will have both a healthier body and a healthier social life.

Dear Emma,

    Thank you for the photo _____your family. Here is my family photo. This is my grandfather. These are my parents. My father's name is Mike Smith. He is an English teacher. My mother is Linda Miller. She is not a teacher. This girl is my sister. ______name is Alice. She is ten. She is in Class Two, Grade Four. And this is me. I'm eight. I'm in Class One, Grade Two.

Bill

    We live on the earth. We use the sea around us. What do we take from the ocean? And what do we give to it?

    We take fishes from the ocean—millions of kilograms of fish, every year, to feed millions of people. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}We take minerals (矿物) from the ocean. We can get salt by evaporating (蒸发) seawater. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}such as gold. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Seaweed (海草) becomes food of many kinds—even candy and ice cream—as well as medicine. Believe it or not, fresh water is another gift from the sea. We can't drink ocean water. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}But ocean water becomes fresh water when the salts are removed. In the future, we will find ourselves depending more and more on fresh water from the sea.

    The sea gives us food, fertilizer, minerals, water and other gifts. What do we give the sea? We pollute the ocean all the time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Throwing waste into the ocean is killing off sea life. Yet as the world population grows, we may need the sea and its gifts more than ever.

    We are finally learning that if we destroy our sea, we might also destroy ourselves. Hopefully, it is not too late.