Today,roller skating (滑旱冰)is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1743, peoplenever tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named John JosephMerlin. Merlin's work was making instruments. In his free time he liked to playthe violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called hima dreamer.

    One dayMerlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleasedand a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think.He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin hadan idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skateinto the room.

    Merlintried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put twowheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin wasvery proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into theroom while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be verysurprised.

    On thenight of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyonewas really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no wayto stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with alleyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke intomany pieces with a very loud noise. But nobody forgot Merlin's wonderfulentrance after that.

Mary and Lisa are sisters. They like the same colour— blue. They like the same sports— swimming and basketball. They go to the same middle school. But they aren't in the same class. They like music and art. Art is their favourite subject. 

But Mary and Lisa have a big difference (不同之处) . Mary has many friends. They like to play with her. But Lisa doesn't have any friends. Their mum sees the difference. She says to Lisa, "My dear, your smile (微笑) is very beautiful. Why not smile often?" Lisa says OK and she tries smiling often. Children come to Lisa. They like her smile. They want to make friends with her. Now Lisa has many friends. She is very happy.

Fudan University: free courses for high school students

Is Fudan your ideal university? Now your dream may come true in a different way. Most recently, Fudan University has started a new programme offering free courses and they are now 1 to first-year senior high school students. Students from other grades do not have the chance to participate now. The programme allows students to take weekend courses on its campus in 10 different subjects. They cover many 2 , including Maths, science, Chinese language and literature (文学). 

Besides, students will share the university's 3 like its libraries and on-campus activities during their courses. They will be able to earn credits (学分) from the programme if they are admitted into Fudan University in the future. 

The new programme aims to further bridge the gap between higher education and compulsory education (义务教育). It may 4 develop high school students' all-around abilities and help them to discover what they are really interested in, the university says. 

To high school students, the chance to experience college-level work is so precious that it enables them to decide which job they should 5 in the future. 

The programme has attracted a lot of students and produced a good social response since 2014. Many students say they have gained a lot from the learning 6 and the experience will certainly encourage them to dream of hope.

Fudan is calling! Please follow Fudan's WeChat account as soon as possible to know about further details and requirements.

Oceanic islands, located far out in the ocean, are usually the tops of underwater volcano. These volcanic islands are formed when underwater volcanoes crupt(爆发). 

In August 1883, an ocean ic island called Krakatau in Indonesia was blasted apart by volcanic eruptions. It was one of the most violent cruptions in the world. The effects(影响) of this volcanic eruption was both immediate and long-term

In the "immediate" part, two-thirds of the island disappeared buncâth the sea. Pour huge eruptions created tsunamis (huge waves) that rose 120 feet high. More than 30, 000 people drowned in the tsunamis, which caused floods as far away as San Francisco and the English Channel. Tens of thousands of people on ncarby Indonesian islands were killed by walls of water, hot clouds of volcanic ash, gas, and rock.

In the longer term, climate patterns(气候模式) after Krakatoa's eruption influenced the whole world. The huge amounts of as h and gas entered into the sky and caused clouds to throw back more light than normal, cooling the Eorth. The following year, average(平均的) temperatures dropped by as much as 2. 2 degrees Fahrenheit. A few degrees F dropping n. ay not sound like much, but it is a big deal to plants and animals. 

In general, volcanoes cause lots of changes to the world's geography and climate. Although scientists are becoming better at finding when and where volcanoes will erupt, we must still respect the nature's power. 

You speak, write a letter, send an e- mail and make a telephone call. Your words carry some messages. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Do you think you can communicate without words? {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Tears in your eyes probably tell others that you are sad. When you put up your hands in class, the teacher knows you want to say something or ask questions. In China, you shake your head and people know you are saying "No". You nod and people know you are saying "Yes".

Have you ever thought that there are a lot of signs around you? {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, a sign at the bus helps you to know which bus to take. A sign on the door tells you where to go in or out.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}An artist can use his drawings to tell about beautiful mountains, blue seas and many other things. Books are written to tell about all the wonderful things in the world and also about people and their ideas. Books, magazines, TV, radio and films all help us communicate with others. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And we can understand what other people are thinking about.