The Internet is generally(通常) considered to be the world that belongs to young people. But some old people in Shanghai don't think so. Recently, more than 8,000 people over 50 took part in a web page designing contest in Shanghai.

    The contest lasted for two months and attracted a lot of old people. Among them, the oldest is a 79-year-old retired (退休的) lady. She had learned web page designing for 4 months before attending the contest. She finally got an honorary ( 荣誉的) title of “The Most Senior Participant(参与者)”. About 30 other old people got different prizes such as “The Best Creative Work” and “The Best Fine Arts Work”. Their works' themes included science, technology, Olympics, personal life and so on.

    The organizers of the contest hoped to encourage more and more elderly people to learn more about the Internet world. And many of the participants felt they really got a lot from the contest. “Designing web page enriches my life and makes me feel much closer to the young people,” one participant said.

    The designing of web page is not an easy job. But that doesn't mean it is the patent(专利) of young people. In fact, as the saying goes: “It's never too old to learn.” As for the teenagers, perhaps they should know“It's never late to learn”, whether it is English, piano or others.

    Alex Smith， a fifteen-year-old boy， studied in an American boarding school (寄宿学校). In this school， students could go into town after school in the afternoon{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One afternoon， Alex walked to the town. He looked about at the shops and then went to a cinema{#blank#}2{#/blank#}It was eight o'clock. He was a little worried， He walked back to the school as fast as possible.

    When he arrived， he ran quickly to the main entrance (入口). It was locked. He looked up at the window of his dormitory(寑室). It was on the third floor. The window was open{#blank#}3{#/blank#}But the door was also locked. Then he saw another open window on the first floor. It was the window of the teachers' office{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Alex quickly climbed into the room. Just then， he heard someone opened the door. He had to hide under the sofa at once. One minute later， a teacher came in{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Under the sofa Alex had to lie on the floor.

    There are long rivers, and there are famous rivers. The Nile(尼罗河)is the world's longest and most famous river. It runs 6,650 kilometers. Crocodiles and hippos(河马)live in its waters. Pyramids built by ancient Egyptians rise along its banks.

    The main branch of the Nile, the White Nile, starts just above Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh—water lake, in east central Africa. Then it flows to the north. At Sudan's capital, another great river called the Blue Nile joins the White Nile. Together, they form one very powerful river. Then it goes through Egypt's famous Nile Valley before reaching the Mediterranean Sea.

    Ancient Egypt, the first great African civilization(文明), started along the banks of the Nile more than 5, 000 years ago. Ancient Egypt ruled the Nile Valley for thousands of years. Great pyramids and temples were built on the banks and we can still visit them today.

    Without the rich farmland along the banks of the Nile, there might be no ancient Egypt civilization. Every year, the Nile flooded its banks. The floodwaters covered the banks with a rich soil. The Nile's banks were easy to farm and produce crops.

    The Nile also made a perfect highway for boats. The river runs north, but the wind on the river blows south. To go south, boaters put up sails to catch the wind. To go north, they took the sails down. Ancient people traded along the river for hundreds of miles.

    The holiday is coming to us. Finally, after months of study, you have some time to yourself. So, why not read a book? Well, some people will say, "Why do you like reading books? We have Internet. It offers a lot of more colorful fun. Books are history!" But I am sure you can learn a lot from books than Internet.

    One clear reason is that a well-chosen book can give you a lot of wonderful words, as long as you have a good dictionary, of course. Believe me, it's far easier to get new words from a book or an article than it is from the TV or the Internet.

    But another more important point is that books give you something that the Internet can not. The general webpage(网页) is picture-heavy and the text is as easy to read as possible. While "easy" may attract you, unluckily it's not helpful for any long-term development of reading skills and the general language level. Because of that, reading on the Internet can't take the place of reading books.

    But perhaps the best reason is that just choosing what you read and doing it independently means that it's something you do by and for yourself. You can choose what you want to read. It's hard work, but you'll find that what once seemed like a duty is now a pleasure.

    Nick and his friends were talking about things that can bring them luck.

    "I have a lucky red pen," said Andy. "Every time I take a test, I carry my lucky red pen."

    "I have a lucky coin," said Peter. "Every time I take a test, I carry my lucky coin."

    Nick thought for a moment, and said, "My blue socks."

    "Blue socks?" the boys were surprised and asked together.

    Nick said that every time he wore his blue socks to school before a test, he got a good mark.

    The next day Nick had a Chinese test. He was sad because he couldn't find his blue socks.

    "Mom!" shouted Nick. "Where my blue socks? I have a Chinese test today, and I need to wear them."

    "Don't be silly," Nick's mom said. "They need to be washed." "When I wear them, I get a good grade," Nick said.

    "Did you prepare for your test?" asked Mom.

    "Yes."

    Mom encouraged him,"①那就不用担心了。尽你的最大努力吧。"

    A few days later, Nick's teacher told him that he got 95 in his test. ②Nick was so excited that he couldn't wait to tell Mom that he did well in his test.

    Mom said, "It wasn't the blue socks that made you success. In fact, it was made by yourself."