Read a Timeline

Every family has a history. A timeline can show events in a family's history. A timeline is an ordered group of words and dates that shows when events happened. 

Learn the skill   

Step1 The title tells what the timeline is about. The timeline has a line divided in equal parts. Each park stands for 10 years.

Step2  Look at the first and last numbers on the timeline. The numbers are years. The events on the timeline happened between these years.

E. He claims the piano is more versatile than any other instrument. He loves to go to see a performance. He says opera has everything, color and spectacle and theatre and great music.
F. He played drums when he was at primary school, and now he plays drums with his friends at weekends. They have a band. His favorite style of music is classical music.

    Reading books is a good hobby for all kinds of reasons. First, reading books is fun. You can always keep yourself happy if you like reading. This is especially useful when the weather is bad. It is a relaxing hobby, too. You can really become lost in a book.

Next, you can read a book almost anywhere: in a car, in a waiting room, on a plane, in bed — even in a bath. All you need is a book. Reading is a convenient(方便的) hobby as it is easy to stop and then start again.

    Another good reason for reading books is that it is useful. If you keep reading as a hobby, you will get better and better at it. This means that you will read faster and will become better at understanding what you read. As your reading improves, you will find that your schoolwork becomes much easier.

    Some people say that reading is out of date. This is not true. You have to be able to read on the Internet. And the better you read, the better your computer skills will be. Reading is hardly (几乎没有)out of date!

    Good readers are most likely to be good writers, too. They are usually good at spelling as well, and have more things to write about.

Reading books is a wonderful hobby, one of the best. What other hobbies could be more useful or more enjoyable?

    Peter wanted to travel, especially to English-speaking countries such as America and Australia. But he knew that he had to improve his English, so he went to Green Language School to take English lessons. Peter worked very hard at his English. At last, he became ill. Every evening he went to bed, closed his eyes but he stayed awake(醒着的).

    Peter was worried so he went to see the doctor." I can't sleep at night. What should I do, Doctor?"

    "I have a piece of advice, "said the doctor. "Try to count(数)numbers. When you count up to 1,000, you'll be asleep."

    The next day Peter returned to the doctor's office." Did you try my advice？And are you better today?" asked the doctor.

    Peter wasn't happy. "Er, I tried counting from one, two...up to four hundred and twenty-one, and I felt sleepy. Then I got up and drank some coffee. Then I went on counting up to 1,000. But I still couldn't be asleep."

    Long long ago there was a thief. Do you know what he did one day？When he wanted to steal(偷)the bell on his neighbour's door, he walked up to the door, took hold of(抓住)the bell and pulled hard. The bell made a very loud noise. The thief was afraid and went home.

    Then he sat down to think. "I must do something about the noise," he said. He thought and thought. At last he had an idea, "Ah, I'll put some cotton(棉花)in my ears. Then I won't be able to hear the noise." The next day he went to the door of his neighbour, and took hold of the bell. This time he pulled even harder. The bell rang loudly, but the thief did not hear anything. With another hard pull he got the bell off the door. Just then the neighbour came out.

    "Steal my bell? I'll teach you a lesson," the angry man shouted. And he hit the thief on the nose.

    The thief did not know how the neighbour found out he was stealing the bell." Why did he come out just then?" he wondered.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}⑴Cindy likes drawing(画画) very much. She can draw nice pictures. She always reads books about artists(艺术家).

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}⑵Peter likes watching NBA games. He also knows a lot about tennis stars and basketball stars.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}⑶Mary studies in a junior school. She can't always get good grades(成绩)，but she can cook(烹任) well. She wants to be a cook(厨师).

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}⑷John is a 12-year-old boy. He likes singing and dancing very much and he also does well in playing the piano.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}⑸Jeff thinks playing games is very interesting. Sometimes games can help him study well.