Literature is a word used to describe written as well as spoken material. Generally speaking, it is often used to describe anything from creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama and fiction.

    Then why read literature, since it is often imaginary and seems unconnected with real life?

    A lot of us read literature for enjoyment and relaxation. It's always pleasant to read some interesting books in our spare time. In a modern life full of stress, it is our common wish to read some imaginary works and look for relaxation from the stress in life.

    Reading literature is more than fun, it also allows us to get knowledge. As a general rule, literature represents a language of a people, and it often helps us know more about the traditions, attitudes and values of the age in which it was written.

    Sometimes literature can even offer us new, creative ways to have a better understanding of the world. It introduces us to new worlds of experiences. We enjoy the comedy and the tragedy of poems, stories and plays, and we may even grow through our literary journey with books. At last we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the writer says and how he or she says it. In some ways, we explore the human condition and study the way they think and feel the way they feel. Literature helps us think clearly and encourages us to open minds.

    So we can certainly say literature is of great importance to us. Why not get going with one poem, drama or fiction at once?

    Do you know how to talk to others politely in English? Have a look at the following.

    Could you give me five minutes? VS Go away.

    You're really busy, but your classmate needs your help. When you're busy and can't help him or her, you can't say “Go away”. And you can say, ”Could you give me five minutes?”

    Excuse me. VS Move

    Telling someone to move out of the way is very rude(无礼的). When someone is in your way, you should say “Excuse me”.

    I'm afraid I can't. VS No

    It can often be difficult to decline an invitation from a friend. Saying “No” would be impolite. It's a good idea to say,”I'm afraid I can't.” if you have to say no to an invitation.

    Would you mind…? VS Stop it!

    If someone is doing something rude, would you like them to stop? You shouldn't say, “Stop talking on your phone in the cinema!” You can say, “Would you mind not using your phone in the cinema, please?”

    Among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the oldest one is the Great Pyramid of Giza. There are three large pyramids at Giza, outside the modern capital of Egypt, Cairo. The largest and most famous one is called the Great Pyramid. The workers built it as s tomb（坟墓）for the Pharaoh Khufu（法老胡夫）.

    It took more than twenty years to build the Great Pyramid When it was built, the pyramid was about 146.5 metres high. Over the years it has lost about eight metres off its top.

    The pyramid is made of large stone blocks（石块） 一 2, 300,000 of them! Each of these blocks weighs over 2, 000 kilograms. The ancient Egyptians did not have any modern machines. How did they build the pyramid? The pyramid shows that the ancient people were intelligent and had great skills.

    People once thought that the Egyptians made slaves(奴隶) do all the work on the Great Pyramid. But in fact, they used farmers.

I was lonely when I was in high school because I went to a new school far away from my home. In the beginning, some naughty students often laughed at me because of my poor English, so I always tried to avoid them.

Soon I went to university. I was a poor student and I only had $20 for two weeks. I had to hide the truth carefully because I was afraid to be laughed at again. I ate little every day. One day, Joe, a classmate of mine, invited me to help him cook and then shared the completed dishes with him. Since I was not familiar（熟悉）with him, I refused him at first. But after some consideration, I decided to go. I used to cook at home, and I thought I could do it, but I was still full of worry. If he didn't like my cooking, what should I do? Later, it turned out to be a success. Then Joe wished me to make it a daily routine. It went like this. He did the shopping and I did the cooking. And then I stayed to have dinner with him.

It was not until graduation that I knew the whole story. Joe discovered my situation two years ago. In order not to hurt my pride, he came up with this idea just to make it much easier for me. When I cooked the last meal for him, I ordered a big cake and said to him with tears, "My dear friend, you and your help really brighten my college life. I'll never forget that."

How do you go to school evey day? By bike or on foot? Maybe you can try a new way— taking a S' Gool Bus.

The S' Gool Bus is also called the bike bus. It was invented in the bike kingdom— the Netherlands. It is all about green lifestyle, sports and sharing. It's interseting for kids to ride the bus together to go to school.

Also, it is very safe. The bike bus has a driver and eleven seats for kids. Each one has a helmet and safety belt. There is also a roof on the bus. It can be used on hot days or rainy days to make kids feel comfortable.

Riding the bike bus is one of the greatest ways for children to get to school. Peter, a 10- year- old pupil, becomes a big fan of the bike bus." Now the S' Gool Bus is my favorite way of transport. I can ride it together with other kids to keep healthy. It's full of fun." For most parents, it can help them save a lot of time because they only have to pick up their children after school.

The S' Gool Bus is becoming more and more popular in some countries like Germany and France. Its inventor Thomas Tolkamp says,"I hope I can sell the bike bus to more countries in the future. As green lifestyle becomes popular, ideas like this get popular, too. I think it will work well in other countries." The use of the S' Gool Bus shows us that we can save the Earth in many ways as long as we want to have a try.

People use languages to communicate. Any language has its ways to express people's minds. One of the ways in common is the use of idioms. An idiom is a group of words. It has a special meaning that is different from the usual meaning. For example, under the weather is an idiom meaning ill. So when people say "I'm under the weather", they are saying that they're not feeling well. Another example, in all weathers means in all kinds of weather. So, "There are homeless people sleeping on the streets in all weathers" tells us that homeless people sleep on the streets no matter whether it is cold or hot.

Different languages may have different ways to make idioms. For people who are learning a foreign language, idioms could cause misunderstandings and bring them endless problems. On the other hand if things are done right, idioms can also be a fun way of looking into a new culture and understanding how the people think and talk.

Metaphor（比喻）is often used in idioms. Let's read the following two examples:

▪Example 1: It makes my blood（血液）boil（煮沸）when my brother breaks my computer.

▪Example 2: The night was dark and quiet; my blood ran cold when I heard a strange noise outside on a dark night.

In neither situation above, can our blood reach the point so high or so low in temperature. However, with the situations the two sentences created, it is not difficult to understand the  ▲  feeling in the first example and very afraid in the second.

Of course, not all idioms are this easy to understand. When we come to idioms of a foreign language, a good dictionary of idioms is always suggested.