Peking Opera (Beijing Opera), is one of the oldest forms of dramas(戏剧) in the world. The roles(角色) in it were Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou, Wuhang, and Longtao during its early age. But with the change of Peking Opera, there are four main roles in it today: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou.

    Sheng——Men Roles

    Sheng are the men roles in Peking Opera, which can be divided into Laosheng, Wusheng, Xiaosheng and Wawasheng.

    Laosheng are middle-aged or older men who are honest. Hongsheng,a type of Laosheng, have a red face. There are only two roles famous as Hongsheng. One is Guan Gong and the other is Zhao Kuangyin. Wusheng are young generals(将军) who are good at martial arts(武术). Xiaosheng are clean-shaven(没有胡须的) and handsome. Wawasheng are children's parts.

    Dan——women Roles

    Dan are women roles that can be divided into different types——Laodan, Qingyi, Huadan, Wudan and Caidan.

    Laodan play old and clever women. Qingyi are the main women roles. Huashan, a type of Qingyi, was created by Mei Lanfang, who played an important role in shaping Peking Opera. Huadan are lively and unmarried women roles. Wudan characters are women, good at martial arts. Caidan are clowns(小丑) in funny plays.

    Jing——Painted Face Men Roles

    A Jing role is an important man character with striking(吸引人的) looks and high social position. The main types of Jing are Tongchui, good at singing and usually a general; Jiazi, good at acting with less singing; and Wujing, a martial arts and acrobatics(杂技) role.

    Chou——Comedy Roles

    Chou are comedy(喜剧) roles in Peking Opera. There are Wenchou who speak, act and sing, and Wuchou who both speak and fight. What makes this type of role special is a small patch(块) of white chalk around the nose. One of the famous roles is the Monkey King, who has a special position in the hearts of all who are interested in Chinese opera.

    Do you have a special talent or skill but there is no one that enjoys it? If so, you might want to go to Christ church, New Zealand, for the World Buskers Festival.

    January is summer time in New Zealand, and the entertainment (娱乐活动 ) takes place outside. However, this is not the typical outdoor music concert or festival you have known. The buskers-people who perform on the streets and in other public places—bring the city to life with amazing entertainment.

    The event begins in late January and attracts (吸引) around 300,000 visitors every year with about 500 performances. The performances include the circus(马戏表演) and magic acts, street dancing and singing, and other crazy forms of entertainment.

    One of the best things about the festival is how well it attracts many people, from the youngest to the oldest .Laughs are everywhere, especially when unprepared visitors are asked to become a pan of the performance.

    The festival director says, "We have performers from all over the world. Most of the performances are free, so it means you can bring your family and spend a whole day here."

    There's something for everyone at the World Buskers Festival, one of the biggest and most popular street festivals in the world.

(Now more and more people like shopping online, but is it good or bad? Here're a few different ideas. Let's take a look at them. )

Fred: I spend time on the Internet and buy many things online. I don't need to go out and wait for a long time. Also, I can always get the best things online. 

Dennis: I like shopping online a lot. I love to buy things on the Internet because people can send the products to me in a few days after I click the mouse on what I want. 

Anthea: Shopping online is a good way for us young people. We can save lots of time. When we buy anything online, we can compare different prices and features at the same time. 

Elihu: l like spending time going here and there in different shops and meeting different people, so I do very little online shopping. 

Harriet: 1 especially like shopping online, because it's much easier to choose my favourite things. Now I also have an online store called Millen to sell clothes. 

Many people think heroes (英雄) need to be handsome rich, or very smart. But as for me, a hero is a person who always helps others. My hero is Uncle Bill. He is the oldest son of a worker, and he grew up in a poor family with four younger brothers and two little sisters.

He was good at neither writing nor maths. In fact, he never did well in school. So he had to give up school at a very young age. He worked and gave all his money to help his parents. When he was getting older, he found that he was very interested in fixing things. He collected broken things which people threw away and fixed them. He could fix almost everything that did not work. He worked hard and never gave up. Finally, he opened his own repair shop. It took him about twenty years to become a successful shopkeeper.

Now he is very wealthy and has four shops. But he never forgets the days when he had nothing. He gives money to poor families, helps poor kids buy books and offers them free lunch. He also encourages people to reuse things. He always says, "Make good use of what you have because we just have one earth."

I am proud of Uncle Bill. He is really a hero.