William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in English literature. His plays can be divided into three categories: histories, tragedies(悲剧) and comedies. Shakespeare wrote eighteen comedies, although two were lost. These comedies usually have happy endings and a light-hearted tone and style that are quite different from his tragedies.

    All of Shakespeare's comedies have five acts and the most important or exciting point always takes place in the third act. The hero does not appear until after other characters have talked about him. Shakespeare had some themes that he usually wrote about: the fight between good and bad, love's great effect on people, and the difference between first appearance and a person's true personality or face. Shakespeare also wrote his play in a certain style. For example, Shakespeare used words in such a clever and humorous way that they had more than one meaning. Some of the characters changed their appearances so that people didn't know who they were.

    Even though the tone is lighter in these plays. Comedies in Shakespeare's day were quite different from modern-day comedies because their purpose was not to make people laugh. Shakespeare's comedies are very emotional(有感染力的) and often include serious topics to think about.

    Once upon a time, there was a lion and a mouse living in the forest.

    One day, when the lion was sleeping, the mouse ran onto his face. The lion woke up. He was very angry and caught the mouse. “I will eat you!” the lion said angrily.

    The mouse cried out,“If you do not kill me, I would be happy to give you a reward(回报).”The lion laughed at the idea. He did not think a little mouse could help such a big strong animal like himself. But he still let the mouse go.

    After a few days, it happened. The lion was caught by hunters' net(网). He tried his best to leave, after half a day, he still couldn't get out of the net. He was very sad, he thought he was dying. At that time the lion felt something biting(啃，咬) on the ropes. It was the mouse. Just before dark, the work was done. There was a hole in the net. The lion got free through the hole. He was very happy and thanked the mouse, “My friend, you have saved me. I will never doubt the power(能力) of small animals like you.”

    From then on, the lion and the mouse became friends.

    As far back as he could remember, Larry had wanted to go to Hollywood and become a film star. The young man's hopes for success were broken again and again. However, Hollywood was just everything to him. When he first came to California? Larry had decided never to give up and return home without success. Therefore, he kept on trying. "Some day," he told himself, "my big chance would come."

    Larry found a job—parking cars at one of Hollywood's big restaurants. His pay was low, but since the guests were kind enough to give him more money, he managed to make a living. One day he recognized an important film director driving into the parking lot and getting out of his car. Larry had recently heard that the man was ready to make a new picture.

    Larry got into the car and prepared to drive it on into the lot and park it. Then he stopped, jumped out, and ran over to the director. "Excuse me, sir, but I think it's only fair to tell you that it's now or never if you want me in your next picture. A lot of big companies are after me."

Instead of pushing away the boy, the director laughed, then wrote something on a card and handed it to the young man. "Come and see me tomorrow."

    Larry got a small part in the director's next film. He was on his way!

    Every morning my father buys a newspaper on his way to work. Every evening my mother looks through magazines at home. And every night, I look at the posters with photos of David Beckham and Yao Ming on my bedroom wall before I go to sleep. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Paper was first created about 2, 000 years ago, and has been made from silk, cotton, bamboo, and, since the 19th century, from wood. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}But in those days, books could only be produced one at a time by hand. As a result, they were expensive and rare. And because there weren't many books, few people learned to read.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}When printing was developed greatly at the beginning of the 11th century, books could be produced more quickly and cheaply. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Today information can be received online, downloaded from the Internet rather than found in books, and information can be kept on CD-ROMs or machines such as MP3 players.

    Computers are already used in classrooms, and newspapers and magazines can already be read online. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}No, I don't think the poster about Yao Ming on my bedroom wall will ever be replaced by a two-metre-high computer!

Suggested questions:

1. When and where did you meet the friend for the first time?

2. Why do you think the friend is special?

3. What made your first meeting do impressive/ unforgettable?

4. How are you getting along with each other?

Most people choose to live in comfort after they retire ( 退休), but Wang Guilan is not one of them.As a marathon (马拉松)lover, the 70-year-old woman from Liaoning, China has completed over 100 marathons in the last 19 years. People call her Super Grannie".

Wang only started running at the age of 51, as a way to keep in shape, but soon realized she loved it. She ran her 1st marathon in 2004 and hasn' t stopped since. From 2005 to 2017 she completed the Beijing Marathon 13 times, and this year she set a new record, becoming the oldest person to ever complete the 168 -kilometer ultramarathon (超长距离马拉松) of Jiang Nan 100-Mile (а famous ultramarathon in China), in about 40.5 hours.

 "This lady is the same age as my grandmother. How can she run so fast? That's amazing," a young runner said after seeing Wang compete in Jiang Nan 100-Mile in April. This was Super Grannie' s 2nd time competing in the race.

So how does a 70-year-old stay in good-enough shape to complete a marathon that most people half her age couldn' t finish? According to Wang, she runs at least 20 kilometers six days a week from Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday she runs some more. She likes running in the mountains, but in winter, when the weather doesn't t permit, she runs on roads. On average ( 平均）, every year she runs for 7 months in the mountains and 5 months on the road.

Wang always believes that age is not a problem , and she plans to continue running marathons and enjoying her life for as long as she can.