C

    The Greens are Americans. They are now in Beijing. This is their first visit to China. They are going to stay(停留) in China for three months. They want to visit some big cities(城市) and villages. They want to learn some Chinese, too. Mr. Green is a driver. He likes to drive in Beijing. Mrs. Green is a school teacher. She is visiting a city school and a village school. Their daughter is a middle school student. She meets some Chinese students. They take a lot of pictures in China. When they are back in American, they are going to show the pictures to their friends. They want the American people to know more about China. 

D

    Lisa likes going shopping very much. She often goes to clothes stores with her classmates on weekends. One day she sees a colorful sweater in the Fashion Clothes Store. It's a red-blue-yellow sweater. There is a card on it. It says 80 yuan. Lisa goes home quickly and collects(搜集) all her money. But she feels sad. She's only got 65 yuan.

    After two weeks, the Fashion Clothes Store has sweaters at very good prices——only 80%. Lisa thinks she can buy the sweater with 64 yuan. When she sees the card, it says 100 yuan.

    Some weeks later, the store says their sweaters are on sale. You can only pay(支付) 50% for the sweater. Lisa thinks she can get the sweater this time, because it only costs 40 yuan. But when she sees the card, she is very angry. It is 160 yuan.

    Today, after 10 days of medical treatment, for the first time, I went out alone to meet a motherly lady who I had met during my stay in a program. She had been unwell recently and I lived alone. Her sons live in foreign countries.

    After I called her and told about my plan to visit her, she started becoming excited and happily planning food at once. Nowadays, she has a lady cook coming by to help her but she does part of the work herself with her bandaged leg.

    I reached her home alone after being guided a couple of times by her before. I carried little things (snacks, books etc.) for her. She had been waiting for some time when I arrived. We talked about different things from health to her life and mine, from past to future, from food to travel etc. During the discussion, her care for me became clear when she made warm suggestions or supported me.

    During the last few months, she had struggled with health and housework. She had got over those difficulties and here she was telling me how all of us must face some problems. She had seen a few people facing worse problems in the hospital and mentioned about their cases and was grateful for her present condition which was manageable.

    She wanted to gift me something—she kept thinking of a dress, watch, footwear etc. whatever was new and great in her home. I kept refusing but finally took the footwear out of politeness.

    She loved the snacks I had brought and wanted to eat them with her tea. I was quite happy to see the child like interest.

    While I was spending time with my motherly friend, the following thought kept coming back to me-probably this is why I have lived through the 10 days in this city. The time I spent with her seemed so much needed. I felt the deep peace it could bring to me and that brought such a big joy!

    When I was young, I lived in Scotland with my parents. I had a good time there.

    One morning, I ran to the garden, and said to the old Scotsman who worked there. "Today I am going up the mountain for berries."

    "No, no, Missey, not today." he said, "It will rain."

    "No, it will not rain." I said, "The sun is up. The cook says it will be fine. The glass in the hall does not say rain."

    "Tuts, tuts." said the old man, "I care for no suns, or cooks, or glasses. The pimpernel (海绿) says it will rain, and so it will rain. Flowers, Missey, always tell the truth. When they say rain, go and get your umbrella."

    Sure enough, by noon the rain was pouring down. After that, I looked with great respect at the tiny flower, sometimes brickred, sometimes blue, which could tell about the weather. But the pimpernel is not the only plant that is a weather prophet.

    If you go into the garden, and find the African marigolds shut after seven o'clock in the morning, you may be pretty sure that there will be a rainy day. There is a little single marigold which shuts up in a hurry if the sky becomes clouded. It is called the "rainy-marigold".

    Most plants which we call "weather prophets" shut up for rain. But some plants open for rain. The cause of the opening and closing is probably the difference in light. Most likely these plants shut their flowers because there is too little light.

    But you know there are some plants which become smaller in a strong light and love the shade. You will find that most shade-loving plants, as the verbenas, do not close for rain.

    Lilies, tulips and other flowers that love the sun shut for rain. Tulips are careful not to open their cups very wide in the morning if it is likely to rain. The roses make no change. They seem not to fear wet.

    On the whole, you may be pretty sure, if you go into your garden, and find many flowers as tulips, marigolds and morning glories shut, it will be a stormy day, unfit for picnics or long walks.

   Why do we play sports? You might say "to get exercise" andyou'd be right. To have fun? That's true, too. But there's more. In fact, thereare at least five more reasons. According to the report, people who play sportsget1 more than just healthy.

   People who play sports do better in school. You might think that playingsports will2 all your study time. But a research shows thatstudents who play sports do better in school than3 whodon't. Exercise improves learning and memory, which can help students becomemore active in class.

   It's4 that people who play sports learn teamwork andgoal setting skills. Sports teach valuable life skills. When you work withcoaches, trainers, and teammates to win games and achieve goals, you'relearning5 tobe successful. Those skills will serve you well at work and in family life.

   Sports are good for people's health. Besides being healthy and keeping ahealthy weight, people who play sports are also less possible to smoke. And6 inlife, people who exercise have fewer chances to have cancer (癌症)or some otherillnesses.

   Playing sports improves confidence. People who play sports feel betterabout themselves. Why? It builds confidence when you know you can practice,improve, and7 your goals. Sports are also a feel-goodactivity8 they help people get in shape, keep a healthyweight, and make new friends.

   Exercise cuts the pressure. Playing sports can make you have less9 andhelp you feel a little happier. A person's mood (心情)improves during exercise. Friends canalso help improve your mood. And being on a team creates close relationship10 friends. It's good to know your teammates willsupport you - both on and off the field!