Our village carpenter（木匠）, John Hill, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two windows. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill（账单）for his job.

My wife said to me quietly, “That's his ninth cup of tea today.” But she said in a loud voice, “It's a beautiful table, dear, isn't it?” “I'll decide about that when I see the bill,” I said. John laughed and gave me his bill for the work. I read:

One dining table                        10^th November, 2011

      Cost of wood                  ＄17.00

      Paint                         ＄1.50

      Work, 8 hours(＄1 an hour)       ＄8.00

      Total                         ＄36.50  

When I was looking at the bill, John said, “It's been a fine day, hasn't it? Quite sunny.”

“Yes,” I said. “I'm glad it's only the 10^th of November.”

“Me, too,” said John, “you wait—it will be a lot colder by the end of the month.”

“Yes, colder—and more expensive! Dining tables will be ＄20 more expensive on November 30^th, won't they, John?”

John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes? I gave his bill back to him.

“If it's not too much trouble, John,” I said, “please add it up again. You can forget the date…”

I paid him ＄26.50 and he was happy to get it.

    More than 2,000 years ago, a favourite wife of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty died of illness. The emperor missed her so much that he didn't want to do anything. One day, a minister (大臣) saw children playing with dolls. The shadows on the floor were interesting. The smart minister had an idea.  He made a puppet of the favourite wife and painted it. As night fell, he asked the emperor to watch a puppet show behind a curtain. The emperor was very happy and became interested in it. In this way, puppet shows began.

    Shadow puppets were first made of paper, later from the hides of donkeys (驴皮). That's why their Chinese name is "pi ying". Shadow puppet plays were very popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties in many parts of China.

    Today, shadow puppet plays face extinction like other traditional art forms such as Nuo Drama. We should do something to protect them. Shadow puppet plays in Shaanxi are the most famous. The Academy Gate Cultural Street in Xi'an is a wonderful place for you to choose shadow puppets. Here you can choose from hundreds of figures (人物) in different sizes and poses(姿势).

    On April 19th, a pottery (陶器) exhibition was held at Wuhan Optical Experimental Valley School. Many pieces of pottery in different sizes were shown at the school. Some were a bit broken, but all of them were beautiful works of art created by the students.

    At the end of last year, the school started a project that called on teachers to collect disused or broken pieces of pottery from the countryside. So far, they have collected about 3,000 pieces.

    "Pottery used to play an important role in the daily lives of Chinese people." school head Ma Guoxin told the reporter. "By pottery painting, the students can improve themselves in many ways. They can better understand the history of the pottery, put their creativity into the pottery and show the love for life and beauty. "

    Students turned the pottery into different works of art .They were all encouraged to paint pictures on the pottery, even though some students didn't know how to paint. Wang Zixuan, a student from Grade Eight, with little knowledge of painting, painted a beautiful night scenery on a piece of pottery. It was so nice that many students loved it.

    Almost every classroom has coloured pieces of pottery. They are either used as flowerpots or pen containers(笔筒). The school has also set up several art corners to show the pottery. For example, the students have put up some pottery on bookcases outside of a lecture hall(报告厅) It has become an enjoyable place for students to rest and read.

It was December 23. I became 1 because it was my last night at school that term. The December holidays would 2 the next day.

3 , the happy time came and the December holidays started. I hurried home and well prepared for my trip. It was time for my 4 , my sister and me to meet my father at the airport and fly on holiday.

Mum drove a car to the 5 . A close family friend, Peter, was coming with us. Everyone was 6 on the way. We sang songs with the radio. Suddenly mum 7 , "Oh, God, the brakes (刹车) aren't working!"

We were coming to a cross road. The traffic light ahead was 8 . Many cars were waiting patiently. Mum had to make a 9 : rush into the cars or turn onto the side walk. There was nobody on the side walk. To avoid causing danger to other cars, she 10 to make a turn.

The turn was so sudden that the 11 hit a big tree. Peter was not wearing his seatbelt (安全带) and his door opened. He12 from the car and fell to the ground heavily.

When the car completely 13 , we ran to him and called the police. He was sent to the 14 at once. Luckily, he was saved.

Always remember to 15 your seatbelt in a car. It's a matter of life and death!

I still remember it was a sunny Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma City. My father 1 his two little boys to play miniature golf (迷你高尔夫). He walked up to the person at the ticket counter(售票柜台) and said, "How much is it to get2 ?"

 The young man said, "$3 for 3 and $3 for any kid older than 6. We let them in 4 if they are 6 or younger. 5 are they?" "The younger one is 3 and the older one is 7. " My father answered. The man at the ticket counter said, "Hey, Mister, did you just 6 the lottery(彩票) or something? You could 7 yourself three dollars. You could 8 me that the older one was 6;I wouldn't know the 9 . " My father said, "Yes, that might be true, 10 the kids would know the difference. " He was 11 . I did learn the difference. My father paid the 12 price for my ticket-as well as taught me an important 13 . 

 As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Who you are speaks so loudly I can't 14 what you' re saying. " In times when ethics(道德) are more 15 than ever, make sure you set a good example for everyone around you. 

Tony's class has a photo competition every year. Last year He Zhong {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(赢) the photo competition. Tony wants to {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(打败) He Zhong this year. He thinks the{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(整体的;普遍的) standard of the competition is much higher this year. Daming says that he has a {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(感觉) that they can {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(解决问题) these difficulties. He suggests that Tony choose the {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(主题) Home and Away and take photos of Beijing. At the same time, Tony can {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(添加) some photos of Cambridge that he took{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(最近). Tony thinks it is a good idea. He chooses the photo of his cousin reading a Chinese {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(菜单) for the first time in Cambridge. Daming believes Tony is in with a{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(机会) to get a good result.