“Cool” is a word with many meanings, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} As the world change, the word has many different meanings.
“Cool” can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything. When you see a famous car on the street, maybe you will say, “It's cool.” {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can use “cool” instead of many words. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall(瀑布) they had visited.On one student's paper was just one sentence,“ It's so cool.”{#blank#}4{#/blank#} But the story also shows a scarcity(缺乏) of words. Without “cool”, some people have no words to show the same meaning. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I can. And I think they are also very cool.

C

    In April 2004,Sharon Tirabassi got more than $10 million(一百万)by winning a lottery(彩票抽奖)．She became very rich．But just in nine years，she spent almost all the money．Now she even has to work hard to make enough money for everyday use．

    Before she won the lottery, Sharon lived in a small apartment with her three children and didn't have enough money for a car．After she won it，she was unprepared for the change to her life．She spent most of her time shopping with her friends and paid for everything．She bought a big house in the richest part of town and four cars．

    Today, Sharon lives in a rented(租来的)house on a quiet street-not far from where she started．She doesn't have the big house or the expensive cars．She goes to work by bus or by bike．

But Sharon says she's happier now than she used to be．and she lives life more fully than she did before．”When I was rich，I spent all my time shopping．But now other things are more important to me．”says Sharon．Now Sharon works hard and

often talks with her children.” I'm trying to get them to learn that they have to work for money ，” she says．

    Eleven countries are building a great wall of trees across Africa. It is called the Great Green Wall. The aim is to bring life to the dry lands and help to fight the bad environment.

    The wall is 8, 000 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide. It covers from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east, on the south of the Sahara Desert (撒哈拉沙漠). So far, Senegal has made the best progress by planting about 11,000,000 trees.

    Many years ago, there were few trees in that area and the winds used to be very strong. It was harmful to the fields. Also, there was little rain, so few plants could grow and many people went hungry. Since the tree planting project started, the trees have provided food for the local people and increased the wetness (湿度) of the air. Little by little, there appeared green fields for people to grow plant.

    The project which began in 2007 is supposed to cost a total of 8, 000, 000, 000 dollars. Many countries are trying their best to help to continue the planting. So we will be able to see the whole green wall across Africa in the near future!

    My challenge for you is this: to read a book for 15 minutes a day. Let me explain where the challenge came from.

    I have many things in common with my dad, like music taste and sense of humor, but sadly reading isn't one of them. I can happily spend a whole day reading a book. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} He reads e-mails, websites and papers for work, but not books. He is a busy person, with a short attention span, so I think that sitting down to read for just 15 minutes a day is a good way to introduce him to reading. Giving yourself a goal or challenge is a good way to change a habit or achieve something, so why not try to develop a new habit of reading?

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Everyone is different and has their own interests, but I think there are lots of benefits of reading, which screen-based activities (games, films,

TV) don't have.

     {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Looking at screens can cause tire eyes, and you should avoid looking at screens for a long time.

    Another thing I love about reading is being transported to another world. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} So you go to bed. Because you think more about the world of the book, rather than the real world and the problems you have during the day, so you can truly relax.

    I also love people. I enjoy hearing what people are doing and finding out what people think.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} It also teaches me to see things from other people's point of view, and understand other people's decisions or opinions.

    So give it a try! Include 15 minutes of reading in your daily schedule and see the difference you can make.

A. Firstly, it's better for your eyes.

B. But my dad can't read a book for longer than 5 minutes.

C. I often forget the time or things that are going on around me.

D. Reading ten thousand books is like travelling ten thousand miles.

E.  Reading gives me the chance to get to know hundreds of new people.

F. You can download free e-books online and read them on your computer.

G. I know lots of people would rather relax at the computer or in front of the TV.

Tom and Jerry

    Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse are two of the most popular cartoon characters in the world. In the short cartoons, Tom is always trying to catch Jerry, but he never has any success. Almost every cartoon ends with Tom in trouble and Jerry laughing at him. The stories are full of fun and have a long history.

    William Hanna and Joseph Barbera both worked for MGM in the late 1930s. Their boss told them to make funny cartoons. Together they thought of the idea of a cat and a mouse. They thought it would be funny if the mouse was clever and always got the cat into trouble.

    The first Tom and Jerry cartoon was shown in cinemas in 1940. It was a great success. Over the next 17 years, they made many Tom and Jerry cartoons. Most of them are around seven minutes long.

    In total, Hanna and Barbera made 114 Tom and Jerry cartoons. The cartoons were so good that they won a number of awards. The famous cat and mouse remain popular today, as the cartoons are still shown on television around the world.