We live on Earth. It's our home. But how much do you know about it? Let me tell you something about our Earth.

    The Earth is like a huge ball. Like the other seven planets, the Earth is running around the sun. It's the third nearest one to the sun. It takes the Earth about 365 days to run around the sun. At the same time, the Earth is going around itself. If you are in space, you can see lots of white clouds over the surface of the Earth. Through the clouds, you can see the blue colour of the oceans, and the brown colour of the land. About 70% of the Earth is covered(覆盖)with water.

    Why do we have day and night? When the half of the Earth is facing the sun, it's daytime. As the Earth turns, and this half is away from the sun, night is coming. And it's daytime(白天) for the other half.

    When you look up into the night sky, you can see the moon. But do you know that you're only seeing one side of the moon? The other side, also known as the far side of the moon, has long been a secret to us. But now, we have a chance to see what's on the far side.

    On January 3rd, China's Chang'e 4 probe(探测器) landed on the far side of the moon. It is the first probe in history to land there.

    Chang'e 4 probe has already done a lot of things on the moon. One of its jobs is to grow plants. Chang'e 4 probe took six living things to the moon. Such as cotton, potatoes and fruit flies(果蝇). The cotton has already started growing. This is the first time humans have grown plants on the moon.

    Chang'e 4 probe also took a lot of pictures of the moon's far side. With these pictures, scientists will learn more about the moon.

An invention in front of your eyes

    What is the most important invention of all time? Is it the written word that helps us to record information? Is it the telephone that lets us talk to people from all over the world? Is it the car that lets us travel at great speeds to meet others? Umberto Eco, an Italian writer, thinks it is something quite different. He says the most important invention might be bright in front of your eyes. He is talking about a simple pair glasses.

    Modern eye glasses were invented around 1000years ago. They were more than just a convenient way to read. Before glasses, writers, scientists or teachers who could not see properly had to memorize everything. After about ten years of poor eyesight, they could not remember well enough and could not work. Glasses meant that people could work in their old age.

    People who wanted to remember some information could write it down and read it. Eye glasses are one of the world's greatest inventions and were probably worn by the people who designed the first telephones and cars.

   Americais a mobile society. Friendship between Americans can be close and real, yet disappearssoon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmasgreetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while, then no more,If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up thefriendship.

   Thiscan be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendship betweenus flows more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸) sometimesdeeply into both families.

   Americansare ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays and theirhome life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept theirhospitality (好客) easily.

   Anotherdifficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they includeus warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness tous if it requires a great deal of time.This is usually the opposite of thepractice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes,we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet afriend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends.Americans, however, express their welcome at home. But they truly cannot managethe time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They willprobably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. Andthey expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes,the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves to be treatedhospitably.

   ForAmericans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to theirhomes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accepttheir hospitality at home!

Art has always been my favorite {#blank#}1{#/blank#} because it allows me to do my favorite bobby. I still remember when I was young, I would always paint on books, pieces of paper and walls. But now in school, there are only four art lessons {#blank#}2{#/blank#} week. I notice that every lesson seems to {#blank#}3{#/blank#} quickly because I lose myself in my artwork. Drawing takes me to a wonderful world.

I love drawing so much that whenever I have time between classes, I find myself drawing something. I have spent so much time {#blank#}4{#/blank#} my skills that even my classmates are often surprised. But I never talk with too much pride about my {#blank#}5{#/blank#} and I am always thankful for their praise. 

I especially enjoy drawing cartoons because I can just shut off my {#blank#}6{#/blank#} and let my creativity run {#blank#}7{#/blank#} like a horse. Once in a while, I draw things that even surprise myself. Some are pretty, while others are {#blank#}8{#/blank#} that should not be seen by the teachers. They are only for my classmates. 

So, I must say that I always feel {#blank#}9{#/blank#} when I am drawing something enjoyable. For me, drawing is a natural way to {#blank#}10{#/blank#} myself. It allows me to follow my instincts (直觉) easily and lets my feelings guide my hand. 

Have you ever{#blank#}1{#/blank#} （be） to Dongting Lake? It's{#blank#}2{#/blank#} ['feɪməs] as "800—li Dongting Lake". Dongting Lake is in the northern part of Hunan Province. It's about 2, 625 square{#blank#}3{#/blank#} （kilometer）in size. Every year t{#blank#}4{#/blank#} of tourists from all over the world come to Yueyang in order to{#blank#}5{#/blank#} （enjoy）the beautiful scenery （景色） around Dongting Lake. 

With the development of society, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（protect） Dongting Lake has become a hot topic（热点）. I {#blank#}7{#/blank#}fact, people in Yueyang are trying to protect the environment of the lake. We set up East Dongting Lake Nature Reserve （东洞庭湖自然保护区） in 1982. It provides a good place f{#blank#}8{#/blank#} birds and rare（珍稀的）animals. On the afternoon of April 25th, 2018, President Xi Jingping saw birds {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（fly） and milu deer （麋鹿） eating grass in East Dongting Lake Nature Reserve. In addition, factories mustn't put wastewater into the lake. Dongting Lake is our mother lake. Everyone in Yueyang s{#blank#}10{#/blank#} play a part in protecting it.