The Maori people of New Zealand believe that the world began in darkness.

    They say it was dark because Rangi, the sky father, and Papa, the earth mother, were lying together, keeping out of the light.

    Rangi and Papa had many children who were all gods (神). Their children did not like the darkness, so one of them, Tane, the god of the forests, made his mother leave his father. After that, the sky stayed far above the Earth, and let the light in.

    Later, Tane was living on the Earth. He wanted to have a wife. There was no woman around, so he made one from sand. He breathed (呼出) life into her, and she became the first human(人类).

    As Tane breathed life into his wife, he knew that the breath of life would one day leave her. So it was that humans were not like gods — they could not live all the time.

ERIC'S PAST LIFE

Hi Ben,

    I was talking to my mom yesterday about when I was a baby. I remember lots of things about when I was small. I don't remember much about when I was a tiny baby.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. I haven't always lived in LA. I was born near Des Moines, Iowa.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} . We lived with my grandpar—ents on their farm. It was in the middle of wheat fields. We moved to LA when my dad change jobs. I was eight years old. So my first school was in Des Moines, Iowa.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. I had to stand on the road by our farm at 7 am and wait. If the bus was late, I waited for the bus.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}! If I was sick, someone went down to the road to tell the driver I wasn't coming. A lot of the students came from farms.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, and we also played happily with brothers and sisters. We soon made friends. It was good to be with kids of our own age. My best friend was Sam. He was very naughty! Were you naughty at school?

Eric

A.I had to catch the bus to school

B.But my mom has told me about that

C.It's a small farming town in America

D.If I was late,the bus driver waited for me

E.So we all spent a lot of time on our own farms

A. Eric has changed a lot in the past few years. He understands that people should care about others, especially those in need. He gives away money and things to poor people and is praised for his kindness.

B. Frank has been in China for five years and known a lot about Chinese culture. But it seems too hard for him to speak Chinese well and he's considering giving it up.

C. Dale has made great progress in spoken Chinese with the help of Mr. Zhang. And he's very comfortable talking with others in front of crowds. Now he has great interest in it and often takes part in speech competitions.

D. Jim has stopped playing computer games. His parents helped him a lot to change. Now he exercises with his father in the morning every day. He always says, “Doing sports makes me active and healthy."

E. With the help of his older brother. Tom is able to play some computer games now. And he often plays them with his brother on weekend to relax.

F. With the help of Mr. Smith, Mike has become quite interested in painting. What's more, he won first prize in all art competition yesterday. Many people say that he has changed a lot and will be a great painter.

G. John wants to change and he is trying to be active in class now. He's still a little afraid when answering the teachers' questions, but he will put up his hands at once as long as he knows the answers to the questions. What's more, he will take part in a speech competition this term.

    Brandon Forest Park is a place of interest. This large woodland is home to many birds and other wildlife. It's open all year round to visitors.

    In the centre of the park is the Forest Shop and Cafe. You can buy maps in the shop and     there are all kinds of gifts and souvenirs on sale as well.

    The Cafe is open from 9 a. m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It is open from 9 a. m. to 3 p.m. from Monday to Friday. But on Wednesday it's shut all day.

    There's also a large area for visitors to enjoy a picnic lunch. But please don't throw rubbish. Bicycles are for hire(租用). For an hour it costs $3. 5 and for half a day it's $9. 79.

    Special events are held at the park during the summer. There's going to be an outdoor play, a concert and a horse-riding race this summer.

    More information about the park can be found on our website www.brandonforestpark.com.

    Mr. Smith is a teacher. Yesterday he did a survey of what his students did on their last day off and this is what he learned.

    Linda went to see her grandparents. Her grandparents live in the countryside. They are very old. But they don't like to live in the city. They want to have a quiet life. Tom helped his parents do some housework. He cleaned the room, took out the trash, washed all the clothes. At noon, he helped his mother cook lunch. Mary look after her little brother because her mother was ill. Her father had to look after her mother in the hospital. Mike studied history at home. He isn't good at history. He thinks it is too difficult for him. His father helped him. Both his father and his mother hope that Mike can be good at all his subjects. They want him to study in a famous university one day.