Once upon a time there was a boy who liked drawing, but he was too poor to buy a brush. One night he said to himself,"If only I had a brush, I could draw pictures for the poor people in my village."

 Suddenly an old man with a long white beard(胡须）appeared. He said, "Here is a brush for you. But you must only draw prictures for poor people with it."

 Ma Liang began to draw a hen, and as he did so, it changed into a real hen. "Wow!"he said, "this brush must be magic!" Then he drew an axe（斧头) for a poor woman and it changed into a real one.

Soon the king heard about Ma Liang's magic brush. He asked Ma Liang to draw him a tree with gold coins hanging on it, but Ma Liang refused. The king was so angry that he threw Ma Liang in prison（监牢）."If I had a key, I could unlock the door,"Ma Liang said. So he drew a key and it changed into a real key. He opened the door quietly and escaped(逃跑). When the king got on his horse and chased him with his guards, Ma Liang drew a horse and it changed into a real horse. He rode the horse and ran away.

 Judge the following sentences true(T) or false (F) according to what you read.

A hobby is something you enjoy doing when you're free.     ①     . Western people like to try exciting new things. They like to go on adventures（冒险）and often do something physically  challenging（体力挑战）.     ②     . They usually do something like handwriting or painting for fun.

Hobbies can bring us great joy as well as a lot of knowledge.     ③     . Making things can develop our imagination（想象力）and creation （创造力）. Sports can help us stay healthy. Hobbies are fun.     ④     . Sometimes we have to spend a lot of time studying

for our hobbies. But I think that if you really enjoy doing something, you should never give up. And then you will have a lot of fun with your hobby.

    The largest animal living on the earth is the blue whale. It weighs about 80 tons—more than 24 elephants. It is more than 30 metres long. A newborn baby whale weighs as heavy as a big elephant.

    Cats can survive(存活) when they fall down from a very high place because they can keep their bodies safe. One cat fell 32 floors onto the street, but it was just hurt a little.

    A bear can run as fast as a horse.

    A newborn panda is smaller than a mouse, and weighs about 100 grams.

    Elephants are the most careful animals in their love. A male elephant may show his love to a lady for up to three years until the lady accepts his love. They often show their love by touching each other's body.

    Usually, wolves don't attack(攻击) people. And wolves don't usually go together, but they may do this in winter.

According to the traditional Chinese customs, 2019 is the year of Pig, ranking as the twelfth animal in the Chinese zodiac—the Shengxiao. Many people believe that pigs are naturally fat, lazy and dirty. But are any of those things true?

    Use

    It is true that pigs are fat. They eat a lot. But they are useful to us. We get more than just pork from pigs. We can use their skin to make shoes. We can use their hair to make brushes.

    Not stupid

    People sometimes say: "You are as stupid as a pig." But pigs are not stupid. In fact, pigs are one of the 10 smartest animals. They can remember things well and tell different shapes apart. Many experts think pigs are easier to train than dogs or cats.

    Stereotypes

    These stereotypes (偏见) of pigs often make us feel negatively about the animal. For example, if someone's room is very messy, we might say his or her room looks like a pigsty (猪圈).

    Ancient people's favorite animal

    But people in ancient China really liked pigs. If someone had a round and chubby face, he or she was thought to be blessed (有福气的). People also believed the animal stood for (代表) wealth. Now most children have a piggy bank that they can use to save money.