Dragons are not real animals, but look like a combination (组合体) of many animals such as snakes, fish and deer. They have two horns (角) and a long moustache (胡子). With fantastic powers, they fly in the sky or swim in the sea. They can make rain, too. The Chinese dragon is a symbol of strength and good luck. The emperors of ancient China loved dragons. Their clothes were covered with pictures of dragons.

       We are proud to call ourselves the “descendants (传人) of the dragon”. In Chinese, “excellent” people are often called “dragon”. A number of Chinese sayings and idioms talk about dragons, for example, “Hoping one's child will become a dragon,” which means he or she will be successful.

        It is said that people born in the Year of the Dragon have certain characteristics. They are creative, confident, brave and quick-tempered. There are some famous “dragons” who have done excellent things, for example, Deng Xiaoping, the famous businessman Li Jiacheng and the movie star Zhao Wei. They are all successful. There are also some traditional festivals about dragons in China, such as Dragon Head-Raising Day and the Dragon Boat Festival. We have different kinds of activities to celebrate them. These two festivals come every year, but the Year of the Dragon comes every twelve years.

       The dragon is very important in Chinese culture. As the “descendants of the dragon”, it is necessary for us to know the views on dragons in our culture. It can help us understand why our parents always want us to be “dragons”.

       The year 2024 is the Year of the Dragon. Good luck to you!

    "How are you?" is a nice question. It's a friendly way that people in the United States greet each other. But "How are you?" is also a very unusual question. It's a question that often doesn't have an answer. The person who asks "How are you?" hopes to hear the answer "Fine.", even if the person's friend isn't fine. The reason is that" How are you? "isn't really a question and "Fine." isn't really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying "Hello" or "Hi".

    Sometimes, people also don't say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks "Do you agree?", the other person might be thinking, "No, I disagree. I think you're wrong." But it isn't very polite to disagree so strongly, so the other person might say "I'm not so sure. "It's a nicer way to say that you don't agree with someone.

    People also don't say exactly what they are thinking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person says "I have to go now." Often, the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse, "Someone's at the door." "Something is burning on the stove." The excuse might be real, or it might not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk any more, but it isn't polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn't hurt the other person.

    Whether they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, or finishing a talk, people often don't say exactly that they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's a part of the game of language.

    The Italians are famous for many things, including art, history, fashion and their style of cooking. Some of the best food in the world was created by Italians. The Italians make pizza and spaghetti, and they also make excellent desserts.

    One of my favorites is ice cream. The ice cream here is soft, delicious and very cheap. I am studying in Puglia, Italy and I have to stop myself from eating it every day. I like sitting on a park bench with a new flavor（味道）of ice cream.

    Nowadays, most of the ice cream produced in Italy is still handmade and there are lots of Italian ice cream shops around the world.

    The ice cream shops here in Puglia are open for most of the day. People can go and have an ice cream at any time, even late at night. There are so many interesting flavors that you could never possibly get bored of it. I always spend a long time looking through the glass, trying to decide what to have. I usually choose my favorite flavors. One evening though, I chose a new flavor. It translates as" English soup", which sounded funny and made me curious to taste it. The taste of the ice cream was quite strong but I enjoyed it anyway.

    I love the cold sweetness of the ice cream. Ice cream is one of my favorite things about Italian style of cooking. This year, I'm going to try as many flavors as possible.

    A four-year-old girl is lying in the arms of a doctor. She has just become mother-less. A bomb destroyed her home and killed her mother.

    Every day we see pictures like this on TV or in newspapers. We see young Iraqi children begging for food and water from American and British soldiers. They move through towns and cities towards the capital, Baghdad. We see these children following grown-ups, carrying bags of things almost the same size as their small bodies as they run away from their homes.

    "Dad, why are the Americans attacking us? Are we going to be killed? "asks the son of Abu Sinar, an lraqi engineer. Abu finds it hard to explain this war to his eight-year-old son.

    He tries to comfort him by saying, "The bombs are far away from us. The Ameri cans are fighting the soldiers. We are going to be all right. "Abu knows this isn't al-ways the truth, but what else can he do? In Baghdad, parents give their children sleeping pills to make them sleep so that they won't hear the sound of bombing. And all the schools are closed.

    "All we can do is to listen to and hear the war, "said Abu." People in Baghdad, men and women, young and old, have to live in fear. We don't know where the next bornbs are going. We can do nothing but wait to be killed. "