At midnight at New Year's Eve people in Rome and Italy throw (扔) all the things they no longer want .The streets are filled with old chairs, beds, clothes and dishes…… In Madrid, Spain, new year comes in more quietly (安静地). People go to the main square, each holding a bag of grapes. As the clock strikes (敲) twelve ,the people eat grapes .

    In Tokyo people eat noodles at New Year's Eve. This food is said to bring long life. Early the next morning, some Japanese families climb Mount Fuji. There they watch the first sunrise (日出) of the new year.

    In China, New Year's food include (包括) a whole fish and a chicken. The chicken must be presented (呈现) with a head ,a tail and two feet to symbolize (象征) completeness (完美).

    These days, more and more students in the UK are taking a "gap year" between their graduation from school and their university studies. This means they can take a year off to do something else, before they start their studies.

For most students, spending time in foreign countries is the favorite activity — and Australia is the favorite place to go.

    Many parents, teachers and business people agree that travelling can teach important values.

    "After a year of travelling, I felt I'd grown up. I had learnt the importance of relationships with people, on all kinds of levels."

There are many companies around the world that welcome these students on their projects—helping people in poorer countries, or even in your home country. Although you don't get paid for your work, this kind of work can teach important skills—decision making and finding answers to problems, for example—that will help many students in a job one day.

    Finally, getting some knowledge and experience in an area you hope to study or work in one day will always be very useful.

    If several university graduates are applying for the same job, gar year work experience allows you to say,

    "I've already had some experience of this kind of work." And that can get your job.

Most people have heard of the Great Wall of China, but not many people outside of China know about the Grand Canal.

This man-made waterway — known in China as Da Yunhe — is more than 1,700 kilometres long and some parts of it are more than 2,000 years old. It connects the north of China with Hangzhou, a city in the southern part of the country. It's the longest man-made waterway in the world.

It was built as a way to transport grain(谷物) from the rich agricultural land in China's south to cities in the north. In fact, it's not one canal, but a system of canals and rivers connected together. It's still an important part of the transport system in China. Thousands of boats use it every day to transport grain and many other types of cargo(货物).

Now the Chinese government is doing new work on the Grand Canal. It is making parts of it deeper, so bigger ships can use it. The canal will also help to move water. There is a lot of rain in the south of China, but not as much in the north. The canal will carry millions of litres of water from the south to the north.

The Grand Canal is much less famous than the Great Wall, and not very many tourists visit it. But it's possible to go on a cruise(乘船游览)along some of the oldest parts of the canal. Passengers on these cruises see beautiful parts of China that other visitors don't see.

任务二: 请根据任务一的图画写出4个句子介绍教室里的物品和它们的位置关系。

提示词: blackboard（黑板），eraser（黑板擦）

①A tidy desk helps you find things easily and is good for your study. But how can you keep your desk tidy?

②First, only put things you need on your desk. For old books, you can put them in the bookcase. Get a box for small things you don't need every day, and you can put your pens and pencils in a pencil box.

③Second, don't put food or drinks on your desk, because they can make your desk dirty. Go to the kitchen when you want to eat.

④Third, put important(重要的)things next to you. Then it is easy for you to get them.

⑤Fourth, clean your desk every day. If you do it every day, you can have a new day with a tidy room the next morning.

Have you ever heard of typhoons (台风)?

Typhoons are some of the worst storms, usually around the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. Most happen in July, August and September. 

How does a typhoon happen? When lots of sea water gets hot in the summer sun, it evaporates (蒸发) into the air. This makes the air hotter. When the air gets warm enough, it starts to move higher up into the sky. Then, cooler air around it rushes in. It fills (填充) the space that is left. After the air gets warmer, it starts to move quickly, making wind. The wind goes in circles (圆圈), and it keeps moving higher in the sky. The warmer the air gets, the quicker the wind moves. And when the wind moves faster than 30 metres a second, a typhoon begins. 

A typhoon has two parts. One is called the "eye". In the eye, the wind does not move so fast. The other part is the wall of clouds around the eye. This is where the strongest winds and hardest rains are. 

Typhoons are very dangerous. In 2022, Typhoon Chaba killed (杀死) 25 people in China, and one was missing.

What to do when a typhoon hits:

Stay inside. Close all the windows and stay away from them. Try to bring all of your things inside. Strong winds could even blow away your bikes! Listen to the radio or TV for important information.