Last week we asked students at Guanghua High School about the best ways to learn more English. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Some students had more specific suggestions. Bruce Li, for example, said the best way to learn new words was reading English magazines. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}When we asked about studying grammar, he said, “I never study grammar.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Wei Ming feels differently. He has been learning English for six years and loves it a lot.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} He also thinks that watching English movies isn't a bad way because he can watch the actors say the words.

    Liu Chang said that joining the English Club at school was the best way to improve her English .{#blank#}5{#/blank#}And they also have fun.

    Have you ever heard of the story The Ant and the Grasshopper(蚱蜢) ?

    One fine winter day some ants were working in the field. They were very busy. Just then a grasshopper passed by." Good day, kind ants," said the grasshopper, "I am very hungry. Will you lend me a little food? I have nothing to eat. I will pay you before the next autumn."

    "You have no food of your own? Why didn't you gather any food during the summer? You know there was much food in the field last summer. What were you doing then?" asked an old ant. The grasshopper answered, "I was singing all day and night during the summer. So I had no time to gather any food. Please lend me some." "Well, then, "said the ant, "you could sing all the summer, and you also could dance all the winter. You only played and did not work during the summer. We'll never lend you any food." And the ants went on working.

    Books are our best friends. They are very quiet, but we can always find both fun and knowledge once we open them. Here are two good books you can read during the holiday.

    The Little Prince(王子)

    French Writer: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

    Both adults and children love this classic book. It is about the adventure of a young prince. It shows the importance of innocence(纯真), imagination and love.

    The little prince comes from planet B-612. In his eyes, adults are all very strange. Unlike them, he sees the essence(本质) of things. He cares more about a flower and a sheep than the "important" things of the adult world.

    The prince lives on his planet with a rose. He loves the rose very much. But he soon feels tired and leaves his planet. He meets many more strange adults on other planets.

    On Earth, he discovers interesting things such as a snake, other roses and a fox. The fox tells him a secret: Only the heart can discover the most important things. This helps the prince realize his love for the rose and he goes back to his planet.

    To Succeed on One's Own

    American Writer: Liu Yong

    Writer Liu Yong from Taiwan wrote this book for his daughter. It can help young people succeed.

    The book teaches you about student, how to use your free time and even what kind of clothes to wear. It answers many teenagers' most common questions. Liu uses his daughter's stories as examples to help readers understand the principles(原则).

    His book is far from boring. There are lively stories and dialogues, with objective analysis (客观分析), hope and confidence(信心) from a good father.

    Once there lived a farmer. He was the happiest man in England. He was busy all day, but he was always happy. He also liked to make everybody else happy, and people like him.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} "I will go and talk with this wonderful farmer." He said, "Maybe he can tell me how to be happy."

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The king wanted to be happy like the farmer, so he asked the farmer to change the place with him and he lived on the farm. The farmer smiled and said, "I'm sure I don't want to do that, sir." "Now tell me what makes you so happy here on your dirty farm, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}" said the King. The farmer smiled again and said, "{#blank#}4{#/blank#} I live an easy life and I enjoy it. I make my own bread. I love my wife, children and friends, and they love me, too. That's all." The King said, "{#blank#}5{#/blank#}."

 Visiting museums can be interesting but tiring. You may spend hours getting there, waiting in a long line for a ticket, and walking with big crowds in the museum. But new kinds of technologies are changing museums and the way people visit them all over the world.

 Thanks to the Google Art Project, you may"walk through" museums while staying at home and enjoying an icy milk shake. It uses Google's Street View technology. You can see how paintings are hung and exhibits(陈列品) are placed as you move virtually (虚拟地) through the museums. You can also read the introductions of the works and download(下载) clear pictures of them. So far 560 museums around the world have joined the project, such as the British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

 Some apps may also make your museum trips more fun. The Palace Museum designed a few apps. One is called Han Xizai's Night Feast. Users can see a big picture of Han's house and take a closer look at the people and the clothes within it by touching the screen. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City also made an app that allows users to draw their own modern art works.

 However, if you still want to visit museums in person, you probably won't be disappointed. Many museums are trying to allow visitors to interact(互动) with the exhibits using 3-D technology. The exhibition in Shenzhen shows a 3-D copy of ancient Chinese bronze chimes(青铜编钟). Visitors can"play" the chimes by simply touching them.

 With new technologies like this, visiting museums has become easier and more fun. So why not try it yourself?