One of the greatest mysteries on Earth is the statues which stand on Easter Island. Easter Island, which was almost uninhabited when it was discovered on Easter Day in 1722 by a Dutch captain, is the most distant island in the world covered with hundreds of giant statues, each weighing several tons and some standing more than 30 feet tall.
    Who built these statues and why and how did they get there? Nobody knows the answer for sure.
    One theory suggests that Easter Island was first inhabited by Polynesians, who traveled thousands of miles in their canoes（独木舟）in 400 A.D. However, the ocean currents（洋流）which carried them there would not take them back, so that they could not leave.
    The statues appear to have been made out of the top edge of the walls of a volcano on the island. Then, it may have been rolled or dragged down to the foot of the volcano(火山). Then, it was stood upright（直立）and ropes were tied around it, which was made to act as a pulley（滑轮）. Over a period of months, a statue could be walked for miles down to the ocean. Finally, it was placed in line with other statues, all of them looking towards the center of the island.
    This process was difficult. If a statue fell over, it was too heavy to be pulled upright again, so the islanders went back and carved another statue.
    The population of Easter Island must have reached 11,000. Later, the resources of the island were used up and people began fighting and eating each other. Work on the statues stopped and the statues were knocked over. When the first Europeans finally arrived on the island, most of these people had died out.

A Friend Saves Your Life

    Valentine's Day（情人节） is on February 14th every year. On this day, people send valentines to their loved ones. Valentine's Day is a special time to tell how much you care about（在乎） a person.

    Many people send candy in hearted shaped（心形的） boxes to people they love. Flowers are also presents that people send on Valentine's Day. Valentine cards with words are often used（被使用） by many people.

    Can you guess who gets the greatest number of Valentine cards in the USA each year? Is It mother or father, sister or brother? Is it uncle or aunt? Is it the special friend? No, it isn't!

    Mothers get a lot of cards, but school teachers get the most each year. Do you know who sends the most? Children do. Children send five times（倍） as many on February 14th as adults do.

    In England, people don't usually talk too much. You can go on a bus, or in a train, and everyone sits looking out of the windows. Often they read. They read books and newspapers. But they don't talk much. When you meet English people, they often talk about one thing the weather. So when you meet someone in England, you say, "Nice weather for the time of year!"

    "But it was very cold yesterday, "someone may say.

    "But there will be heavy rain!" You can say. Talk like this and the English people will think, "How friendly you are!" But it's not good to ask their age, or they will not be happy.

    A Chinese song could be heard in a classroom in Sana, the capital of Yemen(也门), where around 20 Chinese-learning schoolchildren were singing

    "I love to learn the Chinese language because it is very nice, important and I want to travel to China to complete my studies there," Karim al-Areqi, a student of the private Languages Model School in Sanaa, told Xinhua.

    Teacher Mohammed al-Ansi, who learnt the language in China and received a university degree, stressed(强调）the importance of learning the Chinese language. "It is the language of the future and it is necessary for all people to get advantages from the great development in China," he said.

    Like many other private elementary and secondary schools in Yemen, the Chinese language is a basic part of the Languages Model School's courses, where the students study Chinese as actively as math and science subjects. "In teaching the Chinese language, I succeeded in educating students in a simple way that fits everyone," al-Ansi said proudly, stressing that teaching Chinese has changed his life without doubt.

    Al-Ansi expects that Yemen and China will work together to set up centers and schools for teaching the Chinese language in Yemen so that many young Yemenis can learn. "I hope that a branch of the Confucius (孔子学院),could be built in Yemen to teach the language and spread the Chinese culture to many years who are interested in learning the Chinese culture and language," he said. see that learning a foreign language may open a way of hope to a new life, such as getting ,more money and paving(铺平)the way to a bright future in the country that has experienced war for almost five years,