Basketball players are usually very tall. Because they need to put the ball into the basket. Other sports players may be shorter than them.

    Short people often have better balance (平衡) than tall people, so they don't fall  over very often. In some sports， the players must have good balance, for example, table tennis, they don't need to have long legs to run fast! Some of the fast runners in the world are not very tall.  Some people are tall and some are short. The tallest man in the world is 2.41 meters tall. Today young people in many countries grow taller than their parents.This is because they eat better than their parents. Good food can help children grow.

    In the USA, there are many kinds of restaurants.

    Fast food restaurant are very famous. You can find McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken in many countries around the world. You look at a menu(菜单) on the counter(柜台), and say what you'd like to eat. You pay the person who brings food to you. You take your food and sit down or take it away. There's no need to leave a tip(小费).

    In a coffee shop, you sit at the counter or at a table. You don't wait for the waitress to show you where to sit. She usually brings you coffee when you sit down. You tell her what you'd like to eat and she brings it to you. You pay the cashier(收银员) as you leave.

    In a family restaurant, the waitress shows you where you can sit. Often the waitress tells you her name, but you don't need to tell her yours. If you can't finish eating everything, your waitress gives you a doggy bag to take the rest of food home. You should add (增加) fifteen per cent(百分比） to the bill(账单) as a tip.

    In top class restaurants, you had better order before you come, and you need to arrive on time. The waiter shows you where to sit. If you have wine there, he may ask you to taste it. You can only refuse it if it tastes bad. When you get your Bill, check it and then add fifteen to twenty per cent to it as a tip for the waiter.

    I have a pet. His name is Lucky. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} My parents love him too. He is also one of our family members.

    When he was a small dog, he was very shy and he seldom barked. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Maybe the dog just wanted to play with him, but he stayed behind me and looked at me sadly. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    However, my little dog barked loudly when there was a fire in the kitchen. I was very curious at that time why he became so excited and ran around me all the time. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    There is an old saying about pets in my hometown: to love your pet is to love yourself. I can't agree with it more. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When we stay together, we enjoy ourselves very much. Life is just like this: we need a friend with us till the end.

    Hello, I'm Lisa. I'm a middle school student. What's this on the table(桌子)? It's a photo of my family. Look! The woman with gray(灰色的) hair is my grandmother. And the man next to her is my father, Steve Black. He is a football player. The woman next to(在……旁边) my grandmother is my mother, Annie Black. She is a teacher. The little girl in front of (在……前面) my mother is my sister, Laura. And the girl in red is me! Oh, I also have a lovely (可爱的) cat. It's black and white. Where is it? It's on my bed, haha!

    I am walking through the winter park where the trees stand cold and bare (光秃秃的). The yellow leaves have fallen to the ground. Now, a group of women gather at the sides of a path. In the cold winter, they're moving their arms and legs to a rhythm (节奏). They are, of course, the dancing aunties.

    It seems that if you go to any public space around China, you're likely to see these dancing aunties. When I first came to China, it was one of the first things that annoyed me. That's because in Britain dancing in public is not a cultural habit. You won't see any age group swinging their arms and tapping their feet in a park. Usually, they just take a walk for exercise.

    Now and again the dancing aunties have hit the headlines (头条新闻). Some people find them annoying. But others respect their right to dance in public. Most of them are middle-aged. They finally have some free time to do whatever they like. There is no more work, and their kids have left.

    All in all, I like seeing these women enjoying themselves. They remind us of the importance of exercise as we get older. Besides, most of them have raised the whole families. Now it is their time to have fun and enjoy some peace.