A driver stopped his car on a street side to have a rest. As he lay down in the seat and closed his eyes, a person came up and knocked at the window to ask the time. The driver opened his eyes and looked at his watch: "It's 8:05," he said. Then he went to sleep again. But soon he was woken up again because a second person was knocking at the window. "Sir, do you know the time?" he asked. The driver looked at his watch again, and told him it was half past eight.

    In this way, the driver thought he could not have a good rest, so he wrote a short note(纸条) and stuck(贴) it on the window for all to see. It said, "I don't know the time."

    Again, he lay down in the seat for his sleep. A few minutes later, a third person came and began to knock at the window, "Hey, sir," he said. "It's a quarter to nine."

    More than 2,000 years ago, a favourite wife of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty died of illness. The emperor missed her so much that he didn't want to do anything. One day, a minister (大臣) saw children playing with dolls. The shadows on the floor were interesting. The smart minister had an idea.  He made a puppet of the favourite wife and painted it. As night fell, he asked the emperor to watch a puppet show behind a curtain. The emperor was very happy and became interested in it. In this way, puppet shows began.

    Shadow puppets were first made of paper, later from the hides of donkeys (驴皮). That's why their Chinese name is "pi ying". Shadow puppet plays were very popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties in many parts of China.

    Today, shadow puppet plays face extinction like other traditional art forms such as Nuo Drama. We should do something to protect them. Shadow puppet plays in Shaanxi are the most famous. The Academy Gate Cultural Street in Xi'an is a wonderful place for you to choose shadow puppets. Here you can choose from hundreds of figures (人物) in different sizes and poses(姿势).

Georgy lived a hard life with his mother Amelia Sedley. He studied in a little local school and did well at all his lessons. Miss Dobbin, Georgy's teacher, followed his progress with interest, and was ready to be helpful and knew how poor the Sedley s were.

"Do let Georgy spend the day with me next Saturday," Miss Dobbin said to Amelia one day. "Miss Osborne, Georgy's aunt, is coming to visit, and I know she'd love to see her brother's son. And who knows, perhaps the boy's grandfather will do something for him one day."

The meeting took place and Miss Osborne liked Georgy a lot. After the meeting, while having dinner at the dinner table with her father that night, Miss Osborne could not hide here motion.

"What's the matter?" old Mr. Osborne shouted at last. Georgy's aunt burst into tears. "Oh sir," she said, "I've seen little Georgy. He's such a beautiful boy—and so like his father!"

The old man did not say a word, but his hands trembled(颤抖), and he sat staring at the table for a long time.

Soon Georgy told his mother about another visitor at the house on a day he spent with Miss Dobbin. "An old gentle nan came today," the boy said. "He watched when I had my riding son. He stared and stared at me.

Amelia knew that the boy had seen his grandfather, and she waited nervously to see what would happen next. After several days, a lawyer came with a letter from Mr. Osborne. "Mr. Osborne offers to take his grandson Georgy, who will then inherit (继承) the fortune (巨款) which would have gone to his father. He will also give Mrs. Amelia Osborne a regular allowance (补贴) to enable her and her family to live in comfort. If she marries again, as is said to be likely, this allowance will still continue. In return, the boy will live with Mr. Osborne, who will allow him to visit his mother once or twice in her own home."

Amelia was rarely angry, but today she stood up, to re this letter into a hundred pieces, and threw them on the floor.

"Marry again! Take money—to part from my child! Who dares to hurt me in this way? Tell Mr. Osborne it is a ridiculous (荒唐的) letter. I will not answer it. Good day, sir!"

Three students are sharing stories about their favorite teachers.

 Last month we {#blank#}1{#/blank#} ( ask) our students about their free time activities. Our questions were about exercise, use of the Internet and {#blank#}2{#/blank#}( watch) TV. Here are the results. 

 We found that only fifteen percent {#blank#}3{#/blank#} our students exercise every day. Forty— five percent exercise four to six hours a week. Twenty percent exercise only one to three times a week. And twenty percent do not exercise at all. 

 We all know that many students often go online, but we were {#blank#}4{#/blank#} ( surprise) that ninety percent of them use the Internet every day. The other ten percent use it at least three or four times a week. Most students use it for {#blank#}5{#/blank#}( funny) not for homework. 

 The answers {#blank#}6{#/blank#} our questions about watching TV were also interesting. Only two percent of the students watch TV one to three times a week. Thirteen percent watch TV {#blank#}7{#/blank#}( fourth) to six times a week. And eighty— five percent watch TV every day! Although many students like to watch sports, game shows are the {#blank#}8{#/blank#}( many) popular. 

 It's good to relax by {#blank#}9{#/blank#} ( use) the Internet or watching game shows, but we think the best way to relax is through exercise. It's healthy for the mind and the body. Exercise such as playing sports is fun, and you can spend time with your friends and family as you play together. And remember, " Old habits {#blank#}10{#/blank#}( death) hard. " So start exercising before it's too late.