Our dog Abbey died last month. My 4-year-old daughter Lucy missed her a lot and asked if we could write a letter to God to make sure he could look after Abbey well. I told Lucy that I thought we could, and she dictated (口述) these words:

Dear God,

① you, take, dog, of, will, care, my , please (?) She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Lucy

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Lucy and addressed it to God/Heaven. Yesterday, we received a package addressed, “To Lucy” with this note:

Dear Lucy,

Abbey has arrived in heaven.

She isn't sick anymore. ② Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. You don't need to worry about her. She's being looked after very well here. Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. ③ You have a wonderful mother. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find. I am wherever there is love.

Love, God

    Is it possible to be born shy? Many scientists say yes. They say 15 to 20 percent of babies behave shyly. These babies are a little quieter and more watchful than other babies. Interestingly, these shy babies usually have shy parents. As a result, scientists think that some shyness is genetic.
    Family size might causepeople to be shy as well. Scientists at Harvard University studied shy children. They found that 66 percent of them had older brothers and sisters. As a result, they became shy. At the same time, children with no brothers and sisters may be shy as well. Growing up alone, they often play by themselves. They are not able to learn the same social skills as children from big families.

    You may also be shy because of where you were born. When scientists studied shyness in different countries. They found surprising differences. In Japan, most people said they were shy. But in Israel, only one of three people said so. What explains the difference? One scientist says the Japanese and Israelis have different opinions of failure. In Japan, when people do not succeed, they feel bad about themselves. They blame（责备）themselves for their failure. In Israel, the opposite is true. Israelis often blame failure on outside reasons, such as family, teachers, friends, or bad luck. In Israel, freedom of opinion and risk taking are strongly supported. This may be why Israelis worry less about failure and are less shy.

    For shy people, it can be difficult to make friends, speak in class, and even get a good job. But scientists say you can get over your shyness. They suggest trying new things and practicing conversation. And don't forget—if you are shy, you are not the only one.

      Our sun is a star, and nine worlds (天体) move round it. Worlds like these are planets. But here are other stars, other suns, not only thousands of them, but millions of them. Do different stars have planets? We can see the planets round our own sun. But we haven't been anymore. The stars are too far away from us. Stars give out light, but the planets don't have any light of their own. So we can't see them. They are too far, and too dark. Still, we can tell that some stars have planets. While a big planet goes round, it pulls its star to one side. And sometimes we can see this. Then we know that the star has a planet. For example, Barnard's Star is a small red star. And it is the quickest star in the universe. But sometimes it moves slower, and then quicker again. We have known Bernard''s Star for many years, and now we are sure it has a planet.

    Noise pollution is doing much harm to our health now. Noise, in fact, is unwanted sound and is a kind of invisible (无形的) killer. More and more students enjoy listening to music very much. When they listen to MP3 players, they like to turn up the volume (音量). Some people love listening to loud music. Furthermore, while watching TV, they keep the volume up. But they haven't realized that the noise is weakening their hearing. In fact, the noise not only influences each member in the family, but also makes a difference to the comfort of neighbors.

Noise pollution is a source of increasing misery (痛苦) to people in our society. If people are often disturbed by it, they may feel uncomfortable or upset. What's worse, the noise can make people mad sometimes. If a worker works in a printing factory for too long, his/her hearing loss is much faster than a common person working in a quieter environment. So everybody must pay more attention to noise pollution. Generally speaking, the following four types of noise should be watched out for:

    ◆Noise in the street

    ◆Construction site (建筑工地) noise

    ◆Noise at work

    ◆Transportation noise

    I think the local department (部门) should take measures to control the noise levels, but it's everybody's duty to keep a quiet environment.

    Some Fun and Interesting Facts

    Do you think what color oranges are? The common answer to this question is "Orange". However, the first oranges from Southeast Asia were actually green. Up to now, oranges in warmer areas like Vietnam and Thailand still stay green when they are fully grown.

    There was a man named John Chapman who planted thousands of apple trees. But the apples on those trees were much more bitter(哭的) than the ones you'd find in the supermarket today. John didn't expect has apples to be eaten whole, but rather made hard apple cider(苹果酒).

    Like most four-legged animals, cats have five toes on the front paws, but their back paws only have four toes. Scientists think they four-toe back paws might help them run faster. Do you know any other fun fact about cats?

    Walt Disney might have been the firs it gloves on his characters，as the star Mickey Mouse in 1929's The Opry House（《奥普里之屋》）.Besides being easier to interest, there's another reason why Disney did so "We didn't want him to have mouse hands because he was supposed to be more human." Disney once said.

With a history of more than 1，800 years,dumplings are a traditional Chinese food. They are also a must for Chinese New Year. They are popular in China,especially in north China. Even some foreigners are interested in1 them. 

Chinese dumplings2 be made to look like ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots (银锭). It's said that the more dumplings you eat3 Chinese New Year, 4 money you can make in the coming year. 

People usually put minced meat (绞碎的肉) and vegetables in thin round dough skins (面皮) to make dumplings. Popular fillings are minced pork,fish,chicken,beef,and vegetables. People cook5 in different ways. 

Some people believe 6 people shouldn't eat sauerkraut (酸泡菜) dumplings during Chinese New Year. Because it means7 poor and difficult future. People like8 Chinese cabbage dumplings because it means one9 a lot of fortunes in the future. 

When making dumplings,there should10 a good number of pleats (褶) so that they will bring wealth. Sometimes a coin is put in dumplings,and the one who eats it is supposed to become wealthy.