Some birthday customs（习惯） are quite similar（相似） in many parts of the world—- birthday candles, birthday games，and birthday cakes. But some customs are more special to some countries. Here are some children talking about their customs.

Linda—I am fourteen. I come from Aruba. In our country, children take something special to school for their classmates and all teachers. Every teacher gives the birthday child a small present like a pencil, an eraser or a postcard. The birthday child doesn't need to wear special uniform(校服). He or she can wear family clothes.

Lucy—I am one year older than Linda. Denmark（丹麦） is my country. We hung a flag(旗帜) outside a window to show that someone in that house is having a birthday. Presents are placed around the child's bed while they are sleeping so they will see them at once when they wake up.

Tom—I am as old as Linda. I am from Brazil(巴西). The birthday child receives a pull on the earlobe(耳垂) for each year in my country. The birthday person also gives the first slice of cake to his most special friend or relative, usually mom or dad.

    The kangaroo is the world's largest living marsupial (有袋动物). It was first found on the island of southwestern Australia. The animal was given its name by a famous English tourist in the 18th century.

    The kangaroo may be 7 feet(2.1m) tall when standing upright and the male can weigh as heavy as 200 pounds(90kg). The female (雌性) is smaller and lighter than the male. The kangaroo's head is small, but its ears are large, and its fore feet are really small. The animal has strong back legs and long tail.

    The kangaroo usually covers from 5 to 10 feet(1.5 to 3m) with each jump. The female is usually faster than the male. The mother kangaroo has a pouch (育儿袋) in its abdomen (腹部). The baby kangaroo grows up in the mother's pouch slowly.

    The kangaroo lives on grass and other plants. It is always moving from one place to another, lying down to sleep on the ground during the night. It likes to enjoy the warm sunshine. When it's in danger, it can use its back legs and strong tail to protect itself.

    Answer the following questions with No more than 6 words.

    In ancient Egypt, women did not go out to work. They stayed and worked at home. Many Egyptian men were farmers. Some men were builders or fishermen. Other men worked as artists. Some other important people did not do any farming.

    The weather in Egypt was very hot. Ancient Egyptians did not wear many clothes, Men, women and children often wore simple robes made of thin cloth. On their feet they wore light open shoes. People, including women, shaved(剃) hair from their heads to keep cool.

    Children in ancient Egypt grew up to do the same jobs as their parents. Girls stayed at home with their mothers. They learned to look after the home Boys worked with their fathers. They learned to do the jobs their fathers did. They learned to look after the home Boys worked with their fathers. They learned to do the jobs their fathers did. They only went to school to learn to write if they wanted to become a scribe (抄写员).

    Many of the games played by ancient Egyptians are similar to games we still play today, Children played racing and jumping games. They also played ball games and with wooden toys. Older children played a game like chess.

    The kings of Egypt (the pharaohs) had enough power to master their country. The people thought that the pharaoh was a god. He owned everything. Everyone had to do what he told them to do. The pharaohs built huge tombs. When a pharaoh died, he was buried in the tomb. The tombs were often in the shape of pyramids. When a pharaoh was buried, he was surrounded by treasure and by things to help him in the next world, such as food, clothes, furniture and weapons.

    A king in Africa had a close friend that helped him grow up. The friend had a habit of looking at everything that happened in his life positively(肯定地)and saying, " This is good. "

    One day the king and his friend went out hunting. The friend would prepare the guns for the king. The friend did something wrong in preparing one of the guns, and after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. On seeing the situation the friend said as usual, "This is good!" The king replied, "No, this is not good!" He was very angry and sent his friend to jail.

    About one year later, the king was hunting in a forest. Cannibals(食人者)caught him and took him to their village. As they were going to kill him, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. They never ate anyone who was less than whole. So they sent the king back.

    When he returned home, he felt sorry for his treatment of his friend. He went quickly to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said. "It was good that my thumb was blown off. "And he told the friend all that had just happened." And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad of me to do this."

    "No," his friend replied, "this is good! " "What do you mean? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"

    "If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you, and I would have been eaten!"

    This is a home of the future, a smart home, where technology can do almost everything. Imagine we are in the year 2050; ①the computer wakes Tom up in the morning as usual. In front of him is a to-do list of the important events for the day, and it is provided by the computer， too. According to Tom's request, the computer serves a list of possible dishes. All the dishes are nice.

    As Tom eats breakfast, the computer reminds him to reply to Lucy. Before Tom finishes his next bite, Lucy's computer receives the message. Then Tom goes to the supermarket. The store's system checks his car when he drives to the pickup area and greets him. "Good morning, Tom! Your order is in Case 4. Thank you for shopping." When Tom removes his order from Case 4, the trade is completed automatically(自动地) over the information superhighway. That is, the money is electronically paid into the bank. Soon after arriving at the office, Tom reads another message from Lucy, telling him that she will go to have dinner with him.

    The smart home can also do many other things:

    Find things like keys and mobile phones.

    ②        (打开或关闭) machines and lights with your voice.

    Clean your home from clothes to buildings automatically.

    Record everything and everyone entering and leaving the house.

    Take care of each member of the family, young or old.

    ③With the development of technology, the smart home will come true in the future. It is sure to play an important part in our life.

    IG, a Chinese esports club, won the world best title in LOL(League of Legends)in 2018. So what is esports?

    Esports(Electronic Sports)is a kind of competition using video games between smart players. It is not only a simple game, but a sport in which players use electronic equipment(电子设备)to play with each other in intelligence(智慧).

    This kind of sport started ten years ago, but most people usually hold the opinion that playing online games has no good but taking one's mind away from their study or work. However, esports is not online games. In fact, there are some differences between them:

    First, the basic features(基本特征). Online games are for fun but esports is a sport. Esports is an intellectual(智力的)competition between people in a team.

    Second, the game rules. Esports has clear game rules. Its biggest feature is strict time and round limitations(限制). However, online games have less clear rules than esports. Without time limit, it's easy for young people to be addicted to(沉迷)it.

    Third, the sports spirit(精神). Esports competitions between players pay great attention(注意力)to fair(公平的)sports spirit. Some online games only need to pay money to get gifts, which is an important difference between esports and online games.

    In the coming 2022 Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, esports will officially be a medal event(正式项目). Esports is a new sporting activity. It will take a long time to become a popular sport like NBA(the National Basketball Association of the US). Let's have a better thinking of esports and expect its bright(光明的) future.