When people talk about pigs, they always have the same idea — pigs are ugly, lazy and silly However, pigs have some good qualities. They are as smart as dogs and elephants. 2019 is the Year of the Pig. Here are four popular cartoon pigs.

    Schools in the UK are quite different from those in China. In the UK, at the beginning of the term, students must select their courses and teachers first.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So in the first term, don't select too many courses, or you'll feel nervous and it may influence your study. Then you have to ask for some teaching plans. There is some information about subjects, time arranging, marks and textbooks. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Different teachers have different teaching methods.

    If the teacher is called "killer" by the last grade, many students will give up choosing him, because this kind of teacher will leave too much homework, give too many exams and too low grades.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} How to buy textbooks makes each student feel hard. The textbooks in the UK are very expensive. Each copy is about $30 -50. In order to save money, many students buy some used textbooks. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    In class, discussing is very important. The teachers always encourage you to ask questions or show your own opinions freely. They don't usually ask you to sit well. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They usually don't give you much homework to do. So in the schools in the UK you can learn knowledge and do exercises by yourself. You must do almost all things independently.

A. And some students usually borrow textbooks from the school library.

B. At the same time, you must select the teachers.

C. Selecting is very important for your grades in the UK.

D. Instead, they allow you to sit or stand everywhere you like.

E. There is another thing after you select the courses and the teachers.

In San Francisco, there is a special group of volunteers. They call themselves Friends of the Urban (城市的) Forest (FUF). These volunteers want to {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Every year, the FUF plants nearly 1,000 trees.

The FUF welcomes new volunteers all year round and in all parts of its work. On Weekend Planting Days, FUF volunteers work with common citizens (市民) to plant trees. The planting usually runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. After the work is done, everyone {#blank#}2{#/blank#} over a community lunch.

On Thursday Planting Days, the FUF plants "replacement (替换) trees". As their name suggests, these trees replace trees {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Planting Leaders are very experienced volunteers. They are able to help other volunteers at planting events. Planting Leaders usually wear a special FUF T-shirt. Some new volunteers know little about "replacement trees". They can easily find Planting Leaders and {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

Confucius（孔子）was one of the most important people in human history.He taught people to be polite and love each other.His ideas changed people's life.

Early Life

Confucius was born around 551 B.C.in China.That was over 2，500 years ago.Some say that Confucius was born into a rich family.Others say he was born poor.One thing is clear：Confucius lived during a time of great trouble.

Philosophy（哲学）and Teachings

Different groups in China were fighting.People forgot about good manners（礼仪）.This made Confucius sad.He wanted people to be kind and polite to each other.He believed in the idea of"ren".That means "loving others"."People should follow the Golden Rule，"he said.The Golden Rule is"to treat others as you would like to be treated".He believed that a good leader should treat his followers with care.This would help the leader set a good example.Confucius thought leaders could make people follow the law（法律）

____.

Confucius promoted（提倡）music education.He thought music had a strong influence on people and believed that music could make the things on the earth get on well with each other.

So music made it possible for our society to develop well.

Death

Confucius died at the age of 71 or 72.After his death，he was honored as a man of wisdom.His ideas helped shape the Chinese government.Today he is known as one of the most important teachers in Chinese history.