Kunqu Opera (昆曲),also known as Kun Opera, is a kind of Chinese musical drama (戏剧).But it is more than just drama. It is actually a kind of art{#blank#}1{#/blank#}history, music, dancing and others.

It is {#blank#}2{#/blank#}believed that Kunqu Opera is the beginning of all the other forms of Chinese opera. With a long history of over 600 years, Kunqu Opera started in the city of Kunshan at the end of the Yuan Rynasty. It became quite {#blank#}3{#/blank#}in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In 2001,Kunqu Opera was {#blank#}4{#/blank#}as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (人类口述和非物质遗产代表作).

Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is the color of most growing plants, too.

Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet finished or plants that are not ripe.

For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in war (战争) .By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today——a person who is new in a job.

About one hundred years ago, greenhorn was a popular expression in the American west Old—timers used it to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities in the east. The greenhorn didn't have the skills that he would need to live in the hard, rough country.

Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundred.

A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.

The Green Revolution (革命) is the name which was given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural (农业的) scientists who had green thumbs.

    Benjamin Banneker was born a few months before another great American—George Washington. Benjamin was black, but he was not a slave (奴隶). He and his mother and his grandmother were free. Benjamin's grandmother came from England. In America she got a job and worked for many years to pay for her boat trip across the ocean. After working many years, she saved enough money to buy a farm. Benjamin lived with her for a while. She taught him to read, write and do arithmetic (算术).

    Benjamin's neighbours knew that he was clever. They were not surprised when he built a large wooden clock. He made each piece after studying a small pocket watch. The clock made him famous, for it was one of the first clocks built in America. People from other places began to send hard problems of all kinds to Benjamin to settle.

    Thomas Jefferson heard of Benjamin Banneker's ability to settle hard problems. He asked Banneker to help build the city that was to be the capital of the United States—Washington, D.C. Banneker worked hard on the plans for the city. He marked where the streets and buildings—the Capitol (美国国会大厦), the White House, and many other places should be built.

    Later, L' Enfant, the Frenchman who had designed the new city, had a quarrel, and went back to France in anger. He took all of the plans away. The workmen couldn't build without any plans to follow.

    For a while it seemed that the plans for the capital might have to be changed, but Benjamin Banneker remembered the plans he had helped draw. He drew each again as he had built each piece of his clock.

    If it weren't for Benjamin Banneker, Washington,

    D.C might look very different from the way it does today.

    XBOX 360 Kinetic, RoboSapien, WiiParty, these are just a few of the modern toys sold in recent years. But some of the most popular toys are actually quite old.

Games have been around for thousands of years. In 4000 B. C, Babylonians played a board game that was similar to chess. Yo-yos made of stone were first used in ancient Greece around 1000 B C. And kites appeared in China around the same time.

    Another famous game is Scrabble. It was invented by an architect in the 1930s, but it didn't get popular until 1953 And since then, more than 100 million sets have been sold worldwide.

    As you can imagine, toys and games are a multi-billion-dollar industry. Mr. Potato Head, the first toy advertised on TV, grossed more than $4 million in its first year. Play-Doh made its inventor Joseph McVicker a millionaire by his 27th birthday, while Mattel sells 1. 5 million Barbie dolls each week (that's two dolls each second!).

    Some toys go out of fashion, but then become popular again, such as Rubik's Cube. Research says parents are increasingly choosing to buy toys they remember from their own childhood.

    These days, toys are not just for fun. RoboSapien is a remote-controlled robot that was launched in 2004. He can walk, turn around and do other poses. RoboSapien was designed by Mark Tilden, who once created robots for NASA space missions. He expected the toy to be used mostly by and scientists, but almost 2 million RoboSapiens have been sold worldwide since its launch as a toy?

    Fancy a game anyone?

A tornado (龙卷风) is a kind of strong storm with air which moves in a circle quickly. They can move over 200 miles per hour and cause a lot of damage (损坏). As they move across the land, they can easily pick up cars, trucks, and even houses, and then throw them very far. It is important to find a safe place if a tornado gets close.

A safe place could be a basement ( 地下室) or the lowest floor. If you are in a home without a basement, try to find a first-floor bathroom or a small room without windows in the middle of your house. You should curl up (蜷缩) into a ball and cover your head and neck with your hands.

But there are some people who actually want to get close to tornadoes. They are scientists who want to learn more about tornadoes. One of the best ways to do this is to get as close as possible to the tornado. They use special tools to measure (测量) what is happening in and around a tornado.

One special tool is called a tornado probe ( 探测仪). Inside the tornado probe, there are sensors (传感器) to measure wind speed, temperature, pressure, and direction.

Some probes even have cameras, so the scientists can see and understand what it's like to be in a tornado.

To be able to get these measurements, the scientists have to get a tornado probe near or into a tornado. Scientists will try to guess where a tornado will go next. Then they drive to that location and put down the probe. If they do not guess correctly, they pick up their probe and try another place. If they are right, the tornado will go near or even right over the probe. Then they take all of the measurements

from the probe and use them to predict where future tornadoes may form (形成) and travel. And they can give people some warning to keep away from a dangerous tornado.

A big test makes students feel fear and anxiety(焦虑的). But taking tests is something faced by all students at all levels of schools. How do you prepare for the tests as well as reducing fear? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Maybe they will be of use to you. 

Calm down. Don't panic. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You will be focusing on the fear, and not the coming test. Many times, fear can even prevent you doing well. If you panic, take deep breaths, and think that you can do this. 

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}People who make a detailed study plan often have an easier time of their studies. When making a study plan, calculate(计算)the amount of time you have left before the exam date. Is the exam in a month? Did the teacher spring the test on you suddenly? Is it a mid-year exam that has been waiting since the start of the year? Depending on the time, make your study plan long or short. 

Take notes and ask questions. If you come across what you can't understand, write it down. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}And don't worry—you aren't stupid if you ask questions. Questions mean that you're actively learning. Besides, a question ahead of time could mean a better grade on the exam. 

Good study skills help to achieve better results with less effort. So use the ones that work for you. 

What else can you do to prepare for a test? (请用10词左右的句子回答问题){#blank#}5{#/blank#}