A lovely rabbit, a cute hamster, some colourful fish, a strange-looking turtle or a snake...What kind of pet would you like? Lots of kids love animals and dream of having a pet.

    But not every family can have a pet. So, in many Western countries such as America, Britain and Australia, primary and middle school classes have their own pets. Looking after a pet is not as easy as you may think! Fish and turtles need clean water and the right food. Hamsters and rabbits need fresh vegetables and a warm place to sleep. Even little mice need good care! What would you feed a pet mouse? How about snakes?

    Class pets teach kids about nature and being responsible. Sometimes the pets have babies. It's very exciting but it also means having more animals to take care of!

    Students take turns to take care of their class pets. Every week the pets have a new “mum and dad” to look after them.

    You may want to know what happens to the class pets during school holidays. At the end of term, the teacher chooses a responsible student. This lucky student keeps the pets at his or her home for the holidays.

    Notes:

1) hamster n. 仓鼠   2) turtle n. 乌龟   3) responsible adj. 负责任的   4) choose v. 选择

    Recently, one new disease NCP (新型冠状病毒肺炎) broke {#blank#}1{#/blank#} in Wuhan. It has spread to other countries, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} the United States and Japan. Local government is trying to do {#blank#}3{#/blank#} useful to stop the further development of this disease. In order {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (control) the spread of the disease, Huoshenshan Hospital was set up in Wuhan. It {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (build) in just ten days. It is used to treat patients infected with the NCP.

    More than 7,500 workers and around 1,000 trucks and large pieces of machinery have been working at the Huoshenshan Hospital site {#blank#}6{#/blank#} and night. Around 400 rooms in the hospital have already been finished so far. The project {#blank#}7{#/blank#} on January 25 and finished on February 2. And 1,400 doctors began to treat patients in Huoshenshan Hospital there are 1,000 beds for {#blank#}8{#/blank#} in Huoshenshan Hospital. China also built a {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (two) hospital in Wuhan for treating the patients, with1, 600 beds.

    Leishenshan Hospital was completed on February 5. The hospital reduced the stress resulting from the increasing number of patients. This played an important role in {#blank#}10{#/blank#} against the NCP.

    We always think that it's OK for us to leave our plants home during our vacation as plants won't scream like pets, right?

    A recent study done by a group of scientists at the Tel Aviv University has discovered that some plants will scream when they are under stress.

    The research was carried out on tomato plants and tobacco plants by cutting their stems (茎) and depriving (剥夺) them of water. A microphone was placed 10cm away from them. When their stems were cut, the plants started "screaming" between 20 and 100 kilohertz, and the scientists guess that this scream is probably meant to warn other plants nearby.

    When the tomato plants' stems were cut, 25 ultrasonic (超声的) pain sounds were recorded in an hour, and at the same time, 15 ultrasonic pain sounds were recorded from the tobacco plants. When they were deprived of water, the tomato plants recorded even more pain sounds with 35 pain sounds in an hour while the tobacco plants recorded about 11 pain sounds.

    The plants also acted differently to different kinds of stresses. For example, the tobacco plants gave out a stronger "scream" when they were deprived of water than when their stems were cut. But plants that were in no immediate (立刻的) danger gave out less than one ultrasonic sound per hour.

    The group of scientists said that plants are not as quiet as we had always thought, but in fact their voices are so high-pitched that we just can't hear them.

    Last year, another study has found out that plants feel pain when they are touched or hurt and they will give off a terrible smell.

    David Beckham opened his London football academy (学院) in 2005. The academy welcomed boys and girls aged 8 to 15. It accepted 15,0001a year, 10,000 of them free. In America, football is a2sport.3, American football is quite different. Players sometimes kick the ball but they often throw the ball and4with it. They try to take it to the other end of the field. They have four chances to5the ball ten yards (码). They can6and throw it. If they move the ball ten yards, they can try to move it7ten yards.8they move it to the end of the field, they can get six points.

    It is difficult to move the9. Eleven men on the other team try to stop the man with the ball. If he doesn't move the ball ten yards, his team kicks the ball to the other team.10university wants its own team to win. Thousands of people come to watch. They all shout for their11teams.

    Young men and women come on the field to help the people shout more. Each team plays 10 or 11 games each12. The season begins in September and ends in November. If a team is very good, it can play another game13the season ends. The14teams play again on January 1st, the first day of the New Year. Many people go to see these games and many others watch them15TV.

Giraffes are the tallest animals on the Earth. Male giraffes can grow to a h{#blank#}1{#/blank#}of about 17 feet. An adult giraffe can look into your bedroom window on the second floor.

Giraffes only live on the continent of Africa. The only giraffes in China are f{#blank#}2{#/blank#}in zoos or animal parks. V{#blank#}3{#/blank#}love to see the giraffes because they are so tall.

Giraffes love to eat leaves. With their longest necks, they can e{#blank#}4{#/blank#}eat leaves from the tops of trees. Giraffes don't d {#blank#}5{#/blank#}much water. They get much of the water they need from the leaves they eat.

Gardening is a popular activity all around the world. But what about people who do not have the space to garden? Not to worry! Today, we will give you information about growing beautiful window boxes. 

Location and safety

Window boxes are not just for the outside edge of the window, they can also sit on other places such as, walls, porches, or front steps. This window box can be on the front steps to a home and the owners can entered their window boxes. 

But safety first: People do get killed by falling window boxes. Make sure your window boxes are safe so they will not come down in a storm. If you feel your window box could be unsafe, you can have an indoor window box.

Light and water

Before you choose plants, check your window box location for light and rain. Window boxes dry out faster than in-ground plants, so they need more water. And if a window box is close to a wall or other structure, it may not get enough rainwater. 

Even if all your windows get little sun, do not give up. You can get a great look using plants that love the shade. Many shade-loving plants like spiderworts and verbenas，have leaves in beautiful colors and interesting shapes. 

The "wow" factor

What gives some window boxes their "wow" factor while others are just so-so? Create a theme! This is a central idea for the plants. For example, you may have a window box that is all cactuses or all edible plants. Or you could select only purple violets or green basil, then you'll have a color-themed window box. 

Besides having a theme, upkeep is also important. You should cut off anything dead, water your window boxes often and change things a lot.