This week we asked students at New Star High School about the best ways to learn more English. Some said they learnt by using English. Some students had more specific suggestions.

      Lillian Li said the best way to learn new words was reading English magazines. She said that she never studied grammar. She thought it was too boring.

      Wei Ming felt differently. He has been learning English for six years and really loves it. He thought studying grammar was a great way to learn a language. He also thought that watching English movies was a good way to watch the actors say the words.

      Liu Chang said that joining the English Club at school was the best way to improve her English. Students got lots of practice and they also had fun.

    Once upon a time, there was an old woman who lived in a small house. She planted a lot of beautiful tulips (郁金香) in her garden.

    One night, the sounds of sweet singing and of babies laughing woke her up. She looked out of the window. The sounds seemed to come from the tulips, but she could see nothing.

    The next morning she walked among her flowers, but there were no signs of anyone having been there the night before.

    On the following night she was again wakened (弄醒) by the sounds of sweet singing and babies laughing. She got out of bed and walked softly into her garden. The old woman looked closely and she noticed that a fairy (精灵) mother was singing softly, and that in each tulip-cup was a little fairy baby, laughing and playing.

    The old woman went back to her house quietly. From then on, she never picked a tulip. She didn't allow her neighbours to pick the flowers, either. When the old woman died, all the tulips disappeared overnight. But her grave (坟墓) looked beautiful, because the fairies sang above it and kept it green.

    One morning, a little mouse went out to find something to eat. He was careless and met a fierce (凶猛的) lion. The lion caught the mouse and wanted to eat him.

    "Please let me go, Mr. lion, "said the mouse." One day, I'll help you. "

    The lion laughed, "How could a little mouse help a big lion?" "Well," he said. "I will let you go. But you must walk more carefully. "

    The mouse was very grateful (感激的). "Thank you, Mr. Lion. You are very kind. I will repay (报答) you one day, " the little mouse said.

    The next week, the mouse was looking for something to eat again. He saw the lion under a tree. But the lion was tied tightly (紧紧地被捆着) in a net of strong ropes (绳子) .He could not get out.

    "I will help you, "said the mouse .His teeth were sharp. Then he bit (咬) one rope, and then another. Soon the lion was free. He was very pleased. "Thank you, Mr. Mouse,” he said.

    Hello, boys and girls. My name is Daniel. I am a student in No.5 Middle School. There are many clubs in our school. We can join different clubs. I like music, and I am good at singing and dancing. So I want to join the music club. What about my friends?

    Jenny and Jessica are my friends. Jenny is a nice girl. She likes playing chess very much. She wants to join the chess club. She thinks playing chess can make her smart. Do you know Jessica's hobby（爱好）：Her favorite sport is swimming. But she doesn't want to join the swimming club. She wants to join the music club, because she wants to be in the same club with me.

    Evan is also my friend. He likes Chinese a lot and he wants to join the Chinese club. He wishes to go to the Great Wall someday. He always says. "He who doesn't reach（到达）the Great Wall is not a true man. "

Information Card

    People in different countries speak different languages. But is there a lanuage that can be understood by everyone in the world ? Emojis might be the first truly universal (通用的) language.

    Emojis are a kind of special language. Pictures are used to put meaning across, A group called the Unicode Consortium is in charge of choosing official (官方的) emojis. It has added new emojis every year since 2014. These new emojis do not come out of nowhere. They come from what people think about, like and care about.

    Emojis can be used to represent (代表) different groups of people. In 2015, emoji faces with different skin tones (肤色) were added. In 2016, different jobs were added, such as doctor, police officer and painter along with female versions of these jobs, This year, emojis of disabled people were added, including emojis of blind people and people in wheel chairs.

    But there is also more to emojis. They can also refer to pop culture and new cultural trends. New emojis in 2019 have included several animals, such as sloths (树懒) and flamingos (火烈鸟). These animals are not very common, but are known to many people. For example, sloths have become popular thanks to the 2016 film Zootopia (《疯狂动物城》). Many fashion designers have included flamingos in their designs in recent years. This animal makes people feel like they're on a tropical (热带) vacation.

    It seems that emojis are a mirror of the world we live in. It will be interesting to see how they change and grow in the years to come.

    Hello, everyone! I will tell you something about my trip to the U.K.

    When I got to London Heathrow International Airport, I began my visit. First, I went to a senior high school. I was happy on the first night there because I lived with a kind family, the Whites. It was a big family. They were very friendly to me. They helped me do many things. When I wanted to write to my friends, they let me use their computer. When I lost my camera, they helped me look for it.

    After some days, I went to another two schools. I lived in the Smiths' house. There were four people in the family. I was surprised that the parents were from two countries.

    It was a nice trip and I was happy to be with the two families. They would be my friends forever.