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    Yesterday was a big day or my grandfather. My parents and I made a big dinner for my grandfather, we also gave him a cute dog as a birthday gift. My grandfather was very happy yesterday.

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    Dabai is 6 years old. Apples oranges and watermelons are his favorite fruit. He is happy in the zoo. The yard (院子) is his favorite place. He can draw pictures and play soccer. Lots people come to the zoo to see him, he is a star in the zoo

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    Eric is a 12-year-old boy. He likes lots of fruit and vegetables. He gets enough sleep every day. He never forgets his breakfast. He does sports every day. He is tall and strong (强壮的) so he is the PE monitor(班长) of his class.

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    Tony is a middle school student. Yesterday the weather was sunny. He walked to the lake with his dog Max. The Jake is about 4 kilometers away from his home. Tony played with Max near the lake. They went back home at 4: 00 pm. They had a happy day.

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    Hello, everybody. My name is Cinderella. Look! This is a photo of my good friends. Jack is short and heavy. His nose is big. Emma is a beautiful girl. She has big eyes. Ray is tall. His legs are long. Herbie is his dog. Its ears are Jong. I took this photo last year. It is my favorite.

    Many years ago, most of our earth wascovered with blocks (块) of ice. These iceblocks were as tall as high buildings in modern cities. Most of the ice was inthe northern part of the world. Then the ice blocks started to move south. Coldand rain came with the ice. Animals had to move. At last, the ice began to melt(融化). After half a million years, most of it melted.More than half of the earth became covered with water. Theclimatebecame much warmer. Things began to grow. The earth began to look the way inwhich it looks today.

    Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of all the colleges and universities in the United States. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    In the early years, these schools were much alike. Only young men went to college. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Little was known about science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world. When the students graduated, most of them became ministers or teachers.

    In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers could receive their training in Harvard's law school. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Soon it began teaching American history.

    As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} There's so much to learn that one kind of school can't offer it all.

A. In 1825. besides Latin and Greek, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German.

B. Most of them are made up of smaller schools

C. Yale, Princeton and Columbia were opened soon after Harvard

D Students were allowed to choose the subjects that interested them

E. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew

According to the Chinese lunar calendar* , 12 animals mark 12 different years-rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pip. Your year of birth decides your zodiac. Some people believe that people born under the same zodiac share similar characteristics*. Here are some zodiac signs and their characteristics. 

The ox is the second animal in the Chinese zodiac. In one folk story(民间传说), all of the animals held a race to choose the 12 animals of the zodiac. The ox was in the first place. But it didn't see a rat on its back. When the ox was close to the finishing line, the rat jumped down and became the winner!It is believed that people born in the Year of the Ox are patient and hard-working! But they can be stubborn* sometimes. 

It is said that people born in the Year of the Dragon are creative, confident, outgoing and quick-tempered(性急的). They also like to help others. They're warm-hearted so that they may have many friends. 

Chinese people believe that those who are born in the Year of the Rooster are active. They also like to be the center of attention and always look beautiful. They are the happiest when they are surrounded by others, whether at a party or just around friends. 

Every year on 24 April, it's Space Day of China.  It's a day to celebrate the country's growth in space exploration.  The manned space missions (载人航天任务) are a big part of it.  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

What problems do astronauts face?

In space, astronauts face many problems.  There is little gravity (重力) there, which affects their bodies. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} What's more, if something goes wrong during their mission all of a sudden, they have to work out how to fix it under huge pressure.  That's why astronauts have to be smart, strong, and ready for any challenge before they can go to space. 

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"To make sure that Chinese astronauts complete their missions and return to the Earth safely, over 200 kinds of training are set," said Huang Weifen, the chief designer of the project.  These include not only physical training but also some basic science training.  So before astronauts can go to space, they train like this for at least three and a half years. 

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} This helps them get ready for the weightless environment in space.  Huang explained that astronauts wear diving suits (潜水服) that weigh more than 100 kilograms and stay underwater for six hours at a time.  She said that it was quite hard.  For example, Nie Haisheng even lost 2 kilograms after one underwater training exercise. 

A. How are astronauts trained?

B. What is the weightless feeling?

C. Being an astronaut is cool but difficult. 

D. Also, being in a tiny spaceship can make them feel stressed out. 

E. One of the hardest parts of the training is the underwater training.