Peter and Mike are very good friends. They are in the same class at school. They often go to school and play t{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, and they often visit each other's home at weekends, too.

    Now they are b{#blank#}2{#/blank#} eight years old. Peter's mother has got a new baby. Peter is very glad to have a little brother, so he is always talking about his younger brother to Mike.

    At first Mike is very interested in the new baby because he doesn't have any sisters or brothers. But after some time he begins to get tired of Peter's endless talking about it. He also feels a little jealous (嫉妒) of his friend.

    One morning before class, when the two boys m{#blank#}3{#/blank#} at the school gate, Peter says to Mike cheerfully, "Do you know, Mike, my little brother, has put on nearly half a pound in weight this week."

    "That's not much at all," answers Mike. "I know a baby who can put on more than ten pounds a day."

    "Oh, that can't be t{#blank#}4{#/blank#}," answers Peter. "W{#blank#}5{#/blank#} baby is it?"

    "An elephant's," says Mike.

    A British man learned the skills to perform Beijing Opera, making people enjoy his lively performance of the Monkey King.

Ghaffar Pourazar, born in Iran, is full of interest about China. In 1993, he happened to watch Beijing Opera which professionals from Beijing performed in London. Ghaffar fell in love with the beautiful voices, colorful costumes, excellent shows and so on. So after one year, he arrived in China alone and became a student of Beijing Opera at a Beijing school.

At the age of 32, he had to learn with children every day. For him, it was difficult to learn the dialogue in Beijing Opera and it was even his biggest obstacle. But he never gave up.

Four years later, he began to learn to perform the Monkey King, a traditional character(人物) from the Chinese classic story Journey to the West. He arrived in the workroom an hour earlier than other performers and also bought books and CDs to better understand the character. He once got a top international prize(奖品) for performing the Monkey King.

To help more people enjoy Beijing Opera, Ghaffar often teaches the traditional art form in schools in the US, Britain and other countries. Ghaffar led(带领) a group of actors to perform 66 times in a month and a half in the United States. He also led a 48-member team to perform in Malaysia. In the past 10 years, he has performed(已经表演了) more than 400 shows.

Lu Xun is one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century. Besides his famous stories, he also wrote many influential(有影响力的) articles about the life of Chinese people. 

Born in a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (wealth) family in 1881, Lu Xun had a happy childhood. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (unlucky), his father became seriously ill and died in 1896. From that tine on, his family were no longer accepted by their relatives and friends. These early {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (experience) deeply influenced his writing. 

When he studied at university in 1899, he already believed that Chinese society had to change and become modern. In 1902, he went to study in Japan. There, he began writing articles {#blank#}4{#/blank#} several Chinese student magazines to make a living. He showed a gift for writing and translating and he even wrote several books, though none was popular. He returned to China in 1909 because {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (he) family was in need of money. 

After working for several years as {#blank#}6{#/blank#} teacher in Beijing, Lu Xun again returned to writing. In 1918, he created his famous short story Diary of a Mad Man {#blank#}7{#/blank#} was the first Chinese novel to use the everyday language. So it came out to be a great success. And his other novels, such as The True Story of AhQ and Kong Yiji, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (read) by Chinese young people in that period. 

Although successful, Lu Xun still worried greatly about China' s future. In 1926, he moved to Shanghai and gave up {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (write) stories in order to focus on articles which could call on people to fight for a better country. 

Since his death in 1936, Lu Xun' s influence {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (grow) with time. Today, many of his writings are included in school textbooks and his works are valued by millions around the world. 

Have you seen any scarecrows (稻草人)? In the countryside of our country, some villagers like to set up some scarecrows in the fields in order to prevent birds from harming their crops. They think that this can play a role in driving away birds. In fact, not only farmers love to use scarecrows, but also some airports have installed scarecrows in such a developed technology today, which plays a very good role in driving away birds. Some people will say that birds are not fools, and they will come back to eat after a long time. So do the birds really feel scared? Can scarecrows really play a role in driving away birds? Not very — unless you're willing to put some extra(额外)effort into them.

While traditional scarecrows who couldn't move do work against "pest birds" (eg. crows and blackbirds), the effect is almost always temporary (暂时的). Over time, the birds get used to scarecrows who couldn't move and reuse their destructive (破坏性的)habits.

However, a few tricks can up your scarecrow's game. Researchers have learned that those with realistic facial features(特征)and brightly colored clothes are better at driving away birds. Also, moving a scarecrow around every few days often helps. According to several studies, flailing(大幅波动) scarecrows get the very best results.

The Internet has changed the world, people are able to get and share information in seconds. Nowadays, people begin to wonder: Is the Internet good or bad? "It's impossible to answer that question because the Internet means so many things," says psychologist （心理学家） Patricia Greenfield.

Some are truly wonderful. In many ways it makes life easier and simpler. It helps us get things done more quickly. It opens up the world to us. And if a friend lives far away, the Internet makes it easy to stay in touch.

However, the issue （话题）    isn't black and white. Some can become real problems if we don't take care. Spending too much time online is bad to people's health. It may even cause them to be less social with family and friends. Aside from that, some people attack the web or use the Internet to steal others' personal information, even banking information. Most of the young students think the Internet is simply an icon （图标） on the screen（屏幕）. Kids won't realize that the Internet is a network of millions of computers until about 10 years old.

The Internet can be a useful tool, but don't let it take up all of your time. Use the Internet properly and carefully and it can make your life more colourful.

A 

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