Water is very important to us. Every day we drink water, cook with water, take a shower in water, and have many other activities with water. Let's read and learn more about it!

    70percent of an adult's body is water. And about 80percent of a baby's body is water.

    Drinking too much water q{#blank#}1{#/blank#} can cause water intoxication (醉).

People should have about eight c{#blank#}2{#/blank#} of water every day.

    By the time you feel thirsty, your body has l{#blank#}3{#/blank#} over one percent of its water.

    About 80percent of the Earth's surface is covered with water.

    Only one percent of this water is fresh, 97percent is salt water and two percent is f{#blank#}4{#/blank#} in glaciers (冰川).

    And now, it's time to s{#blank#}5{#/blank#} water!

    Students learn their lessons in class. In class, teachers teach them. Students sit in the classroom listening to the teacher. Is this the only way for students to learn? Of course not. There is another way to learn. That is, students can teach themselves. For example, if you cannot remember anything when you are doing your homework, you can look through（浏览） your book to find the answer. This is a way to teach yourself. And it's not a difficult thing. We can do it at any place and at any time.

    How to teach yourself? The first thing you must do is to read. Read something interesting. The second is that you must ask yourself questions. Many clever students often do this. The questions are about something you don't understand or you want to know more about. You can write down these questions. The third is to answer the questions yourself by thinking hard, by reading the texts or other books, and sometimes by asking other people. These are the ways of teaching yourself. And if you do these things for a long time, you can succeed（成功）in your study.

    As is known to all of us, Beijing Opera is one of the most important opera styles in China. It is an art on the stage which has about 200 years' history. It is not only a treasure of the Chinese nation but also a cultural symbol of China. Similar to western operas, Beijing Opera is a combination of singing, dancing, martial arts, music and literature, so it is also called the "Oriental (东方的) Opera" by western people.

    Beijing Opera uses special imagery in creating the characters. All roles are divided according to sex, personality, age and profession and social status. Hangdang is the general term for role in Beijing Opera. There are four types of roles in Beijing Opera today. They are sheng, dan, jing and chou. The sheng is the male protagonist (主角), the dan the female protagonist, the jing (painted face) a male supporting role with a different characteristics, and chou (clown) a comic or negative figure. Each kind of role has their own face-painting and dressing to indicate their identities.

    The Opera's performance requires not only the gentle voice but also the proficiency (熟练) of martial actions. A successful opera actor must suffer from the tough practicing period. In the old time, the children of poor families were sent to the opera group in order to earn a living. While now, the real opera artists are well respected by opera lovers.

    Mei Lanfang, one of the most remarkable performing artists in Beijing Opera, was born in Beijing into a poor family. His life was bitter and he had no opportunity to go to school, so he went to the troupe (戏班子) when he was 8 years old to learn Beijing Opera. Mr. Mei was on the stage when he was 11 years old to perform the plays of Beijing Opera. He has been an opera actor for more than 50 years, performing hundreds of traditional plays and over 30 modern plays. He portrayed many bright and lifelike female figures on the stage and became the model in Chinese Beijing Opera and even within the entire artistic circle.

    The Spring Festival is a great festival. It's one of 1 festivals in China. People usually go home to be with their family2 the festival is coming.

    In fact, from Little New Year, people start 3 preparations for the Spring Festival. They want to have 4fresh beginning in the new year. The first thing that people usually do is to clean 5 houses. They believe good cleaning can sweep bad luck away. They also buy food to welcome the festival.

    There is a story about the Spring Festival. A long time ago, a monster called Nian6 people on New Year's Eve. People did not know what to do at first. Finally, they knew Nian was afraid7 red, fire and loud noise. Then they posted red couplets (对联), set off fireworks and played the drums. Later, Nian never came to the village again. Even today, people celebrate the festival in this way.

    During the Spring Festival, people usually visit their family members, friends and wish each other good luck. The traditional ways of 8 the Spring Festival are having a big family dinner on New Year's Eve and watching the Spring Festival Gala. In 2020, the Spring Festival 9 on January 25. Did you10a happy time? Did you do anything special?

In San Francisco, there is a special group of volunteers. They call themselves Friends of the Urban (城市的) Forest (FUF). These volunteers want to {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Every year, the FUF plants nearly 1,000 trees.

The FUF welcomes new volunteers all year round and in all parts of its work. On Weekend Planting Days, FUF volunteers work with common citizens (市民) to plant trees. The planting usually runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. After the work is done, everyone {#blank#}2{#/blank#} over a community lunch.

On Thursday Planting Days, the FUF plants "replacement (替换) trees". As their name suggests, these trees replace trees {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Planting Leaders are very experienced volunteers. They are able to help other volunteers at planting events. Planting Leaders usually wear a special FUF T-shirt. Some new volunteers know little about "replacement trees". They can easily find Planting Leaders and {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.