March 24^th

    This morning, we had a school trip to the Dashan Collection House, a building of two floors． It is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm． We took the school bus and arrived at 9:00． When we entered the collection house, our eyes were caught by a collection of old photos of the town on the walls of the front hall． Those photos told us something about the history of the town． And then in the Art Room, we saw many pictures of the countryside． The colors of the flowers and trees are rich and bright． All at once, I lost myself in the beauty of nature．

    Then we went upstairs． On the left, there were over one hundred different clocks． The oldest clock was already more than two hundred years old． To my surprise, the clocks all worked well and they could tell the right time． It was then ten o'clock, and some clocks produced different beautiful sounds． It seemed to be a concert． How amazing!

    On the right there was also a stone collection． The stones were from all over the country． They were in different sizes, colors and shapes． Some looked like different kinds of animals． I really liked one stone that looked like a little monkey． It looked very nice．

    The collections there were wonderful． So they stayed there until 11:30 in the morning． I had a great time and really liked the school trip．

    Mr. White lived in the country. One day, he bought a second-class train ticket and went to London to buy something. All the seats in the second-class carriages had been taken when Mr. White got on the train. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Half an hour later, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} So he went into one of them and took an empty seat. The other four men seemed to be rich people because they all wore fine clothes. But just before the train started, a different kind of person jumped in and sat down.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} It was clear that he was very poor.

    Everyone in the carriage looked unhappy with the young man. Mr. White thought that he would not be the only person to pay more. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}If so, he was wrong. For when the train had traveled an hour, the door opened and the ticket-collector came into the carriage. Of course, Mr. White had to pay more money for his ticket. But to his great surprise, one by one each of the four men held out a second-class ticket. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} He was the only man who had the first-class ticket in the carriage.

    A Greeting is a way of saying "Hello" to．someone．People in different countries greet each other in different ways．The following are some examples．

    In the United State，people usually shake hands．The handshake has an interesting origin(起源)．It started long ago as a way of showing people that they weren't carrying a weapon(武器)．Shaking the person's right hand while looking him or her in the eye is the usual way．

    Handshakes are also common in other parts of the world，including Britain and Russia．In Russia, a man often holds another man's hand very strongly during the handshake．Most people in New Zealand also greet each other by shaking hands．However，the Maori people in New Zealand greet each other by pressing their noses together．

    In other countries，such as France and Belgium，hugging and kissing are more common when two people meet. In those cultures，people kiss each other on the cheek(面额)．The number of kisses is different from country to country．In Saudi Arabia，men might hug and kiss each other(but not with a woman)on the check．In some Eastern countries，including Japan，bowing is the traditional way of greeting people．

    April Fool's Day is on April 1^st. People can play a trick on (开……的玩笑) others on that day. It's very popular in England and the USA. Mother's Day is on the second Sunday in May. It's a day to thank mothers. On that day, mothers usually get flowers and cards from their children. Fathers and children do housework on that day, so mothers can have a good rest. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November in America. On that day, family members all get together to have a big dinner. Christmas Day comes on December 25^th. It's the most important festival in a year. Father Christmas sends presents to children.

    When it comes to the letter grade on your test or homework, you might notice that there is no letter E. Have you ever thought about why that is so?

    In the A, B, C, D and F grading system, the first four letters are typically considered passing grades. An F in this system simply stands for "fail". The word "fail" happens to start with the letter F, which seems to leave out the letter E.

    The first college in the US to use a letter grading system like the ones we use today is Mount Holyoke College. In 1897, they began to use the following grading scale;

    A: 95-100% (excellent)         B: 85-94% (good)      C: 76-84% (fair)

    D: 75%( nearly passed)         E: below 75% (failed)

    We can see the inclusion of E instead of F.

    Gradually, the letter grading system became more popular all over the US. However, many schools decided to drop the E grade and go straight to F. There is no evidence(证据) to really support this, but one possible explanation is that teachers were worried that some students and parents might mistake E for "excellent".

    Why do we have letter grades? Well, part of the reason is that they made grading simpler during a time of great change for schools. As the 20th century began, growing cities and an increase in immigration led to larger school classrooms. Most teachers at that time thought this new letter grading system was an easy, fair and clear way to grade students.

    Today, more and more people think that letter grades don't fully show students' learning. However, as teachers try to improve grading methods, many parents continue to prefer the letter grades they got as kids, as they are familiar and easy for parents to understand. So while they might not be perfect, the letter grades probably aren't going away any time soon.

A.    B.     C.   D.     E.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Sara--I went to Beijing this summer vacation. I climbed the Great Wall on a sunny day. The Great Wall is very tall. It was hard to climb, but I got to the top.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Jack-I went to Huangguoshu Waterfall with my parents. Huangguoshu Waterfall is really wonderful. We rowed a boat near it. We all enjoyed ourselves.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Andy- I took a trip to Sanya with my uncle in the summer holiday. We went there by air, because we wanted to get there soon. I loved swimming in the sea. It made me feel cool.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Mary I didn't take a trip. I just went to my grandparents' house. There is a mountain behind their town, so I climbed the mountain with my brother. We took many photos on the mountain.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Lily I went to Beijing, too. But I didn't go to the Great Wall. I went to Tian' anmen Square. I never saw such great buildings like them before. Look, this is a photo I took there.