The earliest maps were probably drawn in the Middle East. Some of these maps have1and they show us the people at that time thought the earth flat(平的).As time went by, the pictures became more detailed and maps were more2made. Later on, ancient Greeks(希腊人)used their3of math and science to make maps. Greek maps tell us the Greeks knew the world was 4.

    From simple pictures, mapmaking has turned into a science. Maps are made5 surveying(勘测)land. In the1900s, people around the world started to share information to make6maps. With the help of the photographs taken from the sky and space, maps are now more exactly made than ever.7the world is always changing, we will always need new maps.

    There are many types of maps, but almost all use8and pictures to describe what a place is like when the map is made. A map usually tells what the pictures 9. Some maps may show the whole world. A road map will help you know the10from one place to another. Other maps may use pictures to show the temperature and population in different places.

    Tea does not mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries people have different ideas about tea-drinking.

    Chinese people drink tea at any time of the day at homes or in teahouses. They prefer their tea with nothing else in it. The Japanese way of having tea is very old and full of meaning. There is even a special room for tea-drinking in Japanese homes. In England, almost everyone has a cup of tea in the late afternoon. The English usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with cream and sugar. They also eat cakes and cookies with tea. Americans usually use tea bags to make their tea. It's faster and easier. They drink tea mostly for breakfast or after meals. In summer they drink cold tea or iced tea.

    There are many kinds of trees. All trees have roots. The roots hold trees in the ground. The roots soak up ( 吸收 ) water and food. Then trees get water and food from the roots. You can't see inside a tree. But you can study how water moves through trees.

    First, get a stalk ( 茎 ) of celery ( 芹菜 ) and cut off its end. Put red colour in a cup of water. Then put the stalk of the celery into the red water. Then we can see the red water moving up in the celery easily.

    After half an hour, take the celery out. Cut it in half. Your celery should be red. This is because the water moved up the stalk. Water moves through trees in the same way as it moved through the celery.

    Benjamin Banneker was born a few months before another great American—George Washington. Benjamin was black, but he was not a slave (奴隶). He and his mother and his grandmother were free. Benjamin's grandmother came from England. In America she got a job and worked for many years to pay for her boat trip across the ocean. After working many years, she saved enough money to buy a farm. Benjamin lived with her for a while. She taught him to read, write and do arithmetic (算术).

    Benjamin's neighbours knew that he was clever. They were not surprised when he built a large wooden clock. He made each piece after studying a small pocket watch. The clock made him famous, for it was one of the first clocks built in America. People from other places began to send hard problems of all kinds to Benjamin to settle.

    Thomas Jefferson heard of Benjamin Banneker's ability to settle hard problems. He asked Banneker to help build the city that was to be the capital of the United States—Washington, D.C. Banneker worked hard on the plans for the city. He marked where the streets and buildings—the Capitol (美国国会大厦), the White House, and many other places should be built.

    Later, L' Enfant, the Frenchman who had designed the new city, had a quarrel, and went back to France in anger. He took all of the plans away. The workmen couldn't build without any plans to follow.

    For a while it seemed that the plans for the capital might have to be changed, but Benjamin Banneker remembered the plans he had helped draw. He drew each again as he had built each piece of his clock.

    If it weren't for Benjamin Banneker, Washington,

    D.C might look very different from the way it does today.

In the western world, Chinese takeout with rice and fortune cookies(幸运饼干) is a popular kind of food. But this kind of Chinese food isn't very authentic(正宗的), it is very {#blank#}1{#/blank#}[̍dIfrənt] from real Chinese food. Now over the years, real Chinese{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(dish) have become more popular in foreign countries as well.

Chinese people who live {#blank#}3{#/blank#}[ə̍ brɔːd] introduced many of them. Some have been popular in foreign countries for many years, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}others are new, like tanghulu. It is a traditional Chinese snack that's made{#blank#}5{#/blank#}fruit, usually Chinese hawthorns(山楂). The fruit is stuck on a stick of bamboo. Then it is {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(cover) with sugar syrup(糖浆), which becomes hard after it cools down.

Wang Jialiang, a tanghulu vendor(摊贩) from China, sold 8, 000 sticks in Russia {#blank#}7{#/blank#}one day. Tanghulu made him{#blank#}8{#/blank#} [̍ feIməs] in Russia, with his picture{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(appear) in the local newspaper. In the Russian city of Vladivostok, the deputy mayor(副市长) is a big fan of the snack, always coming to buy it {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(he)from Wang Jialiang.

Until the beginning of July, there has been no rain in northern Italy for over 100 days. Add to that the high temperatures, and the locals get very dry conditions. This is the most serious dry spell（干旱期）for that area in the past 70 years. Because of this situation, the country's longest river, the Po, is drying up!

This is bad news for several different reasons. The fresh water of the Po provides drinking water for northern Italy. Besides, farmers in this area need the water of the Po to keep their crops growing. What's more, the flowing river water is used to create about half of the hydroelectric power（水力发电）for Italy. Its drying up means that more natural gas（天然气） will be used, which is bad for the environment.

There have been some interesting discoveries from this lack of rain, however. Between Florence and Milan, a long ship sunk （沉没）in 1943 appeared because of the low water levels of the river. Now many tourists and locals come to see this ship. A German tank has also appeared out of water near Mantua. At other places along the river, people can even walk on the sandy river bed. Although this may be interesting, people in Italy and around the world are hoping for the return of rain to refill the Po!