A road is just like a bridge between two places. The Silk Road has been a bridge between East and West. But the Silk Road is not a single route! It is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes. From the time Zhang Qian opened up the world-famous Silk Road during the Han Dynasty, until the Yuan Dynasty, it enjoyed a history of about 1,600 years.

 This ancient road begins at Chang'an (now Xi'an), and it reaches Dunhuang, where it divides into three, the Southern Route, Central Route and Northern Route. And then it ends in Eastern Europe, near the Mediterranean Sea(地中海). The Silk Road is about 6,500 kilometers long. It goes across one-fourth of the planet. (3)In fact, there is another trade road which is called the “Silk Road on the Sea” in the southwest of China.

 The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. Besides trade, knowledge about science, arts and technologies were shared across the Silk Road. The Four Great Inventions of China was introduced to the West and Chinese also knew about the religions of the West. (4)In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other. Today, places along the Silk Road are great places of interest, such as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an and Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu.

 Tim was reading a book at office. Someone knocked on the door. He opened the door.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}  .
"My name is Rebecca," said the lady. "You've got to help me!"
"Take it easy." {#blank#}2{#/blank#} "What happened?"
"My grandma died last month. She left all her money, about $1,000,000 to me. She told me she had saved the money in a bank.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} . "
"But yesterday when I went to the bank, I only got an envelope with nothing in it. he money is gone!"
Rebecca took the envelope out of her handbag and gave it to Tim.
Tim looked at it carefully under the light. It was just an envelope with two old stamps on it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 
“Don't worry, Rebecca," he said. "Your money is still here.”

    Four ways to have a good school life

    Your schooldays should be some of the best and happiest days of your life. How can you get the most from them, and be sure you do not waste (浪费) this great chance to learn?

Be active(积极的) at school

    Don't say things are difficult or boring. Take interest in school life and your school subjects. Join lots of activities. Put up your hands quickly in class. Go around the school with a big smile. If you are not working, you are wasting your time at school. Teachers cannot make everything enjoyable（令人愉快的）.

Keep fit

    If you don't eat a good breakfast, you will be thinking about food in class. If you go to bed late and don't have enough sleep, you will be sleepy in class. Play enough sports every day in order to keep your body strong.

Face the problem

    Do not say you will do things tomorrow. If you get behind the class, it is very difficult to get back in front. You cannot finish the race if you rest all the time. Everyone fails some exams, loses some matches and has bad days. Don't make small problems very big and important. Don't forget to ask for help. You are young, and no one thinks you must do everything quite well!

Spend the weekends

    Don't waste time lying in bed on Saturday or Sunday morning. Go and play sports, get together with friends in the park to relax, learn to play the piano, or help someone with problem. If you don't want to go out, there are also a lot of things to do. You may read a book, practice English or help Mum with housework.

    Follow our advice, and have a happy school life!

    What do you know about the Northern European country of Finland（芬兰）? You may have heard of the Northern Lights(极光)and Nokia? Today Finland is also a world leader in making mobile games. The popular games Angry Birds and Clash of clans（部落冲突）are both from Finnish companies.

    Finland is not a very big country. How can it make so many world-class games?

    Innovation(改革，创新)might be the first reason. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Finland this month. He spoke very highly of the innovation of the country. Finland gives money to help start-up companies. It even builds technology bases for them. There are now around 290 game companies in Finland.

    Finnish mobile games also stand out(突出，超群) because of the country's special Northern European art style. The style is mainly about being simple. It's a tradition of Finnish design. You many also see it in clothes, furniture and even buildings. In the game Angry Birds, the birds and pigs look very simple but cute at the same time. They easily interest the players.

根据短文内容，回答下列各题

    Sally was a student. It was going to be her mother's birthday. She wanted to buy her a present that would be nice and useful but not expensive.

    A week before her mother's birthday, she went shopping after a quick and simple lunch. When she had been looking for half an hour, she found a shop that was selling cheap umbrellas, and decided to take a black one, since her mother had lost hers the month before.

    She thought, "You could carry that when you are wearing clothes of any color." So she decided to buy a lovely black umbrella and took it back to the school with her until her classes were over.

    On her way back home in the train that evening she felt hungry because she had such a small lunch that she went along to the dining car for another sandwich and a cup of coffee. She had left the black umbrella above her seat in the compartment(车厢), but when she got back, it had gone! When she had left the compartment, there had been no other passengers (乘客) in it, but now there were three.

    Sally began to cry when she saw that the umbrella was no longer there. The other passengers felt very sorry for her and asked what the matter was. She told them that the black umbrella she had bought for her mother was gone, and that she had to get out at the next station. After the three other passengers heard it, they asked her for her mother's address so that they could send the umbrella to her if someone had taken it by mistake, and brought it back after Sally had got out of the train.

    The next week, Sally heard from her mother. It said, "Thank you very much for your lovely presents, but why did you send me three black umbrellas?"

My dear boys and girls, good morning. Today I'm going to talk to you about my suggestions about how to become stronger.

As the high school entrance examination is coming soon, you might feel a bit worried or nervous. These feelings may make you stressed out and fail to focus on your studies. But think about it. Would your favorite superhero have these same feelings?

Scientists have been studying what they call the "Spider-Man Effect" (蜘蛛侠效应) in children. They've found that if kids imagine themselves as a powerful person—such as a super hero like Spider-Man, they won't feel so nervous and will be able to focus on their work.

For example, if you feel nervous during an exam, try to imagine that you are a Spider-Man. You may find that you can "remove" the stress from this situation and feel more confident. This can help keep you fight off bad feelings and focus on your task, just like a superhero would. Pretending to be a superhero makes us feel powerful and that will have an influence on how we act in real life.

But you don't have to always choose a superhero like Spider-man. Anyone you admire can encourage you to get through hard times, or remind you of how you should act in certain situations. Favorite stars, famous painters, even our own parents—anyone can be our "Spider-Man". For example, when it comes to how I communicate with others, I like to look toward my mom for inspiration. She is a middle school teacher who is always kind, thoughtful and brave. I try to act the same way like her.

Thanks for your listening. I hope you can find your own strength to deal with the difficulties in your life.