In the middle of my home country there are very large places．They are hot and dry land called deserts．

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Families live a long way from other people．Sometimes they are the only people for thousands of kilometres．{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    About 65years ago these people found that using strong radios was a possible way for families living far away to communicate with each other．They decided they could use the radios for school．In this way，children could talk to each other like at school．{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The children each spent about 30minutes a day on the radio．They talked to their teacher about their work and difficulties．The teacher designed some exercises and tasks based on what they learned and posted them to the children．After finishing their work，the children sent it back to their teacher to mark．{#blank#}4{#/blank#} He tried to visit each child twice each year．This was sometimes difficult．The journey was very long and could be dangerous．In addition，the school held camps once a year．The children could all meet each other and shared their learning experience．

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The government provides families with computers so that the children can use the Internet to talk to their teachers and classmates by e﹣mail now．The teachers enjoy their work very much because they get to know the children and their families very well．It is an interesting way to learn，don't you think？

A．The teacher also travelled around the country．

B．All over the deserts are farms and small towns．

C．This was how the first"School of the Air"started．

D．This families'children cannot go to school like you．

E．With the development of technology，computers are becoming popular．

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    My school is named the City of London School for Girls. This year is the 125th anniversary of the founding(建立) of it. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Celebratory events will be held throughout the year, including concerts workshops and summer fairs. Students and teachers will receive badges(徽章) that say “City of London School for Girls 125”. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} A businessman named William Ward established (建立) our school in 1894. At that time, there was little opportunity for girls to get an education, especially those from poor families.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Girls were not expected to go to secondary school or get a university education. But Ward had high hopes for young women's futures. He thought women should have more influence in society, as well as the ability to realize their dreams.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Our newest school building is modern-looking. It opened with 446 students on Sept 18, 1969.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Opposite the school, there is part of the wall of a great Roman fort(罗马堡垒) built in 120.

    Every school has its own history. I think we should all celebrate people like William Ward who believe in giving the best education to young people.

    As a teenager, you have many dreams. These dreams can be very big, such as winning the Nobel Prize, or they can be small. You may just want to become one of the ten best students in your class.

    Once you find a dream, what do you do with it? Do you ever try to make your dream true?

    Follow Your Heart written by Australian writer Andrews tells us that making our dreams come true is life's biggest challenge(挑战).

    In fact, everyone can make his dream come true. The first thing you must do is remember what your dream is.

    Don't let it leave your heart. Keep telling yourself what you want. Do this step by step and your dream will come true faster because a big dream is, in fact, many small dreams.

    You must also never give up your dream.

    There will be difficulties on the road to your dreams. But the biggest difficulty comes from yourself. You may think you're not very good at some school subjects, or it is impossible for you to become a writer. These kinds of thoughts stop you from getting your dream, the book says.

    You need to decide what is the most important. Studying instead of watching TV will lead to better exam results, while saving five yuan instead of buying an ice cream means you can buy a new book. As you get closer to your dream, it may change a little. This is good as you have the chance to learn more skills and find new interests.

Umbrellas could be one of the world's most important inventions. The first umbrella was invented over four thousand years ago. 

Umbrellas were used on sunny days at first. Chinese people were the first to use their umbrellas on rainy days. They waxed (给……打蜡) their paper umbrellas so that they could be used when it was raining. 

The word "umbrella" comes from the Latin word, umbra. It means shade (背阴). Starting in the 16th century, the umbrella became popular in the Western world, especially in northern Europe, where it often rains. At first, people thought that the umbrella was only suitable for women. 

Then a famous English traveler, Jonas Hanway (1712-1786), carried and used an umbrella in England for thirty years. Because of him, men began to use umbrellas. 

In Europe, early umbrellas were made of wood and covered with canvas (帆布). 

People used very hard wood to make umbrella handles. In 1852, Samuel Fox invented a new kind of umbrella with ribs (伞骨) made of steel. 

Samuel also started a company called English Steels Company. After that, compact collapsible (可叠) umbrellas were the next important step in umbrella production.