My town is a great place to live in. It's the best place to enjoy your free time. There are three movie theaters in the town. They are all good, but the one nearest my house is the best. Shopping is also easy. There are many shops and most of them are trendy. They sell very fashionable clothes. They are also cheaper than those in other cities, so students love to shop here. There are also a lot of video and music stores. These are very popular with students. I go to the music store every week to buy a new CD. The most crowded place for students to hang out is the park. Everyone goes there, so it's really interesting.

    Sometimes there are even street performers. Some students think they are boring, but I think they are the most creative people. I want to be a street performer, too.

    The Browns are English. Now they are in Beijing. (1)This is their first visit to China.

    They are going to stay in China for three weeks. They want to visit some big cities and villages. They want to learn some Chinese, too.

    Mr Brown is a driver, and he likes driving in Beijing very much. Mrs Brown is a teacher. She is visiting a school in Beijing. Their son Jim is a middle school student.

My pet died-how can I feel better?

    Every day when Elena came home from school, her cat Tomaso would run to great her. One day, Elena came home and her cat wasn't there. Her mom said that Tomaso had died.

    Who has pets?

    Millions of people across the world own pets. Maybe you have a pet, and maybe some of your friends do, too. A pet can be a special friend. It can play with you or just be with you when you don't feel like talking.

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    Unluckily, pets can't stay with us forever. Like all living things, they will die at some point. Sometimes a pet dies from old age. Sometimes a pet dies from an accident. Sometimes a pet gets too sick to live.

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    It's sad when a pet dies. You may feel lonely because your pet was your friend. To some kids, it may seem like no one understands what they are feeling. Someone said to Elena," You can get another cat. " But Elena knew she'd never have another cat just like Tomaso.

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    Elena decided to talk with her parents. Elena's parents told her about the pets they used to have and how it was difficult to say goodbye. At first, it can be hard to talk about the pet you're missing. You might want to forget about everything instead. But talking with someone you love is the best way to help you start to feel better.

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    When a pet dies, you and your family may want to find special ways to remember your pet. It can be a big help to share a sad thing with people you love. You might have a ceremony(仪式)for your pet or just share memories of fun times you had together. You might want to tell stories. You could write a poem, too. That's what Elena did.

The story of the magazine

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    When you look at the different kinds of colorful magazines in the shops (and online) today, it's easy to think that they are a modern idea. However, magazines have been around since the 18th century and they have been an important part of people's daily lives for hundreds of years.

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    One of the earliest magazines was The Gentleman's Magazine which was started in London in 1731 by a man called Edward Cave. He was the first person to use the word "magazine" about a regular publication. The word comes from the Arabic makhzan or storehouse. His idea was that his magazine was a storehouse, or place that you could keep information about many different things.

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    Magazines became more popular in the 19th century. They gave people tips to help them with their daily lives, and they often had serialized (系列的) stories which gave the readers a new episode every week. Each part finished at a very exciting point in the story. Famous writers such as Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created serialized novels for magazines.

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    One very important serialized novel was Hard Times by Dickens. It came out in 20 weekly parts between 1 April and 12 August, 1854 in the magazine Household Words. This magazine was very good value and it was a cheap way for readers to buy a version of' a novel.

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Soap operas on TV today are often similar to the serialized novels. These old stories have often been made into modern films or TV series and they are still popular with modern audiences because they are so exciting.

    When George was thirty-five, he bought a small plane and learned to fly it. He soon became very good at it and made his plane do ①all kinds of tricks.

    George had a friend. His name was Mark. One day George wanted to take Mark up in his plane. Mark thought, "I've traveled in a big plane several times, but I've never been in a small one. So I'll do."

    They went up, and George flew around for half an hour and did all kind sof tricks in the air.

    When they came down again, Mark was very glad to be back ②safely, and he said to his friend in a shaking (颤抖的)voice ,"Well ,George, thank you very much for those two trips in your plane."

    George was very surprised and said, "Two trips?"

    "Yes, my first and my last," answered Mark.