Alan comes from New York, and now he is having a great time visiting his aunt in China. Today is Sunday. It's his eleventh birthday. He gets up early and wants to make a cake for his birthday party in the afternoon.

    When he comes out of his bedroom, he sees a big bowl of noodles on the table. It's a bowl of tomato and egg noodles. Alan usually has bread and milk for breakfast in America. Alan likes the tomato and egg noodles, but he still wants to know why his aunt cooks noodles this morning

    "It's your birthday today," his aunt says, *in China, many people eat very long noodles on their birthdays. It's a symbol of long life. We never cut up the noodles, and we call the long noodles changshou noodles.”

    "Thanks. I think it's my first special gift I get for my birthday," says Alan.

Does Fame Drive You Crazy

    Although being famous might sound like a dream comes true, today s stars, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world's attention. Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature (签名)!

    According to psychologist Christina Villarreal, celebrities—famous people—worry constantly (不断地) about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. "Over time," Villarreal says, "they feel separated and alone."

    The phenomenon (现象) of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B. C, painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his works attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s ran articles about film—stars in much the same way that modern websites do.

    Being famous people today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their "story" alive forever.

    If fame is so troublesome, why aren't all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.

    Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.

Thomas Edison was one of the greatest American s{#blank#}1{#/blank#} in history. He was born in 1847 and d{#blank#}2{#/blank#} in 1931. When he was a child he was always trying out new ideas. At the age of ten, he s{#blank#}3{#/blank#} great abilities to make different things. He e{#blank#}4{#/blank#} built a small science lab of his own. In 1897, he invented the first practical light bulb and made it possible for people to do as many things in the evenings as they can in the daytime. Although he didn't win any Nobel P{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, he made lots of great things and changed the world successfully. 

Taiyuan Luogu is a national intangible cultural heritage(国家级非物质文化遗产) with a history of around 1,000 years. It's widely used in weddings (婚礼) and at traditional {#blank#}1{#/blank#}to bring good luck.

Taiyuan Luog u is popular in the countryside. Many {#blank#}2{#/blank#}people are good at it. A woman named Niu Gaixian in Xiaozhanying Village in Taiyuan is one of them. Now she's a city- level inheritor(市级传承人) of this form of art. Every time she and her team members have their Taiyuan Luog u shows, the village will soon become {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

In 1990, Niu met Han Qixiang, a national- level inheritor of Taiyuan Luogu, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}became his student. Since then, practicing playing Taiyuan Luog u has become part of {#blank#}5{#/blank#}everyday life.

" Mr. Han had a great influence{#blank#}6{#/blank#} me. He asked me to learn more about traditional culture, not only of Shanxi, but also across the country," said Niu Gaixian.

In 2003, Niu Gaixian set up her own Taiyuan Luog u team. To avoid {#blank#}7{#/blank#}mistakes while they are giving performances, she and her team members practice again and again. They always practice {#blank#}8{#/blank#} even in the hot summer.

In April 2018, Niu Gaixian and her team were invited to join in an international drum culture festival in Africa. After they{#blank#}9{#/blank#} their performances, they were cheered by the crowd.

Niu Gaixian hopes that more and more people can {#blank#}10{#/blank#}about this kind of traditional art.

My name is Kelly. I'm from the UK. Look! This is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} classroom. It's very big and clean. After class, the boys and girls are talking happily

 But what are the school things {#blank#}2{#/blank#} ? They are a book, some notebooks, two {#blank#}3{#/blank#} and  a ruler. There is John's name on the maths book. So it must be his. And Sarah also {#blank#}4{#/blank#} her name on the blue notebook. It is hers. Lucy is happy to find her ruler. I think one of the two erasers is Tony' s. So I ask him, "Tony, is that your eraser?""Oh, yes, it's my eraser." Then, Tony takes away his eraser. What about the other eraser {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the orange notebook? Are these Lily' s?I want to ask Henry for help.

The music starts. A Sichuan Opera performer(表演者) dances to the music and {#blank#}1{#/blank#} changes face masks(变换脸谱). 

 The performer is Yin Qiuhua. Yin is 19 years old. She is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} from other performers. She was born with Down syndrome(唐氏综合征). 

 Zhao Haiying is Yin's mother. She wanted {#blank#}3{#/blank#} her daughter life skills(技能) and took Yin to learn different things. Zhao said, "She is young and I can't take care of her all the time. My biggest wish was to find a useful skill for her so she can make a living. " Yin {#blank#}4{#/blank#} many things like the violin and the folk dance. But she didn't do well {#blank#}5{#/blank#} any of them. 

 Things began to change in 2021, when Zhao met Lin Chun, a {#blank#}6{#/blank#} Chinese opera teacher. Lin Chun took Yin as a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} and taught her the face-changing art of Sichuan Opera. The face-changing skill is difficult to learn {#blank#}8{#/blank#} it was also difficult to talk with Yin. Lin had to show the moves over and over again. During the first year, Yin practiced for up to eight {#blank#}9{#/blank#} a day. After about 18 months of training, Yin gave {#blank#}10{#/blank#} first show at an activity in Nanchong. "The performance went very well. Yin is excellent, " Lin said. 

 Yin's story {#blank#}11{#/blank#} the hearts of many people. "We should not give up on our children. We should try our best to bring out what they are good at, " Zhao said.