As we know, there are differences between Western culture and Chinese culture. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Let's look at some words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, "a homeless dog", "a mad dog", "a running dog" and "a dog catching a mouse", have bad meanings. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. In English, people use the dog to describe good actions. For example, "you are a lucky dog" means you are a lucky person. And "every dog has its day" means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person's serious illness, they say "sick as a dog". The word "dog­tired" means very tired.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. But in Western culture, "cat" is often used to describe a woman who is unkind. There are many other examples of how "cat" is used differently as well.

   {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

A. However, Chinese love cats very much

B. The words about plants and animals are used in good or bad ways in different cultures

C. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used

D. However, westerners love cats very much

E. We can see similarities when we pay attention to the way words are used

F. The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some Western countries

G. But in Western countries, dogs are considered to be honest and good friends of humans

    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.

Give water, save lives

A bottle of water may not seem like much to you, but thousands of bottles will be of great help for people who live in drought-hit(遭受旱灾) areas in China.

Since last autumn, there has been very little rain in Southwest China. Some places, especially in Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, have experienced a serious drought. Crops (庄稼) died, the land cracked(裂开), and wells (井) and rivers dried up. More than 20 million people are having difficulty in finding safe drinking water.

After learning about the drought, many people around the country helped by giving water, money and other things.

Last week, every member of the Communist Youth League (共青团员) and Young Pioneers(少先队员) were encouraged to give one bottle of water to the drought-hit areas. Students in primary schools and middle schools quickly joined the activity. In Yuhua Primary School in Xi' an, 900 students bought over 1,000 bottles of water with their pocket money. They also wrote their wishes on the bottles.

The serious drought has also made students realize the importance of saving water. Students from Nanshan Middle School in Huizhou, Guangdong went on the street to tell people to take part in water-saving activities.

"I've heard that some children in drought-hit areas don't have enough drinking water. They have to drink muddy ( 含有泥土的 ) water. I feel really sad about that," said one student. "I decide to take a shower twice a week instead of every day to save water," he said.

Mary and Lisa are sisters. They like the same colour— blue. They like the same sports— swimming and basketball. They go to the same middle school. But they aren't in the same class. They like music and art. Art is their favourite subject. 

But Mary and Lisa have a big difference (不同之处) . Mary has many friends. They like to play with her. But Lisa doesn't have any friends. Their mum sees the difference. She says to Lisa, "My dear, your smile (微笑) is very beautiful. Why not smile often?" Lisa says OK and she tries smiling often. Children come to Lisa. They like her smile. They want to make friends with her. Now Lisa has many friends. She is very happy.