"I first saw Beijing Opera in London in 1993, and it just shocked me. It was really amazing," says Ghaffar Pounazar.

    The 32-year-old British gave up his work in London and came to a Beijing Opera school. Since then, Ghaffar Pourazar has worked hard on this art.

    On stage, the Beijing Opera actors not only act, they also sing and dance while performing some difficult movements(动作).       ①         When Pourazar first got to China. He couldn't speak any Chinese, and he knew nothing about Beijing Opera. As the oldest student in the Beijing Opera school, he learned more slowly than his classmates, but he didn't give up. Now, he can perform Beijing Opera like a professional(专业人士).

    But Beijing Opera is not as popular as it was before. The young Chinese now spend more time on the Internet. This makes Pourazar very sad. "I used to get really angry at what was happening to Beijing Opera and at the Chinese people. This is part of your culture. You created this amazing thing. but now you are forgetting it, throwing it away."

Pourazar has decided what to do.        ②     Now he is performing a Beijing Opera that is about the Monkey King in two languages, Chinese and English. The Monkey King is a hero in a Chinese story. Chinese people love him very much. In the Beijing Opera, Pourazar acts the Monkey King.

    As we all know, the "rice bowl" culture of China has influenced some Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam since we started to use chopsticks while eating food.

    Chopsticks are usually two long thin pieces of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. ⑴The most important thing is that chopsticks are a great invention in China.

    Five thousand years ago people usually cooked their food in large pots, using twigs (小树枝) to remove it.   ⑵    the population grew, people began cutting food into small pieces. ⑷Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs by people. And twigs were gradually changed into chopsticks.

    Some people think that the famous scholar Confucius living from about 551 BC to 479 BC pushed the development of chopsticks. Confucius believed that using chopsticks instead of knives would remind people to stay away from killing and violence at table.

    We enjoy our delicious food with our family members or friends while feeling the peaceful and people-loving world by using chopsticks at table anytime.

    Sam hated doing chores. And he had many chores. For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he took out' the rubbish. And on weekends he always washed his father's car. He also cleaned his own room once a week. Sometimes he even had to (1) look after "his little sister and brother.

    Sam had a foreign friend at school. His name was Kumar. Doing chores in Kumar's family was very different. In the house only the girl did chores. His sisters made all the beds and cleaned all the rooms too, even his bedroom. His mother always cooked the meals, and his sisters helped her to go shopping, and prepare(准备) the food. They worked hard at home, doing all the chores with their mother. So when Kumar talked to his friend Sam about chores, he felt very lucky. One day, Sam had an idea. He asked Kumar, "Could I borrow your sisters?" He wanted them to help him clean his room, but (2) they said "no". Instead  (相反), they asked Sam to teach their brother how to do chores, so that he could make his own bed.

Sam and Kuimar are very good at science. They are going to be scientists after university. They want to make a robot to do the chores. Then everyone一mothers and fathers, sons and daughters- will be happy!

任务一: 根据短文,回答问题。

    Once upon a time, there lived a generous and kind-hearted king. But, the people weren't happy with their king because he was too lazy and wouldn't do anything other than eating and sleeping. He spent days, weeks and months in his bed. The king became a couch potato and the people started to worry about him.

    One day, the king realized that he couldn't even move his body. He invited famous doctors from various parts of his country and offered them generous rewards to make him fit. Unfortunately, none could help the king gain his health or fitness.

    One morning, a man called Rishi visited the land of the king. He heard about the illness of the king and told one minister that he could easily cure the king. Hearing these promising words, the minister became very happy.

    Since he couldn't move his body, the fat king asked the minister to bring Rishi to the palace, but Rishi refused and ordered the king to come to meet him. After a lot of effort, the king met the man. Rishi encouraged him and said he was good and very soon the king would gain his health. He asked the king to come for treatment every day from the next day on. Also, Rishi told the king that he would treat him only if he came on foot to his place.

    The king was unable to walk even a few steps on the road, but accompanied by his followers, he reached Rishi's place. Unfortunately, Rishi wasn't available there and his friend said the king could come and meet him the next day for treatment. This was repeated for two weeks and the king never met Rishi and never had any treatment. Suddenly, the king realized that he was a lot lighter, lost a lot of weight and felt more active than before. He realized the reason why Rishi asked him to reach his place by walking.

    Very soon, the king regained his health, and the people were very happy in his kingdom. The king had a lot of wealth, but no amount of wealth could make him healthy.

A friend of mine was fond of drawing horse. He drew the horses very well, but he always began the tail. Now it is the Western rule to begin at the head of the horse, that is why I was surprised. It struck me that it could not really make any difference w{#blank#}1{#/blank#} the artist begins at the head or the tail or the belly（肚子）or the foot of the horse, if he really knows his business. And most great artists who really know their business do not follow other people's rule. They make their own r{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Every one of them does his work in a way peculiar(奇特的) to himself; and the peculiarity means only that he f{#blank#}3{#/blank#} it more easy to work in that way. 

Now the very same thing is true to literature(文学). And the q{#blank#}4{#/blank#}, "How shall I begin?" only means that you want to begin at the head i{#blank#}5{#/blank#} of beginning at the tail or somewhere else. That is, you are not yet experienced(有经验的) e{#blank#}6{#/blank#} to trust to your own powers. When you become more experienced you will never ask the question, and I think that you will often begin at the tail --that is to say, you will write the e{#blank#}7{#/blank#} of the story before you have even thought of the beginning.