I've got some information for everyone who are going to Britain next month. As you know, you'll be staying with a family for two weeks. Now the most important thing is money. You should take about ￡30 in cash(现金) and about ￡200 in traveller's cheques(支票). Then when you arrive at the airport, you'll be met by your host family. You must remember to wear a red shirt so that the family can find you easily. I've told them to look out for the red shirts. You'll also need to take with you four photos of yourself and, of course, it's very important that you take the school letter. While you are there, if you have any problems, please call our agent. I'll give you her office phone number. It's 580-4436 and the person to ask for is Mrs. Belcher. She's in the office from 9: 00 to 17: 00 everyday. OK! That's everything. Have a good trip.

C

配对阅读，左栏是五个中学生遇到的难题，某报专栏编辑给他们的七个建议。请根据五个中学生遇到的难题为他们选出最合适的建议。

    Liu Wei is very famous in China because he can play the piano with his toes（脚趾）.

    One day when Liu Wei was only 10 years old, he played a game with some friends. He lost both his arms because of electricity(电).

    Liu Wei was very sad when both his arms were cut off after the accident.（事故） But soon he had to make a choice. (选择) "For people like me, there were only two choices. One was to give up（放弃）all the dreams. The other was to work hard without arms to live an excellent life." says Liu Wei.

    Liu's dream was to be a pianist. He had a wonderful performance（演奏）on China's Got Talent. He played the beautiful Marriage D'amour（《梦中的婚礼》）with his two feet on the piano.

    Liu Wei learned to play the piano with his feet. And teaching himself to play the piano with his feet was very hard. Many times he wanted to give it up, but his parents went on encouraging（鼓励） him and he kept playing the piano.

    Maybe you can not believe that Liu Wei is able to play well only with his toes. Many people were deeply touched and very excited when they watched his performance.

E

    Sara wants to buy a motorcycle. She sees an ad in the newspaper for a used one. She calls the telephone number in the ad. The person who is selling the motorcycle lives on Flag Street in Clifton, about 15 miles from Fairview where Sara lives. She'll take a bus to get there on Sunday.

    At the bus station. Sara looks through the bus schedules(时刻表). She sees one that says “Fairview, Clifton" on the front. That's what Sara needs.

    Please look at the bus schedule carefully. Then help Sara make her decision, and answer the following questions.

    I didn't leave my hometown until l was sixteen years old. My hometown could bring back lots of sweet memories to mc. Yesterday I returned to my hometown. I have been away for three years.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Before I left, there was a small pond (池塘) opposite my house, but now people have filled this pond and have built a large shopping mall. The things in it are good and cheap, so there are many people every day. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We used to play baseball there, especially on weekends. Now a new stand(看台) has been added so that more people can sit there to watch games.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}The street in front of my house looks just as it used to be. People have built a public library in the next street.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Beside the two streets, people have built a beautiful park. In it green trees and fresh flowers could be seen everywhere.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}I really hope our hometown will become more and more beautiful.

Have you seen any scarecrows (稻草人)? In the countryside of our country, some villagers like to set up some scarecrows in the fields in order to prevent birds from harming their crops. They think that this can play a role in driving away birds. In fact, not only farmers love to use scarecrows, but also some airports have installed scarecrows in such a developed technology today, which plays a very good role in driving away birds. Some people will say that birds are not fools, and they will come back to eat after a long time. So do the birds really feel scared? Can scarecrows really play a role in driving away birds? Not very — unless you're willing to put some extra(额外)effort into them.

While traditional scarecrows who couldn't move do work against "pest birds" (eg. crows and blackbirds), the effect is almost always temporary (暂时的). Over time, the birds get used to scarecrows who couldn't move and reuse their destructive (破坏性的)habits.

However, a few tricks can up your scarecrow's game. Researchers have learned that those with realistic facial features(特征)and brightly colored clothes are better at driving away birds. Also, moving a scarecrow around every few days often helps. According to several studies, flailing(大幅波动) scarecrows get the very best results.