Thang-ga is a special kind of painting. It started from the Tang Dynasty. Thang-ga paintings have attracted the public's attention in recent years. At the same time, the Chinese government has also tried hard to protect the culture.

    Thang-ga paintings were developed in the 7th century in the Tibetan area. The paintings are colourful and the paints used in Thang-ga paintings are different from those in other paintings. Because of the special environment of the Tibetan Plateau (高原) and the excellent painting skills, the colours of Thang-ga paintings look special. The paints in Thang-ga paintings in the past were made from minerals, including gold, silver, as well as some plants. Since they were made by hand, the beautiful colours could last for hundreds of years.

    However, with the development of machines, people now use cheaper and more easily-made chemicals to make paints. The traditional paints in Thang-ga paintings needed too much work and there were many secret methods. Later people stopped making the paints and forgot about them. So the skills were almost lost.

    When people are driving, they like listening to music on the radio in the car. Music makes the ride interesting. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    There is a kind of wonderful road in Japan- melody road. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When you drive on it, you can hear nice songs. There are three melody roads in Japan. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When you drive on it, you can hear the song Memories of Summer. Lots of drivers like this road very much. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many people drive their cars to the road only because they want to listen to the nice song.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The designer (设计者) of this road says, "You can hear the beautiful song best when your speed (速度) is 50 kilometers an hour".

A pop singer has to work very hard to become popular. He must give the public what they really want and need, or he must find a new way of singing that will a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} their attention. Even when he has succeeded and his records are sold e{#blank#}2{#/blank#}, he can not rest. Then he must work h {#blank#}3{#/blank#} than ever to remain popular, because there are always younger singers trying to become famous and to steal some of the popularity.

The life of a successful pop singer isn't e {#blank#}4{#/blank#} at all. He can only relax when he is alone, because everything he does is watched and reported by the special newspaper written for the fans. The fans are the most i {#blank#}5{#/blank#} people in the world for the singer. They buy his records, they go to his concert, and they make him rich and famous. But they can be very d{#blank#}6{#/blank#}  , too. Sometimes they do anything to get a souvenir (n. 纪念品). They steal handkerchiefs, they tear off buttons，and they even cut off pieces of the unlucky singer's hair. Many singers have been forced to ride(v.即兴表演). A pop singer has to spend a lot of money on clothes b{#blank#}7{#/blank#} he must always look special and different. And most important, he must always keeping smiling.

Canada Day

Since 1982, July 1st has been officially known as Canada Day. Canadians of all ages take part in this festival across the country.

Canada Day is the year's biggest national party. In many towns and cities, the government organizes a lot of events, often outdoors. These include parades (游行) , concerts, festivals, firework displays and ceremonies for new Canadian citizens (公民) .The celebrations often have a patriotic mood. Canada's national flag, a symbol for Canada Day, can be seen everywhere and a lot of people paint their faces red and white, which are Canada's national colors. The celebrations in Ottawa, Canada's capital city, are especially grand and exciting.

In the province of Quebec, many home rentals (租赁) start on July 1st and last for exactly one year, and many people in Quebec spend Canada Day moving from one house to another. So in Quebec, Canada Day is also known as Moving Day.

Many organizations, businesses and stores are closed this day. Only some bookstores, hospitals and gas stations may be open. Post offices are closed, too. As Canada Day falls in the Canadian summer holiday period, all schools are closed as well. In some areas, special services are provided for large events. The concerts, parades and festivals may cause some traffic jams.

What will our life be like in the future? Each family will have a  1  I in the future. You can ask it to do everything  2  you. It will serve you  3  hours a day. The robot will look like a (n)  4 . It can talk with you when you are  5  You won't know whether （是否）it is a human （人类）  6  a robot when you meet it on the street.

People will have  7  time to work and more time to travel. The vehicles （交通工具） in the future will fly freely in the sky because every vehicle will have wings with it. They will 8  you toa lot of places. You can go to  9  during your travels when you feel tired. All vehicles will not be  10  because the robots drive them.

Have you ever heard of the "space race (太空竞赛)"? It sounds like a game, but it was not. The "space race" was a kind of competition between the United States and the Soviet Union（前苏联）. Both countries wanted to be the first to send people into space. 

Both the Soviet Union and the United States sent rockets (火箭) into space in the 1950s, but not people. Then in 1961, a man called Yury Gagarin from the Soviet Union became the first man to travel in space. 

People in the United States were upset. They'd hoped an American would be first in space. Soon President John F. Kennedy told the world that Americans would be the first to land on the moon. He said they would get there by 1970. 

Landing on the moon was hardly possible at the time. But that "impossible dream" came true. 

On 16th July 1969, a huge white rocket left the United States. It was carrying a spaceship called Apollo 11. In it were three US astronauts: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. 

Apollo 11 travelled quickly through space. On 20th July, it was near the moon. Armstrong and Aldrin moved slowly into the Eagle. That was their landing craft (登月舱). It would leave the command ship (指令舱) and land on the moon. 

Collins stayed in the command ship. Armstrong and Aldrin watched the moon getting closer and closer. Finally, the Eagle landed. Armstrong used his radio to tell people on the earth, "The Eagle has landed. " He and Aldrin stepped out into (步入) a strange new world. They were walking on the moon!