Mr. and Mrs. Brown are from America. They are now teaching English in Zhengzhou. Their son Jack is with them. Jack speaks English. They want him to learn some Chinese. Jack is in Grade Three in a Chinese school. He plays with Chinese children every day. He listens to Chinese, speaks(讲) Chinese, reads books in Chinese and writes in Chinese. He is doing well in his Chinese.

Two men were travelling together through the forest on a lonely path. Before the travelling, they said they would help each other when there was danger. They had not gone far when a bear rushed towards them from some bushes.

One man was a good climber, and quickly climbed up a nearby tree. The other man tried to climb the tree but failed. Looking at his friend in the tree, he shouted loudly for help. The man in the tree was afraid that his friend under the tree would pull him down, so he didn't give his friend a hand.

The man under the tree, seeing that he had no chance alone against the bear, fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. The bear came nearer and nearer. It made his blood run cold.

The bear came to him, lowered its great head, smelled him all over and touched him with its nose. The bear thought the man was dead, so it went off into the forest again without hurting him. After the bear left, the other man came down from the tree, and smilingly asked his friend what the bear had said to him. "For I could see," he said, "that he put his mouth close to your ear."

"He told me to tell you," replied the other, "that you were a great coward(懦夫), and that it is dangerous to travel with a friend who leaves you behind when there is danger."

This story took place during the Warring States (战国) period. At that time, kings would often 1 each other's sons as hostages (人质) to protect their kingdoms (王国).

Now it was the prince of Wei's turn. He was going to Handan, the capital of Zhao, as a hostage. Pang Cong, an official, was going with him. Before they 2 , Pang Cong said to the king of Wei, "If someone comes to report that he has 3 a tiger in the market will Your Majesty (陛下) believe it?"

"Of course not," the king answered.

"If another man comes to say the same thing, will Your Majesty believe it?"

"I'll start to 4 about it."

"Then, what if a third man comes with the same report, Your Majesty?"

"Maybe I will think it is 5 ."

"Well, we all know that no tiger dares to go to the market. But since three men have said the same thing, everyone now 6 that there is a tiger there. Handan is much 7 from our capital than the market is from the court (王宫), and more than three people will talk against me behind my 8 . When I'm away, Your Majesty will not fail to judge (判断) what you hear, will you?"

"I know 9 to judge," the king said impatiently.

Then Pang Cong said 10 to the king and left Daliang, the capital of Wei, with the prince. But as soon as he had left, the king's ears were 11 with words against him.

After a few years, when Pang Cong 12 to Wei with the prince, the king would not see him again. He was no longer 13 .

So, "three liars (说谎的人) make a 14 " is used to say that if a lie is 15 often enough, people may start to believe it, even though it is not a fact.

 When we think of paper, we think of newspapers and books. But there are many other uses. Only half of the world's paper is used for books and newspapers.

 Paper is very good for keeping you warm. You have perhaps seen homeless men sleep on large number of newspapers. In Finland, it is sometimes -40℃ in winter. The farmers wear paper boots(靴子) in the snow. Nothing could be warmer.

 Each year, more and more things are made of paper. We have had paper cups and plates for a long time. But now we hear that chairs, tables, and even beds can be made of paper. Besides paper boots and shoes, you can wear paper hats, paper dresses, and paper raincoats. When you have use them once, you may throw them away and buy new ones.

 The latest use of paper seems to be paper houses. These are not small houses for children to play in, but real, big houses for people to live in. You can buy a house with three rooms for about 500 dollars. You can put it up by yourself in a few hours, and you can use it for about five years.

What do pandas，tigers，whales，lions and wild camels have in common （共同的）？They are all endangered（濒临灭绝的）. Here are the reasons. 

Hunting：For centuries，people hunted elephants for their tusks，killed tigers for their fur，and caught many other animals for their meat. 

Foreign animals：In 1505，some people discovered a beautiful island named Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. People brought dogs，pigs，monkeys and rats with them，but this was bad news for dodo birds. The birds did not have natural enemies （天敌） before. They ate fruit that fell from trees and built their house on the ground. But when people came，dodo birds were in big trouble—men killed them for their meat，and the new animals broke their homes and ate their eggs. The number of dodo birds became smaller and smaller and finally extinct. The last dodo bird was killed in 1681.

Loss of living space：People cut down forests for farming and building houses. People build dams （水坝） to make sure they have enough water. While we make our lives comfortable，other animals have less and less space. 

 My name is Alice Green. I'm a 12- year- old {#blank#}1{#/blank#}( America) girl. I'm living in Hangzhou with my {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(父母) now because they are working here. I am happy to meet new teachers and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}( classmate). Among (在其中) them, I have two good friends. Their names are Lin Yang and Lin Yue. They {#blank#}4{#/blank#} twins but they are different. Lin Yang is tall and she likes {#blank#}5{#/blank#}( wear) white shirts. Lin Yue is short and she often wears blue dresses. Lin Yang always {#blank#}6{#/blank#}( help) me with Chinese and Lin Yue teaches me to do {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(数学) homework. I love {#blank#}8{#/blank#}( they) very much. Next Saturday, we would like {#blank#}9{#/blank#}( visit) the West Lake together. Living in Hangzhou is so  {#blank#}10{#/blank#}( interest) for me! I am happy every day.