"You have saved my horse," Queen Olivia told the young boy standing before her .””Now you shall have a reward." Peter nervously ran his fingers through his brown hair. The frightened horse had run past him as he worked in the field that morning. He would have helped it whether it belonged to the queen or not .But he had to admit that getting a reward was nice.

    Two of the queen's men appeared. One carried a mirror. Red jewels shone on top of the minor's silver frame. The other carried wooden care with a chicken inside it.

    "Only one reward can be yours," the queen said" Choose wisely"" That's easy.” Peter said.” I will take the chicken.” Some of the queen's men laughed. It was clear that they thought he had made a foolish choice.

    “And why did you choose the chicken? The queen asked.” Well, I don't know much about jewels," Peter answered.” But I do know about chickens. The chicken will provide eggs for my family for a long while.”

    Queen Olivia smiled.” Then you did make a wise choice." she said.“ That mirror may look fancy. But the jewels you see are only colored glass, and the frame is painted silver. The chicken is much more valuable." Peter took the chicken and bowed." Thank you, your majesty“

“You are a smart child, ”the queen added. “I could use a smart boy to help take care of my horses. Would you like to take the job?” Peter smiled. “Thank you very much!” he said excitedly. A job at the castle paid well. Now his family would eat well for the rest of their lives—all because   ⑹     !

    Imagine this: your parents go away on business, but you have to stay at home alone. Would life be as easy as when your parents are around? Would it be a perfect holiday for you?

    "I can fill an empty stomach with tomato and egg soup, but that's all. I think many of my classmates are the same. We wouldn't know what to do, or how to look after ourselves," said Zheng Chenyu. "And I'd forget something important. I'd probably watch television and burn the soup."

    "As soon as I leave home, I'll learn to cook. But now parents do almost everything for us.

    We're very lazy," she said.

    Most teenagers have only time for their homework. They don't learn any life skills until theygo to college.

    However, Sima Yige doesn't think so.

    "I think I'd be all right. I wouldn't just eat sandwiches or fruit. I know how to cook, some simple dishes because my mum showed me," the 13-year-old boy said. In his opinion, many teenagers depend too much on their parents, and there is much more to learn than cooking, like tidying up your room or even dressing yourself properly.

    For most teenagers it wouldn't be a holiday at all.

    On Nov. 18, 1908, three men went up in a balloon. They started early in London. The headman was Augusta Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they were ready for a long way.

    Soon they heard the sea. They carried a usual rope, and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied(系) a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight. It was for use over the sea. They also carried some bags of sand.

    After the Sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 metres, and the air was very cold. The water in the box became ice. Snow fell past the men's basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand; but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to drop(投下) some whole bags of sand.

    One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice.

At last they pulled the box into the basket. They rose to 5, 100 metres! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land. They came down in Poland safely. They had travelled 1,797 kilometres from London!

Giving hongbao ( red packets ) is a tradition in China . Traditional red packets are 1 decorated with gold Chinese characters (汉字) such as 2 and wealth.

How red packets are used

During Chinese New Year , 3 is/ are put inside the packets which are then 4 to younger generations by their grandparents , parents , relatives , and even close neighbors and friends.

The5 .

Red represents (代表) luck in Chinese culture. That is why red packets are used during Chinese New Year and other celebrations.

How to give and receive red packets

It is a 6 act to give and receive red packets . So red packets are always 7 and received with both hands.

Someone who receives à red packet at Chinese New Year or on his or her birthday should not 8 it in front of the giver. However, things are 9 at a Chinese wedding(婚礼), where the guests usually give the red packets to the attendants and sign their 10 on a long piece of paper. The attendants will open the packets at once, count (点数目) the money inside, and record it on a register (登记簿) next to the guests' names.