Can you imagine a sea of sand three times bigger than India? This is the Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world. It covers 11 countries in North Africa and is over 9 million square kilometers.

    In the Sahara, temperatures are very different during the day and at night. It is much hotter during the day than at night. During the day, the hottest time is between 2 p. m. and 4 p. m.-when temperatures rise to 33℃. But it is very cold at night, the coldest time is at 4 am, when temperatures fall to -1℃.

    Because of the extreme temperatures in the desert, it is a very difficult place to survive (幸存). Marco Rivera, our survival expert, has some tips.

    Take warm clothes and a blanket. You will need a hat, long trousers and a thick sweater to keep you warm at night. During the day, cover your body, head and face. Clothes protect you from the sun and keep water in your body. You will also need a warm blanket at night. It can get cold rapidly. When the temperature drops, it can be a shock and make you feel even colder.

    Try to drink some water at least once every hour. You need your water to last as long as possible. Drink only what you need. If you eat, you will get thirsty and your water will run out soon. You can eat a little, but only to stop you from feeling very hungry. Eat a small amount of food slowly.

    It's important to stay out of the sun during the day. Make a hole under your car and lie there. This will keep you cool and help you sleep. Find a warm place to sleep at night. A small place near a tree or a rock will be the warmest. But be careful before you decide where to sleep. Dangerous animals like snakes also like to sleep in these places. Look carefully for animals before you lie down.

    If your children are learning to read, it's wonderful! Whatever they're reading, they're probably super-excited readers! But the fact is, reading is skill {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Create a comfortable reading place.

    Choose a special place with right furnishings(装饰), blankets and pillows for your children put a bookcase of your children' s books. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If your children feel like they have got their own special place for reading, they will probably spend time in their little space with all their new favorite books…

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    If you want your children to learn to love reading, set aside a few minutes every day to read together, no matter how busy you are. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Plan to go to bed a few minutes earlier each night so your children have the time to choose a book to read. Besides, reading aloud to your children can make them more willing to read on their own.

    Make the library and bookstore a special treat.

    Whether your kids are big readers or not they are only children. They may be excited about new clothes and toys, but not books! Try to use that excitement to help your children love to read. Making a special treat of spending some time at the library or bookstore can be the perfect way to get your children excited about reading {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Have you ever been sad because you failed in something? If so, please remember achieving(实现) what you expect(期望) is not the most1 thing.

One day after watching a science program, a little boy 2 to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of boys stopped to watch. "What are you doing?" asked one of them. "I want to dig a hole all the way through the 3 !" the boy answered excitedly. The older boys laughed and told him that it was 4 to do it. Then they left.

The little boy kept on digging and digging. Suddenly, a few small colorful stones caught his eyes.

He 5 them and put them into a jar and said 6 , "Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I have found in the process(过程) of digging!"

The boy's goal was far too difficult, but it pushed him to7 . And that is what a goal is for—to push us to keep working!

Not every8 will be fully achieved. When you can't achieve your goal, maybe you can say, "Yes, but there are so many wonderful things that have come into my life 9 I have tried to do something!" It is the 10 joy on the journey that really has a true meaning. Just like the little boy, it is in the digging that life is lived.

Peter was at his grandparents' house. He saw some coins in a bottle in the living room. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} On each coin, Peter saw dates, famous people's faces and values showing how much they are. Peter liked them so much. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

He began his collection. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} But that quickly became too small for all the different coins he collected.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} When his family and friends went to the USA and the UK, he asked them to bring back coins. He also bought some coins on the internet, and some of them were really expensive.

It was quite a hobby, collecting coins. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Even the smell of metal made him smile. He was really into coins! The good thing about it was that you could use it if you really wanted to, but they were fun to look at, as well.

A. Some people collected stamps, dolls, or baseball cards, but he liked coins.

B. He started with a small box in his desk drawer.

C. The next step was to collect coins from other countries.

D. They were so cool with wonderful information.

E. He wanted to collect coins.

Mr. Qian owns(拥有) a store. He is a kind boss(老板). There are a lot of nice clothes in his store.

 One day, a little girl comes to Mr. Qian's store. She looks at 1 blue hat for a long time. Then she asks," Excuse me, how much is the blue hat?"

" It's 50 yuan." Mr. Qian says.

" Oh, that's too expensive(昂贵的)." The girl says. She looks very sad.

 Mr. Qian asks the girl,"2 will you buy this hat for?"

" For my grandpa. His birthday is next week. But I only have 20 yuan. I can't buy it for 3 ."

" Well, the hat is on 4 today. It's only 20 yuan! You can have it now!"

" Oh, that's really great! I' ll take it! Thank you!" The girl looks happy now.

" No problem. I'm 5 your grandpa will have a happy birthday." Mr. Qian says.