Three kinds of bears live in the United States. They are the black bear, the brown bear, and the polar bear.

    Black Bears

    Black bears are the most common of the three. They live in forests in many different parts of the country. Even though they are known as black bears, they are not always black. Sometimes they are brown or tan (黄褐色的) , and a few are even white. Black bears are usually about five or six feet long, and they are the smallest of the three kinds of bears.

    Brown Bears

    Brown bears are found in a few western states and in Alaska. They live in forests as well as in open areas called the tundra (冻土地带). Brown bears are usually light or dark brown and can grow to be very large. In fact, some are eight feet long!

    Polar Bears

    Polar bears can be found in Alaska. It is in a cold area near the North Pole called the Arctic and there are no trees there. Polar bears are white, and they are the largest of the three kinds of ears. They are a little longer and usually heavier than the brown bear.

    Other Interesting Things

    Bears eat different things. Black and brown bears eat fish and other kinds of meat, roots, and berries. Polar bears eat fish, other meat, seaweed, and grass. All three types of bears eat as much food as they can find just before winter. Then during the cold months, they sleep in caves or hollowed-out trees called "dens". They keep them warm. Winter is when the female bears have their babies. All three types of bears have between one and four cubs (幼兽). The cubs are born while the mother bear sleeps!

    All people are afraid of bears. However, bears are actually shy. Most bears try to stay away from people, but still, bears can be dangerous at times.

    Is it good to be in a middle school? Most American children think so. In America, middle schools often have sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. It is different in different places.

    For children, going to a middle school is a big change. Most middle schools in America have a special day for new middle school students. On that day, they are showed around the school by their new teachers. And they could know a lot about the history of the school. They also would make friends with the old schoolmates (校友).

    They will grow up and learn some different and difficult things in a middle school. A new middle school student will learn foreign languages, computer, music and art, health, and other skills, such as cooking.

    A middle school will have sports teams, clubs and have activities for children. They can choose what they like and join them. If they are good at singing, playing basketball or something else, or if they want to learn, they can join them. Most American children think it's good to be in a middle school.

In the western world, Chinese takeout with rice and fortune cookies(幸运饼干) is a popular kind of food. But this kind of Chinese food isn't very authentic(正宗的), it is very {#blank#}1{#/blank#}[̍dIfrənt] from real Chinese food. Now over the years, real Chinese{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(dish) have become more popular in foreign countries as well.

Chinese people who live {#blank#}3{#/blank#}[ə̍ brɔːd] introduced many of them. Some have been popular in foreign countries for many years, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}others are new, like tanghulu. It is a traditional Chinese snack that's made{#blank#}5{#/blank#}fruit, usually Chinese hawthorns(山楂). The fruit is stuck on a stick of bamboo. Then it is {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(cover) with sugar syrup(糖浆), which becomes hard after it cools down.

Wang Jialiang, a tanghulu vendor(摊贩) from China, sold 8, 000 sticks in Russia {#blank#}7{#/blank#}one day. Tanghulu made him{#blank#}8{#/blank#} [̍ feIməs] in Russia, with his picture{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(appear) in the local newspaper. In the Russian city of Vladivostok, the deputy mayor(副市长) is a big fan of the snack, always coming to buy it {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(he)from Wang Jialiang.

Videos of the granddaughter of American President Trump showing her Chinese speaking skills became very popular on the Internet. In the video, Arabella {#blank#}1{#/blank#}a popular Chinese song and recited two Chinese poems by a Tang poet.

More and more kids try to learn Chinese just {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Arabella. About 50. 000 American students {#blank#}3{#/blank#} now studying Chinese." Because of China's fast growth, Chinese is more useful {#blank#}4{#/blank#}other languages, "said Scott Mcginnis, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} language expert(专家).

For example, in 1999, only three Chicago schools had {#blank#}6{#/blank#}classes. This year more than thirty do. In many US cities. students take Chinese lessons during holidays or on weekends. But Chicago schools teach Chinese during the school days. Last year China gave them 3.000 textbooks {#blank#}7{#/blank#}they had done a good job.

Although Chinese classes are becoming popular, it is still {#blank#}8{#/blank#}of the most difficult languages. It {#blank#}9{#/blank#} an English speaker about 1,320 hours all to become good {#blank#}10{#/blank#} Chinese, but 480 hours to learn French, Spanish or Italian.

When I was about ten, I was woken up by the shouts（喊声）of my sister one morning. She was hungry, but my mother wasn't at home, so I made a banana cake for her. Let me share the recipe with you.

What you need:

2 eggs  3 bananas  2 cups of flour(面粉)

2 spoons of baking powder(发酵粉)

1/4 spoon of baking soda (小苏打)

1/2 spoon of salt

2/3 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of vegetable oil(油)

What to do:

l  Mix(混合) together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

l  Add the vegetable oil. Then add a little sugar, and stir (搅拌) it.

l  Pour the eggs into the bowl and stir them well.

l  Add the bananas and stir them.

l  Turn the oven to 180℃.

l  Pour them into the oven（烤箱）. Bake（烘焙） the cake for 20 minutes.

l  Get the cake out of the oven, and cut it into pieces to eat.

Look at the picture! You can {#blank#}1{#/blank#} some school things(学习用品) in it, some {#blank#}2{#/blank#} and pencils, two erasers and two dictionaries. The blue eraser is {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Itˈs big. The green eraser is Lucyˈs. She is my good {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. We are in the same(相同的) school. This is my English dictionary. What {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the Chinese {#blank#}6{#/blank#}? Oh, itˈs Lucyˈs. My English {#blank#}7{#/blank#} is Mr. Brown. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} first name is Bill. He is a good teacher. We thank him(他) {#blank#}9{#/blank#} his {#blank#}10{#/blank#}.