People read books less often in these days. With the invention of radio, television and most recently, the Internet and computer games, it seems that reading books is no longer a popular activity. However, I believe that books are an important part of our lives.

    Books offer an outstanding wealth of learning and at a cheaper price than taking a course.

    Books can make people cleverer, because heavy readers have greater knowledge of how things work and who or what people were.

    Everything in today's society requires reading. Imagine trying to do something as simple as reading the directions on a medicine bottle without good reading skills. Someone could not understand them and become very sick or even die.

    Even something as simple as walking or driving through the city could become very dangerous without enough reading. Sometimes, you must be able to understand what is written and explain the meaning of them;

    Some people say that reading is a waste of time and we can do better things with our time.

    Even if we don't read books, we still read every day, and reading books can strengthen (加强)our abilities. Reading is one of the greatest things we can do in our spare time.

    With a book, you can travel anywhere you want, do anything you want, and talk to anyone you want. Reading is very important in our lives, no matter how old you are. So I think people should read books

Jack Brown, an office worker, lives in Washington. He inherited（继承）a million dollars when he was 23, but he wasn't happy at all. When his college friends were looking for their jobs, he didn't have to. Jack decided to live a simple life like everyone else. He gave $10,000 of his money to a charity to help poor children live a better life. Today he is 36. He still wears cheap shoes and clothes and drives a small car only, but he is very happy. 

Up to now Jack has helped some children from poor countries all over the world by sending them $200 a month. The money is used for the children's study, food, medicine and clothing. Jack receives a report each year on the children's progress. They can write to each other, but usually the children do not speak English. 

When Jack first heard about these children, he wanted to help them. "It was nothing special," he said. "Until I went to these countries and met the children I was helping, I didn't know anything about their life." Once Jack went to meet a little girl in Africa. He said that the meeting was exciting. "When I met her, I felt very happy," he said. "And I saw that the money was used for a good cause. It brought me happiness. I want to do everything I can to go on helping these children."

①In ancient(古代) China, people have three names: their family name, given name and courtesy name(字).

②Take the famous poet Li Bai as an example. His family name is Li, his given name is Bai and his courtesy name is Taibai.

③People use their given names when they are with their family or friends. And your elders like your grandparents and parents call your given name at home. But in the workplace, people use their courtesy names.

④Men get their courtesy names when they are 20 years old while women at 15 years old.

⑤People's courtesy names have something to do with their given names. For example, Zhuge Liang's given name is Liang. It means "bright". His courtesy name is Kongming. And the meaning is "very bright".

Gulliver enjoyed travelling. He worked as a doctor on a ship called the Antelope. On May 4, 1699，they were going to the Far East. 

One night, his ship crashed against the rocks. Gulliver was lucky to swim safely to 8beach and fell asleep. When he woke up, he found himself a prisoner(囚犯) of tiny people. They were less than 6 inches tall and lived in the island country of Lilliput, After he promised to follow their rules, they set him free and he could visit the city. 

Gulliver learned about the war between Lilliput and Blefuscu and helped the king: he pulled large Blefuscu ships to Lilliput, The king was happy. He wanted to make the people of Blefuscu his slaves(奴隶), but Gulliver did not like this plan. The king got angry. Some bad men in Lilliput wanted to kill Gulliver. Gulliver had to run away from Lilliput to Blefuscu. 

____. Three days later, he saw a boat of normal size-that is, big enough to carry him-overturned(翻倒) in the water, He asked the king of Blefuscu to help him fix it. After about a month the boat was ready and Gulliver set sail. He arrived safely back in England. 

Rebecca has a big family. She draws a family tree. Let's have a look. 

Youth Activity Center

Address: No. 68 Chengnan Road

Business hours: From 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day