K.L. Rothey, 71, from the United States, a retired lawyer (退休律师)

    Rothey has given himself the Chinese name of Luqi or “roadside beggar (乞丐)”. In his eyes, beggars are doing important work—collecting rubbish. What they do is not dirty.

    Rothey first visited China in 1984 and soon he became interested in Chinese culture. Married to a Chinese woman, he lived in Huangshi. Many people know him because he often shows up in the street collecting rubbish. “Huangshi is my home so I hope it becomes cleaner and more beautiful,” says Rothey. He has also organized volunteers to collect rubbish in other cities, including Wuhan.

    Jill Robinson, 50, from Britain, founder (创立者) and CEO of Animals Asia Foundation.

    She has been working for nearly 20 years to stop people from getting the bile (胆汁) from moon bears.She began working for the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Hong Kong in the mid-1980s. A business trip to a bear farm in 1993 changed her life. She saw so many moon bears killed by people. She said she would be back to set them free.

    In 1998, she set up the Animal Foundation. In July 2000, the foundation agreed to free 500 farmed moon bears. In 2002, the Moon Bear Rescue (救援) Center was set up in Chengdu.

    “As much as we save them, they save us. These bears save us every day and they teach us to be better people,” Robinson says.

    Bamboo is one of the nature's most surprising plants. (1) 许多人称这种植物为树，但它是一种草。

Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe.

（2）There are more than 1 ， 000kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains （平原）．

      Not all bamboo looks the same．Some bamboo plants are very thin．They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30centimeters across．This plant also comes in different colors，from yellow to black to green．

      Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years．They often use bamboo for building new buildings．As a matter of fact，the cables （绳索） that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo．The bridge has been in use for more than 1，000years，and is still holding strong．

      In Africa，（3）engineers are teaching poor farmers how to use bamboo to find water ． These African countries need cheap ways to find water because （4 ）they have no money，and their fields often die from no rain and no water．It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use．Bamboo pipes and drills （钻） can help to make the poor thirsty fields be watered．

    In 1986, the Honda automotive company wanted to see if it could make a human-like robot, to help in home, play football, balance on one foot, and even dance. Over the years there were some problems but soon the researchers managed to get a robot named ASIMO. It could walk on uneven(不平坦的) surfaces, and move its center of gravity like we do to climb stairs.

    More recently, ASIMO was improved so it could turn round and run at six kilometers per hour, using its upper body to control movement.

    ASIMO is designed to be friendly. It is hoped that robots like this could be used to help elderly people in their home. Honda are also using this technology to help people with disabilities. It can also push a cart(手推车) and open and close doors. ASIMO can even shake hands. It stands 120 centimeters tall, so that it can look into adult faces when they are sitting down. It can hold two kilos in its hands. It can even carry a tray without dropping the contents.

    So, where next for this kind of robot? Well, while ASIMO is attractive, it is still controlled by a human. Researchers in the USA are working on the robots that can learn about the world around them, and give a reply to human touch and voice. The robots are even learning to recognize(辨认) objects, people and vocabulary. Soon the descendants(后代) of these robots may be serving you drinks or helping with jobs at home and at work.

    There are five people in my family. We all like watching TV, but we like different TV shows.

    My grandpa is a great fan of Beijing Opera. He likes watching it very much. Now he is in a Beijing Opera club. There he talks about Beijing Opera and acts with other Beijing Opera fans.

    My grandma likes cross talk, and she often watches them when she is free. Her favorite cross talker is Guo DeGang.

    My father is a reporter in a TV station. He watches all kinds of TV shows, but he likes news program best.

    My mother is a teacher. Her favorite TV shows are soap operas. She thinks they are very interesting. But I think they are boring.

    I like playing basketball, so my favorite TV shows are sports shows.

⑴ {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Frank is a junior high school student. He is 15 years old. He likes studying. Today is Tuesday. When he woke up in the morning, he felt sick. And then he had to ask for a day's leave.

⑵ {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Last Sunday, John visited the City Zoo with his parents. The animals there were very lovely. John liked them very much. After he came back home from the zoo, he decided to keep a pet.

⑶ {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Kelsey is an outgoing girl. She is also a real movie fan. She spends most of her free time seeing movies.

⑷ {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Alice is a student in No.1 Middle School, She lives with her parents. Her mother is a hotel manager and her father is a doctor. They are always very busy but they still try their best to take care of her.

⑸ {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Today is a holiday. In the evening Lily went out to watch the full moon with her family. They ate delicious moonquakes, and fruit. But Lily didn't eat much because she had to control her weight.