It is interesting to visit another country, but there are some problems when we don't know the1very well. It may be difficult to talk with the people there. We may not know how to use the telephone in the country we are visiting. We may not know how to buy the things we need. In a2country we might not know where to eat or what to order in a3. It is not easy to decide how4to tip waiters or taxi drivers. When we need help, we might not know how to ask for help. It is not pleasant to have an experience5that. After a short time, however, we learn what to do and what to6, We learn to enjoy life in another country, and then we may be sorry to leave.

    Welcome to the Painting Competition for Woodlands Students

The International Anti-Drug(禁毒) Day this year is coming soon. In order to raise teenagers' awareness(意识) to fight against drug taking, the City Art Council is going to hold a painting competition for the students in our city.

    Students who want to take part in the competition can hand in their own 2D paintings in either of the following two ways:

★Each school will be provided with a box for students to put in their paintings. Boxes will be picked up by the City Art Council on Thursday, June 23rd, 2016, before the end of the school day.

    ★Paintings can be also handed in on Friday, June 24th, from 8：00 am to 10：00 am at the Woodlands Art Hall (175 Riverside Street)．

    All paintings are required to be 60cm wide by 80cm long or smaller. Larger sizes will not be accepted. Each student can only hand in one painting.

The final decision on the competition results will be made on June 26th, the AntiDrug Day. The name list of the winners will be made known on the website of the City Art Council on the same day. All winning paintings will be shown to the public at the City Youth Park from June 27th till the end of July.

    Prizes: 1st Prize(10 students)＝$300 Gift Card each

    2nd Prize(20 students)＝$200 Gift Card each

    3rd Prize(30 students)＝$100 Gift Card each

For further information：Visit http: // www. Woodlands Art Council.org or call 25698632.

    My name is Felix Black. I am from America. I am twelve years old. And I am a student at No. 2 Middle School in Suzhou, Mrs Zhao is our Chinese teacher. My friend is also a student here. Her name is Maria Smith. She is from England. She is thirteen years old. Maria and I are new students at No. 2 Middle School. We like our Chinese class.

    Teenager Jake Deham was skiing with his family in the USA when he fell over and lost one of his skis. His family didn't know that he had a problem. They kept on skiing. When they got to the foot of the mountain, there was no sign of Jake.

    Jake couldn't find his ski anywhere. In the end, he decided to take off his other ski and walk down the mountain. But he couldn't work out the right way to go.

    It was now getting dark and he was a long way from any place of safety. He knew that he might die that night in the cold temperatures. But Jake kept calm. At home, Jake watched a lot of programs about living in difficult situations. He remembered the advice from these programs and knew that he should build a hole in the snow. He made a hole and pointed it up the hill so the wind couldn't blow into it. Outside his hole, the temperature fell to a dangerous-15℃ that night, but inside it Jake was safe from the cold.

    But he had to get down the mountain. The TV programs always said," If you are lost, you should find someone else's tracks(足迹) through the snow and follow them." "I wanted to live my life." remembers Jake." So I got up and I found some ski tracks and I followed those." He walked and walked and finally he saw lights. Nine hours after he lost his ski, he found a team of worker who came to save him. He was safe!

    His mum was very happy when she heard the news. Amazingly, Jake didn't even have to go to hospital. He got through the terrible experience without any injuries.

    So, the next time someone says that watching TV is a waste of time, think of Jake. Sometimes TV can save your life!

There are many interesting stories between Father and Son.

One day, Father and Son were walking slowly 1 a river, suddenly Son cried, "Daddy, look, there is a woman falling into the river!"Without thinking too much, Father jumped into the water and 2to the woman, "Don't worry, lady. I'm a good swimmer and I will try my best to save you." Father pulled the woman on to the bank (岸边). He was 3but happy. But the lady was not thankful to Father at all; instead, she slapped Father heavily. She jumped into water again. Oops! This was a 4competition !

It was snowing 5, but Son was very happy. He spent a lot of time making a snowman with Father. It was tall and big. Son liked it very much. But at night, someone 6the snowman down. When Son saw this the next morning, he cried sadly. Father was angry and decided to find out who did this. He was dressed as a snowman and stood by the road. One man came here and wanted to push the snowman again. Bang! The snowman kicked his ass. "Oh, my god! I met a ghost! "The man ran away quickly.

One morning, Son told Father he didn't 7well. Father brought some warm water to Son and asked him to have a good rest, and then Father hurried out to 8some medicine; but on his way to the medicine shop,he found that he 9his money at home. When he opened the door, he found Son 10the cat happily .Father was so angry that he told Son to go to school at once.

    Peter and Mike are very good friends. They are in the same class at school. They often go to school and play t{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, and they often visit each other's home at weekends, too.

    Now they are b{#blank#}2{#/blank#} eight years old. Peter's mother has got a new baby. Peter is very glad to have a little brother, so he is always talking about his younger brother to Mike.

    At first Mike is very interested in the new baby because he doesn't have any sisters or brothers. But after some time he begins to get tired of Peter's endless talking about it. He also feels a little jealous (嫉妒) of his friend.

    One morning before class, when the two boys m{#blank#}3{#/blank#} at the school gate, Peter says to Mike cheerfully, "Do you know, Mike, my little brother, has put on nearly half a pound in weight this week."

    "That's not much at all," answers Mike. "I know a baby who can put on more than ten pounds a day."

    "Oh, that can't be t{#blank#}4{#/blank#}," answers Peter. "W{#blank#}5{#/blank#} baby is it?"

    "An elephant's," says Mike.