Tea, coffee and cocoa are three major drinks all over the world. Tea is drunk by the largest number of people in the world. Tea, as well as silk and porcelain, began to be known by the world over a thousand years ago and has been an important Chinese export since then.

   Tea has a history of over 4, 000 years and China is the home of tea. In ancient China, tea was used as a kind of medicine, while nowadays people drink tea daily. Longjing, Pu'er, Wulong and Tieguanyin are all famous tea. Thanks to the mild climate and rich soil in Fujian, Zhejiang and Yunnan, tea is produced mainly in these provinces.

   The words for tea in different languages came from Chinese, like “cha' i” in Russian. And the Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese.

   Over the past centuries, Chinese people have developed their unique(独特的)tea culture, which includes tea planting, tea-leaf  picking, tea making, tea drinking and so on. Tea is also popular in some sayings, like “A friendship between gentlemen is like a cup of tea.” In dances, songs, poems and novels, tea is often mentioned, too.

    Every year, there is a big day for book lovers. It is World Book Day on April 23. Why not read a new book? Reading is a good habit to have in life. It shows you a different world and makes you think differently. Here are some good books Time for Kids picked out. Let's take a look!

    This Side of Wild (2015)

    Gary Paulsen, US

    If you are interested in nature (自然) and animals, this book is for you! This book tells true stories of the writer and some animals he loved. For example, a dog helped Paulsen during a bear attack (袭击), and another time a horse led him across a desert (沙漠). Surprisingly, animals can do many things. You may laugh sometimes. But these touching experiences may also make you cry.

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School (2015)

    Jeff Kinney, US

    You may have heard of this book series(系列). And this is the 10th book from it. Greg Heffley is a middle school student. He has everyday problems. Now things get even more interesting when his town decides to stop using all electronics (电子产品)! Greg faces some new problems without a mobile phone and computer. This book shows there are always a few bumps (崎岖) in the road, but you can laugh about it along the way too.

      Information Card

    Sweden, a small country in northern Europe, takes up almost the same size as China's Gansu province. But it has earned the title of the country with best fame in the world recently. Sweden does really well on all the different factors(因素) we used to understand what people think of a country. The country is safe, beautiful, friendly and powerful in many aspects(方面)。

    Although it stayed as a neutral(中立的) country through world wars, Sweden is actually very strong in military(军事的) technologies. It was the first country to make stealthy warship that is hard to found by a radar(雷达). Countries like the US and China once bough Sweden's military technologies.

    Some of you must be familiar with IKEA, the world's largest furniture retail(零售商). In China, you can find IKEA in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and many other big cities. The affordable price and modern design make it popular worldwide.

    When you want to listen to music, you may open QQ music. But many US teens prefer Swedish music service Spotify. Now Spotify has more than 100 million users.

    You may wonder why such a small country can stand out in so many fields, it is possibly because of its good welfare that gives people a safe and comfortable place to live. Moreover, Children can receive free education from kindergarten to university. This provides the country with many talented people.

    People burn coal, gas and oil to get energy But there are problems with these fuels (燃料). (A)________, these fuels cause pollution. Pollution makes the air and water unsafe for humans. Secondly, these fuels will not last forever. One day, we will run out of these fuels.

    Scientists are looking for new kinds of energy. One is heat from the Earth. We know that (B)地球中央非常热. We cannot reach the center of the Earth, but in some places the heat from the Earth's center comes to the surface of the Earth. Perhaps you know about some of these places One place is volcanoes (火山). It is very dangerous to go near an active volcano, (C) _______ we cannot use the energy from this.

    Another kind of heat from the Earth is hot springs (温泉). In these places, hot water comes to the surface of the Earth. If this water is near a town, the hot water can be sent in pipes (管道) directly to people's houses to heat them .In Iceland, this is a common way to heat houses.

    (D)In Australia, scientists are looking for ways to make energy using hot rocks under the surface of the Earth. They want to pump (抽水)water onto the hot rocks .When the water hits the rocks, it makes stream(蒸汽). The steam is piped to power stations where (E) it is used to make electricity. The electricity can then be sent all over the country.

    Dear Mike,

    I am so grateful you are coming to see my father at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. Here is how you can find North Street Hospital.

    After coming to the People's Square, you walk northwards at the traffic lights and then come to the gate of East Street Park. Turn right and walk along the road. You'll find the Police Station. And then turn left and go along the road and take the second crossing on the right. Go on until you reach the end. You'll find North Street Hospital in front of you.

    I'll meet you at the gate of the hospital. I'm sure you'll have no trouble coming here.

Yours,

Wang Ping