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．

    One day,Eddy,the frog(青蛙)，meets his two friends：Tom，the squirrel(松鼠)，and Mary,the bird．

    "Eddy,can you climb trees?"asks Tom．

    "No，I can't，"says Eddy．Tom laughs(笑)and‘climbs up into a tree．

    "Eddy,can you sing?"asks Mary．

    "No，I can't，"says Eddy．Mary laughs and sings a beautiful song．

     "Look，"Eddy says，"I can swim."He jumps into the water and swims．

    "That's nothing．"say Tom and Mary．

    Eddy is sad and he goes away．He meets a monkey and he learns to juggle(玩杂耍)from him．Then Eddy goes back to his friends and juggles for them．But they don't like it．Eddy is sad again．At that time they hear a baby bird crying in the water,"Help!Help!"

    Mary and Tom can't swim，so they can't help the baby bird．Eddy jumps into the water and helps the baby bird out．

    "Thank you，Eddy!"says the baby bird．

    "You are great，Eddy,"say Mary and Tom．Eddy is very happy now．

根据材料内容完成下列任务。

    My name is Tom Brown. I am an English boy. (1) I am twelve. I am a middle school student. From Monday to Friday I am very busy. We have six classes a day. At school, I like doing sports, (2) like playing basketball, tennis and soccer. So my favorite subject is P.E.. Mr. White is my P.E. teacher. He is very cool. After school, our P.E. teacher plays games with us. We students all like him. (3) I don't like math because it is too difficult for me. (4) But my math teacher Ms Smith says it is interesting and useful. So I must work hard on it.

    Do you know Egypt? Let's go into ancient Egypt. In ancient Egypt. Women did not go out to work. They stayed and worked at home. Many Egyptian men were farmers. Some men were builders or fishermen. Other men worked as artists. Some other important people did not do any farming.

    The weather in Egypt was very hot. Ancient Egyptians did not wear many clothes. Men, women and children often wore simple robes(长袍)made of thin cloth. On their feet they wore light open shoes. People , including women, shaved(剃)hair from their heads to keep cool.

    Children in ancient Egypt grew up to do the same jobs as their parents. Girls stayed at home with their mothers. They learned to look after the family. Boys worked with their fathers. They learned to do the jobs their fathers did. They only went to school to learn to write if they wanted to become a writer.

    Many of the games played by ancient Egyptians are similar to the games we still play today. Children played racing and jumping games. They also played ball games and with wooden toys. Older children played a game like chess.

    The kings of Egypt (the pharaohs)(法老)had enough power to master their country. The people thought that the pharaoh was a god. He owned everything. Everyone had to do what he told them to do. The pharaohs built huge tombs(墓）. When a pharaoh died, he was buried in the tomb. The tombs were often in the shape of pyramids.

    When a pharaoh was buried, he was surrounded by treasure and by treasure and by things to help him in the next world, such as food, clothes, furniture and weapons.

    In the UK, bus journeys are very common. Buses are often convenient(便利的）for the people who live or work in the city center. Passengers can avoid heavy traffic and do not have to pay for the parking. However, taking the bus is just a necessary but boring part of life: they get on the bus, pay for it and sit down or find a place to stand when it is crowded. Everyone seems sad and bored. 

    In Latin America, however, bus trips can be wonderful. For a start, films are showed on the buses between cities for passengers to have fun along the journeys. Local buses do not show films. but drivers usually turn on the radio and it can be great for passengers to listen to songs and get relaxed. 

    Even better than films and music are the sights and sounds on the buses. Local buses always go to parts of the town that passengers would not visit by themselves. There passengers can see shops that they have never heard about. And they can also see other cultures of the town from the windows of the buses.

    Besides passengers' luggage(行李)is also interesting. It is common to see a happy dog's head getting out of somebody's bag or a lovely chicken "speaking cheerfully "under somebody's arm. Once on a bus in Peru a farmer even tied a sheep to the top of the bus. It was quite surprising.

    In all, taking the bus in Latin America is really fun and unforgettable.

Mr. and Mrs. Albino, with 64 children, have the world's largest family. Not one of their children is adopted(领养).

When people hear about the Albinos' large family, the first question they ask is, "How is it possible? How can one woman give birth to 64 children in her lifetime?" The answer is simple: {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Soon after the Albinos got married, the children came quickly, in twos and threes. The first 21 children were boys. Mrs. Albino loved her sons, but she wanted a daughter very much.

The Albinos spent the early years in Argentina. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} To travel from Argentina to Chile, they had to cross the Andes Mountains. Mr. and Mrs. Albino and their 21 sons made the difficult, two-week journey on mules. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

During the snowstorm, Mrs. Albino gave birth to triplets, a boy and two girls!

The oldest Albino children are in their thirties and forties. They are on their own now, but 18 of the Albino children still live with their parents. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The shack has electricity but no toilet or running water. The children wash in a small bowl in the dusty backyard.

At times there is very little food in the Albinos' small house when there is not enough food for everyone, Mrs. Albino makes sure the youngest children do not go hungry. "The smallest eat first, and then the bigger ones. We've always done it that way," she says. Obviously, the Albinos do not have enough money for their big family, then, do they continue to have children?

The Albinos do not use birth control because it is against their religion(宗教). They could let other people take care of their children, but Mrs. Albino will not allow it, "When my two brothers and I were babies," she says, "our mother left us at an orphanage(孤儿院) and never returned. We lived there together until we were five. Then a couple adopted my brothers and I was left behind. I was heartbroken.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Even if I didn't have much money, I would always take care of my children by myself." Mrs. Albino has kept her promise.