The Terracotta Warriors, one of the eight wonders of the world, have enjoyed international fame. Located in Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, they are warriors of the first-ever emperor in1China or Qin Shi Huang in Chinese, Ying Zheng.

Even though I knew they are life-sized sculptures (雕塑), I was still2 when I saw them. I was lucky enough to3 the pit (深坑) and take a close look at them for the first time.

They were made around 2, 200 years ago. When I first got down into the pit, the sculptures scared me4some of them lacked body parts.

I was told that the Terracotta Warriors are not easy to preserve (保存;保护) for over thousands of years. But to my surprise, they were actually5 in color when they were first discovered. However, the color fell off6after being exposed in the air.

The difficulty of preservation is one of the reasons why they have stopped7out other pits. Although the Terracotta Warriors are breathtaking, they are only part of the Mausoleum (陵墓) of the First Qin Emperor.

Shen Wenxi, an expert and museum librarian of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told me there's an even grander area8 man-made mountains, rivers and seas inside the emperor' s underground palace.

However, there is no plan to dig them until there are perfect9of protecting and preserving them. Experts are still busy restoring the relics (修复文物) that were10in the 1970s.

Why does the Sky Change Colours?

What is the sky? How high is it? What colour is it? What birds can live above it? These questions are difficult to answer, aren't they?

In fact, the sky has no colour. Then why does the sky look blue?

We know that there is air around the world. When planes fly, they need air to lift their wings (机翼). Planes can't fly very high. That's because the air gets thinner when they go higher. The same will happen to us if we go high enough. If we go up about 1,000 kilometres from the earth, we'll find no air there. Some birds can fly into the sky as high as a plane, but they cannot fly or live without air.

Looking up above us, you will see the blue sky with white clouds. It is usually light blue. The colour will be bluer when you see on the top of a high mountain. And you will see fewer clouds in the sky between you and the sun.

Sometimes the sky doesn't look blue. When the sun rises or falls, you will see red, orange, and other colours in the sky. Such are the most beautiful moments of the day.

Who can see the colours of the sky high above the earth? The astronauts! They can see those beautiful colours of the sky from outer space. However, before flying into outer space, they sit in a spaceship high above the earth, and there is no air at all. The sky will be that dark and its colour will be black.

Now you may understand that we see colours because the air scatters (使散射) the sunlight. Light travels through the air. Without air, there would be no light or colours.

I'm Carl. I love soccer and I play soccer with my friends every week. In one game I break my leg (摔断了腿). My friends take me to the hospital. 

The doctor says I need an operation (手术). The doctor is very nice. He helps me to relax. Then I go into the operating room. Another doctor is there. She is very nice, too. She gives me anaesthetic (麻醉). Then I fall asleep (睡着). 

About 4 hours later, I find I'm on a white bed. My parents and my friends look at me. The doctor says I must stay in bed for six weeks and that I can't do any sports in the next six weeks. It is difficult for me, but I must listen to the doctor because I want to be healthy and play soccer again. 

Many people often meet such a difficult situation. It's that they don't know the way in new places, and they are too shy to ask people the way.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

First, we must know some useful expressions, such as "Could you please. . . " "Excuse me" and "Thanks a lot". For example, when we want to ask a stranger the way, we should say "Excuse me" first. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}"Could you please. . . " is often used while asking for the direction. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}It's also polite to shake hands with the strangers. 

Second, we often need to take some useful things with us. They usually include pens, special maps. phones and so on. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}We can write down the keywords about the place and then we can show them to the strangers who we want to ask for help. Of course, the phones can help us find our correct way. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Then we can show the pictures about it to the strangers when asking for directions.