Benjamin Banneker was born a few months before another great American—George Washington. Benjamin was black, but he was not a slave (奴隶). He and his mother and his grandmother were free. Benjamin's grandmother came from England. In America she got a job and worked for many years to pay for her boat trip across the ocean. After working many years, she saved enough money to buy a farm. Benjamin lived with her for a while. She taught him to read, write and do arithmetic (算术).

    Benjamin's neighbours knew that he was clever. They were not surprised when he built a large wooden clock. He made each piece after studying a small pocket watch. The clock made him famous, for it was one of the first clocks built in America. People from other places began to send hard problems of all kinds to Benjamin to settle.

    Thomas Jefferson heard of Benjamin Banneker's ability to settle hard problems. He asked Banneker to help build the city that was to be the capital of the United States—Washington, D.C. Banneker worked hard on the plans for the city. He marked where the streets and buildings—the Capitol (美国国会大厦), the White House, and many other places should be built.

    Later, L' Enfant, the Frenchman who had designed the new city, had a quarrel, and went back to France in anger. He took all of the plans away. The workmen couldn't build without any plans to follow.

    For a while it seemed that the plans for the capital might have to be changed, but Benjamin Banneker remembered the plans he had helped draw. He drew each again as he had built each piece of his clock.

    If it weren't for Benjamin Banneker, Washington,

    D.C might look very different from the way it does today.

We may catch a cold any time of the year, especially in winter and in spring. When we get a cold, we might have a low-grade {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(发烧;发热), a runny nose and a headache. And you may have an {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (痛;疼痛) in your body as well. The cold can make us feel {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(极坏的) all over. Most people get healthy in about 7 —10 days. However, it may take longer for those who are not in excellent {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(身体状况) or those who have some other 

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (病;疾病).

Don't worry. Follow the advice below, and you will {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (保护) yourself from getting a cold:

▲Wash your hands often with soap and water;

▲Stay away from people who are {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(有病的). They can pass the cold on to you whenever they {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (咳嗽) or sneeze(打喷嚏);

▲Eat different {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(种类) of vegetables and fruits. They are full of vitamin C and vitamin D. They can help keep your body healthy to fight off the cold;

▲Keep physically {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(活跃的)and take exercise every day.

Teachers are often considered to be engineers of the human soul. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But there's one person in China who is called the "teacher of teachers". 

He is Chinese educator Tao Xingzhi. Last year marked the 130 anniversary of his birth. People in different parts of China memorize Tao by visiting his memorial halls or holding meetings to think back on his thoughts on education. 

Born in Anhui province, China, 1891, Tao studied at Columbia University, the US, in 1914. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} .But when Tao returned to China in 1917 and began his own career as an educator, he did not blindly copy Dewey's education method or theories. For Tao, education is an active process in real- life experiences rather than one of telling and being told. He encouraged "unity of teaching, learning, and reflective acting". 

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

After conducting surveys in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai in 1921, Tao was surprised to learn that the rate of urban illiteracy (文盲) in China went beyond 70 percent. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.To deal with the lack of teachers and money, in 1927, Tao set up Xiaozhuang Normal college (晓庄师范学院) in the northern suburbs of Nanjing to train teachers and educators ,most of whom became teachers at rural schools. 

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}He set up Yucai Middle School in the suburbs of Chongqing and offered free education to refugee (避难) children after the Japanese invasion of China began in 1937. 

Maybe Tao's moto is the best explanation for his life, "Giving a whole heart, yet taking nothing in return, not even a leaf of grass." 

Without the television set，the radio and more importantly，the computer，we will {#blank#}1{#/blank#} have any fun in our homes today. However，the people in the past had their own clever {#blank#}2{#/blank#} of enjoying themselves. For example，they made music without the use of computers but with tools made from wood and animal skin.

Travel was simple at that time. Most of the people were {#blank#}3{#/blank#} boat makers and they could make boats in a variety of shapes and sizes for travelling along the rivers and in the oceans. With increased skills and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} ， the people learnt how to make the boats stronger against rains and storms.

Some things are basic for us nowadays，but the people in the past could live the lives to the full even without them. We should not look down on the wisdom of people long ago.

What family rules(规则) do you have? What are the dos and don'ts in your home? Qin Tian from Chongqing No.3Junior High School asks three students there. Let's listen(听) to what they say:

Xu Hui: I have to get up at 6:20 every morning and read English for about 30 minutes. I can't play games for more than(超过) 30 minutes. I need to do some housework(家务) every day.

Hu Xiaoyu: In my family, the first(第一) one to get up should (应该) make breakfast. The first one to get home should make dinner. The family should clean the house on Sundays. I also need to do housework.

Liu Yizhou: In my home, we don't talk when we eat food. I have to be in bed at 9 p.m. I have to do housework every day. If I want to buy something, I need to ask my parents first.

 Elephants are very special animals. They are very smart and have different emotions(情感), such as happiness and sadness. They can even cry. Elephants can learn many things, and in some countries, people let them carry heavy things.

 There are two kinds of elephants: African and Asian elephants. African elephants are usually larger and they can be 7,000 kilos or more. All elephants like eating different kinds of plants, such as grass, leaves and vegetables. They eat a lot-up to(多达)300 kilos a day. They can live for about 60 years.

 Unluckily, the number of wild elephants is going down. Many people kill(杀死) them mainly for their tusks-the long pointed(尖的) teeth. Now more and more people try to protect them.