Marco Polo was from Venice, Italy. In 1271, at the age of 17, Marco went on a trip with his father and uncle to China. Today people often travel to different places around the world. But it was very hard for people from Europe to visit China then. After three and a half years, the Polos reached China in 1275.

    While he was there, Marco Polo worked for Kublai Khan, the emperor of China. He was able to learn and experience many things that were new to Europeans. In his diary, he wrote, "Kublai Khan's palace is the greatest I've ever seen. The streets of the new capital, Dadu, are so straight and so wide." Paper money also took him by surprise, since it was not yet in use in the West at that time. Homes were heated with "black stones… which burn like wood." Those stones were coal, and most of the Europeans knew little about it then.

After 17 years in China, Marco and his family finally returned to Venice. After he returned home, Marco completed a book called The Travels of Marco Polo, full of facts about his wonderful experiences in China.

⑴{#blank#}1{#/blank#}   ⑵{#blank#}2{#/blank#}   ⑶{#blank#}3{#/blank#}   ⑷{#blank#}4{#/blank#}  

    People all over the world celebrate the New Year. However, not all countries celebrate in the same way, and in some countries, the New Year doesn't begin on the same date every year. It can depend on the seasons, the moon or the sun.

    In many countries, the New Year begins on 1st January, but people start celebrating on 31st December, New Year's Eve. In New York many people go to celebrate in Time Square. While they're waiting for the New Year, they listen to music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o'clock, everyone counts down from 10: 10, 9, 8 … As soon as it's 12 o'clock, everyone shouts very loudly, "Happy New Year!" and they say, "Out with the old year and in with the new!" Suddenly there are fireworks and special drinks. Sometimes people sing an old song called Auld Lang Syne. New Year's Day is often a family day. Some people relax at home. Some families get together for a special meal with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. When the weather is fine, many families go out for a walk.

    On New Year's Day, many people make resolutions for the New Year. They write down a list of things, such as "I will help out more at home. I will work harder at school." or "I won't spend so much time playing video games." When they have made their list, they read it to their family or friends and promise to follow their resolutions.

    This is a story about a monkey. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}The old man liked the monkey very much. The monkey was very clever. When birds came to the garden, he drove(驱赶) them away. He also helped the old man in many other ways. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}A fly(苍蝇) came and sat on the end of the old man's nose. The monkey drove it away. Soon the fly came back again and sat on the old man's nose again. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Again and again, the monkey became very angry. He jumped up, ran to pick up a large stone. When he came back, the fly was on the old man's nose again. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}The fly fell off, but the old man's nose was broken.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They do things too quickly but they don't think much before they do. Maybe they sometimes bring us trouble, though they mean to do something good.

    The professor always tried so hard. He had tons of brilliant ideas—but they never worked. Time after time, he would dream up an amazing idea that was sure to change the world—and then it didn't. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} "A time machine!" he shouted. The professor's dream wasn't just any old time machine. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    But his wife wasn't so sure about the professor's great idea. "It'll never work. You can't make time," she doubted. The professor disagreed. "{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you can make money and save money, why can't you do the same with time?"

In his workshop, the professor drew lots of plans for his new time machine. He soon lost track(轨道) of time. He created model clocks of every shape and size.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Finally, he made an amazing discovery—a way to save time and give him lots of extra(额外) time. "I've got it!" he cried. "If I give up my time machine project, I'll have plenty of time for other things!"

It's early in the morning and the alarm clock has already rung several time. You have to pull yourself out of bed and rush to school because you're afraid of being late for school.

As a school student, this is probably a common experience for you. But thanks to new rules, students in Zhejiang and Heilongjiang provinces can now stay in bed longer than before.

On Feb 23, the Zhejiang Department of Education announced (宣布) a new rule that asks primary schools to start school later. According to the rule, start times could be different among different grades, with students in Grade 1 and 2 starting no earlier than 8:30 am.

A similar guideline (指导方针) was announced by the education department in Heilongjiang Province on Feb 24. Students from all primary and junior high schools in the province have been required (要求) to arrive at school no earlier than 8 am.

According to a 2016 study by the Zhejiang Department of Education, half students in Grade 4 slept nine hours or more a night, while the enough sleep time for primary students in 10 hours.

"I welcome the new rule so much. It is such a wonderful rule that gives my son enough time for breakfast, which is necessary for his health and growth", a mother named Xu Li said. She is from Hangzhou and his son is in Grade 1. These changes have received much praise as they make students get enough sleep and enough time for breakfast.

Pushing back school times isn't unique (唯一的) to China. In the United States, schools in at least 21 states began to start school later in 2017, as studies have shown that later school start times could be good for students' development.