Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks' time. Ten inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive (存活) if the rain is spread throughout the year, If it falls within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.

    Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes (沙丘) are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.

    There is, however, much more to a desert than sand. In the deserts of the southwestern United States, cliffs (悬崖) and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay beneath (在……之下) a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand, rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing--very, very slowly--as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.

    Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that have adapted (适应) to life in the desert. During the heat of the day a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.

    Did you spend much time lying on the comfortable sofa at home during the summer vacation? How often did you do sports this summer? People across the world need to get moving, according to a new study by the World Health Organization (世界卫生组织).

    5% of adults do not get enough exercise, according to the study. This number hasn't changed from 2001. Because of this, about 1.4 billion people are close to deadly diseases (疾病) such as heart disease and cancer (癌症).

    People should do at least 2 and a half hours of "moderate intensity (中等强度)" exercise each week, such as dancing or swimming. They can also do 75 minutes of "vigorous intensity (高强度)" exercise, such as running or playing soccer, according to the WHO.

    As for how to exercise more, experts says that we don't have to go to the gym (健身房) every time For example, we can go up and down stairs (楼梯) a lot instead of taking the lift. If we can't go to a dancing class each week, standing on one leg for 30 seconds a day is very good too.

    The study also found that women are less active than men, 32% of women hardly ever take exercise, compared to (比较) 23% of men. Women spend more time at home taking care of children and doing housework.

    But unlike that in most other countries, men are less active than women in China, with 16.6% of men and 12% of women not getting enough exercise.

    Where were dominoes (多米诺骨牌) from? Modern dominoes first showed up in Italy during the 18th century. But it is believed that the earliest dominoes were Chinese playing cards. Italian missionaries (传教士) in China may have brought the game to Europe. Do you think so?

    Do you like to play with dominoes? Dominoes are small rectangular (长方形的) pieces made of wood or plastic (塑料). People can place dominoes in different shapes. Then, they push one domino down and the rest of the dominoes fall one by one. It is interesting to watch.

    But placing dominoes is hard. To make sure the dominoes fall smoothly, the space between each domino is important. According to domino—play. com, if a domino is about 4 cm long, then the space between two dominoes should be1—2 cm. If the space is too big, the dominoes will stop falling halfway. If the space is too small, the dominoes will fall too quickly and won't look interesting.

    Beginners can start by putting dominoes in a straight line. This is the easiest shape. Professional (专业的) players can place dominoes in many other shapes, including big circles, beautiful flowers and even famous paintings.

    Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of all the colleges and universities in the United States. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    In the early years, these schools were much alike. Only young men went to college. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Little was known about science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world. When the students graduated, most of them became ministers or teachers.

    In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers could receive their training in Harvard's law school. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Soon it began teaching American history.

    As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} There's so much to learn that one kind of school can't offer it all.

A. In 1825. besides Latin and Greek, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German.

B. Most of them are made up of smaller schools

C. Yale, Princeton and Columbia were opened soon after Harvard

D Students were allowed to choose the subjects that interested them

E. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew

Drinking Kungfu Tea is one of the most famous customs in Chaoshan area. In Chaoshan, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}family has tea sets. Tea must be {#blank#}2{#/blank#}several times a day. Chaoshan people can not be without tea for a day, so the {#blank#}3{#/blank#}hing Chaoshan people usually treat guests is to make tea.

Kungfu Tea is not a kind of tea. It's a {#blank#}4{#/blank#}to make tea. The reason why it is called Kungfu Tea is because it is made in a very particular way. The word "Kungfu" in Chaoshan dialect means to pay {#blank#}5{#/blank#}to the way of doing things. Here it refers {#blank#}6{#/blank#}he way of cooking and tasting tea. Chaoshan Kungfu Tea has become {#blank#}7{#/blank#}mportant part of the study of Chaoshan culture. Drinking Kungfu Tea {#blank#}8{#/blank#}kind of social activity in people's daily life, which leads to many customs.

It seems that there are so many cultures and emotions in a {#blank#}9{#/blank#}cup of Kungfu Tea. Chaoshan people enjoy a slow pace of life. It's really wonderful for them to make a cup of tea after a day's work and taste it {#blank#}10{#/blank#}.

Walking around the city，you will see girls wearing hanfu on the underground or people wearing T—shirt with Chinese characters in the streets.A new trend （潮流） is getting popular in China.It's guochao or China—Chie.Guochao adds traditional Chinese culture into products

Guochao got people's attention in 2018.Before that，the market was controlled by foreign companies.There were few Chinese brands.To win the market share，many Chinese brands followed the footsteps of these Western brands.In 2018，but also included elements（元素） of traditional Chinese culture.It quickly caught people's attention at home and abroad.And it created amazing sales.

Later，many Chinese brands，from food，started to add Chinese culture into their products.Even the film and music industries made every effort to create Chinese styles."We want our products to be the ones that young people would like to share."They said.

These brands got what they wanted.Young people gradually converted their attention from Western culture to guochao.They accepted it with pleasure.What's more，they started to develop interest in traditional Chinese art and literature.Now they wear traditional clothes，practice Chinese calligraphy（书法）

No matter how guochao develops，there is one thing that won't change——people's confidence in our country's development and culture is growing.