Canada Day

Since 1982, July 1st has been officially known as Canada Day. Canadians of all ages take part in this festival across the country.

Canada Day is the year's biggest national party. In many towns and cities, the government organizes a lot of events, often outdoors. These include parades (游行) , concerts, festivals, firework displays and ceremonies for new Canadian citizens (公民) .The celebrations often have a patriotic mood. Canada's national flag, a symbol for Canada Day, can be seen everywhere and a lot of people paint their faces red and white, which are Canada's national colors. The celebrations in Ottawa, Canada's capital city, are especially grand and exciting.

In the province of Quebec, many home rentals (租赁) start on July 1st and last for exactly one year, and many people in Quebec spend Canada Day moving from one house to another. So in Quebec, Canada Day is also known as Moving Day.

Many organizations, businesses and stores are closed this day. Only some bookstores, hospitals and gas stations may be open. Post offices are closed, too. As Canada Day falls in the Canadian summer holiday period, all schools are closed as well. In some areas, special services are provided for large events. The concerts, parades and festivals may cause some traffic jams.

People love walking through a giant puzzle. In a corn maze(玉米迷宫), they can follow miles of paths and run into lots of dead ends before they finally find their way out. The corn maze has been growing for almost 30 years. 

Simple corn mazes began appearing in the 1980s. In 1993, the first big corn maze created for the public to enjoy was made in Annville Pennsylvania, by Don Frantz and Adrian Fischer. Then, in a corntield as big as two and a half football fields, Mr. Frantz created "The Amazing Maize Maze"with the help of his family and friends. When it was done, almost two miles of pathways snaked through the cornfield. Since then, thousands of corn mazes have been created around the world.

For many farmers, a corn maze means a boost(激增) of extra income. During the opening weekend, about 6, 000 visitors came to get lost in Mr. Frantz's maze. Charging only $5 per person, he earned almost $32, 000in two weeks.

Brett Herbst is also a maze designer. In 1999 he set a world record for the world's largest corn maze, an image of the solar system with nine planets in it. He now has a business called The Maize, which has designed more than 4, 000 mazes around the world. "Corn mazes help people connectwith their roots, "he says. "People are so far removed from farm life that they are drawn to something real, something organic. "

Today, a great number of people enjoy seeking fun in a corn maze. Mr. Herbst says, "When we see families on the farm having fun, we know that they are making memories that will last a lifetime. "

提示词:Chinese club, read aloud, as much as possible, make mistakes

①Hobbies are great ways to spend your time. Some hobbies can even change the way you see the world. Let's take painting as an example.

②When you're painting, you should pay attention to the colour. Think for a moment about what colour clouds are. Did you think white? Take a closer look at them next time. Clouds are mostly white, but the colours also include black, grey, yellow, pink and even blue. It depends on so many factors(因素), like what time of day you are looking at them, the kind of clouds or the angle (角度) you're looking at them. At sunset, you'll see many colours in clouds but you won't see at mid-afternoon.

③Painting is also a great way to notice shapes(形状). One of the easiest ways to paint faces or objects is to break them down into their relative shapes and combine them together. Everything in the world can be broken down into things like circles, squares and triangles. It's like putting pieces of a puzzle together as you're creating your painting.

④If you take up painting, you'll see more colours and shapes in the world. You'll notice small influences(影响) of colours in the evening and will be able to break anything down into their relative shapes. So everything is more beautiful than ever. In this way, hobbies introduce us to a new world.

Can a green machine help the world's poorest kids learn better? You must feel curious (好奇的) to know 1 the green machine is. Now here are some things 2 the green machine. Nicholas Negroponte 3 his team of scientists have invented a new type of computer. As a result, many poor kids will have their own laptop computers.

Negroponte works at a university. He started 4 organization called One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). The people at OLPC don't work for money. They work 5 children learn. OLPC makes computers that don't cost a lot. Then the machines 6 by them to governments of poor countries. The governments then give the computers to kids for free. The low price means millions of poor kids 7 receive a computer. This is very good for 8 .

Maybe, only a computer can open a window for them to see a 9 world than before. OLPC plans to give out over ten million computers in the future. Kids in Thailand, Nigeria, Brazil, and Argentina 10 most of them.

Xian Xinghai is a very famous musician in China. He has written many great pieces of music. In his short life, he wrote nearly 300 songs and an opera. 

Xian was born in Panyu, Guangzhou in 1905. Because his father died before he was born, Xian had to move from place to place with his mother. He began learning to play the violin when he was 20 years old. At first, his violin was so cheap and in a poor quality that he could not play it well. His friends laughed at him. However, Xian did not stop practicing and soon showed his talent. In 1931, he became the first Chinese student who studied in a special music school in Paris. Before he left, Xian became the school's best student and won several prizes for his talent. 

In 1935, he got back to China and helped fight against the Japanese army. Later, he came to Yan'an to teach music at a college. Although there were no pianos in Yan'an at that time, Xian still wrote some of his most important music there, including The Yellow River Chorus, his most famous work. 

In May 1940, Xian Xinghai went to the Soviet Union(苏联) to write music for movies. Life there was so hard that he got very sick. Later he died of a lung illness on October 30, 1945, aged only 40. 

Xian Xinghai is such a great man and his music will live on in people's hearts forever.