Zhalong is a nature reserve in Heilongjiang in northeast China. It is one of the world's most important wetlands*. The reserve offers food and places to live in for wildlife. It is an ideal home for different kinds of plants, fish and birds.

    Many birds live comfortably in Zhalong Nature Reserve all year round, but some only stay there for a short time. There are many fish in the wetlands, and the birds can easily catch them for food. Zhalong Nature Reserve is an important living area for red—crowned cranes*. There are not many red—crowned cranes in the world. Some of them live in Zhalong.

    Some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife.

    More and more birds are in danger because they do not have enough living space. Many of them died. The Chinese government wants to protect these endangered* birds, and they can be safe in Zhalong.

    Every year, a lot of visitors go to Zhalong to watch birds. This year, members of our Birdwatching Club are going to study the different kinds of birds in Zhalong and the changes in their numbers.

    We do a bird count* once a year. We are now inviting middle school students to help. We need more people to help us count and do something to help the birds. Many people do not understand the importance* of the wetlands. We hope this information will help them understand and make them do something to protect wildlife.

    Have you ever heard robot fish? Scientists will put some robot fish into the sea near Spain. These robot fish will help people to detect (探测) the pollution in the water. If the robot fish are able to finish their work successfully, the scientists hope to put them into rivers, lakes and seas around the world.

    The fish are about 1.5 meters long. There will be a detector in their bodies. They can find the sources (来源) of pollution in the water, and then the robot fish will eat part of it. Unlike other robots, they don't need to be controlled by people far away. The robot fish all have an eight-hour battery (电池). They can "swim" in the sea freely and send back information to people on the beach. After their batteries die, they will return by themselves.

    There are five robot fish altogether now. Each costs about 29,000 dollars. They are part of a three-year project between engineering company BMT Group and Essex University in southeastern England.

    "We invented the robot fish creatively. We hope them can find the changes in the sea water and report back the information," said Professor Hu of Essex University. His team is developing the fish.

We all want to protect our planet，but we're mostly too busy or too lazy to improve our lifestyle and save the environment.Everyone should try their best to protect the environment. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

These are five good habits in your everyday life.

Turn off your devices（设备）.When you don't use a house device，turn it off.For example，if you don't watch TV，turn it off.Turn off the lights when you leave a room.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} This will also save electricity and help you save a lot of money.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Driving is one of the biggest causes of pollution.If you want to use your car，ask yourself the following question：Do you really need your car？Walk or use your bike if the journey is a short one.

Use energy—saving light bulbs.It is true that these bulbs are more expensive.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} In the long term your electricity bill would be reduced.

Donate.If you have any spare and usable clothes or things，give them to someone in need.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} These groups may sell them and collect a little money.You will not only protect the environment，but also do some good.

All these tips will help you save money and do good to the environment.

Traditional Chinese culture is rich and interesting. It has different{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(形式)，such as traditional Chinese opera, festivals, handwriting, and so on. Here is a brief{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(介绍) about some of the traditional Chinese culture.

The Lion Dance is one of the{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(最生气勃勃的) folk dances in China. The dance has a history of more than 2, 000 years. In Chinese tradition, the lion is{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(认为) to be a mascot (吉祥物), which can bring good luck.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (表演) the lion dance at the Lantern Festival has become a custom in many parts of China. People can pray for good luck, safety and happiness by doing that. 

The Duanwu Festival, also called the Dragon Boat Festival, is to honor the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. People threw zongzi into the water after Qu Yuan threw {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(他自己) into the river, hoping that the fish would eat the zongzi instead of his body. For {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(千) of years, the festival has been marked by zongzi and dragon boat races.

Wushu can be traced back to ancient times. As we all know, the Chinese Wushu Association has been working very hard to {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(传播) the popularity of Wushu. As a way of self-defense and to keep people {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(健康的) and strong, Wushu has become popular in some other countries,{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (尤其) in Africa.

Kunqu Opera (昆曲), also called Kunqiang or Kunju, is one of the oldest operas in China. It has a long history of over 600 years and people call it the Mother of Chinese Operas. 

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Gu Jian, an artist in Kunshan near Suzhou, worked together with other artists and they first created (创作) Kunshan qiang. Then in the Ming Dynasty, Wei Liangfu, a great opera artist, changed it and a new kind of opera, Kunqu Opera, came into being (形成). After that, his student Liang Chenyu made more changes to Kunqu Opera and made the first Kunqu play in Chinese history—Huanshaji. Later, more and more artists started to write plays. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Kunqu Opera was quite popular in China. It was the No. 1 opera until Beijing Opera took its place because Beijing Opera was easier to learn. 

Kunqu Opera has lots of excellent plays from the old times. Many of them are still popular today, such as The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu, The Kite by Li Yu, The Peach Blossom Fan by Kong Shangren and The Palace of Eternal Youth by Hong Sheng. The Peony Pavilion is the very best of all Kunq u Opera plays. It tells the love story between Liu Mengmei and Du Liniang around a number of dreams.

Because of the hard work by opera artists and the help from our country, Kunqu Opera is coming back to life. 

Hi, I'm Lucy! I'm so glad {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(tell) you how to learn Chinese well. In fact, learning Chinese is hard work. You should  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(put) your heart into it. First, you'd better {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(listen) to the Chinese class carefully. Second, joining a Chinese club is a great way {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(practise) speaking Chinese. Finally, it's a good idea {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(sing) Chinese songs and watch Chinese films. Follow my advice and you'll certainly make progress (进步).