The word "hobby" is an interesting word. Every person has one thing he or she likes to do for fun. Some people like to collect things like stamps or story books. Others like to play football or go window shopping where you can look at many beautiful things without buying them.

    I have many hobbies I do for fun. I sometimes play golf with my sons. I play tennis with all the family. I like to collect music books. I also collect musical instruments from China like the erhu, the dizi, the xiao, the suona, and the pipa. These are the instruments of China which cannot be found in America.

    My favourite hobby is fishing. I like to go and see my brother in the state of Alaska where fishing is wonderful. The two of us take a boat and go to a small river where we fish for salmon, the American most famous fish.

    The Monkey Buffet Festival is on the last Sunday of November. It is a great day for monkeys in Thailand(泰国). The festival has a history of twenty-five years. People there think monkeys can bring good luck to them. So, to thank monkeys, they have this special festival.

    On that day every year, people put lots of fruit, vegetables, cakes and even drinks on the tables outside. They are all for monkeys. Many people come to see the monkeys on that day.

    During the festival, there are a lot of interesting activities about monkeys. Young people always dress like monkeys. And they sing and dance and play some music on the street.

    Monkeys always live in groups. Most of them live in the trees. They are good at running and jumping. They eat fruit, vegetables, flowers and birds' eggs. Monkeys are clever. Do you think so?

    Hi, I'm Wang Li. Today my father buys a new computer for me. It has a keyboard, a screen, a mouse and a printer. I am very happy because I can download(下载) some things from the Internet and print my homework. Do you know how to do your homework on the computer? Let me tell you! First, turn on the computer. Next, click the mouse on new document. Then, write your homework in the new document.

    Of course, I can play computer games on Saturdays and Sundays. I love the computer. What about you, my friend?

Hi Amy,

    You asked me for some information about eating out in Lichfield. Well, eating out in Lichfield is great. Lichfield has a number of really good restaurants and the best one is Steak House. It's the best because it has the thickest steaks, the freshest salads and the best French fries. You need to get there before 7:00 p.m.to get a table, because it gets crowded after that.

    If you want something cheaper, you can go to Fish House. It's better than many other restaurants, and it is really great for people who like fish. The servings are the biggest in town. And it's easier to get a table than at Steak House. But Steak House is more convenient, because it's closer to the center of the city than FishHouse. Hamburger House is popular with teenagers, but older people might like other restaurants. In fact, it has the best service in Lichfield.

Yours,

Tina

Information Card

    We usually use chopsticks and spoons: Americans usually use forks and knives. However, the people in some countries don't use any of these tools. They prefer to eat with their fingers. It sounds messy, but they have ways to keep clean.

    In the southern part of India, people use banana leaves to eat. Everyone gets a small square of banana leaf. Each person washes his or her square of leaf, and then uses it to eat.

    In Ethiopia, food is wrapped in a special kind of bread. This bread is very flat and feels like a wet sponge(海绵). There are lots of holes in the bread to hold food and sauce. A small piece is torn of(被撕下) to pick up food.

    In the Middle East, people eat with only their fingers on the right, hand. They always try to keep the right hand clean. The left hand is used for touching dirty things.

    Every month, junior high schools in China choose one hero of the month. This person is a hero because he or she has done something to help protect animals in danger. Huang Jing decided to write a letter to the President of China.

Dear Mr President.

    I have been doing a project at school recently about animals in danger. I think the situation all over the world is really terrible. I am writing to you to suggest what China should do to help protect animals more.

    I know that there are nearly 2, 000 nature reserves in China, which is good. I live in Beijing and there are about 30 reserves outside the city. We visited one of them last month to sec for ourselves.

    I feel so sorry for the giant panda. It's one of the most popular animals in the world and a real symbol of China. We learned that pandas mainly live on bamboo, and that a panda can eat half its body weight of bamboo in 24 hours！That's a lot of bamboo. I think we should try to do more to stop cutting down forests. Pandas are already a rare animal and it would be so sad if they became extinct(灭绝)forever.

    The other animal we should try to protect more is the Chinese alligator(场子努). These creatures live in some parts of eastern China. These beautiful animals live in freshwater rivers and lakes but the water in some places isn't clean enough for them to live in. It's really dirty in fact. The government should stop factories polluting the lakes and rivers.

    If we protect these beautiful animals in China, more foreigners may wish to visit China to see them. They could be an important tourist attraction. It would be good if more people came to visit our beautiful country, especially to see the quieter areas in the country. Now most visitors just see the cities.

    I hope you will encourage more people to think about such an important subject.

Sincerely yours,

Huang Jing