Members of an international organization are called the Global Greeters. They offer travelers the chance to get to know a city as well as local people do.

    Unlike the professional guides(专业导游), the volunteer greeters act more like neighbours. They take visitors to visit the city–either on foot or public traffic—to discover favourite neighbourhoods, cafes and parks.

    All the programs work a little differently, but the basics(基本项目) are the same. The tours are free and last anywhere for two or four hours. Volunteers can be all ages, and their ages and interests try to match the travelers.

    New York City(USA)

    Big Apple Greeter is the pioneer “welcome visitor” program founded in 1992 by New Yorker Lynn Brooks. More than 300 volunteers now can welcome guests from all over the world in 22 languages. Greeters explain the New York City subway and bus systems and show guests around one or more of their favourite neighbourhoods. Like many greeter organizations, Big Apple accepts online donations to help with its daily costs.

    Houston(USA)

    Houston Greeters will organize activities such as golf, biking or an outing to an Astros game(太空人队的比赛). Another activity is to arrange a tour in need of a particular interest.

    Chicago(USA)

    Chicago Greeters help visitors visit one of the city's many famous neighbourhoods. The group organizes walks through Ukrainian Village on the Near North Side and Andersonville, home to Scandinavian restaurants and shops and Middle Eastern bakeries. Guides will also organize tours around themes such as fashion, film or public art.

    France

    In France, English speaking volunteers for Parisien d'un Jour lead visitors through hidden corners of Paris, often ending with a lively discussion on a café balcony. Guides in Lyon organize walks around themes such as shopping, markets and sports.

    English homework may be boring for many students. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Our English teacher, Mrs. Lin, asked us to write an English letter to ourselves in the future. Mrs. Lin said she got the idea from Steve Jobs' time capsule (时光胶囊). In 1983, Jobs buried his time capsule. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}That was 30 years later. So what will you write about to your future self? Everyone was surprised and whispered (窃窃私语) about it.

    " {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And write about how you will make your dream come true. Then you can bury the letter and wait for 20 years to open it again," Mrs. Lin told us.

    It was really interesting! {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Some would like to sing songs and become stars. In my letter, I wrote "I hope to be a doctor." I want to cure (治愈) people and I won't ask for much money, just like my dad.  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For example I would read more books and learn two foreign languages in my twenties.

    Can we realize our dreams? Let's wait and see!

    Some countries are better than others at protecting the environment. In Europe, Germany and northern European countries work very hard to improve the environment. The people in Germany put their rubbish into different bags—paper in one bag, plastic in another bag, etc. The rubbish is then taken away and, if possible, recycled. There are laws that do not allow people to burn too much coal.

    In the 1970s, as people learned more about environmental problems, the "Green" movement(运动)began and soon spread all over Europe. The "Green" movement tries to get governments to protect the environment. It collects information about how industry is damaging(毁坏)the environment and tells it to the newspapers.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}On that day, I learned how to make zongzi from my mother. And I watched the boat races on TV.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}On that day, I got some lucky money from my parents and wore new clothes to visit relatives. And we said "Happy new year" to each other.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}On that day, I sent my mom a card and some flowers. I said to her, I love you

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}On that day, we had a big dinner. Then we sat around the beautiful Christmas tree in the living room and sang songs happily

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}That night, all my family went out to enjoy the bright full moon. We also ate some moon cakes and fruit.

A. the Mid-autumn Festival

    It is a time for family members to get together. And it is also a time to enoy the beauty of the full moon.

B. Dragon Boat Festival

    It is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. Eating zongzi and having dragon boat races are very important customs of this festival.

C. The Spring Festival

    It starts on the first day of the first unary month. On the Spring Festival morning, people usually visit relatives. Older people give lucky money to children

D. Thanksgiving Day

    It is a time to give thanks for food in the autumn. Turkey is always the most important food in this festival.

E. Mother's Day

    Mother s Day in the United States is on the second Sunday of May. It is a time to show mothers our love

F. April Fool's Day

    April 1 is not a national holiday, but it is celebrated in man counties. On this day, practical jokes are played on friends and family.

G. Christmas Day

    At Christmas, family members get together to eat Christmas dinner. Parents always give children gifts. The Christmas tree is a symbol of Christmas Day

Environmental protection is one of the hottest topics nowadays. It was also something that ancient Chinese paid great attention to. In fact, the world's earliest environmental protection idea, ministry （部门） and law were all born in China. How did the ancient Chinese protect the environment?

The world's earliest idea of "managing state affairs（政事）through environmental protection"

Xunzi, a famous thinker in the Warring States Period, came up with the idea of "managing state affairs through environmental protection". He wrote in his book that vegetation（植被）should be protected well by humans.

Guan Zhong, a government officer 400 years ahead of Xunzi, was also an environmental protection expert. He said "a king who cannot protect his vegetation is not doing a good job".

The world's earliest environmental protection ministry"

Nine ministries set up by Shim, an ancient Chinese emperor, included "Yu"（虞） , an environmental protection ministry. Hie first " Yu'' leader was Boyi, an environmental protection expert. He invented wells so people could drink clean water. He knew a lot about animals and also called for animal protection.

The world's earliest "environmental protection law"

Over 4, 000 years ago, Dayu, an ancient Chinese water-control expert and also an emperor, made a rule, not allowing people to cut down trees in March or catch fish in June, because it was the time when they grew quickly.

Almost 3,000 years ago, Tianlv, the first environmental protection law, appeared in Qin. It recorded many ancient environmental protection rules. Two of them were interesting: firstly, rivers should not be blocked（堵塞）; secondly, grass and trees should not be burned to be fertilizer （肥料）except for summer. The second one is inspiring even for today. It can help to keep air clean and fresh.

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