Dear Grandma,

    How are you? I am very busy this month. (A)September 5th is my good friend Gina's birthday. I will go to her birthday party in the evening. On the eleventh, (B)我有一个英语测试. On September 17th, I have a baseball game. You know I love baseball. On the 24th, I have a school trip. On the 28th, I'll go to Mr. Cool's Clothes Store. The clothes there are on sale that day. I want to buy a pair of sports shoes and a T-shirt. The hats there are very nice. I will buy one ① ________ you. Oh, Grandma, I'm very sorry I can't go to see you ② ________ my parents this month. See you next month.

 Yours,

Eric

    The Lily Pad Inn is just a short 5-minute walk away from the center of town. The inn is in a large private(私人的) home with a nice garden. The rooms are clean and prepared for rent by the month, week or day. Great scenery can be enjoyed from our rooftop (屋顶): Erhai Lake and Cang Mountain.

◆Stay connected with excellent Internet access(接入), printing service included.

◆Enjoy hot water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

◆Ticket service, laundry service and rental(供出租的) bicycles are offered.

◆Enjoy an interesting garden party and make friends with people from different countries.

Prices for Quiet and Clean Accommodations(住处)

(Short/ Long Term Stay)

Lovely Erin, the English-speaking Chinese owner and hostess, will help make your stay in Dali pleasant.

Mobile phone number: +86 13988569807

Office number: +86 0872 2677807

Email: Chinaerin@yahoo.cn or Chinaerin@hotmail.com

Website: www.chinaerin.spaces.live.com

Dear Wang Tao,

    I'm so glad to read about the changes taking place in your city. I am happy that you can travel by subway in Chongqing, though there are only six lines there. Here is London we have twelve lines.

    The London Underground is very famous. It's famous for several reasons. Firstly, part of the underground railway today is the oldest in the world. It opened in 1863. Secondly, the London Underground is also the first line to have electric（电动的）trains in 1890. Thirdly, the London Underground is the second largest metro（地下铁道）system in the world, after the Shanghai Metro. There are 270 stations in the Underground and it has 402 kilometers of tracks (轨道). What's more, the city of London itself helps make the transportation（交通）system famous! I've got a few photos to help you build a clear picture of the Underground in my city. They are together with this mail.

    In your e-mail, you also said workers were building more lines. I'm sure your city is developing fast. Maybe you can send me a few photos of your city today. I really want to see the changes taking place there. I'm happy for you to live in an ancient city with such a new look!

    So much for now. I'll write soon again. Best wishes!

Yours,John

    The Internet is generally(通常) considered to be the world that belongs to young people. But some old people in Shanghai don't think so. Recently, more than 8,000 people over 50 took part in a web page designing contest in Shanghai.

    The contest lasted for two months and attracted a lot of old people. Among them, the oldest is a 79-year-old retired (退休的) lady. She had learned web page designing for 4 months before attending the contest. She finally got an honorary ( 荣誉的) title of “The Most Senior Participant(参与者)”. About 30 other old people got different prizes such as “The Best Creative Work” and “The Best Fine Arts Work”. Their works' themes included science, technology, Olympics, personal life and so on.

    The organizers of the contest hoped to encourage more and more elderly people to learn more about the Internet world. And many of the participants felt they really got a lot from the contest. “Designing web page enriches my life and makes me feel much closer to the young people,” one participant said.

    The designing of web page is not an easy job. But that doesn't mean it is the patent(专利) of young people. In fact, as the saying goes: “It's never too old to learn.” As for the teenagers, perhaps they should know“It's never late to learn”, whether it is English, piano or others.

    Barbie was designed(设计)in 1959 by an American lady named Ruth Handler.

    When Ruth traveled around Europe in 1956 together    ①   her children Barbara and Kenneth，she saw a German toy doll   ②    Bild Lilli.Bild Lilli was pretty popular at that time，  ③   it was a paper doll.It made Ruth Handler   ④    to design a kind of adult-looking(成人模样的) doll for girls.With the help of her friends a beautiful doll was born.It was thin and   ⑤   big eyes and blonde hair(金发).Ruth named the doll Barbie after her own daughter Barbara.

    Barbie was introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City on March 9th，1959.This date is also used as Barbie's birthday.

    Now Barbie is known all over the world.About 150 countries sell Barbie dolls.Every second(秒)three Barbie dolls are sold around the world.

    In Western countries, most children get pocket money by doing some chores at home. They usually start to do chores at the age of ten. School students have to do their homework and study for test, so they don't have a lot of free time on weekdays and they often do some chores on weekends.

    Young kids can only do easy chores, so they don't get much money. But many of them only want to buy candy. And candy is cheap! They do the dishes after dinner and feed the pet cat or dog. Sometimes they water flowers and other plants in the garden.

    When kids get older, they want to buy more things. They want something more expensive than candy. Then they have to work harder. They often wash the car, cut the grass of feed the dog.

    Some chores can help kids learn new things. It is important for kids to learn how to do chores and help their parents with housework.