Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you.

    Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m. and end at about 11 p.m. Ask you hosts(主办人) what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine(酒) as a gift.

    Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. If you want to be very polite, say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember—It's not polite to ask how much things cost.

    In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests(客人).

    You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.

    Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short “thank you” letter. British and American people like to say “thank you, thank you, thank you” all the time!

    My sister and I went to an art museum last weekend. The museum was having a two-week show. Lots of very old artworks from two cities in Italy were on show.

    I liked one of the paintings best. The light on the woman's dress made it look as if she was really sitting there. A note on the wall told me about the artist and the painting. I was also interested in a very old sculpture(雕像). Parts of it had broken off. But I could still see how the man looked.

    There were quite a lot of paintings in the museum. Some paintings were stored away (保存). We saw them on the computer. The computer had a note about each painting and artist.

    After enjoying the artworks, we went to a room with costumes (戏装) in the museum. There my sister dressed up like one of the people in the old paintings. That was her favourite part of visiting the museum.

    In the museum, we also made art ourselves. I drew some flowers. And my sister drew a cute cat.

    At last we went to a gift shop in the museum. My sister chose a book for kids, and I chose a little sculpture.

    My sister and I were tired, but we had fun. I hope there can be more shows as exciting as this one in the museum.

In 2023, a group of the young drew much attention in their different fields. They have become role models for young Chinese by showing how excellent and active they are. Here are the stories of three of them.

Chinese writer Hai Ya's The Space-Time Painter won an important prize on Oct 21st. He is the third Chinese writer to win this prize. Hai Ya was born in the 1990s. His work mixes history and science. The Space-TimePainter, for example, tells us a story of a painter called Zhao Ximeng. 

15-year-old Chen Yujie won the 100-meter event at the second U15 Gymnasiade (世界中学生运动会) in August. Chen often takes hard training all day and all night. Although it makes her painful sometimes, she says, "I get used to the training and it gives me the chance to realize my dream. I will keep on running!"

On Dec 21st, the members of Shenzhou XVII carried out their first spacewalk outside the Tiangong space station. Among them, Tang Shengjie who was born in 1989 set a new record by becoming the youngest Chinese astronaut (宇航员) to have a spacewalk. "It's the highest honor (荣誉) for me." he said in an interview with Xinhua.

Last summer, my parents and I were planning to travel. We finally {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (choose) Shanghai. Shanghai is a large, crowed and modern city but it also has lots {#blank#}2{#/blank#} historical places. 

We comfortably stayed there for two days. On the first day, we went to Nanjing Road. There were many shopping malls and people, so we had to speak {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(loud) to make our voice be heard. We also bought several {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(ticket) to visit some places of interest. In the morning, we took {#blank#}5{#/blank#} walk along the Huangpu River. After {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(visit) the Bund in the evening, we went to the Oriental Pearl Tower. It is a famous place in Pudong and one of the world's {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (tall) TV towers. 

On the second day, we visited Xintiandi. We saw many modern shops and restaurants in traditional shikumen-style houses. The scenery(风景) was really amazing, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} we went back early. Because it was hotter than {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(I) hometown. 

The trip to Shanghai {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(leave) an unforgettable memory on me. I liked both the new and the old Shanghai. Two days was a bit short. I hope I can go to Shanghai again some time in the future. 

 We often say," A friend in need is a friend indeed." Here is a good example. Once there were two good1 — Tom and Jack. One day, Tom wanted to borrow some 2 to build a factory. He went to the bank and the clerk said he should first3 a warrantor(担保人). Tom told Jack about it and Jack s a id he would like to help him. Unluckily, Tom did4 in his business. Finally, he had to close t h e5 and left his city without telling anyone. When the bank couldn't find Tom, they wanted Jack to pay off(还清) the money for Tam. Jack felt very 6 because he didn't earn much. So Jack 7 his house and moved to live with his parents. But he know Tom would return one day.

 Ten years later, Tom returned from Canada. He began to8 when he saw Jack. Tom said with tears in his 9 that he would give the money back to Jack, but Jack didn't accept.

"I have my own house now. I know you were in 10 trouble at that time. As good friends, we should help each other. Is it right?"

My name is Lily.  I like collecting stamps very much. 

At the age of five, I started to collect stamps.  My uncle, John, gave me a nice stamp and showed his stamp album to me.  The stamps in his stamp album were so beautiful that I was deeply attracted.  I became interested in stamps from that day on.  I put my first stamp in my notebook.  Later, I bought a stamp album and started collecting stamps by category (类别). 

My family helped to buy stamps for me.  After my friends and classmates knew my hobby, they started to help me collect stamps.  Sometimes I traded with them, too.  Gradually, I collected over one thousand stamps from different countries around the world when I was ten. 

I gain knowledge (获得知识) by collecting stamps.  I learn about the history, geography and customs of the world.  It also cultivates (培养) my sentiment (情操).  I often enjoy them in my spare time.  My friends and classmates all like them, too.