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In many countries, tattoos are in fashion (时尚). On TV you can often see a famous actor or musician with a tattoo on his arm or foot. Many sports players have them, too. In the US, tattoos are very popular. Forty percent of Americans aged between 26 and 40 have a tattoo, and 60 percent of customers in US tattoo parlors are women. These people are often professional people like doctor, teachers and lawyers.

However, tattoos are not modern. In fact, they are very old in human history. For example, archaeologists (考古学家) found a human in ice from 5,000 years ago. He had 57 tattoos on his back, ankles, legs, knees and feet. Tattoos were used for many different reasons. In ancient Egypt, people got tattoos because they were “beautiful”. But in ancient Rome, tattoos were negative (负面的) and put on criminals and prisoners. In India, tattoos were religious (宗教的).

In the 16^th and 17^th century, European sailors (船员) arrived on the islands of Polynesia. They saw tattoos for the first time. The people on the islands had tattoos on their shoulders, chests, backs and legs. Often the tattoos were of animals or natural features like a river or a mountain. The European sailors liked them and made their own tattoos, so the idea traveled to Europe. Tattoos in Polynesia are still important today. They show information about a person's history, their island or their job.

So is there a connection (联系) between traditional tattoos and fashionable tattoos? And can you call tattoos a fashion? Chris Rainier is an expert in tattoos and his book Ancient Marks has photos of tattoos from all over the world. He thinks people in modern societies often have tattoos because they are a connection to the traditional world. But tattoos aren't a fashion like clothes or a haircut because you can't put them on and take them off again like a jacket or a hat. They are permanent (永久的) and for life.

My uncle David was thirty-six years old when he resigned(辞职). At that time he was a  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(主管) in a big company. Everyone thought he was {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(发 疯 的) and worried about his future. But it  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(似乎) now he is more successful. Uncle David always wanted to be a presenter. He loved working in radio and enjoyed the feeling of  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(采访) people. That was why he left the company and started from scratch(从头开始).

It was not easy, however. At first, he found a  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (兼职的) job at a radio station. His main job was to collect the latest   {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(国家的) and local news and write reports. It sounded boring, but David kept doing this day in and day out. With a good educational   {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(背景) and great effort, he did a great job. After several months his  {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(文章) caught the manager's attention. One year later, he began to introduce his own programme. It was a success and it won the hearts of many  {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (听众).

Uncle David has set a good  {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(例子) for me. What I have learnt from him is that it's never too late to fulfill my dream.

Jacaranda is from South America and was introduced to Kunming in the 1980s. Each May, the city is in purple as the trees are full of the flowers, attracting a number of visitors. Kunming is known as the "kingdom of flowers". In recent years, the jacaranda has been helping further increasing the popularity of the city.

jacaranda

I spent my college time in Kunming ten years ago. So I still have feelings for the city. Back then, we couldn't see these flowers. They are suddenly famous in recent years. They're really beautiful, and I feel happy to see the city improving.

The local government is also taking the chance to organize many activities to develop the tourism. During National Labour Day holiday, the visitors there almost doubled compared to the last year. You can buy all kinds of popular local foods and cultural and creative products here at this special market. This ice cream in the shape of jacaranda flowers is just one of the most popular products here. During weekends there are also concerts to greet visitors. Now, special sightseeing buses are also in service to help people better enjoy the beautiful flowers. It's a different experience. We just walked around but now we can take the bus to enjoy the flowers. It feels great, and we can take many different kinds of pictures.

The local government says they will further make good use of the value of the flowers by expanding planting areas and holding more creative activities.

Garfield (加菲猫) first appeared in a comic strip (连载漫画) on June 19, 1978. Garfield is famous as a cartoon hero. Garfield products are {#blank#}1{#/blank#} in many countries. 

Jim Davis created Garfield. Jim was born in 1945 in India. He grew up {#blank#}2{#/blank#} on a farm. His dad kept sheep. Jim and his brother Dave helped with the farm work. They had 25 cats. Their room was always full {#blank#}3{#/blank#} food for the cats. 

As a boy, Jim was in poor {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. When he had to spend time {#blank#}5{#/blank#} a rest, he drew pictures to make his life {#blank#}6{#/blank#}. In 1969, he got a job to help a cartoonist. Jim found that there were many comic strips about dogs but few about cats. He couldn't believe it {#blank#}7{#/blank#} there were so many cat lovers. 

He remembered the 25 farm cats he grew up with. They {#blank#}8{#/blank#} him lots of ideas for a cat comic strip. In the comic strip, Garfield became the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} role. Jim Davis has received many {#blank#}10{#/blank#} for his work.

Kate Sessions was interested in trees when she was a child. While other girls didn't want to get their hands dirty, little Kate enjoyed picking up branches(树枝) and fruits in the forest. Kate also danced and sang songs happily there. She felt the trees were her friends. She loved the way they grew toward the sky and how their branches stretched(延伸) to get the light. Kate thought the trees were like big umbrellas that protected her and the animals, birds and plants that lived in the forest. Kate smiled as she walked among the trees, enjoying the sounds of birds. Not everyone felt at home in the forest,but Kate did.

Kate learned well in school. She learned how to read and write. She remembered the stories she read. But best of all, she liked studying wind and rain, plants and trees, especially trees. At that time, very few girls chose to study science, but Kate chose to learn ecology(生态学) because of her love for it. She still tried to make her dream come true as a person who knew much about trees. 

After leaving school, Kate came to San Diego, a city with few green plants and bad air. Kate made a decision to better the air of the city, so she brought different kinds of trees to San Diego and called on her friends to plant trees with her. With hard work, they made Balboa Park in San Diego a beautiful and fantastic garden. Kate is also known as the" Mother of Balboa Park".