If you have seen the short play “I've got much money(不差钱)”, you must have been impressed by the way Xiao Shenyang dressed 1 . The dress he wore is called the kilt（苏格兰方格呢短裙）. There is a famous 2 in Scotland. It says, “ A man in s kilt is a man and a half.” This saying shows how 3 the kilt is for Scottish people. The kilt is a special dress. Most Scottish men 4 it. Why do Scottish men wear 5 and what's the history of this special dress?

 It's said that in the 16th century, the Scottish highlands were  6 , so the roads were always full of mud（泥）. The mud made it very difficult for soldiers to  7  around. Slowly people found that the soldiers in kilts could move more  8  than those in trousers because kilts were much more flexible（灵活的）. What's more, soldiers could use the kilts on cold nights  9  a blanket.

 In modern times, the kilt  10Scottish pride. People wear kilts for  11 events, weddings and traditional sporting events, for example. But that's not all. The colors of a kilt also show a person's  12  history. Each Scottish family has a different pattern. So a Scotsman is wearing not only the national dress of his country,  13 the pride of his family.

 Today, fashion designers are trying to make the kilt 14  more modern and fashionable to catch more eyes. Besides cloth, the designers are trying some  15  materials such as paper and leather（皮革）.

    Many, many years ago most people did not have beautiful books. Some families did not have books at all. The people 1 did have books had only a few.

    Instead of 2 books, people told stories. They would remember things 3 happened to them and would retell these tales to friends.

    Some stories you read in books today 4 to children many years ago by their fathers and mothers. 5 those girls and boys grew up, they, in turn, told their children the same tales.

    Sometimes the stories changed as one man told 6. That is why today there are different beginnings and different endings to the same folk tales. You 7 different names for all kinds of characters in the different versions(版本) of the tales. In this way the stories almost seem 8 different ones and not your favorite tales at all.

    Some people 9 stories. They would suppose 10 things which had happened could not really have happened. Such people became 11 as storytellers.

    In many of the tales, animals did the talking. In others, good men came to help bad men.

    Strange, exciting things 12. The different ideas made interesting stories.

    Some of the early tales, 13 them Mother Goose verses were told in rhyme. The poems were learned by boys and girls at home and at school.

    What Mother Goose rhymes do you know and remember? Do you think there was 14 a Mother Goose? Mother Goose stories and rhymes are 15 good ones that we read and enjoy them today, years after they were first told.

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    How do you keep cool during summer? Air conditioners or electric fans are good tools in modern society. But1that, people could only use fans.

    Over 3,000 years ago, fans began to be used. They were made of feathers (羽毛), bamboo or silk. They came in different2, including round and square.

    Later, with the invention of paper, folding(可折叠的) paper fans became popular during the Song Dynasty. There are usually beautiful3on fans. Some are landscapes（风景）. Others are flowers and animals. Moreover, many great people including Su Dongpo, a poet of the Song Dynasty, and Tang Yin, scholar (学者) and painter of the Ming Dynasty, once painted their masterpieces (杰作) on fans. This made fans not only4tools in daily life but also great artworks.

    So, with its value ofbeauty, people take fans as a symbol of status （地位）. That's why in old China, emperors and scholars often held fans.

    Today, fans are also great collectors' items (藏品) and gifts. On the opening ceremony of the2008 Beijing Olympic Games, folding fans were   5to leaders and officials (官员 ) of othercountries. While they were6fans to get cool, they were also experiencing Chinese culture.

Like two different worlds

    I come from London, a very big city! Over 81people live there, and it's always busy with tourists. So moving to a little town2only 15, 000 people is a big change for me! I am living in a little town in the countryside in Germany now.

    In the countryside, the towns are 3so everyone knows each other. At home in London, I don't even know my neighbours! Another nice thing about the countryside is that it's very green and there's lots of fresh air. I like nature, and it's nice to see4the seasons change the trees. My favourite thing about living in the countryside is that I can see thousands of 5 at night. At home I can hardly see any! That's because there's 6light in the city, but here everything is dark and the stars twinkle in the sky.

    One thing I do like about living in a city is that it's7to travel. We have the subways, buses and trains, and we even have buses that run all night. Here, the last train is before 9 pm, and there's only one an hour!  Another good thing about cities is that there are lots of 8, so you can usually find what you need. In my town here there aren't many shops, 9I have to go to the nearest city!

    I always thought I was a city girl, but now I like the countryside too. They are like two different worlds, but10feel like home!

    In our country there are street names everywhere. So it is 1 for us to give directions. You can just say what street a 2is on. For example: It's on Guang Ming Street. It's next to the bank. However, there are no street names in some other countries. How do the people give directions then?

    Most visitors from other countries are often puzzledin Japan because most streets there don't have names. In Japan, people use 3. For example, when you ask the way to the hospital, the Japanese will say," Go straight down to the corner. Turn right at the big hotel and go past a bookstore. The hospital is there."

    People in California have no idea of distance in their minds. They give distance by means of time, not miles." 4is the hospital?" you ask." Oh," they answer, "It's about ten minutes from here." You say," Yes, but how many miles away is it?" They don't know.

    People in Greece won't tell you 5the hospital is. Because visitors cannot understand the Greek language. But a Greek often says, "6me." Then he'll lead you through the streets of the city to the hospital.