The most valuable gift I have ever received was a photo album from my best friend Kevin.

      Kevin and I were classmates for all six years of primary school. We both had the same interests, so we always had a lot of things to talk about. It is wonderful to have such a good friend.

      However, last summer, Kevin had to move to another city because of his father's job. Then he gave me a photo album. “It has photos of the memorable events we have experienced together. I've also written some notes under each photo,” he said. I was deeply moved.

      I put the album beside my bed. I always look at it when I think of Kevin.

    We sometimes call the lion “the king of the jungle” Because it is stronger and more dangerous than other animals.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It is the highest animal in the land food chain.

    In the sea, the shark is one of the animals at the top of the food chain. It can swim faster than most other sea animals{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}People are! We are not the biggest or fastest, but we are the cleverest. We could not run faster than cheetahs, so we invented cars and now we can move the fastest. We could not fight better than lions, so we invented guns. Now we can hunt the best. People's inventions are clever, but they can be dangerous, too. For example, people invented factories, and now they make the air and rivers dirty.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Dirty rivers kill fish. Then bears cannot eat the fish and die. If we kill one part of the food chain. Other parts also die. Remember that we are a part of the food chain, so we are in danger, too!{#blank#}5{#/blank#}We should and we could do something for the world!

Hi, David,

    Guess what? I'm writing to you from Beijing! It's my first summer holiday abroad, and here I'm in China! I'm going to learn Chinese for two weeks at a summer camp. Then my parents are going to join me here. I plan to spend another two weeks here and go on a tour around the country with them. It's going to be very exciting! We're going to visit the Great Wall and the Palace Museum in Beijing. Then we're going to be in Xi'an from July 24th to 27th. My dad says he's going to take lots of photos of the Terracotta Warriors. After that, we're going to Jiuzhaigou. It's famous for its beautiful mountains and clear lakes. Our last stop on the trip is Sanya. My mum's going to spend lots of time on the beach, but I'm going to swim in the sea every day.

    OK, I have to go. I'm going to meet my Chinese penfriend, Daming. He's going to take me to the Bird's Nest tonight. There's going to be a rock concert there. I can't wait!

Yours,

David

    About one hundred years ago many educated people learned and spoke French when they met people from other countries. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It has become the new international language. There are more people who speak English as a second language than people who speak English as a first language. Why is this?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} One of them is that English has become the language of business. Another important reason is that popular American culture (like movies, music, and McDonald's) has quickly spread all over the world. It has brought its language with it.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I don't know. It's important to have a language that the people of the earth have in common. Our world has become very global(全球性的) and we need to communicate with one another. On the other hand, English is quite a difficult language to learn and it brings its culture with it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Scientists have already tried to create an artificial(人造的) language that isn't too difficult and doesn't include any one group's culture. It is called Esperanto. But it hasn't become popular. But maybe the popularity of English won't last that long either. Who knows? There are more people in the world who speak Chinese than any other language. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Do we really need that?

B. So it is important for people to learn French.

C. There are many reasons why English has become so popular.

D. Today most people speak English when they meet foreigners.

E. Maybe someday Chinese will be the new international language.

F. More than six thousand languages are spoken in the world today.

G. Is it good that English has spread to all parts of the world so quickly?

Li Ming's birthday

    It's Saturday today and it's Li Ming's birthday. He is twelve years old. Li Ming is very happy because he gets lots of presents from his family and friends. Now let's see what they are.

    His parents have a birthday party for him. Li Ming's mother makes a birthday cake for him. It's big and delicious. He likes music very much, so his father gives him a ticket to a concert.  His uncle gives a book to him as a birthday present.

    He likes it very much. His sister Betty sends him a birthday card and she makes it by hand. And his friend Tom gives him a football. They often play football after school. Li Ming likes these presents. They sing Happy Birthday together and have a good time.

Li Ming's birthday {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Chris is not a traditional explorer(探险者)— he usually works in an office for a large organization. Yet his job can sometimes be just as exciting and dangerous as being an explorer.

    Chris works for MSF, an organization also known as Doctors Without Borders (无国界医生). MSF sends trained doctors all over the world to help people after a war or a disaster. Chris is a doctor from France who has travelled to many places to organize programmes that help people.

At the moment, there are over 27,000 trained doctors and nurses taking part in MSF projects and tasks. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. All kinds of doctors can volunteer for MSF. They need to be prepared to go almost anywhere in the world and, of course, they should expect difficult conditions. Doctors with experience in tropical(热带的)diseases are especially useful because most of MSF's work is in Africa. When MSF accepts a doctor for a task, he has to go for at least six months. When doctors have completed a few tasks, they might be sent on an emergency task following a disaster, such as an earthquake.

    But why would a doctor leave a comfortable life and a good pay to join MSF? According to Chris, the experience you gain is a great help in your work. Besides, just like the explorers of the past, you need to keep an open mind and learn to get on well with the people you meet. Above all, at the end of each task, you have made a real difference to people's lives.