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    Hi! We are Lucy and Lily. We are sisters. We are studying in a high school. We are always wanting the weekends to come. Because on weekends there are different kinds of outdoor activities, such as going to the park, going shopping, playing ball games and so on.

    We usually go to the park on Saturdays. We often take some bread, meat, water and milk with us. It's Saturday today. We are in the park again. Father is fishing in a boat on the lake(湖). Mother is sitting and reading under the tree. We are flying a kite. Now we are drinking some water. Do you think we are happy?

    Most English people have three names: a first name, a middle name and a family name. For example, my full name is Ann Allan Green. Green is my family name. Ann and Allan are my given names. People don't use their middle names very much.So we can say Ann Green. We can say Miss Green or Mrs. Green. But we can't say Miss Ann or Mrs. Ann. It's different from Chinese names. In China, the first name is the family name and the last name is the given name.

    Sumo wrestling (相扑) is a national sport in Japan. Every year there are six tournaments, and millions of Japanese watch them on television. A tournament is a series of matches.

    Sumo wrestling is almost as old as the nation of Japan itself. Stories say that there was sumo wrestling over 2,000 years ago. There are written records of national sumo tournaments in the 8th century.

    In many sports, athletes are thin and can move very quickly. However, sumo wrestlers weigh from 100 to 160 kilograms. One famous wrestler weighed 195 kilograms. Sumo wrestlers do not move quickly, and sumo wrestling is a very slow sport.

    Sumo wrestlers start hard training when they are boys. They exercise to make their bodies strong. They also eat a lot.

    They wrestle in a round ring with a sand floor. A wrestler loses the match if he leaves the ring. He is also the loser if any part of his body except his feet touches the floor. Each wrestler tries to push the other down on the floor or out of the ring. Sometimes one wrestler just steps aside when the other wrestler rushes towards him. Then, the wrestler who is rushing falls down or moves out of the ring.

    Sumo wrestling is not very popular in other countries, but the Japanese think that it is a very exciting sport.

    In China, the 12^th month of the lunar calendar（阴历）is called layue. The month is full of interesting festivals and customs.

    Laba Festival, which falls on the eighth day of layue, is the first festival in this month. From this day on, people begin to get ready for the Chinese New Year. On Laba Festival, people eat hot Laba porridge.

    There are usually eight things in the porridge: rice, red beans, peas, dried lotus seeds（莲子）, dates（红枣）, and three different kinds of fruits and nuts. The porridge is not just good for your health, but a blessing（祝福）for the coming of Chinese New Year.

    Laba porridge is not the only tasty food in layue. Laba garlic（腊八蒜）is popular in the north.

    People begin to soak garlic in vinegar from that day on, and eat it with dumplings during the Chinese New Year. While in the south, people like making sausages.

    Another major celebration before Spring Festival is xiaonian. It is usually on the 23^rd or 24^th day of the last lunar month. Traditionally it is an important occasion when people offer sacrifices（祭品）to the Kitchen God who looks after the family.

    Don't forget to clean your home. This is also an important thing to do to prepare for the Chinese New Year. It means sweeping away the dust of the old year and welcoming a fresh start.

    Now, the last thing for you to do is to wait for the coming Spring Festival.

    One of the most famous buildings in the United States is Carnegie Hall, the home of classical and popular music concerts in New York. Carnegie Hall is known not just for its beauty and history, but also for its amazing sound. It has been said that the hall itself is an instrument. It takes the music and makes it larger than life.

    Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. He was a wealthy man who also gave a lot of money to schools and public libraries. Construction on Carnegie Hall began in 1890 and the official opening night was on May 5, 1891.

    The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1924 when it was sold to Robert E. Simon. The building became very old and in 1960, the new owner made plans to destroy it and build an office block. Isaac Stem led a group of people who fought to save Carnegie Hall and finally, the city of New York bought it for $5 million. It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995.

    In 1986, people realized that Carnegie Hall had never kept proper records of its history. Advertisements and stories in newspapers about how Carnegie Hall needed help to recover its history led people to send in old concert programmes and information from all over the world. Over 12,000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall's concert history.

    Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. This has led to a very old joke which is now part of Carnegie Hall's history. Question: "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" Answer: "Practise, practise, practise."