Our children and grandchildren may not have a chance to visit many of the most famous places around the world. War, weather, age, traffic and pollution damage (破坏) these famous places. If we do nothing, they may even no longer remain. But looking after these places often costs more than one country can afford.

    In the early 1970s, world governments decided that if they joined together, they would be able to preserve (保护) our history. If every country paid some money, they said, it would be possible to look after important historic places. For this reason, countries around the world united to form the World Heritage Organization in 1972. Today, the organization helps to protect and rebuild the most important places from our history.

    However, one of the biggest problems for historic places is vandalism. That is to say, people sometimes enter these places and damage the buildings. At some places, such as Stonehenge in England, governments have built high fences to protect it from vandals.

    There are many different ideas about how to solve the problem of vandalism. Some professors say that if guards keep walking around these places, vandals won't be able to get in. Some professors say that if they fix more television cameras, they won't need so many guards. Others say that the best way is education. If people learn to respect history, they won't damage it. They will also want to spend money looking after old places. For this reason, the World Heritage Organization helps to spread information about the value of historic places.

     Kumar and his two friends built a robot and named it Athena. They would go for Battle of the Bots--the city's biggest robot competition, and it would start in two days. The winning team would get $5,000.

     "How are we going to beat (打败) the Cougars?" asked Alex. The Cougars was the team that won the last two years' competitions.

    Kumar said, "The Cougars always build a big and strong (强壮的) robot. But usually their robot isn't very fast."

    "Our robot is fast," Alyssa said.

    "Yes!" Kumar said. "Don't worry. I have a plan for how to do it." Kumar told the group his plan and they began to work.

    Two days later, the competition began. Kumar said to his friends, "I' m sure the plan will work and Athena will win. Just wait and see."

    Athena won all of her first battles (较量). The Cougars' big, strong robot, The Avenger, did well, too. By the end of the day, The Avenger and Athena were the only two robots left in the competition.

    Soon the battle between Athena and the Avenger began. The Avenger lunged (猛扑) for Athena, but the small robot was too quick for him. Athena went behind The Avenger and, before the larger robot had time to turn, Athena hit (攻击) him from behind. The Avenger fell" down and couldn't move.

    The three friends all jumped up excitedly. "Now it's time for the real question," said Alex“      ”

    The world is not hungry, but it is thirsty. It seems strange that nearly 3/4 of the Earth is covered with water while we say we are short of（短缺）water. Why? Because about 97% of water on the Earth is sea water which we can't drink or use for watering plants directly(直接地）. Man can only drink and use the 3%-the water that comes from rivers and lakes. And we can't even use all of that, because some of it has been polluted(污染）.

    Now more water is needed. The problem is Can we avoid（避免）a serious water shortage later on? First, we should all learn how to save water. Secondly, we should find out the ways to reuse it. Scientists have always been researching in the field. Today, in most large cities water is used only once and then runs to the seas or rivers. But it can be used again. Even if(即使）every large city reused its water, there would not be enough. What can people turn to next?

    The seas seem to have the best answer. There is a lot of water in the seas. All that needs to be done is get the salt out of the sea water. This is expensive, but it's already used in many parts of the world. Scientists are trying to find a cheaper way of doing it. So you see, if we can find a way out, we'll be in no danger of drying up.

Hello! My name is Sara and I'm thirteen years old. I'm from France. My best friend is Mary. She is from Germany and one year older than me. She came to France with her family five years ago. At the be- ginning (开始) she couldn't speak French well but now it's different. She's very hard-working at school and she's fluent in French now,

Mary is tall and beautiful. She has long curly brown hair and brown eyes. We are in the same school and she lives not far from my home. We often go home together. After school we also spend some time together. Because I'm better at math and science and she is better at history and geography, we can always help each other with our homework. She also likes reading very much. Last year she won a special prize (奖) for the best reader in our class.

My friend is not very sporty. She doesn't like team games(团队运动)but she likes swimming. I like sports and we go swimming together every Saturday morning. She's a little shy with new people but with me she's friendly! I like her and she always brings out the best in me. I really hope we can be best friends for life!

Chongyang Festival is also called Double Ninth Festival.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} During the festival, Chongyang cake and chrysanthemum （菊花） wine are the traditional food. Climbing mountains and admiring beautiful chrysanthemums are interesting events.

 {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It has two layers（层） with nuts and jujubes （枣） between them. Since cake in Chinese is pronounced "gao" meaning high, people consider climbing a high mountain to be the same as eating cake. They also hope that they can make progress in the following days after eating the cake. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Drinking chrysanthemum wine is a necessary part of the festival. Chrysanthemums have the function of an antitoxin（抗毒素） and can drive the evil（邪恶） away. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

It is said that by climbing to a high mountain diseases can be prevented. Many well-known poems were created to describe the scene and feeling of mountain climbing. Now, family relatives or good friends gather to climb mountains to enjoy the beautiful scenery and share happiness of the holiday with each other. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

 Have you heard of mental toughness? Often talked about in relation to sports, mental toughness is characterized by the ability to always perform well under stress. Research has shown that it is also a useful quality (品质) for students, with benefits for school achievement, classroom behavior, and relationships with others.

 However, mental toughness is often misunderstood. It is sometimes related to hiding your feelings, or not acknowledging (承认) your weaknesses, which can harm student well-being, as well as school performance and socializing.

 So, what actually is mental toughness, and how can it be developed in schools?

 Students who show mental toughness are aware of and able to control their emotions. This helps them to think clearly under stress, on the day of exams for example. One way to help with this is to encourage students to talk to themselves in a positive and helpful way. Students may be upset if they don't do as well on a task as they hoped. By asking themselves questions, such as"What would I do differently next time?", they can stop focusing on the negatives and direct their attention towards improving in the future.

 Mental toughness means asking for help. Many students are too ashamed to do it, for fear they would show weakness by acknowledging they don't understand something. However, others actually consider it a positive quality. Recognizing when they are experiencing difficulties takes courage for students, but it also shows a willingness to learn and get better.

 Mental toughness is also about being open to learning, not being a know-it-all. Over time, the students who grow the most are those who like to explore things, looking for answers in books, online, or by paying attention to what's happening around them. They also work together, helping each other with challenges.

 What's more, mental toughness involves having a strong sense of self-belief and confidence in one's abilities. Mentally tough students have a clear idea of their goals, and their wills to achieve them are unwavering. They are not easily influenced by others' opinions and are willing to step outside of their comfort zone to reach their goals.

 To create mentally tough students and classrooms, it is important for teachers themselves to be role models. Teachers can develop their mental toughness in much the same way as students. In order to develop mental toughness, both students and teachers should recognize that it、 is about having positive behaviors and attitudes that help them learn and improve.