The word “day” has two meanings. When we talk about the number of days in a year, we are using “day” to mean 24 hours. But when we talk about day and night, we are using “day” to mean the time between sunrise and sunset. Since the earth looks like a ball, the sun can shine on only half of it at a time. Always one half of the earth is having day and the other half night. A place is moved from day into night and from night into day over and over by the spinning（旋转）of the earth. At the equator（赤道）day and night are sometimes the same length（长度）. They are each twelve hours long. The sun rises at 6 o'clock in the morning and sets at 6 o'clock in the evening. For six months the North Pole（北极）is tilted（倾斜）toward the sun. In those months the Northern Hemisphere（半球）gets more hours of sunlight than the Southern Hemisphere（半球）. Days are longer than nights. South of the equator nights are longer than days. For the other six months the North Pole is tilted away from the sun. Then the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight. Days are longer than nights. North of the equator nights are longer than days. Winter is the season of long nights. Summer is the season of long days.

    You eitherhave it, or you don't—a sense of1that is. But2isit that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map, whileothers can3themselves in the next street?

    Scientistssay were all4with a sense of direction, but it is notproperly understood how it works. One theory is that people with a good sense ofdirection have worked hard at5it. Research being carriedout at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don't useit, we lose it.

    Childrenas young as seven have the ability to find their way6,"saysJim Martland, Research Director of the project. "However,7theyare not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere by car, they will8developthe skills. "

    Jim Martlandalso emphasizes that young people should be taught certain9toimprove their sense of direction. He makes the following suggestions:

    If youare using a map, turn it so that it10to the way you are facing

    If youleave your bike in a strange place, put it near11likea big stone or a tree. Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike.When you return, go back along the12route.

    Simplifythe way of finding your direction by using lines such as streets in a town, streams,or walls in the countryside to guide you.13yoursteps14you know how far you have gone and note anylandmarks such as tower blocks or hills which can help to find out were you are.

    Now youwill never get lost15!

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand. And it is also a city full of special {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(风景；名胜). The tall glass shopping centres in the city look very modern. But behind them is a place where life has {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(几乎没) changed for over 100 years—the canals(运河), which can date back to 178 These canals are home to many Thai people who {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(从不) leave there.

There are four markets on the canals around Bangkok, and the {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(最古老的) and most popular one is in the town of Damonen Saduak. This market {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(开) at 6:30am every day. People get there {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(早)by water taxi.

It's a noisy but wonderful place. Ladies sit in small boats, filled with {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(新鲜的)fruit and vegetables for sale. But the boats don't just sell food. Would you like a silk necktie? A traditional hat? Then just call and{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (指;指向) at them.

After the noise and excitement of the markets, continue {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(沿着) the canal. Soon you'll see many wooden houses and colourful flowers and hear lovely birds {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(唱歌) in the fruit trees. It's a peaceful way to finish your trip.

Nowadays, a new method is used to decide who are the top students in school. The best students are those who not only get high marks, but also follow the rules and the behavior standards for middle school students. Here are some of the new rules and standards. 

Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else's work in the exams? If you have, don't do it again! That's not something an honest student should do. If you have played online games for two hours in your room, don't tell your parents you were doing homework. 

Learn to be loving and caring. Good students love animals and care for other people. 

Learn to work together with others. It would be more fun when more people work together. Did you quarrel with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. You shouldn't only think of yourself. You should also think of others. 

Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Perhaps you'll discover Earth Ⅱ someday. Don't look down on new ideas. Everyone's ideas are important. You should welcome them, because new ideas make life better for everyone. 

Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. Some websites on the Internet aren't for kids, so make sure to visit the ones that are good for you. You can use the Websites for fun or homework. Can't you find any good websites for you? 

Every week, I get emails about how to learn English very fast. Someone1 to ask how they can speak excellent English in a short time. And someone writes to ask how to improve their English listening2 .Is it possible to learn English very fast? The answer is yes.3 of course, to make great progress, you need to work very hard.4 first and most important thing you need to have is passion (热情).Why? Because you must study English for 8-14 hours a day and you must be more5 . To improve your English quickly，you must build passion(热情). Remember, passion is 80% of success. The second key to super-fast learning is English input（输入）.You6 spend lots of time listening and reading. It's a good idea7 your radio everywhere. Don't forget to have a book with8 . You should listen to the Mini-Story Lessons and read easy English stories—starting9 books for children. These are my ways of learning English. In fact，most people do not need to improve so fast. Two hours a day of listening and reading10 OK. Good luck!

Jessie is an eleven-year-old student in Star Primary School (小学). It is a big school with many trees and flowers. There are 220 teachers in it. Sixty classrooms are in the classroom building. And every class has 30 students. 

Here is a map of her school. Let's have a look!

Jessie likes her school very much. But she likes the music classroom best because it is very special. There are some desks in it, but there aren't any chairs. Guess where they sit! They sit on yoga balls. Sitting on yoga balls is so fun. All the students like it very much. In every classroom there are many pictures on the wall and there are many flowers in the front of the classroom. They make the classroom very beautiful.