A man came out of the airport. A lot of taxis were there. He asked the name of every taxi-driver. Then he took the 3rd one. It costs 5 dollars from the airport to the hotel. "How much does it cost for the whole day?" the man asked. "One hundred dollars, "said the taxi-driver. This was very expensive, but the man said it was OK.

    The driver took the man everywhere. He showed him all the parks and museums in the city. In the evening, they went back to the hotel. The man gave the driver100dollars and said, "What about tomorrow?" The taxi-driver looked at the man and said, "Tomorrow? It's another 100 dollars. "But the man said, "That's OK!

    See you tomorrow. "The driver was very pleased.

    The next day the driver took the man everywhere again. They visited all the parks and museums again. And in the evening they went back to the hotel. The man gave the driver 100 dollars again and was going home tomorrow. The driver was unhappy because he liked the man and above all, 100 dollars a day was a lot of money. "So you're going home. Where do you come from?" he asked. "I come from New York. ""New York!" said the driver. "I have a sister in New York. Her name is Lucy. Do you know her? ""Of course I know her. She gave me 200 dollars for you!"

    Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17, he travelled across Europe and Asia with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese. Finally they arrived in Beijing. They were guests at the Emperor^ Palace. Although Marco Polo was young, he was very clever and could speak some foreign languages. The Emperor was impressed by him. He asked Marco Polo to serve in his court (宫廷) and sent him to do many important tasks across the country.

    Marco Polo was amazed by the beautiful China. He was impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's Palace, especially the Summer Palace which he described as "The greatest palace that ever was..." The walls were covered with gold and silver and the hall was so large that it could easily seat 6,000 people for dinner.

    There were inventions and developments in China which were not used in Europe at that time. He was puzzled (困惑的) by the black stones people used to bum to produce heat. The black stones were coal, but Marco Polo had never seen coal before!

In 1295, after 17 years of service to the Emperor, Marco Polo returned to Italy. He was then a very wealthy man. A writer wrote down the stories that Marco Polo told him in a book called The Travels of Marco Polo.

    Although people enjoyed reading the book, many of them thought that Marco Polo's stories about China were too fantastic to be true. But Marco Polo always stood by his tales. Just before he died in 1324, Marco Polo was asked the question, "Were they all true?" And this was his answer, "I have only told half of what I saw!"

Hi, I'm Hu Bin, a student of Class l, Grade 7. At school,My teachers and my classmates very1to me. My school life is very2.I like it very Classes begin3 8:00a. m. I have four classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. Istudy Chinese, English, math, politics and4 othersubjects. English is my favorite subject, and I often5Englishwith my classmates. I also like P. E. and music.6 Idon't like math. I think it's7 difficultand boring. What do you think?

After school, I often play8 basketballwith my classmates. It is my favorite outdoor activity. Sometimes I swim in theswimming pool. Sometimes I9 withmy friends in the park. I go to the school library every Tuesday and Thursday. Ithink my school life is very interesting? What about10? Can you tell me something about it?

I entered my third year of middle school when the new term began.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} was a new chemistry course.Before the monthly exam，I reviewed what I had learned carefully.I read the textbook and did lots of exercises，{#blank#}2{#/blank#}I still didn't do well in the exam.It made me sad.I wanted to do something{#blank#}3{#/blank#} improve my chemistry grades.

My chemistry teacher had{#blank#}4{#/blank#} conversation with me.He thought that I didn't understand and remember the basic knowledge.Then，a study group was created by him to help students like me.If we are not sure whether we understand the knowledge or what to do with the chemistry questions，we can ask him.And he is always patient with us.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} the help of my chemistry teacher and my own hard work，I improved my monthly exam scores by eight points this month.

I have three children, so our house is always noisy.1 , I love gardening （园艺） and my garden helps me relax. 

For a long time, the garden was full 2 peace. When the children followed me into the garden, I would give them jobs and expect3 to work quietly. "You 4 the onions. You dig the holes, and. . . " Soon they would be 5 , and they would leave the garden. 

But on a spring morning, 6 I was working in the garden, my 13-year-old son John noticed me. He 7 a tool （工具） and began helping me. Working as a team, we finished the job soon. I 8 John and enjoyed working with him. 

The same thing happened—one or two of the9 would often join in the gardening. Each time, I would feel 10 that the work was easier because of their help. 

One day, when I was picking the peas （豌豆） 11 , Abby saw me and ran over to help me. "Mom, it was so 12 . I want my brothers to try it. " Suddenly, I knew I had been wrong for a long time. I had tried to keep the 13 of gardening to myself, and here was a child who couldn't wait to share with others. 

"Sure, let's pick some. We'll make a 14 dinner. "

Now I enjoy all of the garden's beauties with the children. We bring the 15 back home and cook them together. We know that everything is better when we share it. 

Last month, Li Ya had a seven-day vacation. His family planned a three-day trip to Beijing and Xi'an. They decided to go to Beijing by train first. 

On the first day morning, they took a bus for a tour of Tian'anmen Square. There were many visitors there. Then they paid a visit to the Palace Museum. It was great. For lunch, they ate some vegetables, beef and rice. After lunch, they visited the Summer Palace. They took a boat ride on Kunming Lake there. It was fun. In the evening, they ate Beijing Duck in Quanjude, a very famous restaurant. It was delicious. 

The next day they visited the Great Wall. When Li Ya was standing the Great Wall, he felt as if he was in ancient days. he could see many laborers (劳工) working very hard to build this wall. He wondered how they finished this extremely difficult work by hand.

On the third morning, they flew to Xi'an. They visited the Xi'an Circumvallation(西安城墙) and took quite a lot of photos there. They had mutton noodles for lunch. In the afternoon, they visited the Terracotta Army(兵马俑). Li Ya was surprised to know that each warrior of the Terracotta Army is about 1.8 meters tall, and none of them looks the same. In the evening, they enjoyed a wonderful dance show.