Modern life is impossible without traveling.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}With a modern airliner （客机） you can travel in one day to places which it took a month or more to get to a hundred years ago.

    Traveling by train is slower than by air, but it has its advantages . You can see the country you are traveling through. Modern trains have comfortable seats and dining cars.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    There are large liners and river boats. You can visit many other countries and different places. Traveling by sea is a very pleasant way to spend a holiday.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Many people like to travel by car. You can make your own timetable （时间表）{#blank#}4{#/blank#}You can stop wherever you wish where there is something interesting to see, at a good restaurant where you can enjoy a good meal, or at a hotel to spend the night.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} while people usually take a train or a plane when they are traveling on business.

A.That is why traveling by car is popular for pleasure trips.

B.Some people prefer to travel by sea when it is possible.

C.Some people prefer to stay home all the time.

D.The fastest way of traveling is by air.

E.You can travel three or four hundred miles or only fifty or one hundred miles a day, just as you like.

F.They make even the longest journey enjoyable.

    Why should students play sports? Some people think that students play sports in order to get exercise. Others think it can help students have fun. But that is not enough.

    If students play sports, they can get more than healthy bodies. Why? Here are three more reasons.

    Students who play sports do better in school. Some people think that doing exercise will take up students' study time. But a recent study has shown that students who play sports get better scores in school than those who don't. Exercise gets students to learn, remember things and concentrate better.

    Students who play sports develop their teamwork spirits and learn problem-solving skills. When they are working together with others to win games and reach goals, they're learning how to be successful in practice. And these skills will be useful to them for study or their future work.

    Playing sports can also improve confidence. Students who play sports feel better about themselves. When they know they can improve and reach their goals by practicing, it builds their confidence. And sports can also help them communicate with others actively and make new friends.

    In the Charles E. Johnson Elementary School in New York, there is a special radio. It gives people warnings (警报) about bad weather.

    One day, there came a sound from the radio. This sound brought the piece of news: a heavy storm was coming. William Tomic, principal (校长) of the school, he asked teachers to bring children indoors and put them in a safe place at once.

    Minutes later, the storm came. However, because of the warning of the radio and the quick work of the principal, no one was hurt. “The radio really did work very well. 我们对它的工作感到很高兴,” William Tomic said. “The parents were as well.” The US government hopes there will be more such success stories. It plans to give this kind of radios to all 97, 000 public schools in the country.

    Every year, more than 10,000 big thunderstorms, 2,500 floods, 1,000 tomatoes (龙卷风) and some hurricanes (飓风) take place in the US, so the warning radios are very useful.

    They not only give people warnings about bad weather, but also give warnings about other dangerous things.

    What do you think of when talking about India? The Taj Mahal(泰姬陵)? Song and dance? The list goes on and on. India is an interesting and mysterious country with a long history. It is one of the four oldest civilizations(文明) in the world.

    Home to more than 1.2 billion people, India is the country with the second largest population in the world. The country is also the birthplace of many famous people. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is a great poet. His poems use fresh and beautiful language to describe nature and his love for India. Many Chinese children learn his works at school.

    Besides, fast economic development is making India a rising power. India is strong in the information technology (IT) industry. By the end of 2012, 2.5 million Indian people were working at its IT companies. One third of them worked in Bangalore. The city is called the Silicon Valley(硅谷) of India. It is the centre of the IT industry in India. IT products from India are common in people's lives. If you buy a computer, some of the software may have been made in India.

    Many young people love Bollywood films. Most of these films tell stories with a happy ending. They have exciting music and dance. Some of the best ones are Slum-dog Millionaire (2008) and 3 idiots (2009). Yoga comes from ancient India. It helps people deal with their stress. It is said that curry was made in India more than 5,000 years ago. Traditional Indian curry is spicy. Indian people usually have curry with rice. Curry soup is also one of their favourites.