Grace is my pen friend. She is a 13-year-old English girl. What's her school life like? Now let's get to know something about the school life in England.

    •Study

    Most students take the school bus to school. Some go to school by train. When they arrive at their classrooms, they put their homework in a box. Then one student will take it to the teachers' office.

    •Lunch

    Students often have lunch at school. The lunch time is usually from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. They can have free school lunch. They don't have to pay for it.

    •Uniforms

    Students often wear uniforms at school. On their uniforms, you can see the school logo(校徽). They think uniforms are important. When they go on a school trip, they all look the same. So students may not get lost. What's more, students don't need to worry about what to wear every day. Their parents don't have to buy expensive clothes for them, either.

    What isthe hardest sport in the world? Some people say it's boxing (拳击), because boxing is dangerousand boxers have to be strong and fast. Other people say the hardest sport issoccer.

    However,most people say the hardest sport is the triathlon (三项全能运动). A triathlon is a race thatincludes three sports. First, racers swim. After that they ride bicycles andfinally they run. In the most common triathlon, racers swim 1.5kilometres, bike40 kilometres, and run 10 kilometres. The winner is the person who finishes therace first.

    There isanother kind of triathlon too. It is called the "Ironman Triathlon (铁人三项)". This triathlon is muchlonger. People who finish this triathlon are called "ironmen" or"ironwomen". This is because these people are so strong that theirbodies are just like iron (铁).

    In thepast, there were other races including three sports. However, they didn't usethe word "triathlon". That word was first used to describe a race inCalifornia in 1974.

    Triathlonracers have to train very hard for their races. Many of them swim and run. Alot of people also do things like yoga (瑜伽). They have many different ways to prepare, but they all have thesame goal. They want to be in perfect shape.

    To be anironman or an ironwoman, you have to be strong and smart. You should know howto save energy during the race.

Paper, also called zhi, was a Chinese invention. About 2,000 years ago, Chinese people {#blank#}1{#/blank#} paper-making (造纸). At that time, zhi was made {#blank#}2{#/blank#} silk and was very expensive. Only the emperor and rich people could afford to use {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. About 1,900 years ago, Cai Lun improved the paper-making {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. He made cheap zhi out of tree bark and old cloth.

The improvement in paper-making {#blank#}5{#/blank#} zhi far and wide, and many different kinds of zhi were made by Chinese people. Xuan paper, a type of high-quality rice paper, can show the charm (魅力) of {#blank#}6{#/blank#} Chinese painting and calligraphy best. Later, Chinese zhi spread to the West through the Silk Road. It became one of the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} popular inventions in the world. With zhi, the cost of producing books became more affordable, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} knowledge could be shared more widely. Chinese zhi now is {#blank#}9{#/blank#} used around the world. Humans are full of infinite wisdom. No one knows {#blank#}10{#/blank#} the future will be like.

What do you usually do when you get mad? Some people choose to shout out, throw things or kick walls. And some would like to lock themselves in a room and refuse to talk to anyone. In fact, there is a better way to calm down and let go of your anger. 

Some researchers did an interesting study. They wanted to see how different methods would affect people's levels(程度)of anger. The researchers asked about 100 students from a college to write down their thoughts on an important social problem. They told the students what they wrote would be evaluated(评价). Then the researchers gave each student a bad review that read, "I can't believe a college student would think like this. "That made the students mad as the researchers had expected. 

At the same time, the researchers checked all the students' anger levels and asked them to write down their feelings on a piece of paper. Then half of the students were told to throw the paper into the rubbish bins. The rest were asked to place the paper on their desks. 

When the researchers checked the students' levels of anger again, they discovered something fun. Those who put the paper on the desks showed little reduction(减少)in anger. But those who threw the paper in the rubbish bins were less angry. Actually, their anger levels were almost back to where they were before the study. 

When you get angry, try writing down your feelings on a piece of paper and then throw it away. You may feel as if you're throwing away your anger. 

Have you ever noticed how，on a rainy night，all other sounds seem to disappear? The sound of the rain drowns （淹没） them out. And even though the sound of the rain goes on all night，it doesn't keep you awake. Rain is a kind of white noise﹣a steady and unchanging sound. 

White noise is made up of sounds from all the frequencies （频率） a human ear can hear，with the sound at each frequency having the same power. It's called "white" because it is like that of white light，which is a mixture of all the light we can see. 

You might think that a mixture of all possible sound frequencies would be terrible，but it's not ﹣ quite the opposite. The reason for this is that white noise covers other sounds. Think of it like the rain：the sound of one drop falling，like from a leaky tap （漏水的龙头），would be very different and hateful. Two drops would be the same. You could even tell three drops apart. But if there were 5 or 10 or 1，000，you couldn't pick out each drop. They'd all mix into a kind of quiet sound and probably lead you to sleep. 

According to a scientific study，white noise can help treat different problems. It can help worried people sleep and help those who have headaches sleep through their pain. It can be very useful for people with attention problems，who have trouble telling background noise and can't focus on something well. White noise can help them pay attention to something. It can even cover the sound of conversations by doctors and others who want to keep privacy. Who would have thought that mixing lots of sounds together would actually turn out to develop peace and quiet? 

What kind of TV programs and films do you like? Everyone has his or her answer. Here are examples of some excellent or important TV programs and films. 

Xinwen Lianbo

Xinwen Lianbois a very famous news program in China. Everyday at 7 p. m, many Chinese people, young or old, watch it on time. This program helps Chinese people to learn about what is happening in the country and around the world. Its history started on January 1, 1978. It is one of the world's most-watched programs. 59. But now less and less people watch it because of the Internet.

Dingjun Mountain

Dingjun Mountain is a 1905 Chinese film. The film came from the Peking opera of the same name. The famous actor Tan Xinpei played the main character Huang Zhong in the film. Although the film is only about 30 minutes long and doesn't have sound, it has an important place in the history of China's film industry (行业). It is the first Chinese film and is a symbol of the start of the industry. 

The Spring Festival Gala (春节联欢晚会)

The Spring Festival is the most important traditional (传统的) Chinese festival. And watching the Spring Festival Gala on Chinese New Year's Eve (除夕夜)is an important activity for Chinese people. On the show, we can see many excellent performers give performances like comedy acts, songs, and dances. 

The tradition of watching the Spring Festival Gala started in 1983. After 40 years the show still makes Chinese people happy. On Chinese New Year's Eve, 60 相当多的人花四个小时的时间观看它。