The Dragon Boat Festival also called the Duan Wu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by eating Zong Zi and racing dragon boats. To hold the dragon boat races is in memory of Qu Yuan, one of the greatest poets (诗人) in China.

    Qu Yuan was born in Zigui of Hubei Province over 2,200 years ago. Qu Yuan was an honest minister(大臣) of the State of Chu, during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) (战国时期). He was upright(正直的)and wise. He wanted to bring his country peace and make the State stronger, but the country was in the hands of bad officials, he failed. At last, he was very discouraged. He ended his life by throwing himself into the Miluo River. It was said that people were trying to save him. But it was too late. Also, they were very sad and they threw rice into the water to feed Qu Yuan's spirit.

    Now we read his poem Li Sao which was filled with deep love for his country. We can see the dragon boat races and have a kind of Chinese food named Zong Zi to eat during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Nearly all American students in colleges and universities pay for their education. There are many expenses. First of all, there is tuition (学费). At some schools, the tuition is very high, ten thousand dollars a year or more. At other schools, it may only be a few hundred dollars a year. At some community (社区) colleges, tuition is free. There are other expenses as well. Many students leave their homes to go to schools in other cities. They may live in dormitories or apartments (flats), and they must pay for it. Finally, students must buy textbooks for their courses. Some families start saving money for their children's education when the children are small. Many students work to save money for tuition. They can also get loans (贷款) from the government. They pay the money back to the government when they finish their education.

Are Sports Important?

    Sports are all around us. We watch and read sports news. There are also sports clubs, and even sports-only channels(频道) on TV. In many countries, players make millions of dollars every year. But why are sports so important? They're only games, right?

    Our readers answer:

    Vlad (Ukraine乌克兰)

    Sports bring people together. In 2006, our team was able to play in the 2006 World Cup for the first time. Everyone was happy. Rich and poor, old and young, men and women—everyone was in the streets together!

Mike (U.S.A.)

    Sports bring people together, but they divide them too. Fans of different teams fight all the Time-they shout and hit each other. And here's another example: My brother plays high school baseball. Last week, his team played an important game. At the game, two parents fought about a call .

    Come on … baseball is only a game! Sports are so competitive (有竞争力的) these days. It's all about winning. Then the game isn't fun.

    Oba (South Africa)

    Right now, some of the world's best soccer players are from African countries, and the 2010

    World Cup games will be held in South Africa. Yes, some players make a lot of money—maybe too much, but sporting events (like the World Cup) bring tourists and money to countries and people. And that is good for Africa.

    There is a new novel called The 33rd Student. It's very unusual because 32 students wrote it together.

    Students from Class 1, Grade 2 of Hangzhou Qingchun Middle School began to write the novel last October. This March, they finished their 330, 000-word story.

    It was Zhou Hui, the class's Chinese teacher that had the great idea. Some students thought writing was boring. Zhou wanted to change their minds. The class had fierce（热烈的） discussions about the storyline and main character.

    The novel is a story about Nan Yao, a student new to Class 1.Nan is a tall boy with tanned（晒黑的） skin. He is from Hebei.

    Each student was assigned（分配） one part to write. Together, there are 32 stories about Nan's life since he came to Class 1.Students tried their best while writing the story. Huang Yiying, 14, said she got up at midnight to write down the idea for her story. Chen Tianbai, 14, wrote about a birthday party. He found it hard to imagine. So he held a party for his 14th birthday, wrote down what happened and turned it into his story.

    Zhou said most students revised（修改） their stories three times." Now, none of them are afraid of writing. They have written so much themselves!"

    The novel will be printed（印刷） and each student will get a copy. "It will be a very precious（宝贵的） memory for them." said Zhou.

    In most parts of the world there are four seasons. They are spring, summer, fall and winter.

    In different seasons people wear different clothes and do different things. For example, in summer the weather is hot, so people usually wear cool clothes and do things like swimming, boating or surfing.

    But near the polar regions(极地), there are only two seasons: winter and summer. In winter, nights are long. For more than two months you can't see the sun. In summer, days are long and the sun is always in the sky. There are no nights.

    The people living near the North Pole(北极) are called Inuit(伊特人). In summer they live in tents and catch deer for food. In winter they live in small round snow houses. They can build a snow house, they make holes(洞) in the ice and catch fish and seals(海豹). They eat much meat but not many vegetables.