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Venus is close to Earth．It is the second planet from the Sun．Earth is the third planet from the Sun．Venus is similar to Earth in size and mass (质量).It is often described as Earth's“sister”.

    Scientists have been learning about Venus for a long time．First they looked at Venus through telescopes(望远镜)．But Venus is covered with thick(厚的)clouds．Scientists could not see Venus well through the clouds．So they made guesses about it．

    For a long time, scientists thought that Venus had water and plants．They thought Venus might have animals，too．But they didn't know for sure．

    Then scientists found a way to learn more about Venus．In the 1960s，they began sending probes (航天探测器) to Venus．The probes flew through the thick clouds．They took pictures of Venus up close．They found out many things ,too．The probes sent the pictures and things they found out back to the scientists．

    The scientists learned a lot from the probes．First they learned that most of their guesses were not right．And they learned that Venus is very hot．

    After that，scientists knew they could not send people to Venus．But they still wanted to know more about it．So they sent new probes．These new probes took great pictures of the planet．The pictures showed that Venus has plains(平原)and mountains! And in some ways，Venus looks like Earth．

    China had one of the earliest civilizations(文明) in the world. ⑶We know the Chinese had a written language as early as 1500 BC. You can see that Chinese writing is very different from the writing in other countries. The Chinese use a different character for each word. People in many countries have to learn only 26 letters but people in China have to memorize about 600 characters before they can do even basic reading and writing.

    A man in China, named Confucius(孔子), was teaching the people of China what they should and should not do. He was a great wise man. His teachings filled several books and became a way of life for the Chinese, and many other people in Asia. Confucius taught that people should listen to their kings, and also that rulers should take care of their people. He taught people to listen to their parents and teachers and to be kind to others. He said, “⑷Don't do to others what you would not want others to do to you.”

    Many inventions were made and used in China before the rest of the world even heard of them. By 600 AD the Chinese had invented printing. After a few centuries, they made the compass, which was a great help to sailors. A compass can tell north from south. The Chinese were the first to discover how to make explosive powder(火药).

    From all this, you can see that the Chinese were very busy making things that the rest of the world found really exciting and helpful when people learnt about them.

⑴⑵根据短文简要回答问题；⑶⑷将短文中划线的句子译成汉语；⑸请给短文拟一个适当的标题。

    Mother's Day is celebrated in the USA. It is also a holiday in some other countries. It is on the second Sunday in May. It is a day to thank mothers. On that day mothers usually receive flowers or cards. On the cards, children will write "Thanks, Mom"， "To the best mother in the world", "Best wishes for Mother's Day" and so on. We should make mothers happy on that day.

    Where does the idea for the holiday come from? We should thank Miss Anna M. Jarvis. She brought up the idea of having such a day. She lived in West Virginia. Her mother died on May 9th, 1905.She had a deep love for her mother. She wrote letters to some important persons. In her letters she asked them to decide a day for all mothers. Then Mother's Day was made on the second Sunday in May by the USA in 1913.

    In China, children give presents to their mothers on Mother's Day, or the whole family go out and try to do something nice for their mothers. Mothers always think of others more than themselves. They love their children and families very much. Everybody should show his love to his mother and help her as much as possible.

    Information Card

    Finding an online hobby is popular now. So how do parents make the decision of choosing one suitable online hobby for the children? Here are some tips that may help.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Using the computer for too long may be harmful to your child's eyesight or may develop into one bad habit. It is important to set rules about how long your child is allowed to stay online and which websites your child is allowed to visit.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Why do you want your child to find an online hobby? Do you want your child to learn something educational or maybe you just want him/her to have some fun!

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Do you know what things your child is interested in? Find one website about his interest. If he likes writing, make a blog for him to write stories.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Will this hobby be harmful to my child in any way? How could this hobby help my child? These questions must be considered first.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}After considering all these above, now you can choose which hobby to introduce to your child. List some good websites that you think will be suitable and enjoyable for your child.

    The aim of students who come to school is to study. But t0 study requires a right way, or you waste either the time or the money. The following are the ways of studying.

    The best time for reading is morning, because in the morning, the air is fresh and the mind is clear. For that reason, we can get good result.

    In studying we must have patience. If we have not known a text well, we must read it again. We should not read the next one until we have learned the first one.

    When we are studying, we must put our hearts into the book, or we can get nothing from the book while we are reading.

    We must always ask "whys". If it is not well understood, write it down and ask our teachers or our parents, or friends. In any possible way, we must know it completely and what we've learned can be used well and made better.

    Though there are many ways for studying, yet the above mentioned will be quite enough if we can keep them in heart and do so.

    Brandon Forest Park is a place of interest. This large woodland is home to many birds and other wildlife. It's open all year round to visitors.

    In the centre of the park is the Forest Shop and Cafe. You can buy maps in the shop and     there are all kinds of gifts and souvenirs on sale as well.

    The Cafe is open from 9 a. m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It is open from 9 a. m. to 3 p.m. from Monday to Friday. But on Wednesday it's shut all day.

    There's also a large area for visitors to enjoy a picnic lunch. But please don't throw rubbish. Bicycles are for hire(租用). For an hour it costs $3. 5 and for half a day it's $9. 79.

    Special events are held at the park during the summer. There's going to be an outdoor play, a concert and a horse-riding race this summer.

    More information about the park can be found on our website www.brandonforestpark.com.