Having a cheetah （猎豹）as a pet in the house? Does it sound scary to you? But for a family in South Africa， one cheetah is treated as a VIP (Very Important Person) in the house. The big cheetah is named Jolie, after the film star Angelina Jolie{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. She can often be found eating from the kitchen table, taking a short sleep on the sofa, or even sleeping on Lucy and Jeff's bed. The big cat also sleeps and plays with the Browns' other pet, the more usual one— a sheepdog{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Having a cheetah as a pet is unusual. Atfirst，Mrs.Brown wasn't willing to keep a cheetah as a pet. She said,''{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. But we are now happy that we did it— she is part of the family.''

    Just like her name, four-year-old Jolie has achieved a celebrity(名人) status（地位）in the Browns' hometown. Fans often come to take pictures of her{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    However, a cheetah is always a cheetah{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. '' She makes a lot of mess in the house, urinating （小便）everywhere and chewing everything. It's her wild instincts (天性), said Mrs. Brown. There must be some problems of having a cheetah as a pet in the house, but some unusual fun must also be waiting ahead.

A. Interestingly, Jolie enjoys all the special attention that is paid to her.

B. An impossible friendship has happened between these two animals.

C. Though Jolie is now a pet in the home, she still has some wild habits.

D. She is surely the VIP at Lucy and Jeff Brown's home.

E. I was really against the idea of getting a cheetah as a pet.

    Nowadays, many people have realized the importance of leadership( 领导) skills.  Poor leaders may cause many problems. But good leaders do better in solving problems than poor ones. Without good leaders, problems can't be solved. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} What's more, good leaders are good at cooperating with others. Usually, they are good listeners as well. But being good leaders isn't easy. So let me give you some suggestions to help you become a good leader.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Maybe nobody teaches you how to be a good leader, but you can learn it on your own.

    Read books about great leaders from home and abroad. By reading, you can learn a lot from their experiences and find out their secrets of success. Then you will be more confident of being a good leader.

    Learn from students' leaders in your school. There is no doubt that those leaders who are popular with the students in your school must have their advantages over others. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Take an active part in the activities organized by the excellent leaders and learn from them at once.  Then you will know the answer.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Find the students that have the same interests as you have and start a club. Activities should be organized regularly in the club. When the members in your club have trouble in solving problems, you should communicate with them and find out the causes of the problems.  After the problems are solved, you can share pleasure with them. As time passes by, you will get more trust like those popular leaders.  Sooner or later, you will be a good leader.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Get started before it's too late! As long as you keep trying, you will develop your leadership skills.

A. Learn from books.

B. Practice what you have learned.

C. So good leaders are very important.

D. In short, being a good leader needs courage and practice.

E. Don't you want to know why they are so successful?

    There is something different in this week's blog. Let's look at some birthday customs around the world.

Harry Baker, Perth, Australia

    It's my birthday next Wednesday. I'm going to be 10 years old. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} in my country. My mom's going to make me a huge plate of fairy bread. It's a snack. We make it with bread, butter, and colorful sugar called "Hundreds and thousands".

Jim Dixon, Montego Bay, Jamaica

    I love birthdays! They are a lot of fun. Here in Jamaica, we have an old custom. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Guess what we do? We throw flour (面粉) at our friends! It's my best friend's birthday tomorrow. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I'm going to buy a lot of flour to throw at him.

Victoria Smith, London, UK

    My grandmother is going to be 100 years old in June. She's very excited because she's going to get a special letter from the Queen. The Queen sends a letter to every person who reaches 100. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Jiang Li, Beijing, China

    In my country, we celebrate birthdays with a special type of the food. Noodles are a sign of long life for us. This year, I'm going to make some "long life noodles" for all my friends. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} and have a great evening!

Future and Today

    It is well known that everyone has his own dream as well as his own future. But do you know what future really is? I have to say that future is now. That is to say we must treasure(珍惜)every minute now. If we want to have a bright future, we should know how important time is and use it well.

    There is an old English saying: "Gain time, gain life." Then what's time？ Time is something that we can't see or touch, but we can feel it passing by. Time is always with us. When we are at table, time passes; when we play, time goes by unnoticeable. We always say "Time is money", but time is even more precious(珍贵的)than money, because when money is spent , we can earn it back. But if time is gone away, it will never return. So, some of us even say time is priceless(无价的).

    We should always remember: future is now. For us students, we should try our best to work hard in order to create a great future of our own. We should make the best use of every hour and be the master of today. We should do everything before us as well as possible. And never put off what can be done today till tomorrow.

    As we all know, "Time and tide wait for no man." If you waste today, you will regret(后悔)tomorrow. So from now on, work hard. Tomorrow will be better, and your future will be brighter. Remember:" No pains, no gains." Today's hard work is the cause of tomorrow's harvest(收获).

Title: Future and Today

Do you know from what English people get their family names? (你知道英国人的姓是怎么来的吗？)Finish the sentences after you read the story.

    Everyone has a family name. But what does it mean? From what do family names come?

    First, some family names come from the place of their homes. If a man lives on or near a hill, his family name may be Hill. In England people's names may be Wood, Lake, because they live near the wood or lake.

    Second, family names come from a person's job. If a person is a cook, he may be Cook.

    Third, many people get their family names from their father's given name. If you hear the name "Jackson", you know that he is the son of Jack.

    Qu Juanru is the official inheritor(官方传承人)of Jiaxing City Tongxiang flower—drum opera. She began to be on the stage when she was a teenager." My mother died when I was 14. I've lived with my father since then. In the old days, women were not allowed to perform opera. However, my father always supported me when I tried to sing." Qu said.

    Qu started performing in the local troupe(剧团)called Aimin Flower—Drum Opera. Later, the troupe was disbanded (解散), and she went back to farming.

    After that, the young girl tried to set up the troupe several times but failed. She really lived a hard life at that time. But she didn't give up.

    In 2001, some developers planned to rebuild Wuzhen. They thought a place which has no culture is of little significance(意义).So they wanted to bring back local customs, including the Tongxiang flower—drum opera. Qu was their only hope.

    Knowing she could sing again, Qu was so excited. Whether it's cold or hot. Qu always gives her everything on stage in Wuzhen. She has six rounds(场)of performing every day and each round lasts 30 minutes. In 2017, she was badly ill, yet it didn't stop her.

    "I can still sing and perform. I'd love to be here." Qu said. In her opinion，opera life is a wonderful dream that can't be missed.