Once upon a time, in the forest there lived a baby elephant, who had no friends.

    None of the animals wanted to be his friend because he was too large.

    One day, a wild fire happened in the forest. The animals ran to safer places. The dry trees caught fire and the fire was sure to go all around the forest. The baby elephant ran to the nearest river, collected much water in his trunk (象鼻) and rushed to the burning trees. He sprayed (喷) the water on the fire. Finally, he put out the fire.

    Later, while he was resting after the hard job, all the animals and birds came to him and expressed their thanks for his kind help in time. They were now ready to regard (把……看作) him as their good friend and their hero. They said, "A friend in need is a friend indeed."

    The baby elephant was happy to get so many friends and played games with them. He walked through the forest, carrying several small animals and birds on his back.

    In some Western countries, many children do chores to get pocket money (零花钱).

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}School students have to do homework and study for tests. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They often do chores on weekends.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} So they don't get much money. But that's enough. Many of them only want to buy candy(糖果). And candy is cheap! They often help do the dishes, sweep the floor, or feed the pet cat or dog.

    When they get older, they want to buy more and more things. They want things that are more expensive than candy. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They often help their parents wash the family car, cut the grass, or cook meals.

    Some jobs are a good way for kids to learn new things. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Of course, their parents help them at first.

A. So they have to work harder!

B. They usually start to do this when they are ten years old.

C. They don't have much free time on weekdays.

D. For example, they can learn how to use a lawnmower (割草机) or how to cook.

E. Young Kids don't need to do chores.

F. Young kids only do easy chores.

    Do you live in a city? Do you know how cities began? Long long ago, there were only a few thousand people in the world. These people moved from one place to another. They moved over the land, hunting animals for food.

    No one knows how or when these people learned about growing food. But when they did, their lives changed. They did not have to move any more.

    They could stay m one place and grow food there. People began to live near each other, so the first

    Villages appeared. Many people came to work in the villages, and these villages became larger and larger.

    Then people had machines. Life in the villages changed again. People built factories. More and more People lived near the factories, so the villages grew into cities. Some of them grew very big.

    Today, it's strange that some people are moving back to small villages. Can you tell me why?

My family lived in a big city, and we had no garden, but I often {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (go, went) to a small park near my home. There {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (are, were) a lot of trees in the park. Early in spring, those trees{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (get, got) green. I liked to see all the green leaves. In summer there were flowers everywhere. I often {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (read, reads) picture hooks on the bench. In autumn, the leaves turned yellow and red. I often {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (take, took) a walk with my parents. I also{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (like, liked) to walk after supper with my grandpa. He {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (know, knew) a lot of stories. Every time we had a walk together, he{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tells, told) me an interesting story. When I {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (am, was) young, I {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (have, had) a good time in the small park.

James Dyson is a famous British inventor. One of his well - known inventions is the bagless vacuum cleaner（真空吸尘器）. It {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (invent ) in 1978. Today, Dyson still remembers that day. " I felt very {#blank#}2{#/blank#}( excite ) at that time because I was the only man in the world with a bagless vacuum cleaner, " he said. 

Dyson is over seventy years old now. At first, he wasn't {#blank#}3{#/blank#}inventor. Later, he {#blank#}4{#/blank#} ( discover ) his talent. When he studied art at the Royal College of Art in London, he did well{#blank#}5{#/blank#}making new things. In 1975, he invented his own {#blank#}6{#/blank#}( produce )- the Sea Truck. It was a boat for carrying things between islands. 

Then he set up a company with his partners to make and sell another invention, the Bllbarrow, a kind of vehicle. But later, Dyson left his company {#blank#}7{#/blank#}he didn't agree with his partners. After that, Dyson began to improve on the vacuum cleaner. In 1985, Dyson took his invention to Japan to{#blank#}8{#/blank#}( sell ) it. However, few people paid money for this. And he didn't mike much money. Several years later, Dyson decided to produce and sell the machine by {#blank#}9{#/blank#}( he ). By 2005, Dyson controlled both the European and American markets. Along the way, Dyson discovered the secret to success, "People{#blank#}10{#/blank#}( buy ) your products if they're better. " 

The weather in Australia changes a lot. Why? Because Australia is such a large country.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} The northern parts of Australia are warm to hot all year round because it is closer to the equator (赤道). In the north, summer is also the rainy season. 

The areas along the coast around Sydney are warm in winter with the lowest temperatures about 50°F to 60°F. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} However, if you think all parts of the country are warm all year round, you'll be wrong. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When we say it's cold, we don't mean it's like the winter in Harbin. In some places in Tasmania and Victoria, you can see snow and temperatures there are below freezing.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} There are ski resorts (滑雪度假区) in the mountains of Australia. 

In Australia, you can enjoy everything from sunbathing on the beach to knocking snow off your boots after a day of skiing. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you want to go there for a visit, all you should think about is the weather there.