E

    Dick was 7 years old，and his sister，{#blank#}1{#/blank#}．One day their mother took them to their aunt's house to play．

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}，and then their aunt t ook Dick into the kitchen．She gave him a nice cake and a knife and said to him："{#blank#}3{#/blank#}．Cut this cake in half and give one of the pieces to your sister，but remember to do it like a gentleman (绅士)．"

    "Like a gentleman?" Dick asked．"{#blank#}4{#/blank#}?"

    "They always give the bigger piece to the other person，" answered his aunt．

"Oh，" said Dick． {#blank#}5{#/blank#}．Then he took the cake to his sister and said to her："Cut this cake in half，Catherine．"

The Art of Paper

    Chen Zijiang is a paper-cutting expert whom I interviewed for my article on Chinese Art. Paper-cutting is something that he learned to do from an early age.

    "It is a Chinese folk art with a long history," Mr Chen told me, "Paper cuts of animals have been found in tombs{#blank#}1{#/blank#}" He added that by the Southern Song Dynasty, paper-cutting had become an important part of everyday life.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}They are paper cuts for decoration, for religious purposes(宗教目的) and for design patterns.

    Paper cuts for decoration are often seen on windows and gates.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} They are also used on presents. A present for parents whose child has recently been born might show a paper cut of children, for example. Paper cuts which show the Chinese character for double happiness are often used to celebrate weddings.

    Paper cuts for religious purposes are often found in temples.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The third kind of paper cuts are those used to make patterns on clothing. They are also sometimes used to decorate jewellery boxes {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. They are usually put up during holidays to bring good luck.

B. They are also used as offerings to the dead.

C. Dragons are very popular patterns for these designs.

D. They can date back to the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasty.

E. Mr Chen went on to explain that there are three types of paper cuts which people still make today.

    Hong Kong is a shopping heaven (天堂). During the Hong Kong Shopping festival in July and August each year. Hong Kong puts on special events and the stores put on sales for the festival.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Hong Kong is a city with many shopping malls, department stores and street markets, but shopping areas are mainly in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Hong Kong is one of the best shopping places in the world. The best three buys are clothes, cosmetics and electrical appliances. As the goods are tax free, the prices are always louver than those found in other countries.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When you shop in Hong Kong, you will find the currency (货币) symbol $. It looks like the symbol of US dollars but it always refers to Hong Kong dollars rather than US dollars. You can exchange your currency for Hong Kong dollars at any authorized (授权) money exchanger.

     {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    There are many street markets in Hong Kong. Exploring street markets is a way to experience the local people's lifestyle and buy souvenirs. The famous street markets are Stanley Market, Ladies' Market and Temple Street Market.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Retail shops generally open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. But most department stores and shopping malls in major tourist areas will stay open until 9:30 p.m. or even later. Please check the opening hours before you pay them a visit.

    Tornadoes(龙卷风) are whirlwinds(旋风) with speeds of up to 400 km per hour. In Britain, there were very few tornadoes in the past. Now, there are more than 50 tornadoes a year. Tornadoes are only one sign of the world's climate changes. There are many others. The number of thunderstorms is increasing, and there are more floods in some parts of the world, and there's much less rain in others. Scientists still do not know enough about the reasons for these climate changes. Most scientists think human activities are the problem.

    Cutting down trees, burning too much oil, and the increase in the number of cars are some of the things that cause the problems. Global(全球的) temperatures are rising because of these things. Scientists believe that if the temperatures continue to rise, the ice at the poles will melt(融化) .

    If the ice melts, sea levels will rise. Some islands might disappear completely. All this means that unless we do something to stop global warming now, there may be many other dramatic changes in the future.