2016 is the Year of the Monkey. Monkeys are so smart and cute, and so many people like them. They have become a part of culture. Here are some stories to help you learn more about
them.
New stamps for the year
The China Post Group made special stamps for the year. They made two styles. On the first one, a monkey hangs on a branch（树枝）, holding a big red peach. This means to give luck to people. On the other stamp, a mother monkey holds two monkey b abies in her arms. It shows the happy reunion（团聚） of families. The monkey stamps were for sale on Jan.5th.
Monkey show
In China, there is an ancient drama called Monkey Show. It tells the story of Monkey King. When actors perform, they will paint "monkey faces" with colors. Red is the main color. Interestingly, they don't draw eyebrows（眉毛）.
Influence on personality
In Chinese culture, the monkey is a symbol of wisdom. Those who were born in the Year of the Monkey are said to be smart and outgoing. They are also said to have strong leadership and social skills. They can solve all kinds of problems in life and be kind to others.
Fun Fact
Did you know? The world's smallest monkey is the finger monkey. It is only 10cm tall. They live in the Amazon rainforest （亚马孙雨林） of South America. Amazingly, they can turn their heads 180 degrees.

阅读表达  阅读下面的短文，然后根据短文内容回答问题。

    France is well known for its fine art, tasty food and romantic scenery（风景）. About 75 million visitors come here every year.

    France is the largest country in Western Europe. It has a population of over 66 million. The country is home to many famous places of interest, like the River Seine as well as the Eiffel Tower.

    Many visitors also come for the country's art. Sculptor（雕刻家）Auguste Rodin and painter Claude Monetonce created their great works here. If you visit France today, it is not asurprise to meet street artists in the city or come across a singer in the subway.

    Novisit to Paris is complete without a trip to Louvre, one of the largest andmost famous museums in the world. Inside, there are 35,000 works of art, such as the painting Mona Lisa by Da Vinciand the statue（雕塑）David by Michelangelo. It would take nine months to enjoy all the pieces.

    Besides, French food is world famous. Breadis very important in France. The best known French bread is called a baguette（法棍面包）. They are long, delicious and tastesalty. Snails （蜗牛）arealso a must-have here. French people eat 40,000 tons of snails every year!

    But France is not always good. Paris, the city of light, may also show its darkside to visitors. Chinese visitors feel sorry about the crowded subway inParis.

    Many expressions that we use in American English come from novels. Today we will look at some of them from Lewis Carroll's famous novel "Alice in Wonderland" in detail.

    The story is about a young girl falling down a rabbit hole. When she finally lands, she finds herself in a strange world and meets some strange characters.

    The first character Alice meets is the White Rabbit, who runs past her and says some strange words. Alice chases（追赶）him, and that is where her adventures begin.

    In English, chasing a white rabbit means chasing an impossible clue and finding yourself in a misleading situation.

    Then, as she runs after the rabbit, she falls down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.

    To fall down the rabbit hole can mean to enter a confusing（令人困惑的）situation. However, usually we use this expression to mean we get interested in something to the point of distraction（分神）.It often happens by accident and is about something not that meaningful.

    Later in the story, Alice meets the March Hare and the Hatter at a crazy tea party. Hares（野兔）have long been thought to behave excitedly in March, which is their mating（交配）season. Scientifically, this may not be true. But to be mad as a March Hare means that someone is completely mad, or crazy. The expression mad as a Hatter also means to be completely crazy. Of the two, mad as a Hatter is more common. But don't tell the March Hare. Who knows how he will react（反应）！

    Near the end of the story, Alice meets the Queen of Hearts. A woman who is called a Queen of Hearts likes controlling others and always tries to control everything and everyone around her.

    When you speak to foreigners, what will you do if you can't understand their languages? Will you use your body language to help you, or just say sorry to them and then go away? Learning spoken language is very important, but learning local gestures（手势） is also very necessary.

    I often use gestures to communicate with someone whose language I don't know. We use our hands to talk with each other. Although we don't understand the others' words, our hand movements make our conversation more necessary.

However, gestures aren't always clear. Different gestures may have different meanings in different countries and cultures.

    In many countries, people move their hands at someone to call him to come near. In the United States, people usually move hands at somebody with their palms（手掌） up and sometimes move just one finger. But in many countries in Asia, hand movements like that would be impolite. In Asia, many people move hands at someone with their palms down using all fingers.

    Do you use your thumb, your thick short finger to make gestures? In western countries, "thumbs-up" means agreement. But it is very rude in parts of Africa.

    If you want to say "OK" in America, you can make a circle with the thumb and the second finger. But in France, it means "zero", and it is very rude in many other countries.

    You can use your second finger to point at something but not at somebody in the United States. However, in some parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, pointing at anything with one's second finger is not polite.

    "V" form is often used when people take photos. But using two fingers to make up the "V" shape means "peace" in the West.

    The last example is that people in parts of Asia point to their noses to mean themselves, but people in western countries usually point to their chests.

    Gestures are important, but also have different meanings.