Many students have hobbies, such as reading, painting, growing vegetables and looking after animals. Some hobbies are relaxing and others are active．Hobbies can make you grow as a person, develop your interests and help you learn new skills.21·cn·jy·com

 David Smith is a student，and one of his hobbies is writing．During the summer of 2010，he spent four weeks at a summer camp．Besides the usual activities，such as sailing and climbing , there was a writing class．"The teacher was a writer, and she asked us to talk about our lives and tell interesting stories. Then she envouraged us to  write about our experiences at the camp,”says David.

 Back at school, David wrote a story about the life of a sixteen-year-old boy, and it came out as a book in 2012. Mang young people love his book, and as a result, David has become a successful young writer.

 David has been very lucky because his hobby has brought him pleasure and success. But writing is not his only hobby. He is also interested in many other things. "I like playing volleyball，too，"says David．"I spend some of my free time playing volleyball for my school team．Maybe I'll write about my volleyball team in my future books.”

    Winnie the Pooh is about 100 years old. It is my favourite, and I'm sure it's also yours. Do you know how it came to our life?

    Winnipeg is a place in Canada. Many years ago, Harry, a soldier, went to Europe from here. When he stopped at train station, he saw a man selling a little black bear. Harry bought it and named it Winnipeg. The name became Winnie in short later.

    Harry went to a lot of places. When he got to London, he left Winnie in the London Zoo. He thought they could look after Winnie.

    Near the zoo, there was a boy named Robin. He loved to visit the London Zoo with his dad. Winnie was his favourite animal. Robin's father was a writer. He wrote the bear in one of his poems for the first time. Later he wrote stories about Winnie and Robin. Slowly, the father wrote more characters(角色) like Piglet, Rabbit, Roo and Tigger and so on in his stories.

Experiencing China

    Dear friend, do you know the boy in the picture? He is Wang Yuan, a member of the Chinese boy band, TFBOYS. Do you want to know more about him? Follow me, please.

    Wang Yuan was born November 8th, 2000 in Chongqing. His English name is Roy. He is good at singing, dancing and playing the piano. He can also write songs alone. He and two other boys formed the boy band TFBOYS in 2013. They are very popular with the young girls and boys in China now.

    In January, 2017,Wang Yuan made a speech on good quality education (优质教育) in English at the United Nations in front of 500 people from, around the world. It's great. As for middle school students, we should learn from Wang Yuan, and put our hearts into what we are doing to make a difference in our daily lives.

    Lao She wrote Teahouse in 1957. The play shows audience life in China between 1898 and 1945. It takes place in a teahouse in old Beijing and it tells us the story of Wang Lifa and customers. It asks us to see the teahouse as the centre of the neighborhood. Finally, it says good bye to old Beijing and its people.

    The story starts in 1898 during the Qing Dynasty. It continues in 1916, and finally, it brings the audience to the end of the Anti-Japanese War, in 1945. After the war, Wang loses the teahouse and dies.

    Lao She was born in Beijing in 1899. His parents sent him to the Teacher's School in Beijing arid he learned to teach. From 1924 to 1929 he taught Chinese to the English in London. He wrote many plays, novels and short stories. He was named a "People's Artist" and a "Great Master of Language". He was one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century.

    In Lao She's Teahouse today, waiters bring tea to the customers and sell them delicious Chinese food. If you like Beijing Opera, folk music, acrobatics, or magic shows, you can enjoy them in the teahouse. Lao She's Teahouse gives a wonderful welcome to everyone from China and from all over the world.