Bob is an English boy. His eyes are blue. Li Ming is a tall boy. His eyes are black. They are good friends. Bob's hair is yellow and Li Ming's hair is black. Li Ming's mom is a Chinese teacher. Bob's mom is an English teacher.她和李明的妈妈在同一个学校。Bob's dad is a doctor(医生). Bob and his dad look different. He looks like his mom. Bob's family are new in China. Li Ming's dad and mom help them(他们). They like their English friends.

    Music has always been an important part of Chinese people's life. People enjoy listening to music at home and in concerts halls. As time goes by， music changes.

    Traditional music is part of our culture， so it often stays with us for a long time. Many of the traditional Chinese songs have been around for many years. Young musicians learn songs from older musicians and the music changes only very little. Modern Chinese music， which is loved by many young people， however， is mainly pop music. That means the songs will be popular for a short time and then replaced by new songs. Today's musicians write new songs every year and we hear new songs on the radio every day.

    Before radio and TV were invented， music could only be heard live — that is you had to go places where musicians gave performances. The best musicians were very busy， so it was difficult and often expensive to hear really good music. For most people， the best chance to hear good music was during a festival or at a wedding. Today， people hear music all the time. Radio and TV play songs every day and night and you can even hear music played on the street.

    One thing that hasn't changed very much is what the songs are about. Both modern and traditional Chinese songs are about love and life. Some songs tell stories about past and some are about the news or the future. All of the songs have something to do with what it means to be a human being.

    Music， traditional or modern， Chinese or international， seems to be a world language that everybody can understand and enjoy. Music changes and styles come and go， but nothing changes our love for good music.

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    One day, a mother crocodile (鳄鱼) and a baby crocodile swam slowly in a river. Suddenly, the mother crocodile saw a monkey, "Oh, a monkey! How nice if I have it for dinner!"

    "My son, can you go and get the monkey for me? I want to eat his heart (心脏)," the mother crocodile said.

    "All right," the baby crocodile answered.

    The baby crocodile swam near the river bank (岸). He shouted at the monkey, “Hey, monkey！Would you like some bananas? There are many banana trees on the other bank of the river"

    "I like them very much. But I can't swim. How can I get there?" the monkey asked.

    "Oh, I can take you there," the baby crocodile said.

    "Really? Thank you very much!" the monkey jumped onto the baby crocodile's back. In the middle of the river, the baby crocodile went into the water. When he came up again, the monkey was wet all over. "Don't do that again, or you'll kill (杀死) me!" the monkey shouted.

    "I know, but I must do that! My mother wants to eat your heart."

    "My heart? 你为什么不早点告诉我? I left it in a tree. We should go back for it!" So_ they went back.

    As soon as they got to the bank, the monkey picked up a big stone (石头) and climbed up onto the tree quickly. He shouted at the baby crocodile, "Don't you want my heart? Well, catch!" The monkey threw the big stone at the crocodile.

    Some people are afraid of answering the telephone call. Here are some tips to help you when you are answering the call.

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    Listening to someone speaking in a second language over the telephone can be very challenging because you cannot see the person you are trying to hear. You may not realize that your pronunciation isn't clear. So pay special attention to your pronunciation and speak as slowly as possible.

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    Don't pretend to understand everything you hear over the telephone. Don't be afraid to remind the person to slow down more than once.

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    Ask another student to practice talking on the phone with you. Try to talk for at least fifteen minutes. The most important thing about practicing telephone English is that you are not able to see others' mouths.

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    There are many ways to get free telephone English practice. After business hours, you can call and listen to recorded messages. Write down what you hear the first time, and then call back and check if your notes are right.

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    Many speakers make the mistake of being too direct on the telephone. Sometimes just one word such as could or may is necessary in order to sound polite. Take the time to learn how to answer the phone in a polite manner.

Jellyfish and Crocrodiles（水母和鳄鱼）

    Hi, my name's Ben. My family, that's Mum, Dad and me, live in Broome in Western Australia. Western Australia is about 80 times larger than Italy, but only 1.5 million people live there. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It has a population of about 12,000. It's right on the coast and is known for its famous Cable Beach, which is 20km long.

    We live in the town in a house with a large garden.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We drive to Cable Beach and look for a quiet place to swim or to fish. We don't go swimming from October to March because there may be box jellyfish in the water. The box jellyfish is one of the most dangerous jellyfish. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you are attacked by one, the best thing to do is to pour vinegar（醋）over the area of your body where you are hurt. That's why we always take a bottle of vinegar with us.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} A year ago I went camping in the bush with my friend Bill and his dad. We wanted to do some fishing and set up camp about 20 metres from a river. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Bill's father told us to get up and we quickly got out of the tent and ran to the car, which was only 10 metres away.

    Bill's dad started the car and turned on the headlights. In the light, we could see a big crocodile pulling the tent into the river!