Barbie dolls always wear beautiful clothes. Do you know who makes the clothes for them? Kim Culmone from the US is a fashion designer. But unlike other designers, she only makes clothes for Barbie.

    Culmone is 48 years old. Her job is to design and make new clothes for Barbie. Culmone likes to watch fashion shows on the streets. When she sees beautiful clothes, she gets some ideas for her designs.

    Culmone is interested in the world of Barbie's clothes. Every day, she spends most of her time drawing different kinds of dresses for Barbie, and making them into real clothes.

    "I love dolls very much. When I was young, Barbie was a very important part of my childhood. I dreamed of making clothes for my own dolls." Culmone says. But it's not an easy job. She has to spend a lot of time planning for Barbie's clothes.

    "Sometimes, you think a dress is beautiful." Culmone says, "But when Barbie wears it, it looks different. Barbie dolls are a bit taller than a bottle of water."

    Although I'm not in my childhood, I still prefer reading fairy tales(童话).They often make me think of some special experiences and feelings. This summer I've reviewed The Little Prince. It was first published in 1943.It's a world famous fairy tale written by the French author Antoine.

    “I”, the narrator(讲述者) of the story, is a pilot. His plane has something wrong and lands in the Sahara. The little prince lives on a small planet, and he grows a flower called ROSE there. One day they have a quarrel(争吵), so the little prince runs away. On his all­ alone journey, he meets different kinds of people. From these people he gets a conclusion(结论) that grown­ups are strange. And with the help of the man he meets, he descends in the Sahara.

    This book moves me a lot. It is not only a fairy tale for children and teenagers, but also for grown­ups.

    A year ago I paid no attention to English idioms though my teacher said again and again that it was important.

    One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner shook his head, saying, "You don't say! You don't say!" I was surprised. I thought, perhaps this is not a proper topic. Well, I'd better change the topic. So I said to him, "Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?"

    "Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at mc if I leave China without seeing it. It was great."

    I said, "The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. It is a place of interest. "Soon I was interrupted again by his words, "          "

    I couldn't help. "Why do you ask me not to talk about it?" "Well, I didn't ask you to do so," he answered, gently surprised.

    I said, "Didn't you say' You don't say!'?"

    Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to shout, "'You don't say!' actually means 'Really?'. It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don't pay attention to English idioms."

    Then I knew I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idioms.

An early kind of music from Austria may not seem like music at all, but it is a kind of singing: yodeling. People use their voice to yodel, without using any instruments like violin or piano. At first, Austrian people used yodeling to call each other between mountains* or to call their animals. It was just a loud*sound without words, but it had different meanings, like "It's time for lunch." Or "I'm near here."

Yodeling developed* into songs in the 19th century. There were yodeling groups singing in theatres and music halls in Austria. Later, people tried to write down the songs. A musician called Toby Reiser traveled through Austria, listened to people yodeling and wrote down all he heard. In the 1930s, people around the world got to know yodeling. American country singer Jimmie Rodgers created "blue yodel" songs and made yodeling part of the country music. Today, people can even hear yodeling in rock music, and it is still loved in countries like Britain and America.

The singing of yodeling is special because it repeats* a high-low-high-low sound. Everyone can yodel. Yodeling is not about singing perfectly, but being loud. To try it, you can just find a room and sing "Little-old-lady-WHO!" Begin with "little old lady" in your chest voice*, and then jump up to your head voice to sing "who". You will soon know what it means to "feel the yodel".

Next time you are on a mountain top, try yodeling! It's a wonderful feeling and can bring you a lot of fun!

My grandfather often said "I won't" to show his dislike of dishonesty. When he was young, he worked 1 a furniture (家具) maker. One day, a neighbor invited him to make some furniture. When arriving, he noticed the wood provided was a little 2 , so he said, "I won't start right away." He chose to let the wood dry for a 3 . He knew working with that wood could cause problems later on. 

Around the same time, 4 furniture maker was also asked to do a similar job by a different family. Unlike my grandfather, he started working right away. As a result, the neighbor started doubting my grandfather, thinking he was trying to make more money by 5 the work. However, my grandfather waited patiently. He wanted the best quality (品质) for the furniture he was making. 

A month later, that furniture maker received his money and went back home. When the wood was 6 dry, my grandfather began to make strong and beautiful furniture. A few months passed and the furniture made by 7 began to break. The neighbor then realized he was wrong and 8 doubting my grandfather. At that moment, people started to understand his honesty and skill, spreading his fame far and wide. 

Influenced by my grandfather, my father also follows the saying "I won't". He always provides the freshest food, which makes his restaurant very 9 in town. Now, my brother and I keep in mind what our grandfather and father taught us. Through ups and downs in life, we've come to deeply understand our family 10 behind this saying—to be truthful and honest. 

Judie's class was studying Chinese culture. One day, her teacher went into the classroom1 some kites. He told them that kites 2 in China more than 2,000 years age. At the end of the class, he said, "The Chinese make kites that mean something important to them. I expect each of you 3 a kite that means something important to you. You will have a 4 understanding of kites than before."

Judie decided to ask her dad for help as it was5 first time to make a kite.

"What do you think of when you see a kite?" her dad asked.

Judie thought for a moment and 6 , "Butterflies."

Judie's dad agreed that it would be a good idea to make a butterfly kite. They made a cross with some wood sticks,7 then Judie painted a butterfly on a piece of white paper. Next they stuck the paper on the cross. Finally they tied a long tail to the bottom.

The next morning, they took 8 kite to the park and tested it. "Wow!" she cried proudly. "9 high my butterfly flies!"

"Judie, can you tell me 10 butterflies?" asked her dad.

Judie replied, "To me, butterflies mean beauty and freedom!"