In northern Scotland there is a long deep lake called Loch Ness.  More than 200 meters deep, it is the largest lake in the UK.  People  say  a  big monster (怪兽)  lives in its dark, cold waters. It weighs more than 1,000 kilos and is at least ten meters long. Some people say it has a head like a horse. Others say it looks like a snake. Many people travel to Loch Ness to look for this strange monster, but only a few people have seen it. At least, they say they have seen it.

    The Loch Ness Monster is a famous legend (传说). The first story about a monster in Loch Ness was told over 500 years ago, but the legend of the monster spread widely only in the twentieth century. In 1933, a husband and wife reported that they saw a big monster in Loch Ness. Several people have taken photos, but at least one of them was a hoax (骗局). During the 1960s, a team was formed to look for the monster. They took many photos and made movies, but they were never able to find a monster.

    There is no real fact that a monster lives in Loch Ness, but there is also no fact that one doesn't live. One thing is true about Loch Ness: there are a lot of tourists there.

    Science fiction is a popular kind of writing. Many people think of Jules Verne as the father of science fiction. He was born in France in 1828. His father wanted him to become a lawyer. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} At first he wrote plays for the theater. Then, in 1863, he wrote a story called Five Weeks in a Balloon. The success of this book encouraged him to write more stories, such as A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and From the Earth to the Moon (1865).

    In the 19th century, many people were interested in science and inventions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}As a result, they were very popular. Verne's writing included many predictions (预言) for the 20th century and many of them came true. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}These books were very successful and they made Verne rich.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 20 ， 000 Leagues Under the Sea was a successful movie for Walt Disney. It was the first Disney movie to use real actors instead of cartoon drawings. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The main character is an Englishman called Phileas Fogg. For him, the most important thing is to be always on time!

    I like Africa very much. So my parents and I went to Africa last week. It was an interesting place. On Monday, I rode big elephants. They were big and friendly. I took many photos of them. On Tuesday, we went to visit Lake Victoria. At noon, my father and I collected wood(木柴)to make a fire. Then we had a picnic. We had a good time there. After that we went to the hotel. On Wednesday, we went to Tugella Fall by train. We had a long walk around it. All of us liked Tugella Tall very much. We took the plane back to Canada on Saturday. It was an exciting.

    I'II show you my photos there!

    France is well known for its fine art, tasty food and romantic scenery. 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 Auguste Rodin and painter Claude Monet once created their great works here. If you visit France today, it is not a surprise to meet street artists in the city or come across a singer in the subway.

    No visit to Paris is complete without a trip to Louvre, one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. Inside, there are 35, 000 works of art, such as the painting Mona Lisa by Da Vinci and the statue David by Michelangelo. It would take nine months to enjoy all the pieces.

    Besides, French food is world-famous. Bread is very important in France. The best known French bread is called a baguette. They are long, delicious and taste salty. Snails are also 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 dark side to visitors. Chinese visitors feel sorry about the crowded subway in Paris.

Customs on Eating

    Food in China and western countries is different. China has about 5000 years' old history. They may spend half of their time on food. Chinese people choose food very carefully. They only use. fresh materials (新鲜的材料) to make food. For example, they only eat fresh fish. Chinese have a lot of ideas for cooking. They can cook a chicken in over ten ways.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Western countries, like England or America, don't have fresh food because they buy their food from supermarkets which only sell stored materials (储存的材料).{#blank#}2{#/blank#}They are healthy for man's body. Western people do not have many skills for cooking, and mostly they only boil, steam (蒸) and bake the food. By the way, western people are very good at making desserts and chocolate. They can make very good cakes and chocolate{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    In China, the person who invites other people for meal would pay for the meal, but it's not the same way in western countries.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} They can afford it. They won't be happy if you pay for them. In western countries like America or England, people will always give tips (小费) to the waiter after they finish the meal in a restaurant. If you don't, the waiter will not be happy. In China this only happens in some top restaurants and hotels in large cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

    Another difference in eating is that:{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Chinese people only have three meals during a day. But western people may have more. They usually have afternoon tea when they would have fruit, cakes or biscuits with cheese.

With only one yuan, could you live in a city for one day? It may sound impossible.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

On April 10th, more than 60 students from a middle school took part in the One Yuan Metropolis Survival(一元城市生存). A charity organization(慈善组织) for teenagers held this activity.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} And it is going to four others, including Beijing.

In the activity, students had to live and deal with difficult tasks. To make money, many students looked for part-time jobs and saw how hard life was. A 14-year-old girl asked more than 10 restaurants for a job and finally got one. "{#blank#}3{#/blank#} But gradually, we got used to it," she said. After being a waiter for an hour, she got 25 yuan.

Living was hard, but finishing the tasks wasn't any easier. The students went to different places to finish tasks in a short time. The most amazing one was when they had to exchange things worth a thousand yuan with only a piece of paper in half an hour. "{#blank#}4{#/blank#} From a balloon to a cake to a bottle of yogurt...after almost 20 tries, we got an expensive ring," a student said. "We will give all of the money we have raised to poor schools in Tibet."