Meiyu, born in 1991, is from Turkey(土耳其). She is the youngest child of her family. After high school, many people learned English or Japanese, but Meiyu decided to learn Chinese in university. She learned Chinese for four years in Ankara University in Turkey, and got her name Meiyu there.

Meiyu fell in love with Chinese after going to university. She became more interested after she knew more about Chinese history. In the beginning many people did not understand her decision. But they all said Meiyu had made a right choice when she graduated from university in 2013. Since then, more Chinese have been visiting Turkey. The trade between the two countries also requires Chinese-speaking people. ＂Speaking Chinese means more job opportunities.＂ said Meiyu.

Now Meiyu has been in Wuhan, China for about two years. Besides going on studying Chinese, she shows great interest in Chinese kung fu as well, so she spends her free time on kung fu training with her coaches. Not only can kung fu help improve her health, but she is also fascinated by the history and culture behind it. Meiyu said, ＂The more I know about China, the luckier I feel to have been here. But the truth is that fun and pain go together in the process of learning.＂

Meiyu will graduate in June this year. Her friends want her to stay in China, but her parents hope she can come back home. Meiyu thinks it is difficult to decide. ＂Even if I go back to Turkey, I will choose Chinese language education as my job,＂ said Meiyu.

Peng Yixuan is a young reporter. Last November, she went to San Francisco. She took a bartering (物物交换)journey on the city's streets. 

Peng started her journey with a panda doll(玩偶). She wanted to exchange(交换)it with the people to see what this doll would turn into in the end. She met a woman first. She showed the woman her panda doll and said that she wanted to do an exchange. The woman gladly agreed and gave her a model of a San Francisco cable car. She told Peng that the cable car is a symbol of San Francisco. 

Then, Peng continued her journey. She met different people, and they exchanged their things with Peng. Every time, Peng got a different thing. Finally, she got a ship ticket. 

Peng shared her journey online and it got many likes. They all thought the bartering was interesting and meaningful. At the same time, the friendly people's best wishes touched many people. For example, a woman gave Peng a box of glue ( 胶 水 )and said that people should be able to stick together and be better friends. 

Peng said many good relationships start and keep with exchanges—we exchange things, ideas, or experiences. Then we can join hands to face the difficulties and solve all kinds of problems in the world. 

Dear Becky, 

How is it going? It is summer in our{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. But in Switzerland, it is winter. I am {#blank#}2{#/blank#}a vacation with my parents here. Now the weather here is cold and it often{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Many people like skating{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. It is people's favorite {#blank#}5{#/blank#}here in winter. 

My{#blank#}6{#/blank#} teach me to skate. It's{#blank#}7{#/blank#} for me to walk on the ice because I skate for the first time. But I think I can do it well. We skate {#blank#}8{#/blank#}a mountain. Many people {#blank#}9{#/blank#}it every day. The food here is{#blank#}10{#/blank#}. We will have a big dinner after skating. 

Write back to me and tell me what you are doing over the vacation. 

Yours,

Laura

Aleck was a seven-year-old boy. He lived next door to Tim and Tom. The twin brothers' birthday was coming, so he went to the shopping center to buy some presents for them. He was very happy when he got the presents. He ran through the shopping centre happily. He was so busy thinking about his friends that he did not look where he was going. He ran straight into a young woman who was pushing a baby in the pushchair. Aleck and the woman fell over onto the floor.

The woman was so angry that she could not speak. Aleck hurt his little finger and his hands were dirty. The baby in the pushchair started crying."You silly boy! Why don't you look where you are going? Help me pick up my bags," shouted the woman.

"I'm sorry," cried Aleck."Let me help you."

Aleck and the woman picked up her bags and put them under the pushchair. The baby stopped crying, and as the woman got into the lift, she said,"Be more careful next time."

Tom is Sally's brother. His hobby is playing the violin and his dream is to be a p{#blank#}1{#/blank#} musician one day. Unluckily, Tom hurt his arm badly in a traffic accident last weekend. The doctor said perhaps he couldn't play the violin any more after he c{#blank#}2{#/blank#} his arm. When Sally knew the bad news, she told Tom to be positive and p{#blank#}3{#/blank#} to help him out. She also bought an expensive violin for Tom as a gift. Every day Sally teaches Tom to play the violin in a special way. I{#blank#}4{#/blank#} of giving up, Tom tries his best to practise though it's not easy to do so. He has to practise for 2-3 hours every day. Now, Tom can play the violin better and better. He even w{#blank#}5{#/blank#} two prizes in a competition last week!

The Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Period was an age of great culture development in China. Here are some great characters of that time.