Rose is a student from the U. S. She is in Shanghai with her parents now. She doesn't know Chinese, but she is trying to study and speak it. She often tries to speak Chinese with her Chinese friends. Sometimes they don't understand her, because she can't speak Chinese well.

    It's Saturday morning. Rose goes out. She is on her way to the park. She is going there to see a flower fair(展销会). But she doesn't know how to get there. She asks a Chinese boy the way. The boy can't understand her. Then she takes out a pen and a piece of paper. She draws flowers on it, and then gives the picture to the boy and says something about it. The boy smiles and then shows Rose the way to the park.

Give water, save lives

A bottle of water may not seem like much to you, but thousands of bottles will be of great help for people who live in drought-hit(遭受旱灾) areas in China.

Since last autumn, there has been very little rain in Southwest China. Some places, especially in Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, have experienced a serious drought. Crops (庄稼) died, the land cracked(裂开), and wells (井) and rivers dried up. More than 20 million people are having difficulty in finding safe drinking water.

After learning about the drought, many people around the country helped by giving water, money and other things.

Last week, every member of the Communist Youth League (共青团员) and Young Pioneers(少先队员) were encouraged to give one bottle of water to the drought-hit areas. Students in primary schools and middle schools quickly joined the activity. In Yuhua Primary School in Xi' an, 900 students bought over 1,000 bottles of water with their pocket money. They also wrote their wishes on the bottles.

The serious drought has also made students realize the importance of saving water. Students from Nanshan Middle School in Huizhou, Guangdong went on the street to tell people to take part in water-saving activities.

"I've heard that some children in drought-hit areas don't have enough drinking water. They have to drink muddy ( 含有泥土的 ) water. I feel really sad about that," said one student. "I decide to take a shower twice a week instead of every day to save water," he said.

Lucy and I are in different classes. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}we are not in the same class, we are best friends. She is a(n) {#blank#}2{#/blank#}girl. She often helps others when they are in trouble. She is good at {#blank#}3{#/blank#}dancing and singing. She is a good student. She is {#blank#}4{#/blank#}at school. In the morning, she reads English{#blank#}5{#/blank#} She can speak English{#blank#}6{#/blank#}than any other student in her class. She often goes to attend(参加) English{#blank#}7{#/blank#}. And she{#blank#}8{#/blank#}many prizes. She is {#blank#}9{#/blank#}. Do you know {#blank#}10{#/blank#}country she comes from? Oh, she is from the U. S. 

Maya and her parents are going to the United States to visit Maya's Aunt Vicky.

"Hurry up, Maya!" says her father. "We need to get to the 1 !" Maya has never been on an airplane before. She is 2 . Will the plane fall out of the sky? Maya's father finds her 3 under her bed. "What's wrong? Are you scared?" he asks. Maya nods.

"Planes are safe, darling. They are designed to fly!"

"But 4 ?" whispers Maya.

"Four forces are at work, keeping planes in the air." Maya's father 5 four fingers. "The sky is full of air, which pushes the airplane backwards. We call this DRAG. The 6 of the plane and everything inside it pulls it downwards, towards the ground. That's called GRAVITY (重力)."

Maya crawls (爬行) out from under the bed. She sits beside her father on the bed.

"A plane's engine works really hard to push the plane 7 . We call this THRUST. If the thrust is 8 than the drag, the plane flies ahead!"

"Cool!" Maya smiles.

"Finally, the wings of the plane are built so that the air on top of them moves faster than the air 9 them. The faster air is under less pressure, which lifts the plane up into the sky—it is called LIFT! I promise we'll be safe in the airplane," says Dad.

"When you put it that way, I can't wait to 10 !" Maya jumps up and takes her suitcase. "Aunt Vicky, here we come!"