People in many places celebrate Christmas on December 25.

    In the USA, Christmas is a long holiday. Shops are usually not open on Christmas Day. And family members have a party together. There are usually Christmas Trees in houses, and children can find presents from their parents in the trees. In many places, children put a stocking(长筒袜)on the bed, because they think Father Christmas will put nice presents in the stocking at night.

    Things are different in China. The Chinese don't have a holiday at Christmas. Shops are open and there are usually Christmas sales(促销) in many shops. There are no family parties, but there are parties for young people in nightclubs and hotels. There are no stories about Father Christmas or presents in stockings. But young lovers(恋人) give each other presents.

    Here is a story of a dog. It saved his owner, Audrey Stone, who was a lady and had poor vision (视力).

    Figo, an eight-year-old dog, is Audrey Stone's third service dog. "He protects me and loves me. We are friends," Stone said.

    On a Monday, Stone and Figo were on their way back from their "usual daily walk". When they prepared to cross a street, "I gave him the order to cross the street," Stone said.

    "I said, 'Forward.' And we were in the middle of the street and it happened so quickly, but people said he just jumped at the school bus and saved me," Stone said.

    The school bus was carrying two children to a learning center. Luckily they were not injured. Stone said she didn't remember much of the accident, but one image (画面) stayed with her: a wounded Figo staying by her side, holding up his wounded right paw (爪子).

    "I knew he was hurt," she continued. "I remember Figo standing there, looking at me, trying to get close to me, but he didn't know what to do. Because he knew I was hurt." Figo had an operation (手术) on his right front leg. Figo's vet (兽医) said his leg was getting better.

    Stone said she was sure of one thing, "I'd have been sad if he had got killed." But, she added, they both lived to tell the story.

Information Card

    The "green" car has become popular in recent years. A green car is an environment friendly car. Today, most cars are powered (驱动) by petrol (汽油). They make our life easier. But cars have also made problems for the environment.

    There are a few new types of cars that use no petrol or a little petrol.

    Electric cars：This kind of car uses a battery (电池) for power. When you're not driving it, just plug it in like a mobile phone to power up the battery. They don't make exhaust (排放物). But car makers still can't make a battery that lasts for more than a few hours. That's why electric cars aren't very popular.

    Fuel cell cars (燃料电池车) : Fuel cell cars use hydrogen (氢) and oxygen (氧) to make power. The only exhaust they produce is clean water. But fuel cell cars are still much too expensive to make.

    Solar cars : This kind of car has large panels (板) on the top that take power from the sunshine. The car holds that power in a battery. Solar cars might be the cleanest of all. But no one uses them, because solar panels can't get enough power from the sun to make a car go for a long time. Also, they are very slow.

    Hybrid cars（油电混合车）： This kind of car is the most exciting kind, because it is very clean and not too expensive. The hybrid car is very smart: Half the time, it uses petrol, and half the time it uses a battery. So, when the petrol engine is working, it puts some of its power back into the battery. It uses much less petrol than other cars. It also makes less pollution for the environment.

    Hainan Island is a good place for you to visit in this season. But it will be {#blank#}1{#/blank#} on June the 16th and June the 21st. It will be partly cloudy on June the 15th and June{#blank#}2{#/blank#} And it will be{#blank#}3{#/blank#} on the 17th of June. These days are not suitable for swimming, because the temperature will be below 30℃. You know your parents don't allow you to swim in such cool days. Luckily, it will be{#blank#}4{#/blank#} on June the 19th and the 20th, and the temperature will be above 30℃. So you can{#blank#}5{#/blank#} on the two days, but remember that safety is first. Wish you a happy holiday！

    There are some easy things you can do to protect the environment and the earth.

    Choose ideas from the list or come up with a few of your own.

    Plant flowers, grass or trees.

    Whenever you visit a park or a beach, take away what you bring there-keep rubbish in a bag until you can put it in a dustbin.

    Turn off the lights, TV sets when you leave the room. This saves a lot of electricity.

    Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. You can save some water by not letting it run. Also, use a glass cup instead of a paper cup because this saves paper.

    Keep the doors and windows closed in winter to keep warm air in.

    Give your old books and magazines to a library instead of throwing them away.

    Give your old clothes to poor children you know instead of throwing them away.

    Use both sides of paper.

    Stop pouring dirty water into the rivers or lakes nearby.

    Encourage all your friends to do the same things you do to help protect the earth. You don't have to wait until Earth Day to do these things, Make every day Earth Day. If everyone protects the environment, the world will become much more beautiful.

    Now and then we all get ill. Then we usually go to see a doctor. Doctors know a lot about what makes us ill. They may give us something to take. The medicine often makes us well again.

    But sometimes the doctor's medicine doesn't work. A sick person does not get well. The pain(痛), or hurt(伤), will not go away. This happened to a man named Walter. He was in hospital, but he was not getting well. Then he found a new "doctor" inside himself. This "doctor" was his own sense of humor(幽默感). He saw funny films. He read funny books. And something wonderful happened. Laughing took away his pain. Then he was able to sleep and rest. His own happy feeling helped him to feel well again. And he told his story in a book. He said laughing was his best "medicine". His doctor thought so, too.

    Another man called James was ill, and he had a terrible pain in his back. The doctor could not stop it from hurting. So the man began to "picture" his pain. In his head he "drew" a picture of a dog. He imagined(想象) it as a real dog. And he made friends with the dog. And his pain went away!

    These stories may surprise you. But more and more people are getting well in this way. So call on the "doctor" inside your own head. Stay happy and well.