Many people like to travel by plane, but I don't. The airport is usually far from the city. You have to get there early and wait for hours before the plane takes off and it is often late. You can't open the window. You can't choose the food. Planes are fast but it still takes hours to get out of the airport and into the city.

    I like traveling by train. I think trains are safe. Railway stations are usually in downtown. When you are late for a train, you can catch another. You can walk around in the train and open the windows. You can see many interesting things on your way. I know it takes a little more time. I also like cars. You can start your journey when you want to, and you don't need to get to a railway station or a bus stop. Also you can carry many things with you in a car. But sometimes there are too many cars on the roads.

    Once upon a time, there was an old woman who lived in a small house. She planted a lot of beautiful tulips (郁金香) in her garden.

    One night, the sounds of sweet singing and of babies laughing woke her up. She looked out of the window. The sounds seemed to come from the tulips, but she could see nothing.

    The next morning she walked among her flowers, but there were no signs of anyone having been there the night before.

    On the following night she was again wakened (弄醒) by the sounds of sweet singing and babies laughing. She got out of bed and walked softly into her garden. The old woman looked closely and she noticed that a fairy (精灵) mother was singing softly, and that in each tulip-cup was a little fairy baby, laughing and playing.

    The old woman went back to her house quietly. From then on, she never picked a tulip. She didn't allow her neighbours to pick the flowers, either. When the old woman died, all the tulips disappeared overnight. But her grave (坟墓) looked beautiful, because the fairies sang above it and kept it green.

    Barbie was designed(设计)in 1959 by an American lady named Ruth Handler.

    When Ruth traveled around Europe in 1956 together    ①   her children Barbara and Kenneth，she saw a German toy doll   ②    Bild Lilli.Bild Lilli was pretty popular at that time，  ③   it was a paper doll.It made Ruth Handler   ④    to design a kind of adult-looking(成人模样的) doll for girls.With the help of her friends a beautiful doll was born.It was thin and   ⑤   big eyes and blonde hair(金发).Ruth named the doll Barbie after her own daughter Barbara.

    Barbie was introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City on March 9th，1959.This date is also used as Barbie's birthday.

    Now Barbie is known all over the world.About 150 countries sell Barbie dolls.Every second(秒)three Barbie dolls are sold around the world.

    (Zhejiang, Dec. 2) The Liight of Internet Expo opens at Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province, as part of the 2017 World Internet Conference, More than 400 Internet companies, big and small, attended the great event. They include not only industry giants（大公司）such as BMW, Kaspersky, Alibaba and Tencent but also startups that are leaders in some areas of information technology.

    Aliaba s self-service supermarket is a real hit, which shows the future of offline shopping. It allows shoppers to take what they like after scanning a OR code（扫描二维码）． Without waiting in line, it feels like you are picking things from your own table at home.

    In a corner at the expo, the E-take driverless car also gets visitors attention. It is orange and similar in style to a European sports car. It was developed by Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile. A spokesperson for the company said the work of bringing the car to market is progressing well.

    Ofo, a leading bike-sharing company based in Beijing, is present and also has been working on new technology to serve customers. Ofo, working with Huawei Technologies Co, has introduced a smart bicycle lock. It can be unlocked with a smartphonusing near-field communication technology, which is "even easier than scanning a QR code". Li Bofei, a business manager for the company said, "We are trying to make things even easier."

    At the expo, We Doctor Group shows a smartphone. It has a button(按钮)on the back to make things simpler and easier for elderly smartphone users. It allows them to connect to the company's Internet hospital platform ( 平台), which was developed in late 2015.

    Technology is changing our lives, isn't it?

    One day, a strong cowboy was traveling on his horse when he saw a bar (酒吧). {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Then he tied his horse outside the bar, walked into the bar and ordered two bottles of beer. This cowboy was new in town. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} He guessed that they might play some tricks on him, but he said nothing and continued to drink. After drinking, he walked out of the bar and found his horse lost.

    However, he kept calm (平静的), came back into the bar, and said to the others slowly, "I don't know what you did to my horse there, but I'm leaving in five minutes. And by then if my horse isn't back, I will have to do here what I did in Texas!" The cowboy added, "{#blank#}3{#/blank#}" After hearing these words, the others seemed a little bit afraid.

    The cowboy went back to his seat and ordered another two bottles of beer. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} He was very happy. Just as he was leaving, the boss of the bar came up and asked what he did in Texas. The cowboy turned to the boss and replied in a low voice, "{#blank#}5{#/blank#}"

    A good book can help you learn more things than you can learn in class. If you want to get into a good reading habit(习惯), here are a few ways.

    Plan your time

    You should give yourself at least thirty minutes for reading every day. When time is set, nothing can change it.

    Always carry a book

    Wherever you go, take a book with you. When you leave the house, make sure that you always carry a good book as well as your school things.

    Find a quiet place

    Find a place in your home where you can read a book quietly and no one will trouble you. There should be no television, computer, music or even noisy family members around you.