For many in the United States, Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population. Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine, many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds.
Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800's when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as “Amreeka”.
Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves. The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924.The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian, and some Egyptian immigrants. These new immigrants, who were mostly Christian, came to America in search of better opportunities. Even the doomed Titanic, which set sail for America in 1912,had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard. The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants; they are the third or more generation Americans.
The second wave of immigrants followed after World War Ⅱ,caused by political unrest in the Middle East. This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims（穆斯林）and continues to this day.
Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States, according to demographers. And quite different from popular belief, 64 percent of them are American-born. Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US citizens.
Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income. Education is important among Arab-Americans; 82 percent have high school diplomas, 36 percent have bachelor's degrees or higher, and 15 percent have graduate degrees. The-median（中位数的）average income among Arab-Americans is $39,580, which is higher than the US average.

    Most people have heard of the Great Wall, but not many people outside China know about the Grand Canal. This man-made waterway is known to the Chinese as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand. Canal. It is the longest as well as one of the oldest canals in the world and a place of interest. It's 1,797 kilometres long and some parts of it are more than 2,000 years old. Starting from Beijing, it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou. The Grand Canal links the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.

    It was built as a way to transport grain from the rich agricultural land in China's south to cities in the north. In fact, it's not one canal, but a system of canals and rivers linked together. It's still an important part of the transport system in China. Thousands of ships use it every day to transport grain and many other types of goods.

    The Chinese government has done new work on the Grand Canal. It has made Darts of it deeper, so bigger ships can use it. The canal also helps to move water. There is a lot of rain in the south of China, but not as much in the north. The canal can carry millions of liters (公升) of water from the south to the north.

    The Grand Canal is much less famous than the Great Wall, and not very many tourists visit it. But it's possible to go on a cruise (乘船游览) along some of the oldest parts of the canal. Passengers on these cruises can see beautiful parts of China that other visitors don't see.

    Dogs are good friends of humans. Some dog lovers want to take their pets along with them wherever they go. However, many malls, bars and restaurants don't allow dogs inside. But in good news for dog owners, the world's first bus tour for dogs appeared on the streets of London last month.

    The tour is free. It takes owners and their dogs to some of London's best parks and hottest dog-walking spots(地点). For example, the buses stop at Hyde Park and Green Park. The tour guides on the buses explain the history of dogs in London and about the many corgis(柯基犬) owned by Queen Elizabeth II. They also give the owners a map of dog-friendly bars and restaurants in the city.

Celebrate :庆祝  Lunar:农历  Lantern:灯  Riddles:谜