Many people like to watch TV. Watching TV is one of the most important activities of the day. TV brings the outside world closer to people's homes. Some people say the world is smaller than before because of TV. What's going on in other countries? How do people live in places far away? Is there a good sports game somewhere? What's life like in the deepest part of the sea?
If you want to answer these and other kinds of questions, just turn on the TV. Turn it on and watch. You can see a lot and learn a lot. Of course, people can also learn through reading or listening to the radio. But with TV they can learn better and more easily. Why? Because they can hear and see too.
TV helps to open our eyes. TV also helps to open our minds. TV often gives us new ideas. We learn newer and better ways of doing something.
In many English homes people eat four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.
People have breakfast at any time from seven to nine in the morning. They eat porridge, eggs or bread. English people drink tea or coffee at breakfast. Lunch comes at one o'clock. Afternoon tea is from four to five in the afternoon and dinner is about half past seven. First they have soups, and then they have meat or fish with vegetables. After that they eat some other things, like bananas, apples or oranges. But not all English people eat like that. Some of them have their dinner in the middle of the day. Their meals are breakfast, dinner, tea and supper and all these meals are very necessary.
Nancy's hobby is collecting sharpeners (卷笔刀). She spends a lot of time on it after school. She has been collecting more than one hundred sharpeners. They are all different in colour and size.
Nancy likes sharpeners with animals on them. In this way, she learns the names of many animals. She also borrows books on animals from her school library. She learns a lot about them from books.
Sometimes Nancy has many sharpeners of the same kind. She gives them to her friends. Then they give her other different sharpeners in return. Nancy has many e-friends in many countries. She sends them sharpeners of her country. In return, they send her sharpeners of their countries. Nancy's father also gives her sharpeners. He brings them home from his friends for free.
Many of Nancy's friends collect other things. Some collect coins and others collect matchboxes (火柴盒) or stamps. But all of them say that Nancy's collection is the most interesting of all.
I heard that Lijiang was a very famous place for its beautiful sightseeing. When I was young. So I travelled there with my parents during the last winter holiday.
We went there by plane. I saw there were many mountains when I got out of the plane. The air was fresh. On the first day, we went to the old of lie bought some interesting things and had a good meal there. On the second day, we went to Yulong Snow Mountain. It was beautiful, and the land was covered by the white snow. It was my first time to see snow. I played with the snow happily. My father told me that it was a famous place in China. Many people came here every year. I seldom go travelling, but this time I was very happy during this trip. I also met some foreigners here, and I even tried to talk with them. Though it was not easy for me to talk in English fluently (流利地), I was still glad to make a try. We took many beautiful photos about the scenery and my family.
Saturday, March 24th
We have arrived in the hot, wet city of Thailand, Bangkok. This is our first trip to Thailand. All the different smells make us want to try the food. We are going to eat something special for dinner tonight. The hotel we are staying in is cheap and very clean. We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city and then travel to Chiang Mai in the north.
Tuesday, March 27th
Bangkok is wonderful and surprising! The places here are interesting. We visit the famous market which is on water and see a lot of fruit and vegetables. Everything is so colourful, and we take hundreds of photos! Later today we will leave for Chiang Mai. We will take the train north, stay in Chiang Mai for two days and then catch a bus to Chiang Rai.
Friday, March 30th
Our trip to Chiang Rai is long and boring. We visit a small village in the mountains. People here love the quiet life—no computers or phones. They are the kindest people I have ever met. They always smile and say "hello" Kathy and I can only speak a few words in Thai, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness. I feel good here and hope to be able to come back next year.
Life in the future will be different from life today. Between then and now many changes will take place. But what will the changes be?
The population is growing fast. There will be many people in the world and most of them will live longer than people live now.
Computers will be much smaller and more useful, and there will be at least one in every home. And computer studies will be one of the most important subjects in schools then. People will work for fewer hours than they do now and they will have more free time for sports, watching TV and travelling. Travelling will be much cheaper and easier. And many more people will go to other countries for holidays.
There will be changes in our food, too. More land will be used for building new towns and houses for all the people. Then there will be less room for cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. Maybe no one will eat it every day. Instead, they will eat more fruit and vegetables. Maybe people will be healthier. Work in the future will be different, too. Robots will do dangerous and hard work. Because of this, many people will not have enough work to do. This will be a problem.
When you look at the sky at night, the Moon looks bigger than the stars. Actually (实际上), the Moon is much smaller than the stars and the Sun. It's much smaller than the Earth. But the Moon is much closer to us than any star. That is why it looks so big. If you hold a coin close to your eyes, it looks big. If you look at it across the Moon, it looks small.
The Moon moves around the Earth. It makes one trip in about four weeks. The Moon looks flat to us. But it is a round ball, like the Earth.
People once thought the Moon had fire (火) on it. They thought the fire made it bright. Now we know the Moon is like a mirror. It gets its light from the Sun.
Our sunlight comes from the Sun, too. What is the Sun? The Sun is a star. The stars we can see have their own light. There are many big stars we cannot see. Their light has burned out. Others are still bright, but they are so far away that we cannot see them. The Sun looks bigger and much brighter than other stars in Galaxy because it is the nearest of all stars. The Sun and the other stars we see are very hot, but the air around us saves us from the heat of the Sun.
The Sun gives us light and warmth (温暖). It makes plants grow and turns leaves green. It makes life possible on the Earth. It is a life giving star.
Autumn in Tibet is very beautiful because there are many fresh and bright colours everywhere.
In north Tibet, one can travel several hundred kilometres by car and cannot see even a person. No one can be found in the north of Shuanghu-only treeless fields and grasslands. Warm autumn days bring life to all of nature. Wild animals become active, and Tibetan antelopes like to play near the lakes. When they run, sometimes they can reach 80 km an hour, leaving the hungry wolves far behind.
Autumn in south Tibet is very different from that in north Tibet. Mount Qomolangma in southwest Tibet, the highest mountain on Earth, is world-famous for its beauty. It is over 8, 000metres high. There are over 2,300 kinds of plants and about 300 different kinds of wild animals on Mount Qomolangma.
Dear Liz,
My stay in Thailand has certainly been the experience of my life.
Life is busy and exciting. Bangkok is just like any other big city with a population of over 10 million and heavy traffic. I'm very lucky because my host family is in a nice quiet area outside the city. There are Mr and Mrs Phairat, their son Sanan, who is 18, the daughter Chinda, who is 16, and Grandpa and Grandma.
I go to an international school with Sanan and Chinda. The school teaches about 70 per cent in English, and 30 per cent in Thai. I've learned some spoken language, but Thai writing is very difficult. The cooking lesson is my favourite. I'm 19100 112 learning all about Thai food and culture. People don't use chopsticks here, but spoons and forks. When I' come back, I'm going to cook you a real Thai meal.
Last weekend we visited some temples. We also drove to Pattaya Beach near Bangkok. I thought it was great, but Sanan and Chinda say that next month they're going to take me to Phuket Island, where the beaches are even more beautiful. The month after next, we're going to travel to Mr Phairat's home town in the north of Thailand. The Phairats own land there, and they have two elephants. I'm going to ride those elephants-and even wash them. Sanan and Chinda say it's really fun. I'm amazed by everything in this country especially by the elephants.
Elephants are an important part of Thai culture and way of life. They have been a traditional symbol of Thailand for many years in times of war and peace. In the seventh century, a Thai king trained 20, 000 elephants for battle. I'll tell you all about my Thai boxing (拳击) lessons next time I write.
Love,
Mandy
Welcome to this short tour of London. In this square we are standing in the middle of London. Opposite (在对面) is the National Gallery, a museum with lots of famous paintings. Go along the red street to Buckingham Palace. The queen lives here.
Turn left and go to the Houses of Parliament and Elizabeth Tower. Opposite you can see the London Eye. It takes you 135 metres above the River Thames. You can see most of London on a clear day.
When you are tired, the best way to see London is by boat. You can get on the boat near Elizabeth Tower. As you go along the river, the London Eye is on your right, near the Railway Bridge.
Get off the boat at Tower Bridge. Then you can see the Tower of London next to the bridge The Tower of London is the city's oldest palace (ET 8). It is about nine hundred years old.
Take the boat back along the river. Get off the boat and go past the station and walk along the street. Opposite is the old fruit and vegetable market. It doesn't sell fruit and vegetables now. There are stores and restaurants, and lots of street musicians. Turn left into King s Street, and go past the church (教堂). You're now back where you started, at the square. Now you finish your tour.
