The umbrella is a very common object. It keeps the 1 and the sun off the people. Most umbrellas can be folded up(折叠) so it is2 to carry them.
However, the umbrella has not always been as 3as it is now. In the past, it was a symbol of importance. Some African countries still use umbrellas in this 4. Someone carries an umbrella and walks behind the king or important persons.
Umbrellas are very old. People in different parts of the world began to 5 umbrellas at different times. The Chinese had them more than 3,000 years ago. From there, umbrellas 6to India and Egypt. In Greece and Rome,7 wouldn't use them. They believed umbrellas were only for women.
England was 8 the first country in Europe where common people used umbrellas against rain. The weather there is very 9 and umbrellas are very useful.
Everybody uses umbrellas today. The next time you 10 one, thinking that for centuries only great men and women used them, you'll feel you are important people, too.
Fifty-three years ago Barbie Millicent Roberts first appeared in the world of toys. Since then, Barbie doll, as everyone called her, has become the most successful toy doll in history. Her parent, the Mattel Company, said that 90% of all American girls between 3 and 10 have at least one Barbie at home.
However, Barbie is facing some trouble at present(现在). There are many similar dolls on the market in competition with her. Another doll named Bratz, for example, came to life thirteen years ago. She looks more like today's pop stars with heavy makeup(浓妆) and miniskirts. And her company offers more kinds of clothes too.
It seems that Barbie has lost her magic among older girls. “For younger girls, playing with a Barbie is much fun. But when you get older, you want something smarter and more modern,” says Vera Shepherd, a shop assistant in a New York toy store.
It is good news that on the international market, Barbie is still No.1. Although Mattel is selling fewer Barbies in the United States these years, sales in other countries are still going up. In January 2009, Mattel opened its first Barbie store in Shanghai, where girls can shop, eat, drink or even become fashion designers for their own Barbies.
Mattel is planning big celebrations for Barbie's 53rd birthday. Fashion designers from all over the world have been called to make new dresses for Barbie. How long will Barbie stay popular in the world of toy dolls? It is hard to say, but 53 is surely not the age to retire(退休).
Every morning my father buys a newspaper on his way to work. Every evening my mother looks through magazines at home. And every night, I look at the posters with photos of David Beckham and Yao Ming on my bedroom wall before I go to sleep. Can we imagine life without paper or print?
Paper was first created about 2,000 years ago, and has been made from silk, cotton, bamboo, and, since the 19th century, from wood. People learned to write words on paper to make a book. But in those days, books could only be produced one at a time by hand. As a result, they were expensive and rare. And because there weren't many books, few people learned to read.
Then printing was invented in China. When printing was developed greatly at the beginning of the 11th century, books could be produced more quickly and cheaply. As a result, more people learned to read. After that, knowledge and ideas spread quickly.
Today information can be received online, downloaded from the Internet rather than found in books, and information can be kept on CD-ROMs or machines such as MP3 players.
Computers are already used in classrooms, and newspapers and magazines can already be read online. So will books be replaced by computers one day? No, I don't think the Yao Ming poster on my bedroom wall will ever be replaced by a two-metre-high computer!
Chen Ping beautiful paper cuttings.
Peter often in the house at the weekend?
does Kate usually clean her bedroom?
My sister usually goes to school every morning.
Chinese by more and more people in the world.
