One day, a father of a very rich family took his son on a trip to the country（乡村）The father wanted to show his son how poor people live. They spent a few days and nights on the farm of a very poor family. Before they went home, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah, " said the son.
"So, tell me what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek（小溪） that has no end. We have lanterns（提灯） in our garden，and they have the stars at night. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that go out of our sight（视线）. We ask others to serve（服务）us but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have tall walls to keep us safe，they have friends to keep them safe. "
The boy's father said nothing.
Then his son said, "Thanks Dad, for showing me how poor we are."
Wang Dewen has had three different jobs during his life. First, at a young age, he was a farmer, Then he became a carpenter (木工) And now, at age 63, he has become an Internet star.
The carpenter is known as" Grandpa Amu" on YouTube. Because of his great wood working skills, his video about making a wooden arch bridge became popular on the Internet and got more than 42 million views. Wang uses traditional Chinese mortise and tenons kills to make wooden things, That means he didn't use any nails (钉) or glue (胶水) when building the bridge.
Wang was born in 1957 in a poor family in Shandong. He had a hard life when he was little. His father died when he was 9, and he had to help his family make money at a young age. To do so, farming was not enough. So he began to learn another skill and became a carpenter. In2017, Wang moved from his home in Shandong to Wuzhou, Guangxi, to live with his son and take care of his grandson. Most of the things he made in his videos finally became the toys of his grandson.
Now Wang has about 1. l8 million fans on YouTube. "We made the videos because we wanted to let more people learn about traditional Chinese woodworking skills. It's also a good way to pass on Chinese culture," said Wang's son.
a. He lost his father.
b. He became an Internet star
c. He went to live with his son.
d. He helped with the farm work.
e. He studied woodworking skills.
Dear Linda,
I'm glad to hear from you and I would like to be your pen friend. In your letter, you said you wanted to know something about my school life.
I walk to school at 7:30 every morning because the school is near our house. When I get to school at about 7:45. I often do the cleaning with my classmates. After that, we do some reading for half an hour. We have four lessons in the morning. I often have my lunch at 12:00 at school. We usually have two lessons in the afternoon. The school is over at about 5:00 and then I go home.
My favourite subject is Chinese. I like all the teachers because they are friendly. I am keen on sports and I enjoy playing football best. I'm a member of our school football team. What about your school life?
Best wishes!
Dick
There are all kinds of clubs in US middle schools, like music club, sports club, chess club, and swimming club. But do you know homework club? It is a popular club in many US middle schools. More and more students spend their afternoons at the clubs. The students need a quiet place to do their homework. But games, computers and TVs are all around kids at home. So the homework club is for them to do their homework. Some teachers are in the clubs too. They can answer students' questions and help with their homework. When the students finish their homework, they can go home. Then they can play games, watch TV or do other things.
The homework club is very helpful. But some students can finish their homework at home,so they don't go to the homework club. They think it is a waste of time.
Long long ago, there was a beautiful place with thousands of trees. Around those trees was the home of many lions. Those lions killed other animals and ate them. The bodies of the animals always made the air bad, and many trees thought the place was not fit to live in any more.
One day, two trees were talking. The first tree said, “These lions are polluting our home. We have to save our home from them. Let's drive them away.”
“Yes,” agreed the other tree.
An old tree was listening to them, He said, “They may be polluting the air. But they are keeping us safe. No people are brave enough to come into our home.
But his words did not change the idea of the two trees. They finally did that. That evening, the two trees started shaking very hard. “We will make the lions afraid, so they will leave our home and never come back again,” the two trees said and laughed.
All the other trees joined them. “Don't do that,” shouted the old tree. But the other trees did not listen. They made great noises. “Something horrible is happening. Let's run away,” all the animals said.
The two trees were happy. “Huh! Now we can enjoy some fresh air,” they said. But they were only happy for a few days. One day a man came and started cutting down the trees. “Now I don't need to be afraid of the lions,” he said to himself. Soon there were other people. “Now all of us will die,” said the old tree. “How stupid we are. We should listen to this old tree,” the other trees said sadly. A few minutes later, the two trees were cut down.
I Want to Buy a Computer Game
Luis was excited. The new computer game was finally in stores! He wanted it for a long time. "The game is here!" he told his mom. "Can we go and buy it?"
"How much does it cost?" Luis's mother asked.
"Thirty﹣five dollars," he answered.
"That is a lot of money, Luis. Do you have enough to buy it yourself?"
"No," he shook his head.
"You know, Luis, we have to use our money carefully. We have to spend on our house and food. We need to buy clothes and books and the gas for the car. Our money goes to things we need."
"But I really want this game ! " answered Luis. "What can I do?"
"You can get eight dollars a week for doing our house cleaning as a job," his mom said.
"Try to keep it. Before long, you will have enough to buy the game."
"I do not think so," said Luis. "By then, all the games will be sold and there will not be one for me."
"Try it," answered his mother.
Weeks later, Luis came home very happy. "Guess what, Mama? I did what you said I kept the money for the game. Then I saw the game was still in stores. Today I bought it for twenty﹣eight dollars."
"And," his mother added, "you did it with your own money !"
20 June, 2019
Dear David,
Thank you for your letter. I am glad to know that everything is going well with you. Thanks also for the photos. Linda looks heal taller and taller than before.
It is very hot here now, but it sometimes rains. We love the rain very much. We are enjoying our stay here. I am now studying in a bigger school. There are more teachers and students in this school than in my school in England. My teachers and classmates are all very kind to me.
Time goes so quickly. I am having new experience all the time. It is difficult to learn Chinese, but I am making progress with the help of my teachers and classmates.
Summer holiday is coming. Here in Jinan summer holiday usually lasts about two months. So I'll be free for over sixty days. I hope you and Linda can come to Jinan for a visit. Then I can show you around the famous "Spring City" in China.
Love to you and Linda.
Yours Mike
Tubbat and his wife, Tosontsagaan, are villagers in Inner Mongolia's Ejin Horo Banner (内蒙古), where there is the Badain Jaran Desert (巴丹吉林沙漠), one of China's four biggest deserts. They have spent many years fighting against the desert. They plant trees in the desert area to keep the sand and protect the environment.
Tubbat has planted more than 50,000 trees covering about the size of 133 football fields. "When I was a child, there were lakes, forests and animals. And it rained a lot," said Tubbat. " But sandstorms turned the green land into a desert. "
Tubbat started to plant trees in 2002 after he finished his job as a government official. His wife supported his decision. They did all this for free and even spent most of their own money. "Many people do not understand why I do this. They don't know the happiness I feel when I see the land turn green again," said Tubbat. "My wife's support gives me energy. Our children want us to live in a city. But this is not the right time. I want to grow more trees," he said.
Tubbat is happy that more people have begun to plant trees after hearing his story. Some have even visited him to learn how to plant trees in the desert. "Trees can bring rain and animals," he said. "I want to be a tree, to grow up in the desert and hold the sand until I die. "
Our earth is in trouble. Our drinking water is becoming dirtier, and the air is not as clean as before! People and factories are polluting the air, rivers and lakes and seas. You may think that there is nothing you can do to help. That's not true. There are many things you can do to help the earth.
Cars burn gasoline. This will produce a lot of CO2 into the air. Some people believe that too much CO2 is making the earth warmer than ever. They think CO2 thins the clouds above us. The clouds keep us away from the strongest sunlight. So try to walk, ride a bike or take a bus. And if you drive a car, drive at a steady speed. This can save some gasoline.
The biggest energy use at home is for keeping cold or hot. So turn the air conditioner off when you don't need to use it. What's more, some people use plenty of water to wash things. It is necessary to save water by reusing it. For example, after washing vegetables, you can use the water to water the flowers. In addition, taking a shower instead of a bath also helps us to reduce the water use.
We do not need to do big things. We can start out small. Let's protect out Earth.
Dear children, I need your help. I am a five year-old elephant. When I was a baby, I lived in the forest with my parents. But some people killed my mother, and they caught me. They wanted to use a car to take me to the circus first. But it was small, so they finally used a truck.
I had a big family. My mother was the head of the family. We traveled together, ate together, played together and slept together. When I was in the family, my mother and my sisters looked after me carefully. I played happily with all the other elephants. Now I miss them very much.
Many people enjoyed watching my wonderful tricks. To make them laugh, I had to work eight hours a day. I really don't like doing this. I never play any tricks in the forest. I don't enjoy any of the tricks. I played tricks because the people in the circus made me do so. And I heard some people wanted to see me because they love me. But most people were just thinking about themselves—what they want and what they like. Please think about me. I need to be free and to be with my family. Can you help me come back to my family?
