Do you love animals？ Many of us enjoy watching animals in the world. But do you know they can teach us？ Geese （雁）， for example， teach a very good lesson about 1 . In the fall， Canada geese fly to the warm south to get away from Canada's cold winter. They lift off in no order. Yet2 they form a V shape， with one bird leading the group.
This V shape allows geese to3 energy. When the front bird moves its wings up and down， the resulting force of the air lifts the next one. This continues down the line. The bird in front has the4 job. When it gets tired， it moves behind， and5 bird moves into the lead. By sharing the role， the group can travel great distances. Geese flying in a V shape can fly 70 percent farther without6 than birds flying alone.
During the long flying Journey， geese7 with one another. They honk （鸣叫） to encourage the birds up front to8 the speed. They also cheer up each other9 working toward a common goal.
What have we learned from the lovely geese's experience and skills？
10 together! Whether it is our personal lives or our jobs， we need other people. We need the spirit of teamwork!
Last summer I spent two weeks in Singapore with my mother and my sister. Before this trip， I heard that Singapore is one of the most beautiful and cleanest countries in Asia. I hoped that I would have an unforgettable time there. In fact， the trip was1 than I had expected.
Many places in Singapore attracted us. First， we visited Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park.2 the places are very large and many animals live there. So we had to3 a whole day seeing all of the animals. However， the most interesting event was the Bird Show in Jurong Bird Park. We enjoyed the4 of the birds. The workers had trained the birds carefully and patiently for long5 they could dance， sing and even play basketball. At the end of the show， they sent the visitors a message that raises people's awareness （意识） of protecting birds. I think it is a very helpful and practical （实际的）6 of educating people to protect nature.
Second， after spending a week in relaxing and visiting some tourist spots in Singapore， my sister and I7 to attend a short-term English course because English is the official language in Singapore and we thought we would8 our English quickly. English was the only common language in this class， so all students there had to speak English during the lessons.
The trip in Singapore was truly a nice9 in my life. During the trip， I learned much about other countries' lives， other people's thoughts and I improved my English.10 ， I have made some new friends who I am still keeping in touch with， and I hope that I will meet them again someday in China and tell them more about our country.
Here is a book that is easy to read， but is about a serious subject. The book is called Animal Farm （1945）. It is by English writer George On well. It is a story about farm animals. They can't stand Mr. Jones， a farmer who treats them badly. Mr. Jones makes the animals work too hard and he is always drunk. The farm animals decide to kick him off the farm and run the farm themselves. One day， an old pig named Old Major gathers the other animals around him. He tells them that all animals should stand together. He says they should get control of the farm because they believe all animals are equal （平等的）.
After they make Mr. Jones leave， two pigs become the leaders of the farm. One pig named Snowball is a great speaker with big ideas for the farm. The other leader is named Napoleon. Napoleon is crafty. He brings together supporters by offering them advantages.
Napoleon starts a war against Snowball and kicks him off the farm. He tells all the animals， that Snowball hates the farm. He says that Snowball is working with Farmer Jones. But actually， it is Napoleon who has joined up with the human enemies of the animals. Meanwhile he tells the animals that he is working for them. As a result， the animals still have to work hard. It is just as bad to live under Napoleon as it was under Farmer Jones!
A hungry dog wants to find some food to eat. But he can't find any food. He is very hungry. He goes into the forests （森林）. Some workers work there.
The dog sees a big tree with a hole （洞） in it and a box is in the hole. He opens the box and finds much bread， meat and fruit in it. He is very happy. The food is the workers' lunch. They put the food here to keep it safe （安全的）. The dog eats all the food happily. Then he wants to go out to have some water， but he finds he can't get out of the hole.
Do you know why？ Yes， the dog eats too much food， so he is too big to get out of the hole. Everyone must think about it first before he or she does something.
A. You bet! B. What's up？ C. It sounds great. D. What are the stories about？ E. That's why you should read it. F. Why don't you come and join in？ G. I'm sure you're in with a chance. |
A： Hi， Daming!
B： Oh， hi Tony. Long time no see!
A： You look so busy.
B： I'm in the middle of this great book—it's Alex Rider's adventure stories. You should read one of them!
A：
B： Well， they're all fantastic stories about Alex Rider who fights with bad people.
A： But doesn't he get into trouble？
B： Of course， that's what the stories are about.
A： I hope I can become a hero like Alex Rider in the future.
B： No problem!
A： Can you lend me the book？
B： Of course. And we're going to talk about Alex Rider at the after-school book club.
A： Great! I'd love to!
Yang Yang is not happy. She has too rules at home. She to get up at 6 o'clock. And she has to get home before 5：30 in the afternoon because she has to her homework. She can't watch TV school nights. And she has to to bed before 10 o'clock. On weekends， she has to her room and wash her clothes. And she has to help mother make dinner and help her father wash the car. She go to the movies because she has too much homework to do. What else（别的） does she have to do？ Oh， she has to learn the piano. She has fun. Can you her？
City life is cool， but is country life cooler？
More people in Britain want to live in the country， and this is causing problems in some rural （乡村的） areas.
The population of British cities has been falling for years. Cities like Liverpool and Glasgow have lost about 30 percent of their population in 30 years. But Britain's total population is still growing. Where are the people going？
Answer： to the country.
Small villages are becoming more popular. People have more space and most houses have gardens. But problems there are growing. Lots of people want to live in the country and work in the cities， so they are traveling long distances each day to go to work. Lots of young people feel that life in the country is boring， as well.
Little villages now have traffic problems in the morning， just like big cities! And they are getting worse.
Another problem is that parts of the countryside are starting to disappear. People seem to be bringing their problems from the cities to the rural areas they now live in.
On some days， air pollution can be a big problem in large parts of southern England， not just in London. Crime （犯罪） has become a serious problem in rural areas.
Perhaps there is hope for the future. Soon， Britain's population will stop rising. In 100 years， there will be fewer people in Britain than today—perhaps two million less.
内容要点如下： 1. 目前就读于一中，交到了许多朋友，中文进步大； 2. 每天坚持练习唱歌，在校歌唱比赛中获一等奖； 3. 全家已搬进一套三室一厅的单元房； 4. 谈谈自己对这些变化的感受。
参考词汇：singing competition 歌唱比赛 first prize 一等奖 flat n. 公寓
Dear George，
How are you doing these days？ I'm writing to share some good news with you.
……
Looking forward to your reply.
Yours
April
