One sunny morning, when Zebra visited the river for a cool drink, he heard a tiny voice. “Help me, Zebra!”

Zebra looked around and found Wasp(黄蜂) ______ in a spider web in a thorn bush(荆棘丛). Carefully, Zebra crept into it, but the thorns ______ him. “Ouch!” Zebra stepped back and was leaving.

“Please help me,” said Wasp. “One day I will ______ your help.”

Zebra laughed. “I’m fast and strong. Besides, I have a big family. Why would I need help from a ______ wasp?

“Please try one more time.” Wasp said. Zebra knocked at the web again. ______, this time it was enough to free Wasp. “Try to stay out of trouble.” Zebra said. “I might not be nearby the next time a spider gets ______” Then he left.

All day, Zebra stayed with his family until he noticed his favorite fruit — some berries! The hungry Zebra ran to ______ the berries.

Wasp was resting in the bushes when she saw Zebra. She also found Lion hiding quietly ahead. If Zebra got too close to Lion...

Thinking quickly, Wasp flew down and gave Lion a sudden sting. The ______ lion cried. “Roooooaaar!” Zebra heard the loud cry. In a second, he turned ______ and ran back to his family.

A moment later, Wasp flew around Zebra’s head. “Try to stay out of trouble.” Wasp said with a ______, “I might not be nearby the next time a lion gets hungry.”

Chinese is the No.1 spoken language in the world! More people are speaking Chinese than English, and the need for business people who know Chinese is skyrocketing. Another great reason is to give your kids or yourself a seat at the table in a world where China is an important partner. Call us for course listings.

In nature, you may see many insects and animals of different colors. Have you ever wondered why?

Locusts (蝗虫) are super delicious food for birds, but it is not always an easy job for birds to catch them. It is neither because locusts are good jumpers or runners nor because they are smarter than their enemies. The reason is that the colors of locusts change with the colors of crops (庄稼). When crops are young, locusts look green. But when autumn comes, locusts change to the yellow and brown color as crops do.

Brown bears, tigers and other animals move quietly through forests. They can’t be seen easily by their enemies. This is because they have colors similar to the trees. For the same reason, polar bears that live on a land of snow and ice are white. Butterflies and bees living among the flowers are colorful like flowers. Soil insects are mostly dark-colored and they live under the soil in a dark and wet environment. However, insects with colors different from plants can easily be found and eaten by others. So in order to survive, they have to hide themselves in the daytime and appear only at night.

Have you ever noticed some even stranger acts (行为)? The ink fish in the sea can send out some very black ink when it faces danger. As the ink spreads over, its enemies will find themselves suddenly in a dark world. At the same time the ink fish immediately swims away. That is how it keeps itself safe though it is not strong at all.

“Where there is a will, there is a way.” Perhaps not many students can understand this better than 22-year-old Michael Ha. Because of his story of success, he has become an example of young people.

Michael Ha was born into a very poor family. His parents worked in Vietnam before they moved to Britain in 1980. They couldn’t find work in Britain because they spoke little English. The whole family had to live on benefits (救济金) and they lived in a small house in Hackney, a poor area in East London. Growing up was not easy for Michael, but he never gave up.

At the age of ten, he set his heart on going to Cambridge University. It was not easy, either. Michael studied at a school, which used to be called “the worst school in Britain”. However, young Michael made up his mind to try his best, no matter what kind of school he was studying at. The smart boy studied very hard and did well in every subject at school. Once he made a bet with his friend to learn further math. As a result, after just spending four months teaching himself from a textbook, he got an A in AS-level further math.

Now Michael is the star medical student in John’s College, Cambridge and has just won an award for his excellent grades. He hopes he will be an inspiration for other young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.