Many kids are crazy about space. Last month, a space agency (机构) told the public that they were _________ “a planet protection officer.” Some people laughed at the funny job title, but a 9-year-old boy took the information _________. He wrote a letter to the agency, saying that he wanted the job.

“Dear sirs, my name is Sam Lee. I think I am the _________ person for the job,” he wrote.

What are Sam’s _________? For one, he wrote, “My sister says I act like an alien (外星人)” Sam also said he had watched almost all the _________ movies he could find. His last sentence may touch people’s hearts: “I am young, so I can learn to think like an alien.”

Sam soon got a _________ from Bill Black, director of the agency. “We have received your letter. It is great that you are interested in the job. This job is to _________ the earth from germs (细菌) on things brought back from other planets.” Bill ended the letter with some warm words, _________ Sam to study hard and do well in school. “We hope to _________ you at the agency one day.” he wrote.

“Among kids, there are __________ space scientists.” Bill told a newspaper. “We think of this letter as a chance that may forever change our kids’ life.”

Name: Stella by Starlight

Type: Historical novel

Number of pages: 352 pages

What’s the basic storyline?

Stella and her family were living peacefully in a small North Carolina town in 1932 until Stella and her brother saw, in the darkness of the night, a burning cross, the symbol of the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan is a secret organization in the United States. It is made up of white people who don’t like people of other races (种族) and do harm to them. Things really started to turn bad when a neighbor’s house was burned down. In her small town, Stella didn’t know whom to trust. Could Stella find the courage to stand up for what’s right?

Are the characters believable?

Some parts of the characters are not believable. The characters, for example, are either all good or all bad. I prefer characters that are more different and conflicted (矛盾的). The plot, however, is so attractive that I don’t mind. And I always read it for a long time without having a rest. Overall, the writer wisely tells the story through the characters’ points of view.

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I think people who enjoy reading historical novels and adventure stories will really like Stella by Starlight. People who are interested in learning the history of black and white people in America will especially enjoy this book.

From 1 to 10, which score will you give this book?

I will give Stella by Starlight 9 because of its amazing plot and good descriptions. I really love the book because the author often leaves the readers a cliffhanger at the end of each chapter so that the readers can’t help thinking about the rest of the story and won’t be able to put this book down.

Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference (参考) by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Often it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.

Many roads and places in Singapore are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries—in both the West and the East.

Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were at first from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named after former British military bases (军事基地). If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus—obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel (人员).

Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay (马来语). Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.

A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent (月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.