—Yes. I’m sure someone _______ it up.

Poetry（诗歌）is the forgotten child of literature（文学）. Few people read it for _________. In Western high schools, poetry is hardly taught _________ it is considered to be out of date and have little to do with the life of today’s students.

In China, however, poetry is still an important part of the course. Recently, the Ministry of Education has increased the _________ of ancient Chinese poems, from 14 to 72, for students to memorize. Why is it important to learn _________?

First of all, poetry is a _________ part of learning traditional Chinese culture. It is a path to understanding our history and society. It is also the key to understanding the thoughts and feelings that common people have, which may be _________ to express. Everyone has feelings of joy, love, loneliness, sadness and even anger. A good poem can put these feelings into words and _________ us self-understanding.

Poems can also _________ beauty. In a few short lines, even something common can _________ beautiful. Of course, to really enjoy poetry, it has to be read __________. After all, a poem is a song without music.

Chinese students are lucky to have seventy-two poems to learn!

Is there someone or something you worry about? Could you come up with an idea to help solve that problem in your local community?

Get inspired by these apps and enter a competition organized by the Voda Foundation with your school or community group for the chance to win a prize. We are looking for smart creators to design(设计) an app to help communities meet with the challenges(挑战) they face. Now take a look at the apps for inspiration!

This is a great app for anyone wanting to learn a new language. You’ll pick up lots of words in no time.

Do you want to make new friends in your community? It can help you discover lots of local activities from sports clubs to art classes.

Do you want to learn more about the world? This app has you covered. You can fly all around a 3D world and find out about its different parts and environments, meeting people and wildlife along the way.

This helps you reduce(减少) waste by sharing unwanted food and other things with neighbors—exactly the kind of community app you could design. Download it and your family can do their bit for the environment.

To sign up, visit community today.com.

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“Oh, boys, don’t throw stones at the poor bird,” said an old grey-headed man. “Sir,” said a little one, “she makes such a loud noise that we can’t bear her.” “I am afraid the stone will rebound (反弹) and hurt you as long as you live!” “Rebound! We don’t understand you, sir!” “Well, I will tell you a true story.”

“Fifty years ago, I liked throwing stones because I had no other boys to play with and I became very skillful. One day I went to work for an old couple who were very friendly to everybody, even to the birds. And the birds seemed to love the old couple, too. For seven years a bird had come and built her nest (鸟巢) in the same place. She and her mate had just returned on the day I went to work and the old couple welcomed them happily. During the day, I thought I would try my skill upon her. Suddenly the bird flew to a tree near me. I found a nice stone, and I threw it with my best skill. It hit the bird on the head and she dropped dead!”

“I was sorry the moment I saw her fall off the tree. But it was too late. All day long her mate flew about, and chirped (发啁啾声) so sadly that he made my heart ache. I said nothing to the old couple but one of their grandchildren told them about it. Though the old couple never said a word to me, I knew that they were very sad. I could never look them in the eye and tell them how sorry I was. They have been dead for many, many years, and so has the poor bird. But don’t you see how that stone rebounded, and hit me? For fifty years I have still remembered it though I have never spoken of it before. But if what I have told you will stop you, I will be happy.”

The boys at once dropped the stones in their hands and the bird had no more trouble from them.

There are many deserts on the earth. And the following are some facts you may find interesting.

What are deserts like

Deserts can be hot and dry places. Rain may not fall there for months or years. Some deserts are sandy and stony（多石的）. Deserts can also be very windy places. The wind can change the shape of the deserts. It moves sand around from place to place.

Temperatures in the desert can vary enormously（非常）. During the daytime, the temperature may reach 40℃ even in the shade（阴凉处）. At night deserts can become very cold. In winter there may even be a frost（霜冻）in the early morning.

Living in the desert

The camel is sometimes called “the ship of the desert”. It stores food in its hump（驼峰）and can go for days without water. It has large feet which help it not to fall into the soft sand. Its long eyelashes（睫毛）keep out the sand during sandstorms.

An oasis is an area of the desert where water may be found. The water may be in pools or under the ground. People and animals visit an oasis for water and food. Plants grow at an oasis. Some farmers are able to grow crops here.

The Arabian Desert

The Arabian Desert lies between the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. In some parts of the desert, it is too hot for people to live. Oil was discovered under parts of the desert and in the Alrabian Gulf. This oil has made some countries in the area very rich. Much of the money has been spent building fine cities with lovely parks and lakes, and people live a comfortable life there.

There was once a boy in a village. Whenever he asked people to do things, no one would listen to him. He was sad. So he asked a magician to solve the problem by using magic. The magician tried a lot of magic, but didn’t work. A young man heard about the problem. He went to the boy and said that he knew how to help him. He gave him two pieces of paper with two words.

“These are two words, my boy. Use the first before you ask others to do something, and use the second when they have done it. A smile is also necessary,” the young man said.

The boy was happy and tried to use them. When he asked people to do something, he said “Please” before his words, and “Thanks” after they had done it. People were very surprised that the boy could be polite. Soon, they became happy to do what the boy asked them to do.

The magician was surprised, and asked the young man for the reason.

“It’s not magic. When I was a child, my teacher told me that with good manners(礼仪) you could get anything you want.” And he was right. The boy finally learnt that he should be polite first if he wanted to get something.