When we talk about the UK, what will you think of? Big Ben, Downing Street and Tower Bridge are always our hot topics. But there are many other facts about the UK. Come and see!

	The most popular museum is the British Museum in London. Over six million people visit it every year. It is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. But on Friday, the closing time is 8:30 p.m.
	The River Severn starts in Wales and flows through western England. It’s well known for the Severn Bore—a tall wave of water that regularly—flows up the river from the sea.
	Hungry? Beef and chicken are tasty, fruit and vegetables are healthy, and sandwiches are simple. Short of money? The cheapest food is fish and chips. And it’s delicious.

Today, by carefully choosing dog parents, humans have created many different kinds of dog. Each kind has its own look and talents, and its own role within human society. Here are three examples of “a dog’s life” in the human world.

Today, many hospitals let specially trained dogs in to bring love and cheer to patients. Shaynee is a therapy (治疗) dog. She visits children who are in hospital. Dogs like Shaynee help patients feel calm and at peace, which can be hard in a busy hospital. They help both children and adults stay strong during long hospital stays, and, some suggest, even help them get better.

Today, some beagles (小猎犬) work in airports for the government. They are part of the program called the Beagle Brigade. A beagle is good for the work because of its powerful nose, and ability to follow smells. The Beagle Brigade’s job is to smell everything that comes into the country. They make officers notice illegal (非法的) fruits, vegetables and other foods in luggage or in mail. The beagles do the job far better than any human could.

While some dogs are working hard, others are free to spend their days resting and playing. Across the world, many pet dogs are treated like children. Many have their own rooms and all the things a dog could want. Some even have their own clothes. Many of these pets spend their days playing, learning to follow, or even going to classes. Their owners give them the best, and enjoy doing so.

Whether as workers or objects of affection (钟情), dogs have become helpful to humans in many ways. There are plenty of advantages for the dog, too. Many kinds of wild dogs have nearly disappeared from the Earth. However, the domestic dog’s special place as “man’s best friend” has allowed it to survive (存活) in a human world.

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Marianne Carus, who started Cricket (蟋蟀) magazine in 1973 and served as Editor-in-Chief (总主编) until 2012, died on March 3 at the age of 92 this year.

Marianne believed that “only the best of the best is good enough for the young.” In Cricket, children would find wonderful stories with beautiful art, and be encouraged by ideas in the humanities and sciences. Marianne looked for stories from around the world to awaken admiration for different peoples and cultures. Most important, Cricket would never talk down to children.

Marianne knew that children were filled with fun, and she wanted Cricket to be, too—”humor from the heart that makes you laugh out loud.” And so she named her literary magazines after a funny group of bugs (虫子), such as Lady bung and Spider.

Over the years, Cricket has been read by millions of children and given many writers and artists their start. Marianne kept a special box of “love letters” to the magazine. She treasured these letters from Cricket readers, including long-ago readers. They told her that their interest in reading had begun with Cricket.

▲ She considered other names, such as Troubadour or Taliesin, the singers and storytellers of old who traveled from one place to another to share their songs and stories. Then, one night, she was reading Isaac Bashevi Singer’s memoir (回忆录) A Day of Pleasure about his childhood in Warsaw. In it he wrote:”There was a stove in Shosha’s apartment behind which there lived a cricket. It chirped the nights through all winter long. I imagined the cricket was telling a story that would never end.” That’s exactly what Marianne wanted her children’s magazine to do—to tell stories that would never end! So the name Cricket became her best choice.

Thank you for everything, Marianne. May the stories, and the laughter, never end!

It was Saturday and Juan was going to his friend’s house for the day. He was so excited.

He thought it would be fun to bring some video games to play with his friend, Tom. Tom lived on the other side of the town and did not own any video games. He didn’t really ever play them, but he didn’t want to tell Juan. He was afraid Juan would tell the other kids at school. When Juan arrived and suggested playing video games, Tom looked a bit uncomfortable.

“I thought we could go outside and play tag or hide-and-seek,” said Tom.

“I don’t usually play such kind of games,” said Juan.

“Well, we don’t have a television or a computer because my parents don’t have much money, and we can’t afford those extra things, so I usually play old-fashioned games, like tag or hide-and-seek, or dodgeball. Would you please not tell anyone at school that we are poor?” asked Tom.

“You shouldn’t worry about what other people think,” Juan told Tom. “I’m sure the games you play are just as fun as video games.”

The two boys went outside and began playing hide-and-seek. Tom’s parents had a big backyard with many cool places to hide. Juan and Tom played for over an hour! After lunch, they played tag. Juan had so much fun. “I should play these games more often,” he said to Tom.

Three o’clock came and Juan’s mom was there to pick him up. On their way back home, Juan told his mom about not having a television or a computer at Tom’s home. He also told her that he learned to play some great games.

“Sweetie, there are plenty of ways to have fun without video games. When I was growing up, we played hopscotch,” Juan’s mom said.

“What’s hopscotch?” asked Juan.

“I’ll show you when we get home. You will like it.” When they got home, Juan’s mom showed him how she played hopscotch.

“That looks like fun!” said Juan. “Now I have another game to add to my list.” Juan never told anyone at school that Tom was poor, but thought to himself that Tom was rich in kindness and honesty.

old-fashioned games
tag	hide-and-seek	dodgeball	hopscotch

John and his friends decided to go mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps. When they reached one of the famous     24    (mountain) , they were surprised to see many people already climbing it. John and his friends put on their gear (装备) and started climbing. In no time at all, they reached the top of the mountain.

His friends thought they could     25    (camp) there for some time and then go back. Then John saw another mountain that only a handful of people     26    (try) to climb. He told his friends, “Let’s go and climb that mountain instead of camping here. It will be fun and challenging!” A friend replied, “No way. It seems very difficult to climb and only a few people     27     (climb) it now.”

John wanted to take on the challenge and started walking toward the mountain. Two hours later he reached the top. The people at the top welcomed John     28     a round of applause (掌声). John was very happy to see the beautiful views of nature.

Ten-year-old Orion Jean has always known that kindness is important. He often     29     (practice) it by volunteering with his family. However, after entering the National Kindness Speech Contest, he became     30     (active) in it. Now he works to spread kindness everywhere through projects which help others. He calls his action the Race to Kindness.

After a teacher told him about the contest. Orion had only 24 hours to write, memorize     31     record his speech. In it, he talked about the importance of kindness. “Kindness is like spreading hugs around the world to those who need it.” Orion said. He asked the listeners to join him in “the race of kindness” by     32     (do) small, kind acts for others. Orion’s speech won the contest. He used his $500 prize to collect 619 toys for a local children’s hospital. After that, Orion wanted to make an even bigger influence in charity. He packed meal boxes for people in need including a kind message for each receiver.

Orion says, “If someone     33     (treat) kindly it can make their day brighter and encourage that person to be kind to somebody else. And then it just grows and makes the world a better place.”

It is well-known that silk was discovered in China. It is wonderfully strong, light and     34    . As one of the best materials for clothes, silk has a perfect look and feel that no other materials can match.

There is a story about how silk was     35    . Lei Zu, the wife of Huang Di, was having tea under a mulberry tree when a silkworm cocoon (蚕茧) fell into her cup. As she tried to take the cocoon     36    , it started to unwind (展开) and the “line” seemed endless. She realized that the strong line could be used to make     37    . Then Lei Zu taught her people how to raise silkworms and how to get silk. In this way, the silk industry was born.

For hundreds of years after that, silk was only used by rich people. It was a symbol of identity and status (身份和地位). With the development of the silk industry,     38     silk was produced. It was no longer just for rich people. In the Han Dynasty, silk was transported as far away as Spain, Rome and many other countries. The trade road was     39     known as the Silk Road, which connected China with the rest of the world.

Today, silk can be used for many kinds of things, not just for clothes but also for paintings, writing brushes, kites and even fishing nets. Wherever silk goes     40     the world, it is always warmly received.

Do you know anyone born in the Year of the Tiger? What’s their personality like? Are they brave and strong? If so, then they are a typical “tiger”.

In Chinese culture, tigers are seen as the king of all animals. They stand for power, energy and protection. Tigers are seen as fearless animals, so that’s why in China you can see pictures of tigers on the walls of houses and temples to ward off (抵御) danger and disasters.

Tigers have an important cultural meaning not just in China, but across Asia where they live in the wild. For example, in South Korea, the animal is a symbol of justice, humanity and righteousness（正义）in local folk tales. Both the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics used Hodori, a friendly cartoon tiger, as the mascot. A tiger is also on the logo of the South Korea national soccer team.

In the West, tigers are also seen as powerful animals. And we often use “tiger” in English. If we say someone “works like a tiger”, we mean he or she works hard. If you want someone to calm down, you can say to them “easy, tiger”. Another famous phrase is “eye of the tiger”, which means having strength. There are also some other phrases about tigers, such as “a tiger can’t change its stripes（条纹）”, “paper tiger” and “have a tiger by the tail”.