Justin and Mary woke up early, even though they were on vacation at their uncle’s lake house. The night before, Uncle Thomas told them about the Foggy Figure (雾怪) that lived in the lake. Justin and Mary decided to see it before their vacation ended.

“Is it foggy outside?” asked Mary, as Justin looked out the window.

“Yes! Let’s go!” said Justin.

It was only 5:00 a.m., so everyone else in the house was still asleep. Mary and Justin came to the boat dock (码头). They saw thick fog over the lake.

“Do you see anything?” asked Mary.

“Nothing. Do you think Uncle Thomas was just trying to scare us with that story?”

Uncle Thomas did have a good imagination. He told Justin and Mary many stories, but this was the first scary story. Mary had a feeling that it wasn’t made up.

Mary shook her head. “Remember what Uncle Thomas said? The Foggy Figure lives in the lake. We’re on the dock. Maybe that’s why we can’t see him.”

“You want to go out on the water?” asked Justin.

Mary looked around, trying to find Uncle Thomas’s boat, but the fog was too thick.

They walked towards the end of the dock and saw the outline of the boat. They carefully got into the boat.

Mary was nervous. “See anything?” They looked around, and slowly, the fog began to lift. Mary turned around and shouted, “The Foggy Figure!” It was in the boat with them!

Justin and Mary hugged each other in fear, but then they heard a laugh. It was from Uncle Thomas. “I knew that story would get you two out of bed early enough to take a boat ride with me.”

Justin and Mary were happy that there was no Foggy Figure.

The boy, Wang Fa, 14, is a member of the Va ethnic group (佤族) from Yunnan. After he won the under-14 title (冠军) at the ASICS Tennis Junior Tour in Guangzhou, an audience (观众) member from Yunnan gave him the bamboo basket as a gift and took some photos for him. These photos have gone viral (走红).

“We always carry bamboo baskets when we work in the field. This is a typical farming tool (工具) of the Va ethnic group. I carried my rackets (球拍) in this basket to honor my hometown,” Wang said after the match.

Before tennis, Wang was just a common boy from a village. But in 2016, he was chosen by a local club as one of the first 10 local children to learn to play professional tennis. “I was nervous at the beginning because the outside world was so different from my home,” he said, adding that tennis has helped him make more friends and get a better education.

Over the past six years, Wang, along with other players at the Yunnan Wild Elephants Tennis Club, has trained hard to improve his skills and physical strength. The children would get up at 6:30 a.m. and practice for more than six hours a day. Every day, they needed to swing a racket more than 7000 times and run 9 kilometers.

“It was not for tennis, I would still be helping my family with farm-work back home.” Wang said. Wang’s parents didn’t want him to learn tennis at first because they couldn’t afford it. But the tennis club offered to teach him for free.

For Wang, winning the ASICS Tennis Junior Tour title was a beginning of a hopeful future. “I will aim for the top spots (位置) on the professional stage.” he said.

I have learned English for 11 years, but I know few English idioms (习惯用语). When I went to study in America last year, I had trouble communicating with Americans at times.

One day, I asked my roommate Kevin, “Shall we play soccer tomorrow?” He answered, “Let’s play it by ear.” I was so puzzled. “Ear can play soccer?” He smiled and explained, “It means let’s see. The weather report says tomorrow is rainy.”

Last October, I was waiting for bus in a station. Beside me sat a young man. When he knew I was a Chinese, he asked me about the Great Wall. I told him, “The Great Wall is more than 20,000 kilometers long.” The man said, “You don’t say.” I was surprised, “There must be something wrong with him.” I thought. Later, I knew he meant “Really?”

I was once invited to my classmate’s home. His mother said to me, “Break your ice, please.” I wondered, “Where is the ice?” Later my classmate told me she meant I could make myself relaxed in their home.

From then on, I realized English idioms had special meanings. It was wrong to understand them word by word.

Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a pianist’s concert on a summer holiday evening. After they found their _________, the mother saw two friends in the hall and walked to _________ them.

It was the boy’s first time to come to the hall. He thought it was a good _________ for him to explore (探索) the wonders of the concert hall. He _________ and walked around. He walked _________ a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE” (禁止入内).

When the hall lights went down, the _________ would begin. The mother returned to her seat and discovered that her son was _________. The mother was so _________ that tears were in her eyes.

The concert began, and the lights fell on the wonderful piano on stage. The mother was _________ to see her little boy sitting at the keyboard, __________ the song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star as he did at home.

At that moment, the great pianist came, quickly moved to the piano and __________ in a low voice, “Don’t stop. Keep playing.” He sat down and began filling in a bass part (低音) with his left __________, then added a running obbligato (伴奏) with his right hand. They played the piano together __________. The old pianist and the young piano boy changed a frightening situation into a wonderful creative experience. Everyone in the hall stood up and __________ them.

An artist’s achievements and charm (魅力) depend on not only his perfect skills but his good __________.

In the minds of the Chinese, the moon is connected with gentleness and brightness, expressing their best wishes.

On August 15 of the lunar calendar each year, the moon is full and it’s time to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Chinese traditional culture, the moon is a carrier of human emotions. In ancient times, from royalty to the ordinary family, 1.在中秋节期间赏月是一个重要的习俗。Adults usually enjoyed delicious mooncakes with a cup of hot tea, while children ran around with bright lanterns. After nightfall, the whole families went out for a walk under the stars. Looking up at the full moon and thinking of their relatives or friends, as well as those who were far from home.

2. A line from a poem “The moon viewed at home is brighter” expresses those feelings. Besides, with respect to the history of Chinese civilization (中华文明). 3. China is the first nation to have the dream of flying to the sky. From the story of Chang’e to Dunhuang flying apsaras (敦煌飞天), all express Chinese ancestors’ desire to explore outer space. Many ancient Chinese poets also showed their preference for the moon through wonderful words.

4. 例如，诗人李白在他的一生中写了数百首关于月亮的诗歌。 5. The Chinese exploring moon project, named after Chang’e fully expresses this pursuit (追求) of the Chinese. The successful launch of Chang’e not only laid the ground-work for future exploration of the moon, but also made a long-held dream of the Chinese people come true.

61. 假如你是上述回答问题材料中的李华，请你给你的好朋友刘宇回信，说一说你的看法和建议。

I’m happy to talk with you. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua