Charles lived with his father along the river. His father taught him to read and write.

One day, Charles saw Joe, a fisherman’s son, ________ something on the beach.

“What are you doing?” asked Charles.

“I am trying to write, but I know only two ________. If I could read and write, I would be ________. But my family was too ________ to send me to school,” said Joe.

“I can teach you that. I can make you happy.” said Charles ________.

From then on, Charles went to teach Joe every day.

Another day, Charles’s farther saw his son going to the beach. He was ________ that Charles might go out in the boat. To ________ his son, he went to the fisherman’s house. He could ________ believe his eyes. Charles was ________ Joe to read!

He was proud of his son. He took the boys to buy some ________, writing paper and pens. Both of the boys were happy.

February 2 is Groundhog Day in North America. The groundhog is the only animal with its own holiday.

Groundhogs spend the winter sleeping. This keeps them warm during the long, cold winter. Tradition says that the groundhog leaves its home on February 2. If he sees his shadow (影子) on this day, he will return to his home for six more weeks. Then there will be six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, then spring will come early that year.

Scientists don’t believe in this tradition. They say it is just a fun day, but people keep thinking that animals can tell what the weather will be like. In France and England, they look to the bear to know about the cold weather. In Germany, people look to the badger. Americans look to the groundhog. This may be because there were so many groundhogs when people first came to America.

One town in Pennsylvania is famous for Groundhog Day. This town has a groundhog named Phil. Many people come to see Phil on February 2. They want to know if Phil will see his shadow. There is a big party on Groundhog Day. People dress up in fancy clothes. The men wear top hats. They have fun. They learn when spring is coming, too.

Every month we interview someone who has lived in or visited somewhere interesting. This month our reporter Benjamin is talking with Richard about his visit to Blackpool.

Benjamin: Richard, why did you go to Blackpool?

Richard: Well, we want to visit some unusual places for a weekend. Blackpool is really close. It’s near the sea. People can have a bird’s eye view of the lake from the Blackpool Tower. Also, Lightpool Festival is a famous nightlight festival. It is from late August to early November. Sandcastle Waterpark is a good choice for children. These make it a difference.

Benjamin: What did you do there?

Richard: We walked along the beach, visited lots of restaurants and enjoyed the Lightpool Festival. I had an exciting time on the Big One.

Benjamin: What is the Big One?

Richard: The Big One is a roller coaster in the Pepsi Max Park. It is the tallest roller coaster in the UK now. It was the tallest in the world when it opened on 28 May, 1994.

Benjamin: What do you like best about Blackpool?

Richard: The Lightpool Festival is really wonderful. You can see light works everywhere. When you take the cable car to travel around the city, every building looks like a dream theatre, especially with the music shows and3 D light shows.

Benjamin: ▲

Richard: It looks old. I think they should clean it up to make it look smarter. It would be good if they put some more money into getting better hotels.

Try to think you are on a camping trip with your family. You need to find the place where you are going to camp. You’re in the mountains and phones don’t work there.     46    

You might use a map! Maps are pictures of a place on Earth.     47     Maps can help you find your way. Different maps can show you different things.

Some maps may show you the roads and rivers near a mountain.     48     Other maps may even show you where different countries and oceans are!

If you’re in your classroom, look around. Is there a globe in your classroom?     49     You can find the Earth’s oceans on a globe. You can also find the Earth’s countries on a globe.

Now you know the difference between a map and a globe.     50     Which one shows a map? Which one shows a globe?

Our Food Club held a food fair last Saturday. Many club members a    51     the fair.

Everyone shared some traditional food they brought from home with each other.

Miss Wang, our headteacher, t    52     us how to make delicious food. I tried to cook some fish on my own, but it was really difficult. I couldn’t make it w    53     my classmate’s help. Miss Wang also showed us some m    54     cooking machines. Different from the traditional ones, they can help cooking much easier.

At last, my classmate Daniel spoke. He told us something about food p    55    . People throw rubbish into rivers and on land. If we don’t protect the Earth, we won’t have enough food in the future.

I learnt a lot from the fair and I like it very much.

61. 英语校报正在举行”Making new friends”的活动。假如你是李华，你想通过投稿介绍自己并认识新朋友。请根据以下提示，完成一篇英文自我介绍。

My name is Li Hua.

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Yours,

Li Hua