As the world has become a global village（地球村），there are many ways to learn about a country. Reading a book and watching a movie are both good _____ .But here is another way-through statistics（数据）.

US comic website DogHouse Diaries _____ statistics from sources（来源）including World Bank and Guinness（吉尼斯）World Records. Then，they made a world map based on these statistics to show _____ each country is like.

The US was _____ an interesting title-the country that eats the most hot dogs. Hot dogs are the most popular food in America. It is reported that US people eat as _____ as 20 billion hot dogs a year. That's about 70 hot dogs per person each year.

Japan is a leading country in robots. Many _____ of robots such as sport robots，servant（服务员）robots and even human like ones，are invented by Japanese companies. This is a country where robots are most _____ used.

Other countries with interesting titles include Canada，who sells the most maple syrup（枫糖浆），NewZealand that _____ the most sheep，and South Koreans are mostly workaholics（工作狂）.

___ ，these statistics cannot tell you everything about a country. Reading maps or studying statistics is far from a（n） ______ idea. If you want to know what a country is really like，go there in person. It is a good idea to surround yourself in its culture and history.

School trip

Join us on a school trip to Cardiff on Saturday, May 13.

We will spend the morning in the city center. For lunch, we’ll have a picnic in the park. In the afternoon, we will visit the Science and Technology Museum.

Price：$20

Meet in the school parking lot at 8:00 a.m. Please arrive on time. We will return to the school at 5：30 p.m.

Important: School trip update

Dear students, We hope you can come on our school trip next weekend. Unfortunately, the Science and Technology Museum is closed for renovations（整修）on Saturday, but we have tickets for St Fagans National History Museum instead. The good news is that the entry is free, so the trip will just cost S10 each.

Arrival and departure（出发）times are the same.

Stuart Noble

Head teacher       

Thirteen-year-old Sophie had been bullied (欺凌) at school for over two years. She had had her keys and mobile phone stolen. She had also been knocked off her bicycle, kicked and punched(以拳重击). She tried to fight back, but it always seemed to be her, not the bullies, who got into trouble.

Her headmaster encourages students to look after one another. He encouraged Sophie to play the guitar in a school concert. It gave Sophie new confidence and earned her respect from the other students.

Sadly, Sophie’s story is not rare. Bullying is always around us. They can take many forms. And there are new bullies. Cyber (网络的) bullies can be harder to avoid and harder to catch. It is too easy to send a nameless threat by text, or post something insulting (侮辱的) on social media. Yet the results can be serious for the victim.

But help is out there. There are many charities and organizations giving support to young people. Remember one very important piece of advice: If you are being bullied, don’t put up with it – tell someone.

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited, he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

The boy grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!__

That teenager grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come to see me because I'm very old and sick."

So her son came to see her. When he came in the door, she tried to sing the song:

I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always,

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick.

The son went to his mother. He held her in his arms very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living, my Mommy you'll be.

Housework is an endless argument between lazy husbands and their hard-working wives, but women are warned not to expect men to share housework any time soon.

A study from Oxford University has found it seems impossible for men to be doing an equal share of housework before 2050. Mothers will continue to shoulder the burden(负担) of childcare and housework for the next forty years, largely because housework such as cleaning and cooking is still thought of to be “women’s work”.

The gap (鸿沟) has narrowed slowly over the past 40 years. Women expect true equality (平等). But what makes them down is that it will take another forty years before it is achieved.

The research found that in the northern Europe, the burden of housework is shared more equally between men and women. In the UK, a woman spends around four hours and forty minutes each day on housework, compared with two hours and twenty-eight minutes for men. This is an improvement from the 1960s, when British women typically (典型地) spent six hours a day on housework, while men spent just 90 minutes every day.

But progress towards housework equality appears to be slowing in some countries. Dr Oriel Sullivan, a research reader, said, “We’ve looked at what is influencing the equality in the home, and we have found that certain tasks seem to be given according to whether they are viewed as ‘men’s work’ or ‘women’s work’.”

Dr Sullivan said cultural attitudes (态度) taught at school may decide the views of housework. “At school it is much easier for a girl to be a tomboy, but it is much more difficult for a boy to enjoy cooking and dancing,” she said.

Eco-friendly(环保) rain gardens have beautiful flowers, trees and other plants that beautify the community. They are also healthy for the environment and the people living and working nearby. A rain garden is not very different from a traditional garden, It is just far more eco-friendly. Usually it is built lower than the ground.

Rain gardens smartly used rain and storm water by temporarily(暂时) holding water from rain and storms and letting it soak(渗透) slowly into the ground before it runs into streams or enters the public drinking water supply. In this way, a rain garden keeps the water, allowing it to be used as needed by plants in the rain garden, rather than flowing(流) directly into nearby streams and going unused, The water will soak slowly into the ground within a day or two. This creates an advantage that the rain garden does not allow mosquitoes(蚊子) to breed(繁殖). This is a simple, attractive, and eco-friendly “green” way to treat storm water.

What's more, planting a rain garden helps cut down on pollution and make the environment better. The gardens don’t use expensive machinery and chemicals. They remove harmful chemicals in the rainwater and reduce the amount of pollution reaching streams and rivers by up to 30%.

Native(本地的) plants are recommended for rain gardens because they are more used to the local climate(气候), soil, and water conditions. They may attract local wildlife such as native birds. Water your rain garden right after planting and once a week. Don’t water it if you have had at least an inch of rain during the week. You needn’t take much care of it once the plants have a necessary root system(根系统).

Often, local governments and private businesses develop large rain gardens in their yards and in public parks. However, you can do your own part. You don't need to be an environmental engineer to create a rain garden. Just start by building smaller rain gardens in your yards.

Leonardo da Vinci's(达·芬奇) mother may have been a Chinese slave(奴隶) according to a new research by an Italian -Angelo Paratico. He has spent the last 20 years living and working in Hong Kong, researching the links(联系) b    66    his homeland and China.

It is believed that Leonardo da Vinci's mother was named Caterina, who, according to some reports, was a local farmer. But Mr. Paratico's new work leads to a d    67    explanation.

Speaking to theSouth China Morning Post, Mr. Paratico said, “I am s    68    that Leonardo's mother was from the East, but to make her a Chinese, we need to use a deductive method (演绎法).”

Angerlo Paratico has s    69    many documents(文献). He found that one wealthy friend of Leonardo's father’s had a slave called Caterina. After Leonardo's date of b    70    , she disappeared from the documents. “She was no longer working there and could not be found,” Paratico a    71    . Supporting his opinion, he said, “During the period, countries like Italy and Spain were f    72    of slaves from the East.”

He said that there were certain aspects(方面) of Da Vinci's life and works which suggest a Chinese link. An e    73    is that he was writing with his left hand from left to right. And he was a vegetarian(素食者), which was not common. Mona Lisa(蒙娜丽莎) is probably a picture of his mother. On the back of Mona Lisa, there is a Chinese landscape and e    74    her face looks Chinese.

Mr. Paratico said the only way to s    75    the mystery is to extract(提取) some DNA. But he said he preferred to let the mystery remain mysterious.

Would you like to come to the newly-opened English corner with me?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Looking forward to your reply.______________________________________________________________________