【推荐1】Have you ever been to Singapore? For thousands of tourists from China, it is a wonderful and safe place to take a holiday.

Most large cities have zoos, but have you ever been to a zoo at night? Singapore has a Night Safari. It might seem strange to go to a zoo when it's dark. However, if you go to see lions, tigers or foxes during the daytime, they probably be asleep. A lot of animals only wake up at night, so this is the best time to watch them. At the Night Safari, you can watch these animals in a more natural environment than in a normal zoo.

Another thing about Singapore is that the temperature is almost the same all year around. This is because the island is so close to the equator(赤道). So you can choose to go whenever you like —spring, summer, autumn or winter. And, of course, it's not too far from China!

【推荐2】Hawaii is one of the best places to plan group travel anywhere in the world. Its capital is Honolulu on the island or Oahu.

The weather, the people, even the colors, everything is warm in Hawaii. It is one of the most isolated(孤立的) islands on earth. It is 2,390 miles from California, 3,850 miles from Japan, 4,900 miles from China, and 5,280 miles from the Philippines.

Hawaii is not just one place. It’s made up of many islands. From northwest to southeast, there are eight main islands in Hawaii.

It’s famous for its beautiful beaches. Thousands of people come to play in water here. It’s the birthplace of modern surfing and home to the earliest waves found in America. No matter what the weather is like, you can always find surfers out riding the waves. The best surfing in Hawaii is in the North Shore of Oahu.

Come and enjoy yourself in Hawaii.

【推荐3】My lovely hometown (家乡) is Westwood. I would like to call it an old town because there are many old buildings. And people here are trying to keep their history and culture. The greatest place in Westwood is Westwood Village. It has many good theaters, museums, restaurants and shops. Most visitors would like to visit Westwood Village.

I grew up in Westwood and my parents grew up here, too. Westwood has three primary schools. I studied at Fairburn Avenue Primary School when I was young. There is also a middle school but I didn’t study in it.

I love Westwood because the life here is easy and the people are friendly. Growing up in Westwood was fun and exciting. I had many friends here. They came from different countries. So I could learn different kinds of languages from them. We loved to do different activities together. We usually rode bikes, climbed hills or played baseball on weekends.

Living in Westwood is never boring though Westwood is a quiet place. It’s not only beautiful but also relaxing. I love my hometown.

【推荐1】Long long ago people made fires（火）from lightning（闪电）. But they had to keep the fires burning（燃烧）, for they couldn't start it again if there was no lightning. Later, they found out hitting two pieces of stones（石头）together could make a spark（火花）. The spark could fire dry leaves（树叶）. In this way they could make the fire again if it went out. Then people also learned to make a fire by rubbing（摩擦）. They made a hole on a big piece of wood（木头）and put a smaller stick（树枝）into the hole. They turned the stick again and again. After a few minutes they got a fire.

As years went by, people learned other ways to make a fire. Sometimes they used the heat（热）from the sun. They held a piece of glass in the right way and made a piece of paper on fire.

About two centuries（世纪）ago，people began to make matches（火柴）. Matches brought people a quick and easy way to make fires. Today matches are still being used, but people have more new ways to make fires. One of them is to use an electric（电子的）fire starter. Of course, an electric fire starter is much more expensive than a box of matches, but it is convenient.

【推荐3】This year marks the 89th anniversary (周年纪念) of the victory (胜利) of a world-famous march—the Red Army’s Long March (红军长征) of 25,000 li (12,500 kilometers).

In October 1934, the Red Army lost after Kuomintang’s fifth attack (攻击). They decided to move to a safer place. There, they could keep fighting against Kuomintang and the Japanese invaders (侵略者). The number 25,000 stands for the longest distance the Central Red Army walked. In October 1936, the Long March came to an end.

Along the way, soldiers went through unimaginable difficulties. They had to fight and survive in a difficult environment. In Sichuan, they had to cross the Luding Bridge in the middle of gunfire. They also climbed over snow-capped Jiajin Mountain (more than 4,00 meters high). They didn`t have enough food or clothes. Many soldiers died. In the Central Red Army, about 86,000 soldiers took part in the march. Only 7,000 made it to the end.

Nowadays, President Xi Jinping calls the Long March a “miracle”. He says that we should carry on “the Long March spirit”: working hard, believing in communism (共产主义) and the final victory of China`s revolution (革命).

【推荐1】In 2020, people around the world were impressed by the chess prodigy (天才) Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit (《后翼弃兵》). However, there’s a similar “queen of chess” in real life.

Hou Yifan started playing chess at 5 years old in 1999. At that time, her parents took Hou to try different brain games at a training center. “With the interesting shapes, I was attracted by the chess and decided to take it up.” said Hou. After playing for two years as a hobby, she met her coach—grandmaster Tong Yuanming—and took up professional training.

“Chess is a mind game full of uncertainties (不确定性). Even when there are only five or six pieces left on the board, you cannot calculate all the possibilities,” said Hou. “So instead of too much focus on theories, we should rely more on practice and strategy.”

Luckily, her efforts were soon rewarded. At 13, she became China’s youngest ever National Women's Champion and then became the youngest chess champion in the world at 16. “I'm happy to win these titles, but I know this is a coin with two sides,” Hou added. “As you gain public attention, your faults are amplified (放大). So I should shrug (抛开) the honors off and stay motivated (积极的) to keep improving.”

In 2012, she studied international relations at Peking University and then went to the University of Oxford. Now, she has become a teacher at Shenzhen University. She wants to “integrate what she learned in China and the West to create a better method, which allows international chess to reach more young Chinese people”.

【推荐3】There was a businessman who was deep in debt（债务）. He sat on a park bench sadly. Suddenly, an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you," he said. After listening to the businessman's story, the old man wrote out a check（支票）, and put it in his hand, saying, "Take it and pay me back here exactly one year from today." Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. The businessman saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the world! "I can pay off my debts in a second!" he realized. But instead, the businessman decided to put the check in his safe（保险箱）. Just knowing it was there might give him the power to save his business. He went back and worked hard to make his business successful. Within several months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. Behind the old man was a nurse. The nurse spoke to the businessman and said that the old man was mentally（精神上）ill and was always telling people he was John D. Rockefeller. The businessman was shocked to hear this.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

【推荐2】The Chinese New Year is called the Spring Festival, which is the biggest festival in China. It usually comes in January or February.

Where there are Chinese, there is the Spring Festival. Each Chinese year has a name. We may call it the Year of the Tiger, the Year of the Pig or the Year of the Snake. And the year of 2007 is called the Year of the Pig. The year after it is the Mouse Year.

People always spend a month before the festival in preparing for it. People are busy shopping and cleaning their houses. On the eve there is a big family dinner. All the family stay up late to welcome the New Year, watching the CCTV programs or playing cards. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, people put on their new clothes and go to visit their relatives(亲戚) and friends, saying “Happy New Year”, “Good luck” and some other greetings to each other. It often lasts to the Lantern Festival, which is also an important Chinese festival and people usually have sweet dumplings(yuanxiao). People always have a very good time, especially children. Children can usually get some money for the new year from their parents and the elder relatives.

【推荐3】“Save the whales!” That’s what the picture on Jake Smith’s bedroom wall said. Jake liked having a picture that said something important: that showed he cared. He just never expected to get a chance to save a real whale, one right in his own neighborhood.

It was a Saturday morning when the newspaper first reported the whale’s coming. A group of the animals were swimming close to the beach in Jake’s hometown. All the local people rushed out to the beach to see them. They were expecting a beautiful show, better than a movie, but nothing they’d have to do anything about.

The one whale swam in the direction ,directly towards land. It came in with the waves, and when the waves receded, it stayed. Its huge body rested on the sand. Suddenly, Jake and his family and all the others were no longer sightseers. They had to become rescuers. A few people ran towards the animal. They pushed and tried to force whale back into the water, but it was no use.

An animal rescue service team soon arrived in a truck with heavy lifting machinery, to help move the animal. Jake and his family couldn’t do much on the beach, so they went back to their house and made sandwiches and hot tea for the rescuers. At least, Jake thought, they could help in some way.

Back at the beach, they offered the food to the rescuers and were happy to see it was needed. It was getting dark. Some people lined up their cars along the beach and shined the headlights on the sand. The rescuers would not give up. After trying many times, they were finally able to lift the whale into the water. Everyone cheered when it headed out to sea. It swam out about a mile and then disappeared for a moment under the sea. Then, in what looked like a jump of joy, it rose high above the water-a thank-you to those who had worked so hard to save his life.