Australia has a lot of lovely animals . The most famous ones are kangaroos and koalas（考拉）。The kangaroo is the symbol of Australia . They have large eyes and ears . They don’t walk but jump .They use their strong back legs .They can jump at up to 74 kilometers per hour .They can go over nine meters in one jump .

Kangaroo mothers have pouches (育儿袋)to carry their babies. The babies stay inside to get milk and keep warm . Kangaroos are everywhere in Australia . They are on TV , in books and in the shops. The government even wants to put them on passports (护照) 。There are about 20-25 million kangaroos in Australia . That’s more than the number of people in the country ! Some kangaroos go hungry because there is not enough to eat . They break into farms for food . Farmers are very angry with them . To help the farmers , the Australian government kills some kangaroos each year .

Koalas are another kind of famous Australian animals .They look like bears, and have small eyes and big noses. They eat leaves from gumtrees(胶树) where they spend most of their time . Kangaroos have a special smell. They use it to make their homes—“This is my place , You can’t come in .” Like kangaroos , a koala baby live in its mother’s pouch . But koalas have fewer place to live . There are 100,000 koalas in Australia . There is a law to keep them safe .

【推荐2】Arctic fox(北极狐) is a kind of small fox that lives in the Arctic. It grows about 50 centimeters(厘米) long, not including its tail, 30 centimeters tall and weighs from 3 to 7 kilos.

The Arctic foxes are white or blue in color. The white ones are white in winter, but gray-brown in summer. The blue ones are blue-gray all year round. The Arctic foxes have long, thick hair that is called fur(毛皮). And the long fur covers their whole bodies, including both their cat eyes and rabbit feet, to keep them warm in the low temperature in the Arctic.

The Arctic foxes feed mainly on birds, birds’ eggs and other small animals. Teamwork is the way they look for food, and they don’t like to do that alone.

Baby Arctic foxes are very lovely. They don’t open their eyes until a week after their birth. For the first half of the year, their parents offer them food. They begin to look for food on their own when they are about six months old. The next year they can live alone.

Today the number of the Arctic foxes is becoming smaller and smaller, because people kill them for their fur to make beautiful coats for money. Something must be done to protect the Arctic foxes.

【推荐3】Can we give a hand to those endangered animals? Yes, we may only do a little bit, but together our small actions add up to a lot.

1 Protect wildlife habitat (栖息地).

Perhaps the greatest threat that faces many species (物种) is the widespread destruction (破坏) of habitat. Cutting down forests, farming, and development all result in loss of wildlife habitat. In areas where rare (稀有的) species live, habitat destruction can quickly force a species to extinction (灭绝). By protecting habitat, entire communities of animals can be protected together naturally.

2Reduce the threat (威胁) of invasive (入侵的) species.

The spread of non-native species has greatly reduced native populations around the world. Invasive species compete with native species for resources (资源) and habitat. They can even prey (捕食) on native species directly, forcing native species towards extinction.

3 Place decals (贴花纸) on windows.

   It is reported that as many as one billion birds in the United States die each year because of collisions (碰撞) with windows. You can help reduce the number of collisions simply by placing decals on the windows in your home and office.

4 Slow down when driving.

   Many native animals have to live in developed areas and this means they must move in human-living areas. One of the biggest obstacles (障碍) to them is that created by roads. Roads divide habitat and present a constant (不断的) risk to any animal attempting to cross from one side to the other. So when you’re out and about, slow down and keep an eye out for wildlife.

The Blood Group Alphabet

Sometimes people lose too much blood from injuries or accidents. To save their lives, doctors must replace the lost blood. In an operation called a transfusion, doctors put blood given by healthy people into the veins（静脉）of the sick or injured person. But they must be careful. Although all blood looks the same, there are really different types of blood. Someone getting the wrong type of blood in a transfusion may become very sick or even die.

All blood is made up of red and white cells, and a liquid（液体）called plasma（血浆）. It is the red cells that cause blood to be different types. On the outside of the red cells of some people's blood are proteins（蛋白质）. Doctors group these proteins into two different classes, A and B. People with the A protein have Type A blood, while people with the B protein have B type blood. If someone happens to have both proteins, that person has Type AB blood. Some people don't have either protein, and their blood is called Type O.

If a person receives a transfusion of the wrong type of blood, the body senses the strange protein on the new blood cells. So the body destroys the new blood, and the patient goes into shock. For example, people with Type A blood will become very sick if they are given Type B protein because their bodies try to destroy the strange Type B protein. People with Type O blood have no proteins on their cells, so their bodies will destroy both Type A and Type B blood. They can only receive Type O blood. But people with Type AB blood have both proteins, so they can receive Type A, Type B and Type AB blood. These people are called Universal Receivers. People of any type can receive Type O blood because it has no protein for the body to fight against. So Type O people are called Universal Donors.

Doctors are always careful to test blood for its type before it is used in a transfusion. Although the wrong type of blood can be harmful, the right type can save a life.

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar(阴历) divides the year into 24 solar terms(节气). Lichun, the first of the 24 solar terms, lifts the curtain(窗帘) of spring. After that everything turns green and is filled with energy. Here are some things you might not know about Lichun.

As a solar term, Lichun entered people’s lives in the Spring and Autumn period. At that time, there were eight solar terms. According to some experts, the 24 solar terms were used for the first time in books during the Western Han Dynasty, when people set Lichun as the Spring Festival.

Every Lichun, people like to wear a swallow made of colorful silk on their chests (胸部). The swallow is a sign of spring and a symbol of success, wealth and happiness.

In China, it is said that the egg can be set upright on the first day of Lichun. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand on the first day of Lichun, he will have good luck in the future.

In many parts of China, people follow the custom of “biting the spring” on the first day of Lichun. They eat spring pancakes, spring rolls (春卷) and so on.

It is difficult for some people to organize a dinner party. There are so many things to think about. I will give you some advice you can take when organizing a dinner party.

First, you should decide the date of the party and who you are going to invite. Then send the invitations two or three weeks earlier. So your friends will have time to plan their activities. The best way of inviting them is calling. It is easy and quick.

The second thing is to decide the menu. Make a list of the food and drinks. Please don’t forget to ask your friends about their likes and dislikes. Some of them may be vegetarians (素食者).

Then it’s necessary to clean your room. You should do the clean-up at least a week before. The kitchen and bathroom are the two most important places. You can also buy some flowers and put them on the desk. Your house will look beautiful with them. If you do so, your friends will have a great time at your party!

Books written in the Gothic(哥特式) style are popular all over the world. A feature of these books is that they usually mix fiction, horror and death. They have romantic scenes at times. Gothic style books first appeared in the late 1700s in Great Britain. They were especially popular during Victorian times(1837-1901). Many of s novels we read today, such as Jane Eyre and Frankenstein, are from that time period.

Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by British author Robert Louis Stevenson(1850-1894) is a famous Gothic novel.

One of the story's most important characters is Dr Jekyll, a doctor with a kind heart who lives in London. He and his close friend Mr. Utterson often have dinner together. But one day, Utterson notices Dr. Jekyll behaving strangely after asking him about a crime that happened outside Dr. Jekyll's house. He says that a young girl had been killed by a man. The police believe that the man may have committed many crimes, but they couldn't find any clues. Mr. Utterson shows great interest in the case, only to find out that the murderer is Dr Jekyll himself.

In fact, Dr Jekyll had invented a kind of medicine that turned him into Mr. Hyde, an evil (邪恶)man. He believed that all humans have an evil side. He wanted to see if he could move the evil part away from the good part.

In the book, the author shows human's dual(双重的)nature. People can have both an evil side and a good side, just like Dr Jekyll: He looks kind on the outside, but he can also be a cold-blooded murderer on the inside. The author uses detailed comparisons and, descriptions to explain the way both sides of Dr Jekyll work Because of this, the novel turned out to be a successful one and has been spoken highly of by thousands of millions of readers since it was published. It has been made into over 120 stage and film versions(版本) so far.

Gothic books are popular around the world for they often mix fiction, horror, death and romance together. This kind of books first appeared in the late     1     century. One of the famous Gothic novels is Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by British author Robert Louis, Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll, one of the story's most important characters, believes everyone has an evil side and a good. side. He     2     if an evil side could be moved away from a good side. So he invented a. kind of medicine which made him     3     Mr. Hyde after taking it. Then he committed many crimes. The book shows humans' dual nature and     4     how the evil side and the good side work by comparing and describing. The novel turned out to be a big success and it has won high     5    from thousands of millions of readers. There also have been many stage and versions of the novel.

A good book can help you learn more things than you can learn in class. If you want to get into a good reading habit, here are a few ways.

Plan your time

You should give yourself at least thirty minutes for reading every day. When time is set, nothing can change it.

Always carry a book

Wherever you go, take a book with you. When you leave the house, make sure that you always carry a good book as well as your school things.

Find a quiet place

Find a place in your home where you can read a book quietly and no one will trouble you. There should be no television, computer, music or even noisy family members around you.