In some countries, lunch time often means soup time! However, soup is just one thing that can be eaten for lunch. What you eat for lunch may be different from the lunch of someone who lives in another country. Let’s see together!

Mexico: Tasting Tortillas (薄玉米饼)

Many children in Mexico eat tortillas for lunch. Most tortillas are made from ground corn. But sometimes wheat flour (面粉) is used. Do you know the shapes of tortillas? Tortillas are usually flat and round, but they can also be made into other shapes. Delicious sauces, called salsas, are often added totacos (玉米卷). These sauces are made from tomatoes, onions and hot peppers.

Russia: Sipping Soup

Winters in Russia are very cold. Maybe that’s why many Russian children eat soup for lunch.   Two of their favorites are cabbage soup and beet (甜菜) soup. Many Russian soups also include potatoes. They are an important crop in Russia. They make soups thick and rich. Eating thick soups can help keep people warm and can fill them up, so hunger is not a problem.

South Korea: Passing the Pickles (泡菜)

Meals in Korea are made up of many dishes. No matter what else is served, there is always rice.   Kimchi (泡菜) is also always on the table. Kimchi is a kind of meat or vegetable. Korean children mix together many dishes at meals. It’s common for their food to be hot and spicy (辣的).

These are what kids are eating for lunch around the world.

Do you know what dish is the most popular in the cold winter in China? Hot pot is many Chinese people’s favorite.

No matter in the north or in the south, people all like hot pot very much and every place has its local specials. For example, people in Sichuan like hot dish in it. However, Guangdong hot pot is famous for its freshness. Usually, there is a metal hot pot in the middle of table. When the soup in the pot is kept simmering (慢煮), dishes are put into the pot. Beef, mutton, fish and vegetables are the main dishes. It is very popular in winter because it can keep the dishes warm all the time. During the Spring Festival, friends and family members have a special meal —hot pot. Also, they chat happily. It is a good way to relax.

There is also hotpot in England, but what are the differences? Hotpot is NOT hot pot. China has hot pot in two words but English hotpot is written in one word. The main dishes of English hotpot are simple. They are meat, potatoes and onions. People put it in the oven all day in a heavy pot on a low heat. It is easy to cook.

Chinese hot pot tastes delicious, and English hotpot tastes fine. Which do you like, hot pot or hotpot?

【推荐1】People have always been interested in animal communication and scientists have done a lot of research on this subject.

Most animals communicate by smell. Dogs are famous for this. When a dog walks outside, it learns about other dogs by smelling things. Dogs have helped the police (A) ________ a long time, too. They can find missing(失踪的) people by using their fantastic sense of smell. Mice have an excellent sense of smell, too. Scientists have even trained them to find landmines. Scientists have discovered that even ants smell. They use smell to tell other ants(B) 食物在哪里.

①Research has shown that many other animals use sound to communicate. Frogs and insects communicate with sounds. Usually the “gentlemen” make sounds to invite the “ladies”. ②

(C) Whales and elephants also use sound to communicate. These sounds can travel very far through water or the ground. ③However, it is not possible for humans to hear some of the sounds. They are either too low or too high for us.

Animals have always used body language to communicate as well. When a cat puts its ears back, it is a bit mad. When (D) ________ sits with its tail around itself, it is happy. When a dog puts its tail under its body, it is scared. When it wags its tail and opens its mouth, it is happy.

The life of the animals in the zoo is different from that in the wildlife park.

In the zoo, most of the animals are not very active. They have to stay in cages all day and wait for the zookeepers to feed them. They can’t go out of the cages, so they have to walk round and round.

However, the wildlife park is a good place for them. All the animals there live in the open air. They can run, jump and play happily, and look for food by themselves. They are protected there because people are not allowed to hunt. The most important thing is that they are free and happy in the wildlife park.

Most of the animals in the wildlife park are friendly. But some are scary（可怕的）, such as lions, wolves and tigers. Don’t worry. A special bus can take you to see the animals. You are quite safe inside the bus. How exciting it is if a tiger or a lion watches you through the window!

How much do you know about English? It is an official (官方的) language of more than 50 countries and 250 to 300 million people speak it as a second language. Some say that half the world might (可能) be speaking it in 2050.

English is not the easiest language to learn—most of its common verbs are irregular and it has a large vocabulary—at least 200, 000 words are in common use. Its pronunciation and written form are also very different.

But some things make it easy—nouns don’t have gender (性) and verbs are less complicated (复杂的) than those of other languages. There is only one form to speak to someone directly—“you”. Adjectives don’t agree with nouns, and many nouns are also verbs.

English is always changing. Around 25, 000 new words and expressions come into the English language every year. Do you know what a “helicopter (直升机) parent” is? It is a mother or father who is too involved (参与的) in the life of their child. And what about a “boomerang child”? It is an adult who returns to live with their parents for financial (经济的) reasons.

Hello, boys and girls! My name’s Helen Green. Here is a photo of my family. My parents, my sister and I are in it. My father’s name is Paul. He’s a teacher in a middle school. My mother’s name is Anna. She’s a teacher in a middle school, too. My sister’s name is Cindy. She is a middle school student and her school ID card number is 8654327. What about the girl? Who is she? Oh, it’s me! It’s a nice photo, isn’t it?

Hi, friends! I’m Tom White. I’m an English boy. Now I’m in China. Here are two photos of my family. My mother Sally and my sister Mary are in the first photo. In the next photo, you can see my father David, my dog Dingding and me. And some books are in the photo, too. The books are my father’s.

【推荐3】Wild animals are our friends, but many of them are getting fewer and fewer. We should try to protect them. The four animals below are now in danger.

Tibetan Antelopes

Tibetan antelopes（藏羚羊）mainly feed on grass. They are usually found in groups of about 20. They are killed for their wool, which is warm, soft and fine and can be made into expensive clothes. The number of them is dropping year by year. There are less than 75, 000 Tibetan antelopes left in the world.

Golden Monkeys

Golden monkeys are mainly found in Sichuan, Gansu, and Shanxi provinces. Golden monkeys have golden-orange fur（皮毛）. They move around in the daytime. They feed on fruits and young leaves of bamboos. But people are destroying the environment where they live. Trees and bamboos are disappearing, so golden monkeys have less and less to eat.

Elephants

Elephants are very big and strong. They are bigger than any other animals on land. They have poor eyesight, but very good hearing and smell. They can lift heavy things and break down branches with their trunk（象鼻）. Now, there are very few elephants in the world. The number of them is becoming smaller and smaller because their living areas are used for farming. Also, people hunt them for their tusks.

Wolves

Wolves are not very big. They have grey fur. Wolves have very good eyesight, hearing and smell. They eat animals, insects and snails. They are friendly to each other and never attack（攻击）people. Wolves are in danger, too. They are losing their living areas because people cut down forests. Soon they will have no home or food.