【推荐3】I’m Jim. I have two good friends. They are Frank and Mary. We like sports very much. My favorite sport is basketball. I have five basketballs. I think playing basketball is interesting. Does Frank like volleyball? No, he doesn’t. He thinks it is boring. His favorite sport is tennis. He likes the tennis player Li Na very much. He plays tennis every afternoon at school. Mary is a nice girl. What is Mary’s favorite sport? Is it soccer? No, she likes volleyball best. She thinks it is fun. She is in a volleyball club (俱乐部). But she has only one volleyball. Sports are good for us.

【推荐1】More and more people like bicycling and it is no surprise. It is fun, healthy and good for the environment. Maybe that’s why there are 1.4 billion bicycles and only 400 million cars on roads worldwide today. Bikes can take you almost anywhere, and there is no oil cost!

Get on a bicycle and ride around your neighbourhood. You may discover something new all around you. Stopping and getting off a bike is easier than stopping and getting out of your car. You can bike to work and benefit (受益) from the enjoyable exercise without polluting the environment. You don’t even have to ride all the way.

Folding (折叠) bikes work well for people who ride the train. Just fold the bike and take it with you. You can do the same on an airplane. A folding bike can be packed in a suitcase. You can also take a common bike with you when you fly. But be sure to look for information by getting on airline websites. Not all airlines are bicycle-friendly to travellers.

Health Benefits of Bicycling:

It helps to prevent heart diseases.

Bicycling helps to control your weight.

A 15-minute bike ride to and from work three times a week burns off five kilos of fat in a year.

Bicycling can improve your mood (心情).

Exercise like bicycling has been shown to make people feel better, more relaxed and self-confident.

Bicycling is healthier than driving.

Long-distance（距离）bicycle camping is one of the most pleasant activities I have ever experienced. I usually sleep poorly at night, but in the woods on a tour I sleep like a baby, falling asleep with the music of insects. In the morning I am waken by birds. I eat a snack before getting up and I pack my sleeping bag, air mattress（垫）, tent and other things and then get on with my ride. I ride more slowly in the morning, then I can stop anywhere, such as grasslands, lakes, woods and scenic spots（景点）. I can enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Near lunch I find a small grocery and buy some bread, sandwiches and fruit. Then I will find a town park or other places to wait out the mid-day sun. In the afternoon, I ride more quickly and spend less time on spots. In the late afternoon I started riding more slowly and thinking about where to stop. I finally find a place in the early evening, cook a simple meal and have a rest. As it starts to get dark, I put up my tent and fall asleep.

There are exciting times and difficult times as well. Visiting strange or famous places are always exciting to me. Along the way, I meet and talk with interesting people, sometimes other travelling cyclists. Enjoying beautiful views, meeting wild animals and travelling up and down hills also stir me up. On the other hand, I may run into a rainy or hot day, I have to repair my bike or just find myself in a bad mood（心情）. But the problems are easy to deal with（处理）. I’ll never forget my pleasures.

【推荐3】In our life, many people like exciting sports. Kite surfing (冲浪) is a kind of water sport. It’s exciting and interesting. It began in the 1980s.     1     It’s also known as kite boarding, and as fly surfing in some European countries. Kite surfing works by using a large kite to pull a player on the water.     2     Now it’s becoming easier and safer because of the safer kite design. For a strong person, kite surfing can be a very fun and completely exciting sport.     3     People love that feeling. That’s why it becomes more and more popular.

Compared with other water sports, kite surfing is easier to learn.     4     And anybody aged from 13 to 65 can learn it. It’s not expensive to get the equipment (装备) for kite surfing. The equipment costs $1,000 to $2, 5000.     5     With the development of its equipment, kite surfing is becoming even safer. After some training, people can enjoy the exciting sport easily.

In China, Xiamen is the only place that has the kite surfing club, which provides kite surfing training and equipment. People can enjoy its excitement and challenging feeling.

【推荐1】Beijing Opera is also called Peking Opera. It started after 1790 when the famous four Anhui opera groups came to Beijing. Its music and singing come from Xipi and Erhuang in Anhui and Hubei. Its costurnes are all beautiful and artistic. It’s full of famous stories, beautiful facial paintings, and wonderful gestures（姿势）and fighting. This kind of opera is very popular with Chinese people.

There are four main roles in Beijing Opera: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou. Sheng is the leading man actor. For example, a Wusheng is a soldier or fighter. A Xiaosheng is a young man. A Laosheng is an old man. Dan is the young woman role. Jing, mostly man, is the face painted role and Chou is the comedy actor or clown.

Stories in Beijing Opera are very interesting. Some of them are from the history book, but most of them are from the literature（文学）, especially famous novels. The people in the story usually have some disagreements. They become angry and unhappy. They are sad and lonely. Sometimes they are nervous and worried. Then they find a way to make peace. The stories usually end with happiness and laughter and people are all happy in the end.

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You asked me about the Awakening of Insects（惊蛰）. Now let me tell you something about it.

As the third one of the 24 Chinese solar terms（二十四节气）in the lunar year, the Awakening of Insects means the fact that spring thunder awakens the animals sleeping in winter, and that the earth begins to come back to life.

Just as the old Chinese saying “Once the Awakening of Insects comes, spring ploughing（耕犁）never rests” says, it is the major time for spring farming activities. During this time, most parts of China get warmer and warmer, with the temperatures above 10℃. The days get longer and there is a marked increase（增加）in sunshine. It is good for farming.

People like going fishing during this time. Fishing can make people relaxed, especially for people living in the city. Driving to the countryside, fishing in a lake, bathing in the sunlight and enjoying the singing of birds make for a perfect weekend in spring.

Eating pears around the Awakening of Insects is a widely-practiced custom in China. As the weather gets warmer and the air becomes dry, people feel their mouths are dry, which can cause colds or coughs. A pear is sweet, juicy and cold. And it is good for people’s health.

The 24 Chinese solar terms is interesting, right? I’ll tell you more about it next time.

【推荐3】Good manners are important things to have since they show that you’re polite to other people. If you’re having a meal with others, then make sure you use good manners while you’re eating to show that you’re respectful.

Set your phone to silent or vibrate, and keep it in a pocket or bag throughout your meal. Don’t answer it unless there is an emergency. If you need to take a phone call, excuse yourself from the table first by saying something like, “Excuse me, I need to take this. I’ll be right back.”

Don’t start eating immediately as you sit down since it’s rude to start if people don’t have their food. Instead, patiently wait in your seat before you take your first bite.

When you need to cut something, hold the knife in your right hand and your fork in your left. Once you cut your food, you can either use your fork in your left hand or set your knife down so you can use your fork with your right hand.

Chewing with your mouth open or talking while you’re eating is usually considered rude since no one wants to see the food in your mouth. Take small bites of your food and chew them completely with your mouth closed.

If you need to go to the bathroom during the meal, say “excuse me” before standing up so others know you need to go somewhere. You don’t need to give the reason why you’re leaving as long as you come back and sit down again. You may say, “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

【推荐2】Nowadays, shopping online becomes a new way of shopping. It is getting more and more popular. Many people are very interested in shopping through Internet.

Why is shopping online becoming more and more popular? First, it has lots of advantages. There are many goods (商品) on the Internet. People can find anything they want. The goods on the Internet is usually cheaper than that in the store. People can save some money. Second, more and more people have their own computers. So it is possible for many of them to do shopping through the Internet. People don’t need to go to the shop themselves. They can save a lot of time.

But, a coin has two sides. Customers (顾客) can only see the pictures of the goods on the Internet. Maybe shopping online makes people worried. So some people don’t like this new way of shopping. They are worried about the safety of shopping online.