【推荐1】Look at the clothes line in the twins’ bedroom. There are some clothes on it. You can see a green blouse and a yellow skirt. The trousers on the clothes line are black. They are not new but clean. Are they Lily’s clothes? No. I know they are Lucy’s. Lily’s clothes are on a clothes tree near the window. Her trousers are brown, her blouse is white and her skirt is blue. There is a new hat on the clothes tree, but it’s Lucy’s. There is an old hat on Lucy’s bed in the room. It’s Lily’s. There are no clothes on the other bed. The bed is Lily’s.

Sally: I found an ID card. My phone number is 568-892.

Bob: I lost a Chinese dictionary. Who found it? Please call 677-890.

Jim: I lost a CD of computer game. If you find it, please call me at 660-890.

Mary: I found a notebook with the name “Kevin Clark”. My phone number is 678-097.

Martina Smith looked out of the window. A robin was singing a lively song in the tree. At this time, Grandpa, who had lived with the family since Grandma died, came in. He looked at the floor as if he was looking for something. He said, “When the robin sings…he stopped, trying to remember what he had started to say.”

“Spring is here,” Mum finished the sentence. “And I’m thinking of our spring cleaning.” Mum suggested. “Martina, you can help me, right?” Martina agreed unwillingly.

They cleaned the house. They cleaned upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside, until everything was clean. Then Mum pointed to Grandpa’s sofa and shouted. “That old sofa has got to go. We’ll buy Grandpa a new one.

It was true and Martina had to agree. The sofa was really old. As they tried to move the sofa. Grandpa stood in their way. “You can’t take my sofa,” he shouted.

“It’s old,” Mum said. Grandpa tried to push his sofa back into place. “We’ll buy you a new one,” Mum promised.

“I don’t want a new one,” Grandpa insisted. Mum let go of the sofa. “We’ll talk about it tonight when John gets home.” John, Martina’s dad, was still at work.

“Why don’t you let us take away the sofa? It’s too old!” Martina asked when the family were having supper. Grandpa shook his head and said, “I sat in this sofa with your grandma right here when I asked her to marry me. It was so long ago, but when I sit in this sofa and close my eyes, I feel she is near.”

“It’s amazing,” Martina thought, “how Grandpa can remember things from the past. These days he forgets almost everything.”

The old man smiled to Martina and went on. “Before the night your father was born, I didn’t sleep but sat in this sofa, feeling flustered till they placed the little baby into my arms.”

“I think I’m beginning to understand,” Martina said. “Many years later,” Grandpa continued, “I sat in this sofa when the doctor called and told me that your grandma was ill. I was lost without her, but the sofa gave me the comfort.”

“I do see now,” Martina looked at Grandpa. “This is not just an old sofa.”

As Xiong Chuanfa blew a dog out of molten maltose(溶化的麦芽糖) in just a few minutes, kids looked carefully at him with great surprise, thinking he was a magician.

Xiong Chuanfa, 34, has been working on blowing sugar figurines(糖人) for more than twenty years. It is a Chinese traditional folk art with a history of over 600 years and has been listed as a state-level cultural heritage(文化遗产).

Every morning, Xiong prepares the molten syrup(糖浆) and drives to start his “magic show” around his city. “Many people, especially kids, are attracted by this sugar art. However, the ancient art is gradually disappearing,” Xiong said sadly. Simon, from Australia, couldn’t resist trying to make one himself. However, he couldn’t get the wanted shape though he tried several times. “It looks simple, but actually it’s very difficult to master the skill,” he said. Thanks to Xiong’s helping hand, Simon finally saw a horse gradually taking shape. “Can’t believe I’ve done this,” he said excitedly.

Xiong said that blowing sugar figurines can date back to the Ming Dynasty and that his family has passed down this art for four generations(一代人). “My 6-year-old son often blows up a balloon-like sugar figure, just like I used to do as a child,” he said. Xiong’s wife Wang Li is an artist of the sugar painting, which is a form of traditional Chinese folk art that uses hot, liquid sugar to make 2-D objects.

“None of the cultural heritage left by our ancestors should be lost. They are name cards of Chinese culture and should be spread around the world,” Xiong said. “Sugar paintings and sugar figurines are childhood memories of several generations of Chinese people. We will combine paper-cutting skills and modern elements(元素) with sugar figurines to keep a balance between beauty and taste. We will spend the rest of our lives helping pass on this cultural heritage,’’ Xiong said. Many people were deeply moved after learning about the family’s story.

【推荐3】It's hard for middle school students to prepare a program in three weeks. So, I was really nervous. What made matters worse, there were only nine students taking part in. After a discussion among group members, we decided to perform a song and a dance. The song we chose was showed in the Chinese style and I was the lead singer.

Over the next three weeks, we used every minute we could find to rehearse (彩排). The dancers practised during breaks, and I practised through my phone. I used it to compare my performance with the original, which allowed me to correct my mistakes. (it, best, though, tried, everybody, difficult, was, their).

Finally, the day of the performance came. After making up and dressing up, we became nervous. Before going to stage, I told everyone, "No matter how we perform, we are sure to be the best, since the audience has paid a lot to see us."

As we left the stage, many people spoke to us, praising our performance. A foreign student even came over to us, as he was curious about our ancient-style costurnes. He took a photo with us, which became the best record of our hard work.

It was hard work that made us a success. Finally, we stood out among the twenty groups to win the prize.