Simon is a student in Sunshine Middle School. He     1     his school very much.

The students in Sunshine Middle School don’t need     2     to school every weekday.     3     Monday to Thursday, students stay at home and they have     4     on the computers in the morning. The teachers give lessons on the computers. In the afternoon, students     5     sports. And     6     do their P.E. teachers know about that? The watches on the students’ hands can tell everything! It’s great, isn’t it?

Every Friday,     7     students go to school to take part in (参加) the school activities (活动).     8     may go out to clean the park. Or they may go to the old people’s home to     9     the old people. They also go to school for the music     10     in May, Reading Day in September     11     Sports Day in November.

Many girls dance, draw, play the piano or learn English in their free time, but these girls run in the playground to     1     just like boys. Ma Lingqiao is one of them.

Ma Lingqiao is a “left-behind” child(留守儿童) in a village in Chongqing. Her parents work in other places, and she     2     her grandparents. Every day after school, she first plays football for two hours. Then she goes home to cook dinner and wash clothes before     3    . Ma Lingqiao is very     4     but she plays football hard with other girls in the team.

Ma’s school is in a small village. And the students can’t get a good education(教育). The head teacher knows that some schools in big cities need     5     football players, so he sets up(建立) a girls’ football team. These girls     6     playing football. He says, “I just want these children to     7     the village.”

These girls really work hard to make their dreams     8    . Some now go to good schools because of their football talent(天赋). The girls’ love for football really helps them a lot.

Did you ever think about how people got their surnames (family names)? Did you ever     1     who was the first person to have your surname?

Many modern British surnames go     2     to the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons who ruled England for 300 years, until 1066 AD. During those     3    , people just had one name. To tell each person apart, the Anglo-Saxons added     4     the place a person came from or the job they did to their first name. For example, a lady called Agatha     5     the town of Blackburn could be called Agatha Blackburn.

The Vikings, on the other hand,     6     the name of a person’s father or mother. So Erik Jonsson was the son of a man named Jon. Many Viking men     7     had nicknames (绰号). These used to mean the opposite of what the person was actually like. For example, John Short could be a very     8     man, or Erik Wise could be a man who was not very clever!

So, next time someone tells you their surname, stop and think for a minute. It might tell you    9     about their ancestors (祖先) from centuries ago!

We always enjoy all kinds of festivals very much because they always bring us happiness.     1     New Year’s Day, many people eat special food for good luck. In Spain and some Latin American countries, people eat twelve grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve-one grape for good luck in each     2     of the new year. Chinese people eat traditional food, such as jiaozi-a kind of     3    . Some have coins(硬币)inside. On the special day, everyone wants to get the coin. Because they think the coin can bring good luck. Of course,     4     don’t eat the coin. Japanese people eat noodles on New Year’s Day     5     on their birthdays. They are sure noodles bring them good luck and a long life.

There are at least 3,000 miles of waterways in Britain. On these canals (运河)     1     rivers, there are over 30,000 “houseboats” — boats that people use as their homes. Around 10,000 of     2     are located in London.

Houseboat communities are typically made up of people who are looking for a     3     way of life and who want to be in touch with nature.

There are many daily things that need to be     4    , like bringing fuel (燃料) and water on board and dealing with “waste” water from the kitchen sink, shower and toilet. In winter, living on a boat can be very cold and there is always a feeling of being wet. Of course, most boats are     5     small inside. So you don't have much space,     6     if you are a couple, family or group of friends.

Despite these     7    , the number of people living on Britain's waterways has increased by around 50 percent over the past ten years. This is not only because they like the idea of life on water but also because it is much cheaper     8     or rent a boat than a flat (公寓) or a house.

There is a great     9     of community on the waterways. Houseboat neighbors often     10     friends for life. They are quite different from people who live in flats or houses and may hardly know the people next door at all.