2 . Hello, boys and girls. My name is Peter Miller. I’m 13 years old. I’m in Yuying Middle School now. I like music very much. I can sing and dance. I go to the singing lessons(课) and dancing lessons every Saturday. My favorite musician is Jay Chou. ①他唱歌很好。And he is also cool. I can sing many of his songs. I can also play the piano. But I can’t play it well. I like sports, too. ② I often play ping-pong and basketball with my classmates after class. I think they can make me relaxed after a busy day. Now I want to learn tennis because many classmates of ________(my) like playing it. My friend, Mike, can play tennis well.   I want to learn from him. I think he can help me with it.

4 . Lin Hai is thirteen. He’s a student in a school in Tianjin. He gets an e-mail from Tom White. Tom is a student in the USA. Here is the e-mail.

My name is Tom White. I am from New York, USA. I am fourteen years old. I’m a schoolboy. I want to make some friends in China.

There are eleven boys and nine girls in my class. We come from different countries—Japan, the USA, the UK and Canada. But at school we all speak English. My parents are from France（法国）. They speak French and English, so I can speak English and French well. But I want to learn Chinese. Can you help me? There are many Chinese people in New York and I want to talk with them. I can play chess well, and I can play many sports.

How about you?

Please write to me soon.

Yours,

Tom

All around the world, people drink tea. But in different countries, people have very different ideas about drinking tea.

In China, for example, people always serve (提供) the tea when people get together. The Chinese drink it at any time of the day at home or in teahouses. They like to drink plain tea (素茶) best.

Tea is very important in Japan. The Japanese have a special way of serving tea called the “tea ceremony (仪式)”. It is very old and full of meaning. People do everything in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in Japanese homes.

Another tea drinking country is England, and the late afternoon is people’s “teatime”. Almost everyone has a cup of tea then. The British usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with milk and sugar. They also eat cakes, chocolate and a few candies at teatime.

In the United States people drink tea mostly for breakfast or after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make their tea. It is fast and easy to use tea bags to make tea. In summer, many Americans drink “iced tea”.

Have you ever heard of netball? It is a team sport which is similar to both basketball and handball.

Netball was first played in England in 1895 at Madame Ostenburg’s College. In the first half of the 20th century, Netball’s popularity continued to grow, with the game being played in many countries, it is particularly popular in Australia and New Zealand. In 1995 Netball became a “recognized” sport of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and one of the International Netball Federation’s goals is to encourage the IOC to include netball in the Olympic Games Programme in the future.

There are seven players on each team and they each wear a bib (号码布) which shows the name of the position they play. Players must throw the ball to one another and the aim of the game is to pass the ball to the “Goal Shooter” or “Goal Attack” who can shoot the ball into the net to score a goal. However, the key rules of netball are that you cannot bounce (拍) the ball and you cannot move your feet when you have the ball. This is called the footwork rule and it can be quite difficult to grasp (掌握) for young children playing the game! A full match lasts for one hour and in a single match often about 100 goals are scored which shows what a fast-paced and exciting game netball is!

Netball is typically played by women and girls. However, at many universities, there are mixed netball leagues (联赛) in which teams must have both male and female players.

In the UK, there are many different ways to try to attract women to play netball. One such plan is called “Back to Netball” which encourages women who have not played netball since they were at school to rediscover their love for the sport and get back on the court! Walking Netball is another variation (变化形式) of the sport aimed at older women and those who want to exercise in a gentler way. So, why not watch a video of netball online and then have a go for yourself?

7 . Today's Shanghai

Shanghai, one of the largest cities in China, attracts people at home and abroad like a magnet(磁铁). People come here for its culture, its people, and its history. Shanghai is also named "Hu(沪)" or "Shen(申)" in short. It is in the middle part of China's east coastline. It has a pleasant climate(气候), with four distinct seasons.

These years, a number of modern buildings have been added to the city, such as the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Library, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai Circus City and Jinmao Tower.   They have become new scenic sights in Shanghai.

Shanghai, this modern city, succeeded in winning the bid of sponsoring the 2010 World Expo in 2003. The theme(主题) of 2010 Shanghai World Expo will be "Better City, Better Life. " So Shanghai will be more beautiful.

8 . Eating habits are different in different countries. The Chinese have a saying, “Eat good things for breakfast, eat a big meal for lunch, but eat less at dinner.” Americans agree that one should start the day with a good breakfast, but their ideas about lunch and dinner are different.

Most Americans only give themselves a short time for lunch, so they usually eat a small lunch. But after work they will have more time to eat a big dinner. Also a quiet dinner at home with all the family talking about their day is a way to take a good rest after a long, hard day of work.

Eating at restaurants is also different. In America, people like a quiet place where they can eat a good meal far away from the noises of the outside world. If someone is talking too loudly, the manager of the restaurant may come out and ask them to be quiet. But in China, people like to talk and laugh while eating. Very often you can hear them talking and laughing, and they are just having a good time.

9 . People eat different things in different places. In some eastern countries, people like eating rice as their main (主要的) food. Sometimes they eat it two or three times a day, for breakfast, lunch and supper. They usually eat it with meat, fish and vegetables. Japanese people like eating fish and rice. So they make different kinds of seafood sushi (寿司). They are delicious. Now Chinese people also like eating sushi very much. There’s a famous sushi restaurant called Sumo Sushi. In western countries, the most important food is bread and potatoes. And people there cook potatoes in different ways.

But some people eat only fruit and vegetables. They don’t eat meat or fish, or anything that comes from animals. They are vegetarians (素食者). They think it’s healthier for them to eat vegetables than meat.

10 . Some people like playing games by themselves, but some enjoy watching others play. They buy tickets or turn on their TV sets to watch the games. They usually have “their teams” or “their player”. When “their teams” can’t win the game, they are even sadder than the players themselves. Sports change with seasons. People play different games in different seasons. Most people’s favorite sport in summer is swimming and skating is usually a winter sport.

Sometimes people play games inside the room, and sometimes they play outside. We can find sports here and there. Some sports are very interesting and many people like them. Football, for example, is very popular in the world. Men and women , the old and the young all like it. People from different countries can’t understand each other at the beginning, but after a game they often become good friends.