Fire was discovered many thousands of years ago. The first time humans saw fire was probably when a tree was destroyed by lightning(闪电).Humans soon learned how to make a fire. They probably made the first fire by rubbing (摩擦)two sticks together. Fire was very important to humans. They needed fire to keep warm at night. They used fire to cook food. ⑶They used fire to keep enemies and wild animals away. In some parts of the world fire was used to send messages. The Indians in America, for example, used fire to make smoke as a message. In some other countries people lit fires to warn their friends of danger. ⑷Fire was also used to give light. Before the invention of the oil lamp(灯), humans burned sticks to get light. One man even used fire to tell the time. He invented a candle clock. He made a candle that took exactly twelve hours to burn. Then he marked this candle in twelve equal(相等的) parts. He lit the candle and could tell the time by counting the number of parts left of the burning candle. But the candle clock did not always work well. If there was a wind blowing on the candle, it burned too quickly.

    We all have our own ways of sharing our life experiences with others.

    Photographers use cameras, artists use brushes, musicians use songs and writers use stories.

    Spencer Johnson's story Who Moved My Cheese? shows changes exist in(存在于) our life. Life changes and so do we. We must change ourselves to face the changing environment, or we will fail.

    Just look at the cycle (循环) of        Trees bud (发芽)in spring and in summer their leaves turn green. In autumn, their leaves start to fall onto the ground. When winter arrives, there are no leaves on trees. Next spring the cycle begins again. Since we know there are cycles in nature, we can prepare for them. We know it is colder in winter and hotter in summer, so we can dress properly.

    Since we accept the cycles of nature, we should also accept the changes in our life.

    We can prepare ourselves for changes by becoming more flexible(灵活的).We can regard the changes in our life as chances. As long as we keep changing ourselves, we can keep up with the changes in our life.

    Stress is a feeling you can have both in your mind and in your body. ⑶It can make you want to eat less, not talk to your friends and family.

    A little stress in life is normal. But controlling stress is important because if you feel stressed for too long, it can seriously affect your body. Older people who have stress for a long time can develop heart disease, high blood pressure and other serious health problems.

    The good news is that it can be very easy to control stress. Here are three tips:

    Tip 1: Try to eat right. Some people who feel stressed try to feel much better by eating chocolates, ice cream and other sweets. A little sugar isn't bad for you but don't stop eating fruit and vegetables.

    Tip 2: Exercise regularly. ⑷People who are very busy with jobs or family life can feel tired a lot. Getting regular exercise can give you more energy and help you think about the things in your life that give you stress.

    Tip 3: Most importantly, watch out for each other. Stress can make you feel alone. It's important to watch for stress in people that are close to you: friends look out for friends, and teachers look out for students.

    A road is just like a bridge between two places. The Silk Road has been a bridge between the East and the West. But the Silk Road is not a single route! It is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes. From the time Zhang Qian opened up the world-famous Silk Road during the Han Dynasty, until the Yuan Dynasty, it enjoyed a history of about 1,600 years. This ancient road begins at Chang'an (now Xi' an), and it reaches Dunhuang, where it is divided into three, the Southern Route, Central Route and Northern Route. And then it ends in Eastern Europe, near the Mediterranean Sea(地中海).The Silk Road is thousands of kilometers long. It goes across one- fourth of the planet. ⑶In fact, there is another trade road which is called the "Silk Road on the Sea" in the southwest of China. The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. Besides trade, knowledge about science, arts and technologies were shared across the Silk Road. The Four Great Inventions of China were introduced to the West and Chinese also knew about the religions of the West. ⑷In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other. Today, places along the Silk Road are great places of interest, such as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an and Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu.

    Each year, many Chinese people go abroad because of all kinds of reasons. They are becoming younger and younger year by year. Even some Chinese parents send their children to foreign countries when they are only in a middle school. They think their children can get a wider view, less academic(学业的) competition or family honor. But life can be hard for young people there. At first, they have to face the cultural differences and language problems. However, these are not always the most difficult things to overcome(克服).To most children, controlling (管理)themselves well is a big challenge when they are studying alone in a strange country. Yu Yang, a 15-year-old student from Guangdong Province studies in a high school in Toronto, Canada. ⑶To his surprise, his teachers there seldom push students to study hard. And usually there isn't too much homework .Students have lots of free time to do some activities. Some of his friends spend their whole year's money in the first two months of the new term. So they have to ask their parents for some more money. On the one hand, studying abroad can help students learn foreign languages quickly and open up their eyes, but on the other hand, some children may feel lonely, become bad, lose themselves, etc. Many problems may happen to them. These are different from their original thoughts. ⑷So parents should think them over before their children go abroad.

    Have you ever heard of friendships among animals? At a zoo in Germany, an unusual friendship (develop) between a cat and a bear.

    No one is quite sure how the friendship first began. One day, some (worker) in the zoo noticed a black cat was in the bear's cage (笼子),and the two animals were playing together peacefully. They were surprised well the small cat seemed to get along with the large bear. The bear keeper allowed the cat to stay with the bear. And later the pair and their unusual (become) a hot topic at the zoo.

    After several years, a new cage (build) for the bear. However, the cat was still in the same cage, so it walked around (angry) and cried to be with the bear. The bear keeper finally took pity on the cat let it stay with the bear. The cat and the bear got (close) than before. They often sat together and shared meals in sun.

    Sometimes it may be natural for animals (have) their own ideas about who would make a good friend. These may surprise humans, who usually expect animals to form relationships with others of the same species.

    Do you like pop music? Most people (do). One of the (good) bands on the music scene is the New Ocean Waves. In the twelve months, they've held three major and made a hit CD. They're going to appear on CCTV next month. And then they're going to go on a world tour in which they will in ten different cities. Be sure not to (miss) them if they come to a city near you-if you can get tickets, that is. "For years, we played other people's (song)," says the lead singer. "But now we (play) mostly our own songs. We've had a few songs in the top ten, but we really (hope) to have a number one hit some day." Good luck to the New Ocean Waves! They're off to a good start. And they're really nice people. Do you know that they gave half of the they made to a charity for homeless children?

    Waste can be seen everywhere in the school. Some students ask for (much) food than they can eat while others often forget to turn off the lights when they leave the classroom. They say they can afford these things. But I don't (agree) with them. Waste can bring a lot of problems. Although China is rich in some resources (资源), we are short of (缺乏) others, such as fresh water (淡水). It is (report) that we will have no coal (煤) or oil to use in 100 years. So if we go on (waste) our resources, what can we use in the future and where can we move? Think about it. I think we should say no to the students waste things every day .Everybody should stop wasting as soon as (possible). In our everyday life, we can do many things to prevent waste happening. For , turn off the taps(水龙头)  when we finish washing. Turn off the lights when we leave the classroom and try not to (order) more food than we need little by little, everything will be changed. (waste) can be stopped one day if we do our best.

    Do you know anything about the sea? The sea looks very beautiful when the sun (shine) on it. It can be very when there is a strong wind. The sea is very large. It covers three quarters of the (earth). The sea is also very (deep) in some places. There is one place, and the sea is about l1 kilometers deep there. The (high) mountain in the world is about 9 kilometers high. If that mountain was (put) into the sea at that place, there would be still 2 kilometers of water on it! In most parts of the sea, there (live) many fishes and plants. Some live near the of the sea. Others live deep down. There are also a lot of small living things (生物)which lots of fishes (feed) on. The sea can be very cold. When people go the sea becomes colder and colder. Only some men can go down into the deep sea. But in 1970, five women scientists lived in the deep sea for fourteen days.

    A dog entered a butcher's shop with a note in his mouth. The note

read, "$10 of lamb chops(羊排), please." The butcher was very (surprise).He took the money, put a bag of chops in the (dog) mouth, and then he closed the shop (quick).He followed the dog and watched him wait for a green light. Then the dog crossed the road to a bus stop. He checked the timetable and sat on the bench. When a bus arrived, the dog checked the number and got it. As the bus travelled out into the countryside, the dog enjoyed the scenery. After while, he stood on his back

paws(爪子) (push) the "stop" button. Then the butcher followed (he) off. The dog ran up to a house and dropped his bag on the ground. He went back down the path, took a big run, and (throw) himself against the door. No one answered. He repeated the action a few times. Then a big man opened the door started complaining about the dog and beating him. Seeing this, the butcher ran up and shouted at the man, "What are you doing? This dog is a genius!" The man replied, "Genius? No way! He has forgotten his key for the (four) time this month!"