Dear Grandma,

How are you? I'm very b this month. July 3rd is my good friend (Alice) birthday. I will go to her birthday party the evening. On the fifth, I have English test. On July 15th, I have a game. You know I love basketball. On the (twenty), I have a school trip. On the 25th, I'll go to Mr. Cool's Clothes Store. The (clothe) there are on sale that day. I want (buy) a pair of sports shoes and a T-shirt. The hats there (be) nice. I'll buy one for you. Oh, Grandma, I'm very sorry I can't go to see you my parents this month. See you next month.

Yours,

Tom

The Chinese New Year is the most important festival for the Chinese people. It usually comes in January or February. It takes about 15 days to prepare for it.

On the eve of the festival, people close the shops and stay at home. They all get together for a big dinner. They stay up late and enjoy dumplings at midnight for good luck.

In the morning, people dress in their best clothes, and usually the old stay at home, the young go out to pay a New Year Call(拜年). It is an important time for the young. The young people bow(鞠躬)to the old people. The Chinese call this "Ke Tou". This means "touching the ground with the forehead(额头)". Then the young people give their best wishes to the old people. The old people give children gifts or lucky money.

They are very polite(礼貌) and do not use bad words on the Spring Festival Day. It's the most important day of the year.

One day an old woman wants to see her son in Paris. When she goes to the small station, she forgets the time the train is coming and leaving. She looks around and she sees a boy playing with a toy pistol(手枪) nearby. She comes up to him and asks for help. The boy doesn't say a word. He only points to her with his pistol, says"/ tu: tu: tu: tu: tu: tu: /", then he runs away quickly. The old woman is very angry. She doesn't know why the boy plays such a joke with(同某人开玩笑) her. The train comes. She gets on the train. When the train starts, she suddenly smiles: How clever the boy is! He tells her the time in that way!

Dear parents,

Do you want a tutor (家教) for your daughter or your son? Think about me! My name is Fiona. I'm a student of Chicago University. I study music. And I'm good at this subject. I can help your kids(孩子) with it. I'm a Chinese girl. So I can also teach(教) them some Chinese. I'm fun. Your kids will enjoy my classes for sure.

I have time in the afternoon from Monday to Saturday. My class is 15 dollars every hour. And itis usually two hours.

Do you need my help? Call me at 663-3387. You can write me an e-mail too. My e-mail address is chinesefiona@mail. com.

Best wishes!

Fiona

American schools begin in September after a long summer vacation(假期). There are two terms in a school year: the first term is from September to January, and the second is from February to June. Most American children go to public schools(分立学校). High school students take only four or five subjects at a time. They usually go to the same classes every day, and they have an assignment for every class. After class they have many activities. After high school, many students go to college.