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Lingling is a Chinese girl. She likes collecting stamps. Lingling has got some friends from Canada, the UK and the US. They often send her letters. So Lingling has collected many stamps from Canada, the UK and the US. She has got a stamp book. She puts her stamps into this book. Some stamps are very new and some are very old. She likes the stamps in her stamp book. She can tell many stories about the stamps. Do you want to be her friend?

Li Ming has got a good friend. His name is Peter. He is from the US. Li Ming and Peter are in the same class. They go to school together from Monday to Friday. Peter likes China and Chinese food. He likes rice very much. They often play football after school.

Li Ming and Peter like making things. Now they are making a kite. They like flying kites on Sunday morning. Peter can speak English and a little Chinese. Li Ming can speak Chinese and English very well. They teach each other.

When we send a letter or a postcard, we have to put stamps on the envelope (信封) or on the card. When did people first begin to use stamps? Who was the first to think of this idea? Here is some information (信息) about it.

In the early nineteenth century (19世纪), people did not use stamps. They had to pay (付款) for the letters or postcards they received (收到). People didn't like it. First, it was not convenient (方便). Second, sometimes they had to pay for the letters they didn't want to receive at all, such as advertisements (广告). Third, the postage (邮资) was high at that time. And it was difficult for postmen to collect the postage.

Then one person thought out an idea to solve this problem. He was Rolland Hill, a schoolmaster (校长) in England. He was the first to put forward a proposal (建议) to use stamps in 1850s. He thought it would be much more convenient for people. They could go to a nearby post office to buy stamps and put them on the envelopes before they sent letters. The post office could simply put seals (密封) on the stamps to prevent (预防) them from being used again. That was a good idea and it was accepted (接受) by government finally.

Bill is from England. He likes swimming, playing football and travelling（旅行）. His favourite hobby is traveling. He visited lots of interesting places. He has got a good friend, Mike. Mike likes playing football, travelling and collecting toy cars. He likes travelling best. Bill and Mike often play football together at weekends.

A long time ago, there was an old man who was very patient（有耐心的）. Every day, he sat in front of his house doing the same job. He was patiently sharpening（磨尖）a piece of iron（铁）. One day, his neighbour saw him at work. He asked the old man, “What are you doing?” The old man said, “I want to make this iron into a needle（针）. ”

The neighbour was surprised because the piece of iron was big but a needle was very small. He asked the old man, “How long will it take you to finish making the needle?”

The old man answered, “I don't know. If I die before I finish it, I will leave this work for my son. And if my son dies before it is finished, he will leave this work for my grandchildren. Someday, this piece of iron will be a needle.”

I like collecting stamps. I’ve got many stamps. They are from different countries. I have some Chinese stamps. They are from my Chinese friend, Xiao Doudou. And one has got a picture of the Great Wall on it. I like it very much.