A 6-year-old girl had been shopping with her mom in the supermarket. It was raining hard at the moment. We all stood _______ the door of the supermarket and waited quietly. The girl’s sweet _______ broke the silence, “Mom, let’s run through the rain,” she said. “No, honey. We’ll wait ______ it slows down a bit,” Mom replied. The girl waited about another minute and repeated, “Mom, let’s run through the rain.” “We’ll get wet if we do,” Mom said. “No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said. “This morning? When did I say we ______ run through the rain and not get wet?” “When you ______ with daddy about his illness in the hospital, you said, if we can get through this, we can get through anything!” We all stood silently. _______ left in the next few minutes. Mom thought for a moment about what she would say. “Honey, you are _______ . Let’s run through the rain. If we get wet, maybe we just need washing,” Mom said. Then they ran _______ to the street. We all stood and watched _______ run past the cars. Although they held their shopping bags over their heads, they _______ got wet. Then they were followed by a few who screamed（尖叫）and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

Yang Zhen was an honest and clean（廉洁的）government officer during the Eastern Han Dynasty（25﹣220）.

One day, Yang met his old workmate Wang Mi on a trip. They had fun talking about their life experiences and good wishes to the nation. In the past, Wang’s ability and political ideas were not accepted by the people around him. Yang saw Wang’s talent and promoted（提拔）him. The chance helped Wang to be successful. Wang never forgot Yang’s help and invited him to stay over for the night.

It was near midnight when Wang knocked on the door of Yang’s bedroom. He handed Yang a bag and said, “This is to thank you for teaching me and helping me become who I am today.” Yang looked in the bag. It was full of gold.

“Do I look like a person who accepts bribes（贿赂）from others? I thought you knew me well!” Yang said angrily.

“It’s late at night. No one will know if we keep it secret,” said Wang.

“What do you mean no one will know? Heaven（天）knows, Earth knows, you know and I know,” said Yang. “You can cheat anyone but not your own heart.”

The door was closed and Wang left the room in shame.

Boys and girls, have a look and see if you are interested in the amazing events.

Yangzhou Horticultural Expo What do gardens around the world look like? Now you have the chance to find out at the 2021 International Horticultural Exposition（博览会）. The expo is planned to be held from April 8 to October 8 in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. According to China News, there are 74 parks on show in the cities from China and abroad. Tianwen 1 Probe（探测器） China successfully sent the Mars（火星）probe Tianwen 1 from Wenchang, Hainan on July 23, 2020. The probe is planned to reach the Red Planet in May or June in 2021, China Daily reported. It will stay there for three months by taking pictures, studying the soil and weather and looking for water. Universal Beijing Resort In May, the universal Beijing Resort（景区）was open to the public. As the fifth Universal Studios branded（环球影视）theme park, Beijing Universal is the largest, covering an area of 4 km2. It includes seven theme parks, such as Kung Fu Panda, Land of Awesomeness and Transformers, Metrobase. Dubai World Expo The World Expo is a global fair for people to develop business and share innovation（创新）. The latest expo is going to be held in Dubai from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. The expo will show special culture from different countries around the world, as well as delicious food and the most advanced technology of our time.

Asked about the foods that sell best in the whole world, do you often hear about CocaCola and McDonald’s Big Macs from America? But think again, because the most successful worldwide food is instant noodles （方便面）.

A new book called Noodle Stories that was written 55 years after the birth of the instant noodles in Japan, mentioned that there were more than 100 billion cups of instant noodles worldwide in 2012—that’s about 14 cups for every person on Earth. As for noodles themselves, they were invented more than 2,000 years ago to become a worldwide staple（主食）.

_______ The oldest historical mention of noodles appeared in the third century AD in China. The earliest Chinese noodles were little pieces of dough （面团） thrown into boiling water. This kind of noodles, called mianpian, are still eaten in China today. Another early mention of noodles appeared in the fifth century AD in Jerusalem.

Momofuku Ando invented instant noodles in Japan in 1958. Few people know that instant noodles play an important role in hunger and disaster （灾害） relief. It’s well-known that they are regarded as junk food, but they are a real “hunger killer”. According to an online news report, the fat in instant noodles that is mixed with the delicious soup keeps one feeling full for longer. And that helps explain why “ramen”, as they are called in Japanese, have become a staple on the world’s food aid （援助） lists.

What are the cultural differences between China and the West? You might be able to find the answer in Cao Siyu’s comics（漫画）. Cao, 32, was born in Beijing, but left home at 20 and has studied and lived in the US, the UK, and France for 12 years. Having seen so many cultures, Cao wanted to use her drawing sills to show the differences she has experienced. So she created the cartoon series Tiny Eyes Comics.

“My experience shows that although travel is much easier and faster today, the distance（距离） between cultures hasn’t shortened,” Cao said. She hopes to build bridges and break down misunderstandings between different cultures. One of her cartoons shows water forms in different countries. Three glasses of water are shown. The glass of water from the US has ice; the one from France is full of sparkling water（气泡水）; the one from China is steaming（冒热气的）.

Cao also uses her cartoons to show different ways of thinking and social customs. During the COVID﹣19 pandemic, she used her comics to explain why Chinese people prefer to wear masks while western people don’t. “Her simple pictures have played a big part in reflecting Chinese culture,” Italian magazine Grazia reported.

Many foreign readers say that Cao’s comics help them understand China, while Chinese living abroad have felt that they are seen and understood.

She said that this voice has been the biggest motivation （动力） for her to keep creating.

This is a portrait （肖像） of Albert Einstein. （1）An American artist “drew” it on a plate with some food. He used bread, fresh vegetables, and mashed potatoes. Sometimes, he worked with cookies.

His food portraits include Queen Elizabeth from the UK and US actress Marilyn Monroe. He spends up to two hours making each portrait. Many people like these food portraits. （2）Would you like to make one for yourself ? That must be a lot of fun.

Years ago in Scotland, Mr. and Mrs. Clark had a dream of travelling to the United States with their nine children. Clark and his wife worked hard and saved enough
66． and got passports for the whole family on a new ship to the United States. The whole family was
67． with excitement about life in America. However, seven days before their trip, the
68． son of the four was bitten （咬） by a dog. The doctor required that all the family should be separated for fourteen days.

The family’s dream ended. They would
69． to cancel the trip to America. The father was very disappointed and cursed （咒骂） both his son and the dog because he didn’t want to
70． the chance to travel to the United States. Five days
71． , the sad news spread around Scotland—Titanic had sunk （下沉）. The famous ship had sunk with
72． of lives in it. The Clark family was to have been on that ship, but the son had been bitten by a dog,
73． they were left behind in Scotland. When Mr. Clark heard the news, he hugged
74． son and thanked him for saving the family. He thanked his son and the dog for saving their lives and turning what he felt was a sad thing
75． a lucky one. Although we may not know why, all things happen for a reason.

This year is the Year of “Niu” or the Ox. Many Chinese people believe it’s a good year because they love the animal so much.

In Chinese culture,  “laohuangniu” is a symbol of hard work and selflessness （无私）, because it works hard but asks nothing for itself. People love the animal so much that they write poems about it and paint pictures of it.

But in the West, people have a different opinion about the animal. “Bullheaded” （固执的）people will not listen to advice. If someone behaves “like a bull in a china shop”, people say he or she is clumsy when he or she should be more careful.

We hope that all the teenagers can work just as hard as the OX does. Avoid “a red flag to a bull” —something that may make you very angry. And we also hope that you will always “take the bull by the horns （不畏艰险）”  when you run into difficult situations.

It’s very popular to travel in modern life. As travelers, we should try our best to protect the environment. Here is some advice on how to be a green traveler.

◆Make smarter flight choices

Air travel is not an environmentally-friendly way to travel because it uses a lot of energy. If you must fly, be sure to pack light to cut down the plane’s load. And try to book a non-stop fight （预订直达航班）. Connecting fights （转机航班）usually require longer periods of lying and planes will use more energy.

◆Respect （尊重） natural environment

Marked hiking tails （有指示标识的游览步道） are there usually to protect the natural environment and keep wild plants safe. In beach areas, don’t use products that are harmful to the sea water and try to protect the ocean’s ecosystem.

◆Support locals directly

Buying handmade products and art pieces created by local people can help hand down cultural tradition and create jobs. Food that is grown locally and things that are sold by local families are often better and cheaper, all while helping keep money in local pockets.

◆Find ways to give back

Consider the ways that you can help the local community and give back while traveling. This can be as simple as picking up litter in a park or volunteering to clean up a beach. If you’re planning a trip where volunteering is your main goal, make sure you won’t take jobs away from local people.

Today is my last school day. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________