What does the word ecology mean? It was ___________ by Ernst Haeckel, a German biologist. He joined two Greek words: oikos, meaning “house”, and logie, meaning “the study of”. Together they mean “the study of the house”. The “house” Haeckel had in mind is our ___________, Earth. Earth is home for all living things—humans, animals, plants, and even tiny microbes.

To study a house is to learn how its residents（居民）use it. An ecologist is a scientist who studies the ___________ between organisms （生物）and their environment. The environment is an organism’s surroundings. It may ___________ water, gases, rocks, and temperature.

Ecologists also study the balance of using the environment while protecting it.

An ecologist once asked a boy ___________ he thought it meant to protect the environment.

The boy said, “You go into the forest and look for somebody who wants to cut down a tree. You take away his axe. You tell him about how ___________ trees are. You say they are good for natural beauty, saving soil, and giving shelter to birds and other animals. ”

“ Good answer,” said the ecologist, “___________ it may not be easy to find a woodcutter to talk to. Also, remember that sometimes it’s ___________ to cut down a tree. If we cut down too many trees, the forest will disappear. If we don’t cut down any trees, we won’t get any resources from the forest. We have to find the right ___________. ”

“I get it,” the boy said. “We need the forest’s ____________ for wood and paper or we might not have desks or notebooks for school.”

“Exactly—and school is a good place to learn about ecology,” added the ecologist. “Then you will know how to protect the natural environment.”

You must have many hobbies, reading, painting and so on. One day, you happen to see a poster, “World Book Day.” Interested, you stop and read the poster.

Hello and welcome to World Book Day World Book Day is here to change lives through a love of books and shared reading, and bring books to the children who need them most. World Book Day is an excellent chance for everyone to celebrate the joy of reading. •Share A Story Live-our exciting digital events programme beaming authors（作家）straight into your school. • Raising money, raising readers-our fundraising ideas to help us change lives through reading. • World Book Day Book Club-a new online reading community. • Share A Story Corner-stories to encourage families to read together. Happy World Book Day！ For up-to-date information, visit our website worldbookday. com!

   Imagine you choose to join WorldBook Day Book Club. Now you are reading a book on art for children.

About art

Art is a vast subject, including all kinds of pictures and sculptures. This book introduces 32 works by some of the world’s most famous artists. This is only a small selection, but it reveals（揭示）huge differences in what artists do.

Why make art?

Artists make art for many reasons. Sometimes, they just want to create something beautiful. But hundreds of years ago-when many people couldn’t read-paintings were often designed to illustrate stories.

Very grand paintings were usually made to order, for wealthy clients who wanted to impress people. More recently, artists have begun to paint to express their own feelings or explore ideas.

About this book

The pictures reproduced in this book were painted over the last 500 years. They are arranged（排列）in order of date, so you can see how ideas about art have changed over time. If you would like to see more art, there is lots on the Internet-just follow the links recommended throughout the book. If you can, visit an art gallery too, so you can experience seeing the “real thing” .

To improve your reading, you can try the form of readers’ theatre, a formatted script for readers to read aloud. It’s so interesting!

Cast of Characters: Narrator, Kayla, Ms. Lee, Zack

Narrator: On a sunny day in southern Texas, Ms. Lee’s students gathered in the school playground.

Ms. Lee: Tomorrow is the day of the sidewalk（人行道）chalk-art festival. The principal has allowed us to practise our wet-chalk drawing on the playground sidewalk, which will be our studio. Remember, whenever you want to draw on a sidewalk, always ask an adult in charge for permission before you draw. Now let’s review the steps of wet-chalk drawing. What do we do first?

Narrator: As the students told her the steps in order, Ms. Lee wrote them on a large pad of paper. When she finished writing, she pulled the paper off the pad and displayed the directions so everyone could read them. Then the students chose and soaked （浸湿）their pieces of chalk. Meanwhile, Kayla and Zack planned their drawing.

Kayla: Let’s draw a jungle feast. Parrots can be eating all kinds of fruit.

Zack: I’ll draw a model train carrying food to the birds.

Narrator: The students removed their pieces of chalk from the water and drew. As Zack drew a sweeping curve of train track, his hand knocked over the jar of water. He and Kayla watched water streak across their drawing.

Zack: Our drawing is ruined（毁坏）！

Kayla: Don’t be so worried! Quick, mix the water and the chalk together! Now let’s use more chalk and smear（涂抹）it around.

Narrator: Kayla and Zack worked quickly. The smeared colours looked glorious, like rich, thick frosting on a cake.

Ms. Lee: That looks great! That’s a special method you’re using, kids. Are you two interested in taking part in the chalk-art festival tomorrow? The timetable for the festival says that drawing starts at 9:00 a.m.

Kayla and Zack: Sure!

Kayla: Tomorrow we’ll pour water over our drawing on purpose.

Zack: Then we’ll know just what to do!

After reading so much, you may wonder how to make a book. It’s time for you to have a try!

Have you ever wondered how a book is made? It takes a lot of people to make a book. It can take months, or even years, for a book to go from an idea to a finished product.

A book begins when an author comes up with an idea for a book. Authors get ideas in different ways. They may get ideas from their own lives, from watching the world around them, or from reading.

Next, an author may plan the book by making an outline （提纲）. Sometimes authors do research to gather information. They may read books or articles. They may interview people or visit places.

Then, the author begins to write. Authors may write for months or years to finish a manuscript. A manuscript is the text an author produces for publication.

Finally, the author sends the completed manuscript to a publisher. If the publisher decides to publish the book, the author works with an editor. An editor reads the manuscript. Then he or she recommends changes to improve the book. A copy editor reads the manuscript to correct any grammatical mistake.

After an author makes the suggested changes, a designer may decide how the book will look. The designer may choose the size, shape, and type styles for the book. Some picture book authors create their own illustrations（插图）. If not, an illustrator is chosen to create pictures for the book.

The illustrator makes sketches of pictures that will go on each page. The sketches are sent to the publishing company. The editor makes sure the pictures clearly tell the story. The designer checks how the words and pictures will fit together on the pages.

After the design changes are made, the illustrator begins creating the final pictures. He or she may change the colours, the perspective, or the composition of pictures. It may take months to create all the pictures.

The finished art is then sent to the publisher. The designer adjusts（调整）how the pictures and words fit together on the pages. The completed pages are sent to the printer. Many books are still made into books with paper pages.

The printer uses huge printing presses to make the pages. The pages are fixed together. The book cover is added. The finished books are then sent to the publisher’s warehouse. They are stored there until they are bought by libraries and bookstores.

E-readers have changed how some books are made. Some authors do not use a publisher at all. Instead of sending a manuscript to a publisher, some authors turn their manuscripts into eBooks themselves. Finally, an author’s eBook is uploaded（上传）to virtual bookstores on the Internet. Customers can buy and download eBooks from these websites.

A．	B．
C．	D．

Yesterday, I went to Chaotian Palace Plaza. There were different stands where artists could demonstrate their skills and teach the visitors! It was an
51． experience for me.

What caught my attention first was
52．, that is, making images out of paper. It was difficult, but a lot of fun! With help from the artist, I
53． to make one in the shape of a fish. Then I went into a section decorated
54． a traditional Chinese study, with two beautiful Chinese paintings of a pine tree and some bamboo hung
55．. There was also an old man writing Chinese calligraphy: his writing was so free and elegant!

Exams are a fact of school life for most people. Almost everyone worries about them and feels stressed, although they have prepared well.

A little stress caused by the exams is useful as it can sharpen your mind and motivate（激发）you to do well. But too much stress can stop you working to the best of your abilities, so it’s important not to let it get out of control. Here are some ideas to help you.

The keys to being prepared for exams and avoiding unnecessary exam stress are knowing what you need to know, planning and preparing for your revision（复习）, and giving yourself enough time to do it.

If you can, find a copy of the syllabus for each subject. This tells you what you need to know and gives you the topics for revision.

Make a week-by-week revision timetable chart to display in your work space. Include the topics you need to cover for each subject.

About 12 weeks before your first exam, record the dates and times for each of your exams in your planner or diary and make a copy to put on your wall at home.

During your exam period, you want your brain to work at its very best, so build in relaxation time before bed, avoid late night revision sessions and try to go to bed early so you get enough sleep. If panic（惊慌）starts to creep in, try to replace your negative thoughts with more positive（积极的）ones, such as ‘It’s going to be OK? If you have difficulty answering a question, leave it and move on to the next one—don’t spend time tying yourself in mental（思想上的）knots over each question.

You are not alone while dealing with the stress. Call psychological（心理的）hotline to share your worries and get help from others going through the same experience. Remember that there is life after exams. Things may feel stressful right now, but it won’t last forever. And then the rest of your life will still be there.

The problem some people have with homework is not that they find it too hard, or that it takes too long, but that they f
66． what they have to do and for when. This may be because they don’t write down exactly what n
67． to be done, or don’t make a note of when it has to be handed in.

If you have a planner for school, make good u
68． of it to record what you need to do. If not, use a diary or notebook to make notes of what has to be handed in and w
69．.

You could set up an “ in-tray”  system, so you can see what is w
70． to be done. This is a tray or shallow box where you put your homework each night until you are r
71． to do it.

Although no one exactly looks forward to doing homework, you will get it done more efficiently(高效地)if you are well o
72． and have time and space to concentrate(专注)on it.

For example, if your homework involves(需要)going online and you don’t have your o
73．computer, make sure you ‘book’ some time on the family computer, or can use one in your school library.

If you have space, set up a homework ‘office’ a
74． at home with a table or desk and a comfortable chair. It should have good light, a place for your books, and your homework ‘tool kit’.

It helps to get into a habit of doing homework early in the evening, and not l
75． it until the last minute at weekends. After you’ve done it, reward yourself with some fun, ‘down-time’ activities, such as some television or social networking time.

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This new global site is a place for students to share their ideas. We are looking for your beautiful school day to inspire（鼓舞）our readers. Did you help anyone at school? Did you enjoy a beautiful song in your art lesson? Did you have an amazing experience in the school lab? Your school life is full of beauty. Choose a beautiful school day. Write a passage to tell us what you did that day and why you think it was beautiful. Send your writing to us right now!

My Beautiful School Day

My school life is full of beauty. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________