Hummingbirds (蜂鸟) are very small birds. This small bird is quite an acrobat (杂技演员). Only a few birds, such as kingfishers and sunbirds, can hover, which means to stay in one place in the air. But no other bird can match the flying skills of the hummingbird. The hummingbird can hover, fly backward and fly upside down!

    Hummingbirds got their name because their wings move very quickly when they fly. This causes a humming sound. Their wings move so fast that you can't see them at all. This takes a lot of energy. These little birds must have food about every 20 minutes to have enough strength to fly. Their favorite food is nectar (花蜜). Nectar is the sweet water deep inside a flower. Hummingbirds use their long, thin bills to drink from flowers. When a hummingbird drinks nectar, it hovers in front of a flower. It never touches the flower with its wings or feet.

    Of all the birds in the world, the hummingbird's colors are among the brightest. Some are bright green with red and white markings. Some are purple. One kind of hummingbird can change its color from reddish-brown to purple to red!

    The hummingbird's nest is special, too. It looks like a small cup. The inside of the nest is very soft. This is because one of the things the mother bird uses to build the nest is the silk from a spider's web (蜘蛛网).

    We just love giving cards in Britain. If there's a special occasion coming up, there's no doubt that we'll be there, card in hand, to celebrate it. And this isn't just for birthdays; we also give cards when people are ill or when they have got a new job. And even if you forgot somebody's birthday, there are even "sorry it's late" cards. So you can pretty much find a card for any occasion.

    Before coming to Italy I had never even considered that our love for card giving might not be shared by other countries. In fact, my workmates told me that hardly anyone sends Christmas cards in Italy and that they actually don't really give birthday cards either! Unbelievable! In the UK, if a close friend or family member didn't get me a card I'd feel upset! However, the only place you can buy cards in Italy is in a shop which sells school things. In comparison, we have whole shops that sell them in the UK and we even have different types of card shops.

    Although cards can take up your time, from choosing the perfect one, to thinking up the personal message inside, I think it's a really nice gesture. And especially with Christmas cards, it adds to that festive feeling. When I sit down to write countless cards to friends and family, I get that little bit happier that it will be Christmas soon! Especially when I see my own Christmas cards, proudly sitting on my desk wishing me a very merry Christmas.

    Of course, the problem comes when they're no longer needed, when Christmas is over. It makes me sad just to throw them all away, so I try and hang on to my favorite ones.

    People are always looking for lost cities and occasionally one is found: Borobudur in Indonesia, for example. But perhaps some of the places people look for never existed — or did they? Here are just a few famous mythical (传说中的) cities.

    El Dorado

    El Dorado is a story that began in 1537, when Spanish explorers found the Muisca people in the mountains of what is now Colombia. They heard the story of a man who covered himself with gold and dived into a lake. Then people began to talk of El Dorado — 'the golden man'. Soon people started to think of El Dorado as a place, too — a city of gold and amazing riches. Nowadays, the name 'El Dorado' is still used to mean 'a place where you can get rich quickly'.

    Atlantis

    There was once an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was the mythical island of Atlantis. The people of the island were very rich, thanks to the natural resources (资源) on their island. For hundreds of years, they lived simple lives. But slowly they began to change. They started to want power. So the gods decided to destroy Atlantis. Suddenly, the island and its people were swallowed (淹没) by the sea and were never seen again.

    Shambhala

    In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala is a mystical (神秘的) country that is hidden somewhere behind the Himalayas. Shambhala is a word from an old language that means 'place of peace' or 'place of happiness'. It is said that there is no war in Shambhala, and in the future, when the world is full of war, a huge army will come out of Shambhala, destroy the world's bad rulers, and start a new Golden Age. Some people say this will happen in 2424.

    With Disney parks recently raising their ticket prices to $89 now is the perfect time to start thinking about smaller, regional theme parks. Here are four theme parks where the daily price of adult admission is under $50.

    Luna Park, Coney Island, NY.

    How much you spend in enjoying Luna Park really depends on which rides you choose to go on. For anyone as indecisive as I am, stick with the $29 four-hour Unlimited Luna Park Ride Wristband or the $39 Ride and Play package, a four-hour unlimited ride wristband that comes with a $20 game card.

    Dorney Park, Allentown, PA.

    Dorney Park is a popular theme park located about an hour outside of Philadelphia. Kids love Planet Snoopy, a fun area with attractions centered around the lovable Snoopy. Adult tickets are available online for $39.99 (or at the gate for $49.99) and kids are $27.99 online or ($29.99 at the gate). You can also buy a Starlight Admission ($27.99 online or at the gate), good for visits between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. during the summer months when the park is open late, or from 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. when the park closes earlier.

    Knotts Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA.

    Home to some of the country's craziest rides, Knotts Berry Farm also has calmer, more family-friendly rides. Ages 12-61 get in for $39.99 when tickets are bought online, while children ages 3-11 and adults over 62 pay $26.99.

    Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, CA.

    Sitting on the warm beaches of Santa Cruz — about 90 minutes south of San Francisco — the Boardwalk is home to big roller coasters, mini-golf, enough food and games to keep people of all ages busy. The best part? An all-day unlimited rides wristband is only $31.95.

How to make a successful apology

    Have you done something that you feel bad about? Is there a person who you have treated badly? Do you need to say "I am sorry" to someone? Here are five things you can do to have a successful apology.

    Make your apology real.       People can tell if you take responsibility for what you did or if you are lying.

    Do not make excuses.      It is saying that you were wrong to do it.

          An apology should show that you have learned from what you did. Show that you mean what you say.

    Make it clear that you are apologizing. Just saying "I am sorry" is not enough. Talk about what you did and then say that you feel bad about doing it.       

    Be prepared for the unexpected. Be prepared for it to take some time for your apology to be accepted. This may be a long moment, a few minutes, or even days or weeks. The person may stay angry with you.        

A. Be patient and hopeful.

B. Make a promise to change.

C. Choose the right time to apologize.

D. An apology will be better accepted if it is sincere.

E. An apology is not explaining why you did something.

F. You can give your apology to the other person as a letter.

G. It is important that the person knows you are apologizing.

    When Dave was eighteen, he bought a secondhand car for 200 so that he could travel to and from work more1 than by bus. It worked quite well for a few years, but then it got so old, and it was costing him 2much in repairs that he decided that he had better3it.

    He asked among his friends to see if anyone was particularly4 to buy a cheap car, but they all knew that it was falling to pieces, so5of them had any desire to buy it. Dave's friend Sam saw that he was 6 when they met one evening, and said, "What's 7, Dave?"

    Dave told him, and Sam answered, "Well, what about advertising it in the paper? You may8more for it that way than the cost of the advertisement!" Thinking that Sam's9was sensible(合理的),he put an advertisement in an evening paper, which read "For sale: small car, 10 very little petrol, only two owners. Bargain at 50."

    For two days after the advertisement first appeared, there was no 11.But then on Saturday evening he had an enquiry(询问).A man rang up and said he would like to12 him about the car. "All right," Dave said, feeling happy. He asked the man whether ten o'clock the next morning would be13or not. "Fine," the man said, "and I'll 14my wife. We intend to go for a ride in it to 15it."

    The next morning, at a quarter to ten, Dave parked the car in the square outside his front door, 16to wait there for the people who had17 his advertisement. Even Dave had to18that the car really looked like a wreck(残骸).Then, soon after he had got the car as clean19 it could be, a police car stopped just behind him and a policeman got out. He looked at Dave's car and then said, "Have you reported this 20 to us yet, sir?"

    Samuel Langhorne Clemens, more commonly        (know) as Mark Twain, was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida. Twain is considered       greatest author and humorist of the 19th-century American literature (文学).

    In 1839 the Clemens family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, on the Mississippi River where he was brought       . Like many authors of his day he had little formal education. His education came from the print shops and newspaper offices        he worked as a youth. In 1853 Twain left Hannibal to travel. On a trip to New Orleans he persuaded a riverboat pilot        (teach) him his skill. By the spring of 1859 Twain was a licensed riverboat pilot.

    After a(n)        (success) attempt at gold and silver mining he joined the staff of a newspaper in Virginia City, Nevada. He first wrote under the pen name Mark Twain in 1863. 

    He continued to travel as a reporter for various newspapers, and in 1869 his travel letters from Europe        (collect) into the popular book The Innocents Abroad. Between 1873 and 1889 he wrote seven novels        (include) his Mississippi River books.

           Twain's life and career progressed he lost much of the humorous style of his earlier years. What was expressed more and more in his later works was        human beings are selfish. Even so Twain is best remembered as a great humorist.

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。

修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

    As a service dog, Sandy's job is help manage a medical condition I have. My condition can be dangerously. When something bad happen, Sandy will tell my parents immediately. Of course, I help take care of Sandy, too. I feed him, walk him, but even take him just about everywhere I go. If I don't bring Sandy to me, he will get upset. Once he stays with my grandparents for a few hours while my parents and I went to the beach. Sandy was upset in the whole time. He never stopped look for me. When I got home, he was such happy that he rushed to me. I love his dog very much.

1）学习的重要性； 2）如何面对目前的困难。

注意：1）词数120左右； 2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3）信的开头和结尾已经给出，但不计入总词数。

Dear Lucy,

    I am sorry to hear that you have decided to drop out of school.

    Looking forward to your reply.

Yours,

Li Hua