初三英语口语朗读材料

初三英语口语朗读材料

初三英语口语朗读材料 1. ‎ Shopping is popular with many people around the world. They seem to find new ways to buy things every day. They visit shopping malls, order things through the mail, or buy things on the Internet. People's shopping habits are always changing!‎ For young people, one of the most popular ways to shop is to use a vending machine. These machines offer all kinds of things and you can find them everywhere. In the USA, there are vending machines which sell CDs. New CDs are put in the machine every week. The strangest product on sale from a vending machine is in Japan. Just put your coins in the vending machine in Tokyo, press the button, and out comes a "kabutomushi", that is, a black beetle. You keep it as a pet!‎ 2. ‎ When you shop at a supermarket, you may not be aware of all the planning which has been devoted to its design. Although they seem like simple places, actually they are filled with lots of clever traps for the customers.‎ For example, supermarket put their products in special places. Small treats such as sweets are always placed by the checkout. Mothers with small children often have to wait in a queue there. If they do not buy any sweets for their children, they are made to feel mean and unkind.‎ 3. ‎ Last Saturday afternoon, Mum and I went to do the family shopping as usual. On our way to the supermarket, we came across a group of people in black T-shirts. The message on their T-shirts said, "DON'T SHOP!" One of them came to us, "Come in and have a look around our shop. We've got exactly what you need today." Mum cannot resist a new shop, so we went in. The little shop was painted all black inside, but the shelves were completely empty. There was nothing! We thought it was a joke.‎ As we were about to leave, the man said, "We're serious. It's `Don't Shop Day` today. We want people to try to have one day in the year when they don't go shopping. We all buy too much!"‎ 4. ‎ Every 26 April, bankers across the USA go back to school. They do not go to learn,‎ ‎ but to teach primary and secondary school students how to handle their money. They say that education and money management skills are the key to a better life.‎ In the USA, children, especially teenagers, are often big spenders. Few teenagers have any savings. Most of them spend money as fast as they can. Nearly all will continue their spending habits when they grow up.‎ For this reason, bankers want to teach children proper money management while they are still young. They show students how to make smart decisions about money. They explain to them how to balance their expenses against their income. Of course, students are also taught how to invest and save money.‎ 1. ‎ My favourite sport is basketball. The game was invented in the winter of ‎1891 in America by Dr James Naismith. He nailed two peach baskets to the wall. His students used a heavy soccer ball to play the game. It immediately attracted attention and quickly grew popular. Over the years, there have been many rule changes. Teams had nine players at first. In the 1920s there was a cage around the court, so the ball could not go out of play. The game was more violent then, and players often hurt themselves.‎ Today, the NBA in the United States is the top basketball league in the world. It features the sport's most famous names. The speed, power and excitement of the matches attract millions of fans all over the planet.‎ 2. ‎ The ancient Olympic Games began in Greece over 2000 years ago. The first athletes were all men, and they competed in many events, such as jumping, throwing and boxing. They were loved as great heroes. The most important event was the marathon. The winner was always remembered in poems.‎ The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens‎, ‎Greece in 1896. Only a few countries took part. However, the Games were very popular because they were exciting and they encouraged important values like healthy competition and air play. The Olympics soon grew into a huge international event. Many new sports have been added to the Games and today thousands of athletes take part.‎ 1. ‎ I have only skied for four days in my whole life, but it is my favourite sport! Last year I got straight A's and as a reward my Dad said I could go for a special holiday anywhere I wanted.‎ My dream was to see some real snow, so during the Christmas holidays we flew to South Korea and went to the famous Muju Ski Resort. When we reached the resort, we quickly got off the bus and ran through the snow. No one in my family had ever touched snow before. We were all like little children- we picked it up, made snowballs, and threw them at each other! People were speeding down the hills nearby. We could not wait to try it ourselves!‎ 2. ‎ British teenagers love sports. They wear the official shirts of their favourite football teams, they play sports games for the big matches on TV. But very few of them get the chance to play the sport they love regularly. Our school sports centre is trying to change this. This week is Sports Week, and the school sports centre is inviting students to sign up for a sports club! Students can choose from volleyball, basketball, rugby, football, and other sports.‎ Lots of students think they are too unfit to join a club, but I think they are just making excuses! Anyone can get fit if they are willing to put in some effort. Once student join a club, they will receive advice on how to keep fit. Also, joining a club will give them a reason to keep making an effort, so they will be less likely to quit after a week or two.‎ 3. ‎ My topic is "Fashion". By fashion, we usually mean popular styles of dress at a particular time. Fashion is an important part of a person's identity. To aid my talk, I have brought along some objects for you to look at.‎ This is my overcoat. Doesn't it look lovely? It's one of my favourite pieces of clothing. It is very comfortable as it's made of cotton. It is elegant and simple in design. It will not go out of style for a long time. It was a little expensive, but I think it was worth it. High price and better quality often go together. The most important reason why I bought this overcoat is that it suits me and makes me look good.‎ 1. ‎ School uniforms are not very common in the USA. In 1987, Cherry Hill Primary School in Maryland went against tradition. It became the first state school in the USA to make students wear uniforms. The school did this to reduce the trouble caused by student fashions. This programme has helped to improve safety and discipline. Other schools are hopeful that Cherry Hill's approach will benefit their students too. By 2000, 12 per cent of American state schools required school uniforms.‎ The introduction of school uniforms has helped to reduce school violence. Much of school violence is linked to the clothes which different youth gangs wear. In schools with youth gangs, the numbers of fights decreased by 40 per cent after uniforms were introduced.‎ 2. British people are known for being very formal. People around the world talk about the "English gentleman", a polite man always wearing a suit and tie! Many British people actually dress more casually these days, but clothing is still an important part of culture in the UK. People like to look neat and tidy, because dressing well is important if you want to be respected by others.‎ Although British people like to wear casual and comfortable clothes in normal life, they really enjoy getting dressed up for formal occasions. A good example of this is the famous horse race at Ascot. The Queen and her family attend, so people have to look their best if they want to be noticed by the TV cameras! Women always make a special effort to wear the smartest dress and the craziest hat.‎ ‎12. We had a meeting after school. Lucy, Tony, Joyce, Jessica and I were at the meeting. First, we decided to elect the chief editor. Tony suggested Joyce. He said, “We should choose Joyce because she has experience. She was the editor of her class newspaper last year.” Then we all voted for her. We elected Joyce to be the chief editor. Then Joyce took charge of the meeting. She said, “We ought to elect a secretary now.” she asked for suggestions. Jessica said, “Ben should be the secretary, because he has experience too. He was the secretary of the Music club last year.” Then the others voted for me. They elected me to be the secretary. I started taking notes. Joyce said, “Lucy, Tony and Jessica, you will be editors of the paper. You will ‎ be responsible for different sections of the paper.”‎ ‎13. I wanted to see Jill again, so on my way home from work; I stopped at a telephone box and called her. I invited her to the cinema that evening. She agreed to go with me, so we arranged to meet outside the cinema at seven o’clock. At around quarter to six I put on my jacket and hat and left the house. I locked the door, but I forgot to turn off the light in the living room. At that time of day, it is very difficult to get a taxi. I could not find one, so I took the bus instead. I arrived at the cinema around ten minutes early. Next to the cinema is a bookshop, so I went in to look around while I waited for Jill. I started reading a book about world-famous crimes. It was really interesting! In fact, it was so interesting that I forgot the time. I was late. ‎ ‎14. Yesterday was a very busy day. I solved two cases. The first case was about a bank robbery. A man entered a bank in the city centre with a gun. He took away thousands of dollars. The bank manager called the police, but it was too late. The robber got away. The suspect in the case was Tim Smith. At first, Tim denied being the robber. He said he was watching a film in the cinema at the time of the robbery. However, I had proof. One of the customers in the bank at that time took a photo. It showed Tim Smith in the bank, carrying a gun. I showed the photo to Tim. He then admitted his crime.‎ ‎15. We give computer instructions by putting different programs into it. “Computer programmers” write computer programs. It is essential for these people not to make mistakes. Otherwise, the computer will not work well. A computer needs different programs to do different jobs. For example, playing games, writing letters and drawing pictures all need different programs. There are also different languages for different programs. To write a program, people need to know this language. Sometimes a computer programmer may know many different languages. However, computer languages are not spoken languages like Chinese or English but written language. Also, only the computer and the programmer can understand them! ‎ ‎16. A research team in the USA first had the idea of linking computers together in the 1960s. They wanted computers in universities, research departments and the military ‎ to communicate with each other and share information. At that time, computers were bigger than fridges. People could not move them easily. Computers were also complicated and difficult to use. Slowly, more and more people started to link computers together. Then businessmen started to use the Internet too. Today, people all over the world are using the Internet. There is a range of services on the Internet. For example, we can use it to communicate with other people. The most popular way to communicate is through electronic mail, or “e-mail”. We can also use services such as MSN messenger or Skype.‎ ‎17. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to “History for a minute”. Tonight, we are going to talk about the ancient Olympic Games. The first Olympic Games happened thousands of years ago in Greece. People started the Olympic Games to shoe respect to the gods. They would pray to their gods in the morning and have the games in the afternoon. The first Olympic Games only lasted for one day! In modern times, The Olympic Games lasted for two weeks. In the modern Olympics, we have many different kinds of sports, but in the ancient Olympic Games, there were only about ten kinds of sports. One last fact--- thousands of years ago, married women could not watch the games. Otherwise, they would be punished!‎ ‎18. One evening, Grandpa said, “I have a friend. His name is Henry Day, but everyone calls him Happy. Happy travels widely. When he comes to a new place, he opens a pet shop and begins selling African Ghost Fish. “According to Happy, these are the world’s only invisible fish, and they need no food. Once a year, the female Ghost Fish lays eggs. Then, while everything is quiet, she becomes visible. But, in no time, she’s gone again. You will be very fortunate to see her, because she’s the most beautiful creature alive. “After Happy tells his customers this story, his fish tanks sell very quickly. When Happy sells out of fish tanks, he usually leaves for another town.”‎ ‎19. In 1904, Mrs. Bess Clark of Washington State, the USA, saw a long, dark tree trunk in a lake. As she moved closer, she saw the trunk moving in the water. It looked very frightening. Mrs. Clark described seeing a strange creature. It was black in color, with a head in the shape of a triangle, round eyes, and a long tail. Based on her description, scientists regarding it as a kind of sea dinosaur. They called it Bess. Since ‎ then, many people saw Bess in the same lake. They described Bess as a dark, snake-like creature with a long tail. John Lee has studied strange creatures and monsters all his life. In 1990, he set up the camera near the lake to try to film Bess. ‎ ‎20. Once upon a time, there lived an old fish man and his wife. They were poor and lived in an old hut near the sea. One morning, something unusual happened—the fisherman caught a small, golden fish in his net. The fish begged the fisherman to let him go and offered to grant the fisherman’s wishes in return. However, that man was kind and asked for nothing before returning the fish to the sea. The man went home and told his wife about the wonderful thing. She shouted at him angrily and sent him back to the sea to catch the fish again and ask for a new bucket because theirs was broken. The sun shone brightly as the man did this. When he returned, he saw a new bucket.‎ ‎21. Wang Damin sits on the side of the river. He is cooking a meal, with a large bird on his head. The bird is a cormorant, and Damin is a fisherman. He is over 60 now but still works every day and is strong enough to control his raft on the river. He livers and works with his cormorants on this river. Cormorants are large, black birds, about a metre long. They are good at catching fish because they can swim well under water. Their large feet are used to push them quickly through the water. Damin does not require nets to catch fish. That is done for him by his twelve cormorants. Damin begins his work on his bamboo raft with his birds in the late afternoon. The birds swim down and catch fish. A piece of grass is tied around the neck of each bird, so it cannot swallow the fish.‎ ‎22. Our future on Earth looks very bad. We are dumping waste on our land. We can’t breathe the air. The sea is polluted too. I visited some relatives recently in a small village. They grow their own food and cycle everywhere. They are not wealthy, but they are happy and healthy. We must close the factories producing useless products. That would reduce rubbish and air pollution. We must recycle more, give up all cars, and improve public transport. A big problem is overpopulation in big cities. We must give up big cities and factories, and get back to a simple way of life.‎ ‎23. Lang Lang is one of the youngest and most famous pianists of our time. The New York Times said “He is stunning”. However, Lang Lang’s story is much more interesting than this simple sentence. Lang Lang was born in ‎1982 in Shenyang‎, ‎China. He was watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon on television when he was first heard Western classical music. He was only two years old then. Lang Lang began taking piano lessons at thee age of three. He won first prize in the Shenyang Piano competition only two years later. From then on, he won many awards.‎ ‎24. Winter is behind us and people are starting to plan their summer holidays. This year, why not visit France? France is a big country, with coasts on three sides. You can swim at its good beaches. It also has many mountains, so you can go skiing. In central France, they grow crops such as sunflowers. One of the most scenic areas of central France is the Loire‎ ‎Valley. Kings and queens used to live in the old castles there. Paris, the capital of France, is one of most beautiful cities in the world. The Eiffel‎ ‎Tower and the Arc de Triomphe are world-famous. ‎ ‎25. I have had a great time travelling the world, and have learnt a lot about the eating habits of people in different countries. In China for example, use chopsticks to ear with. They have eaten this way for thousands of years, but I found chopsticks very difficult to use. Chinese cooks usually cut the food into small pieces, and put each dish on a different plate. At dinner, everyone sits at a round table. The hostess puts the dishes of food in the middle of the table, and everyone helps themselves with chopsticks or spoons. In Shanghai, I saw people eat chicken’s feet and smelly tofu. I have not seen this kind of food in the UK.‎ ‎26. Tea is the most popular drink in the world after water. There are thousands of different types of tea. All tea comes from the leaves and buds of the tea plant. After picking, tea farmers process them into black tea, oolong tea, green tea or white tea. Black tea was invented in China in the Ming Dynasty as a way to keep tea fresh. As tea to travel a long distance to reach places such as the UK, Canada and Australia, Westerners drink mostly black tea. However, the majority of the world drinks green tea. Herbal tea is not really tea. It contains herbs, fruits, spices, etc., but no leaves ‎ from the tea plant. To truly be tea, the leaves must come from this plant.‎ ‎27. Throughout the history of mankind, people have communicated with body language. Although you probably don’t realize you are doing it, you use your hands and the rest of your body every time you talk to someone. In many situations, what you say with your eyes is more important than what comes out of your mouth.. Eye contact is one of the most important forms of body language. It can be the key to successful communication. It can show whether a person is friendly or unfriendly, interested or bored, clear or confused. However, eye contact can mean different things in different cultures.‎ ‎28. Films are everywhere. We see famous film stars in newspapers and on TV every day. Many young people like to go to the cinema, and a new film is often an important social event. There are film festivals in many big cities and some schools have their own film clubs. Films are certainly important for many teenagers. They often tell an exciting or fantastic story and they can give people a lot of pleasure. Films can also tell a complete story in just a couple of hours. So they are useful if you don’t have time to read a very long book! Sometimes they are also important to help young people learn new information. Films can help us understand the culture of our society or of anther country’s society. Many students in China like to watch foreign films to help them improve their English, for example, or to understand their foreign friends better.‎ ‎29. I’ve been in an Australian school for just over three weeks now. I’m here as part of an educational exchange with my school in China. I’ve noticed that Australian people and Chinese people have very different ideas about education. In China, students are often very quiet in class. They don’t think that it is polite to disturb the teacher or to shout out answers to questions. My Australian classmates have the opposite idea. They are often quite loud in class and like to give their opinions to the teacher. At first I felt a bit shy about speaking English in front of so many people. I was worried that I might say something silly. Although it’s been hard for me. I’ve realized that this is simply the way people are in Australia.‎ ‎30. My parents give me a generous amount of pocket money every month. If I spend it all before the end of the month, they complain a little and sometimes there’s an argument. But they always give me more. I hardly ever do the housework. Sometimes my mother asks me to clean my room if she’s very busy, but she always gives me money or a present for helping her. After all, the housework is the job of the parents, isn’t it? I get lots of presents. I’ve got an MP3 player, a digital camera, a computer and lots of games and clothes. They buy me all the latest fashions. They never say “NO”. They want me to have a happy childhood. It’s an advantage to have my own TV. I can watch it for hours, and no one disturbs me. I watch it for about fifteen hours each week.‎ ‎31. Some people have a lot of hair, while others have thin hair or are bald on top of their heads. However, hair problems can affect anyone of they have an unhealthy diet or lifestyle. Are you happy with the hair you have? If you are not, try the following advice. The first step to a healthier head of hair is to make sure you are eating the right kids of food. Lack of protein and iron can secretly rob your hair of its shiny beauty. You need to eat enough green vegetables and fruit. Drinking plenty of water is also important to help prevent your hair from getting dry. Doctors suggest you drink eight to ten glasses each day.‎ ‎32. Although people often say that looks are not everything, we have to admit that they mean something. Our first impression of many people is based on appearance. We judge them by their clothes and their make-up. We also judge them by their hair. There are many popular ideas about women with certain kinds of hair, though they may not be correct or reasonable. Women with long blonde hair, for example, are sometimes thought of as more attractive and less intelligent, while women with darker hair are considered smarter and more fun-loving. Women with short hair are seen as confident and outgoing. ‎ ‎33. Comic books have been around for many years. Their history dates back to Ancient Egypt. This form of art has been popular in many cultures throughout history. Now, comics are big business. The comics industry is worth more than 5.3 billion ‎ yuan. Seven million new comics are sold every month in the UK and the USA alone. Old comics are collectors’ items and can be very valuable. The first comic with “Batman” in it, from 1939, is worth over 1.2 million yuan. There are only thirty copies of the comic still in existence and only three copies in really good condition. The comic character “Superman” first appeared in a comic in 1938. There are only three copies in existence and each one is worth over 1.1 million yuan. To get any money at all for a comic it must be in good condition. If it is torn or broken, it will not be worth anything.‎ ‎34. Today, weight problem, heart trouble and many forms of cancer are becoming more common because of unhealthy diets. Everywhere, people are thinking about how they can eat more healthily. There are many different answers to this question. Some people think that sugar is bad for your health. Others say that sugar is the best source of energy. Some people eat meat while others are vegetarians. It is difficult to say who is right.‎ Most doctors agree on one thing, however: you need a balanced diet to stay healthy. A balanced diet means eating various foods from each of the five food groups: grains, vegetables, fruit, milk products, and meat. The importance of having various foods in your diet is quite clear. Doctors warn us that a lack of certain kinds of foods is dangerous. Your body cannot work properly without a balanced diet .On the hand, having too much of anything, including your favourite food, is dangerous too. Doctors say, for example, if people eat lots of food such as cheeseburgers and butter, they are likely to become fat. This may increase the risk of a heart attack.‎ ‎35. One of the most popular fashion items in history is the T-shirt. T-shirt appeared about two hundred years ago. They became very fashionable in the 1950s after Hollywood actors stared wearing them. T-shirt is popular with people of all ages, because they do not cost much money and they are comfortable to wear.‎ One study says that US companies produce about 50million T-shirt a year, with a total value of US$ 3.5billion.There are many reasons why people buy so many T-shirt. Some people like to bring T-shirt back from their holidays, so others know they have ‎ been somewhere nice. Other people like T-shirts because wearing them is a good way to express their interests. People may like a certain sports team, support an sentimental cause, or enjoy rock music. Whatever their interests are, people can easily find a T-shirt with a suitable message or picture. Some classic T-shirt designs include Mickey Mouse from the 1960s, and big smiley faces from the 1970s.‎ ‎36. Do you want to continue your education, but do not have enough time to go to a school? Independent learning is one solution available to you. It differs from normal classes and is often described as “a class of one”, because you study alone. You study at your own pace, at a time and place convenient for you. These courses can help you get a degree, develop your career, or learn more about something that interests you.‎ One type of independent learning is the correspondence course. In such a course, a school sends you textbooks, study guides, and materials such as video and audio discs. You communicate with your teacher by post. Your teacher reads your papers and makes corrections. Your marks are recorded by the school before they are mailed back to you. You can consult your teacher by telephone if you need help. Teachers are always happy to offer their support.‎ ‎37. I’m English and I have taught English in China for many years. I have also published several English language textbooks. I would like to share my thoughts with you on learning English.‎ To become good at English, you need plenty of practice. Try to use the English you learn in everyday situations. For example, after you learn how to ask politely for a cup of tea, you should look for a chance to use this English. You will get a cup of tea if you say it right! Confidence comes from success. People who do not try will never be successful.‎ ‎38. It is easy to begin a night school course, but it is another thing to stick with it to the end. Many people miss classes because the weather is bad, or the sofa is too comfortable! Here is some advice to make your night school class a success.‎ Most important of all, choose something you are really interested in. If you find a ‎ course fun and enjoyable, you night school class a success.‎ Next, think about things such as location and times. You will probably cut classes if you have make two bus journeys, or if you have to dash there straight after you finish work or school. Take a course that is close to home and starts at a time that suits You Also, make a list of all your important obligations so you are sure you can spare enough time for night school.‎ ‎39. First, remember that humans are just another kind of animal. So if you want to understand body language, start by looking at other animals.‎ Animals show their feelings with their faces and bodies—if they show their teeth and raise their backs, that means they're angry. Humans do many of these things, too. You can usually tell whether tell whether someone is happy or angry, relaxed or nervous, proud or ashamed, just by looking at them. Words are not always necessary.‎ We only have observed our pets to see how close animal and human body languages are. When a cat is feeling confident, it will stand very tall and point its nose into the air. Humans do the same thing when they are feeling proud. They lift their heads and rush out their chins.‎ ‎40. James is in Grade 9 at a secondary school in Guangzhou. He is a gifted student and he has lots of friends, but he also has a problem. Some older know what to do about it. I want to offer some guidance to James, and any other teenagers in this situation.‎ ‎ Most importantly, don’t feel ashamed if you get bullied. It is not your fault! Being bullied can make you feel very lonely and angry, but you are not alone. Don’t feel that you have to hide the problem. Find a person you can trust, and tell them. It might be your teacher, your parents, or even your friend’s parents. After you tell someone, you will get some support and feel some relief.‎ ‎41. Theatre is popular around the world. British theatre is especially well known because of William Shakespeare and his plays. Although Shakespeare created famous plays such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet over 400 years ago, they are still loved today. In Shakespeare’s time, however, theatre performances were very different to modern ones.‎ ‎ Traditional theatres in the UK were round and had a stage in the middle. There was no roof above the stage, so when it rained everyone got very wet. Strangely, all ‎ the actors were male. Even the female characters were played by men! If the audience liked the play, they threw money onto the stage. If they didn’t enjoy it, they threw smelly old vegetables.‎ ‎42. Albert Einstein was extremely clever and achieved many great things in his life and career, but he was still only human. In fact, he spent so much time considering scientific puzzles that he often paid no attention to the world around him. For example, some days he would go out wearing his sweater backwards.‎ ‎ One afternoon, Einstein was walking home from work. At the same time, a 12-year-old girl was walking home from school. Soon Einstein and the girl were walking side by side.‎ ‎43. Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist and the inventor of dynamite. He owned a large company that made bombs for the Swedish army. He was also interested in world events and knew six different languages. When he died in 1896, he left behind a fortune of about US$ 9 million. Following the instructions in his will, most of this money was later used to set up the world-famous Nobel Prize.‎ ‎ Nobel said in his will that the prizes should honour “the most important discoveries or inventions” in physics, chemistry and medicine and “the most outstanding works” in literature. The process of selecting winners is complex. Experts in each field look at a list of candidates for an award. After many months of interviews and consideration, the experts finally make up their minds.‎ ‎44. This is the Venus Flytrap. It is a very dangerous plant for insects such as flies! It has very sensitive leaves which work as traps. There are hairs on the leaves. If fly touches one of these hairs, the leaves will shut together immediately. Insects often try to escape from it, but the plant is much faster than them. They are quickly caught, and then the plant slowly eats them. ‎ ‎ The Venus Flytrap looks very strange, but remember that plants come in all shapes and sizes. Some are so small that you cannot even see them, while others can be very big, such as the Giant Redwood tree in California. One Giant Redwood there ‎ stands 84 metres high. Scientists say that it weighs about two thousand tones. No other type of tree grows higher than the Giant Redwood.‎ ‎45. Hi! Your name and address are in Pen friends magazine. I would like to be your pen friend. My name is Simon. My Chinese name is Li Peichun. I am twelve years old. How old are you? I am ‎163cm. I have short black hair and brown eyes. My hobby is playing chess.‎ I live with my parents in the UK. They are from Beijing. My parents own a Chinese restaurant in Newcastle. We live in a house near our restaurant. I can speak Chinese, but I can not write it very well. I have a brother. His name is Edwin. He is 23. He works as an accountant in London. How many people are there in your family? What do they do?‎ ‎46. The Paris Opera House is a huge building. Beneath the building there is a strange, dark lake. On this lake is an island. On that island, one hundred years ago, lived the phantom. He was so ugly at birth that his own mother made him wear a mask. She force him to leave home while he was still a child. He spent years wandering around Paris until he built his home on the island. Amazingly, this monster of a man loved singing and had a wonderful voice. The phantom fell in love with Christine, a beautiful young singer at the Opera. He often stood near her room late at night and sang to her. He even helped her improve her singing and become the Opera's most popular singer. Christine could not see the Phantom, and thought that he must be an angel. ‎ ‎47. A computer needs different programs to do different jobs. For example, playing games, writing letters and drawing pictures all need different programs. There are also different languages for different programs. To write a program, people need to know this language. Sometimes a computer programmer may know many different languages. However, computer languages are not spoken language like Chinese or English but written languages. Also, only the computer and the programmer can understand them!‎ Last Sunday, our school’s girls’ volleyball team played and won their last game. The other team, from No. 7 Middle School, played very well, but in the end they lost the game. Many excited fans from both schools watched the game.‎ ‎48. Zhen Hui studies in a middle school in Guangzhou. Every day, she wakes up at six o’clock in the morning. She quickly brushes her teeth and washes her face. Then she reads English for half an hour. She has breakfast at seven o’clock. She usually has two pieces of bread and a glass of milk. ‎ After breakfast, Zhen Hui goes to school. She lives near school and always walks there. She usually gets to school at eight o’clock, and usually has six lessons. Zhen Hui loves English very much, and always gets an A. She usually gets a B in her other subjects.‎ ‎49. There are billions of stars in the sky---but you can only see about 3,000 with your own eyes. ‎ Get a map of the stars and begin to find your way through the sky. In different seasons, you can see different groups of stars. The shapes of these groups never change. It is easy to learn the name of each group. When you know these, you may start to look at the stars inside each group. Not all stars are the same. Some are big, and some are small. Some look white, some look red and some look blue.‎ ‎50. The boys stand behind us. Sun Fei wears glasses too. He is a painter. His paintings are very beautiful. He is also a basketball player on the school team. Our school team often wins the Middle School Championship in the city. Wang Gang is a very good swimmer. He practises every morning and night. He wants to be one of the best swimmers in the world. He is the boy next to Chen Yu. Chen Yu is the tallest boy in the class. He is good at tennis. His favourite tennis player is Roger Federer. Li Ming is the boy on the right. He is not very good at sports, but he is very friendly to everyone around him. We all like him a lot. ‎