In December 2021, people in Shenzhen found that water ran more slowly from their taps. The government (政府) said the city was facing its most serious water shortage (短缺) ever. Compared with northern areas, southern areas have more rain and are close to more rivers and lakes. So why are they still "thirsty"?

In big cities like Shenzhen, populations (人口) are growing fast. As a result, people and factories need more and more water. Each person in Shenzhen has less than 200 cubic meters of water each year. It's 1/12 of the country's average.    

Climate change is making the water problem worse. For example, most cities in Guangdong depend on (依赖于) the Dongjiang River as their main source (来源) of water. In 2021, the river was reported to be drying up. Because of climate change, there's also less snow in the mountains of Tibet. The snow has long been the source of water for many areas in China. Those mountains might provide less water in the future.

There are other reasons for water shortages. For example, water pollution makes it harder to get clean drinking water. Factories and farms don't use water efficiently (有效地). Some cities have enough rainfall, but don't have big lakes or reservoirs to store water. The water just goes into the sea.

A: Hi, Linda. Glad to see you!

B: Glad to see you, too.

A: I didn't see you yesterday.

B: Oh. I went to my friend's birthday party.

A:

B: It was Rose's.

A: Today is March 17th. Oh, I see. Her birthday is March 16th.

B: You’re right.

A:

B: We sang, danced and played games at the party.

A: Did you have a good time?

B: Yes, we did. All of us were very happy.

A:

B: We had the party in a restaurant.

A:  I will have my birthday party in a restaurant next time.

—________.

My   ▲   Life

—No, I don't.

    I am Dave. Some of my classmates are talking in the classroom.

Jill: My grandparents live on a farm. I went there with my sister. We stayed for seven days. The weather was usually sunny, so most of the time I played outside with my sister. On the farm, I milked cows, fed chickens and rode horses. I had a lot of fun. I think my trip was great.

Mark: I went to Shanghai with my parents. I wanted to visit some museums, but my parents wanted to go shopping. I didn't like going shopping. So I stayed in the hotel and watched TV all day. It was really a boring trip.

Anna: I think the best place for a holiday is the beach (海滩). I went to Sanya with my brother last year. The sand there was white, and it looked very beautiful. We built (建造) a big house with it. We swam and enjoyed the sunshine. We ate many kinds of seafood. They were delicious. The trip was great. I hope I can visit there again one day.

    We go to many places every day. 1 do you usually travel? Do you usually walk or ride a bike? In a modern city, there are many 2 for you to choose when you go travelling. If you are in a hurry, you can take a 3. Taxis don't 4 to stop at the bus stop. And the driver can take you to any 5 you want to go. 6travelling by taxi costs(花) much money. So you can also choose to take the underground. It is much faster than buses. You don't need to 7 a lot for it if you travel by underground. When you are not busy, you can take a bus, and then you can also 8 the scenery(风景) of the city on it. If you want to 9, travelling on foot or by bike 10 be good for you. Walking can make you healthy.

    Today, many people have cars. But do you think it is a good thing to have too many cars in the street?

    I like rainy days. Here some of the reasons (原因). I think that rain can the air cool off. No matter (无论) how hot it is. it gets cooler when it rains. I like opening my windows the cooler air in.

    I like the smell (气味) in the air when it first begins to rain. It's of clean and fresh. I like the sound of rain when it hits things. I like closing my eyes and to the rain coming down. and I like hearing sounds of rain. I like rainy days, because they give me an excuse (借口) to stay in and be lazy. That is one of the best in my daily life. I like reading a good book on a day.

    Here's another reason: I like rain it makes the grass green, and it helps the trees and flowers .

— I'd love to,       I can't. I have a lot of homework to do.

A：Hi，Vera．How was your holiday?

B：It was great．

A：Where did you go?

B： 

A：Really?Wow!What did you do there?

B：Well，I visited a lot of museums．

A：Oh，how were they?

B：They were really interesting． 

A：Did you go shopping?

B：Yes，I did．

A：   

B：Oh，they were very expensive．

A：How were the people? 

B：Yes．The people were really friendly．My parents have some Japanese friends，and we had dinner in their houses．

A： 

B：It was delicious．I love Japanese food!