英语短文

ChinaThe People’s Republic of China is a socialism country with its own characteristics. It is one of the developing countries.China lies in the east of Asia. It has a number of neighboring countries. To the north, northeast and northwest are the Mongolia, Russia and Korea. To the south are Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and the Philippine. To the west and southwest are India, Burma, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. To the east is Japan, which faces China across the East China Sea.China is a country with a vast territory. It has an area of over 9,600,000 square kilometers. It consists of 34 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Covernment.BeijingBeijingIf your visions of Beijing are centred around pods of Maoist revolutionaries in buttoned-down tunics performing t'ai chi in the Square, put them to rest: this city has embarked on a new-millennium roller-coaster and it's taking the rest of China with it.The spinsterish Beijing of old is having a facelift and the cityscape is changing daily. Within the city, however, you'll still find some of China's most stunning sights: the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven Park, the Lama Temple and the Great Wall, to name just a few.HongkongHong Kong has the big city specials like smog, odour, 14 million elbows and an insane love of clatter. But it's also efficient, hushed and peaceful: the transport network is excellent, the shopping centres are sublime, and the temples and quiet corners of parks are contemplative oases.Hong Kong has enough towering urbanity, electric streetscapes, enigmatic temples, commercial fervour and cultural idiosyncrasies to utterly swamp the senses of a visitor, and enough spontaneous, unexpected possibilities to make a complete mockery of any attempt at a strictly organised itinerary.MacauMacau may be firmly back in China's orbit, but the Portuguese patina on this Sino-Lusitanian Las Vegas makes it a most unusual Asian destination. It has always been overshadowed by its glitzy near-neighbour Hong Kong - which is precisely why it's so attractive.Macau's dual cultural heritage is a boon for travellers, who can take their pick from traditional Chinese temples, a spectacular ruined cathedral, pastel villas, old forts and islands that once harboured pirates. A slew of musuems will tell you how it all came about.ShanghaiAlthough the lights have been out for quite some time, Shanghai once beguiled foreigners with its seductive mix of tradition and sophistication. Now Shanghai is reawakening and dusting off its party shoes for another silken tango with the wider world.In many ways, Shanghai is a Western invention. The Bund, its riverside area, and Frenchtown are the best places to see the remnants of its decadent colonial past. Move on to temples, gardens, bazaars and the striking architecture of the new Shanghai.Xi'anXi'an was once a major crossroads on the trading routes from eastern China to central Asia, and vied with Rome and later Constantinople for the title of greatest city in the world. Today Xi'an is one of China's major drawcards, largely because of the Army of Terracotta Warriors on the city's eastern outskirts. Uncovered in 1974, over 10,000 figures have been sorted to date. Soldiers, archers (armed with real weapons) and chariots stand in battle formation in underground vaults looking as fierce and war-like as pottery can. Xi'an's other attractions include the old city walls, the Muslim quarter and the Banpo Neolithic Village - a tacky re-creation of the Stone Age. By train, Xi'an is a 16 hour journey from Beijing. If you've got a bit of cash to spare, you can get a flight.The lark and its young onesA child went up to a mother lark and said,'Good lark ,do you have children ?''Yes,child,I do,' said the mother lark,'and they are very pretty ones.'then she pointed to the little birds and said,'This is Fair Wing,that is Tiny Bill,and the third is Bright Eyes.''At home, we are three,'said the child ,'my two sisters and I.My mother says that we are pretty children,and she loves us.'To this the three little lark answered,'Oh,yes,our mother loves us ,too.''Good mother lark ,'said the child,'will you let Tiny Bill go home with me and play?'Before the mother lark could answer,Bright Eyes said ,'Yes,if you will send your little sister to play with us in our nest.'"Oh,she will be so sorry to leave home,'said the child.'She could not come away from our mother.''Tony Bill will be so sorry ti leava our nest,'answered Bright Eyes,'and he will not qo away from our mother.'Then the child ran away to her mother ,saying,'Ah,every one loves home!'The Wolf and the LambWolf, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf's right to eat him. He thus addressed him:"Sirrah, last year you grossly insulted me." "Indeed," bleated the Lamb in a mournful tone of voice, "I was not then born." Then said the Wolf , "You feed in my pasture." "No, good sir," replied the Lamb, "I have not yet tasted grass." Again said the Wolf, "You drink of my well." "No," exclaimed the Lamb, "I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother's milk is both food and drink to me." Upon which the Wolf seized him and ate him up, saying, "Well! I won't remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my imputations." The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.The Bat and the WeaselsA bat who fell upon the ground and was caught by a Weasel pleaded to be spared his life. The Weasel refused, saying that he was by nature the enemy of all birds. The Bat assured him that he was not a bird, but a mouse, and thus was set free. Shortly afterwards the Bat again fell to the ground and was caught by another Weasel, whom he likewise entreated not to eat him. The Weasel said that he had a special hostility to mice. The Bat assured him that he was not a mouse, but a bat, and thus a second time escaped.It is wise to turn circumstances to good account.。