A new school term begins, Is anything new at your school? Sichuan students are getting an extra (额外的)hour to sleep in the morning.
This year, Sichuan schools decided that students should start classes later. This should help them feel less tired, For Junior high schools, the first classes will begin no earlier than 8:30 am.
The changes have made students happy.
Liu Xian, 15, said his class was excited by the news on the first day of school. “It’s so good we can get up later!” said Liu.
Liu studies in Chengdu No.4 Middle School. He used to get up at 6:40 am. Now he can get up at 7:40 am because class doesn’t start until 8:40 am.
Wu Hongli, 15, said the new timetable is good for her health. “I used to drink coffee every night or I would feel to sleepy to finish my homework, ”said Wu. “Now I can finish it without coffee.”She used to get up at 6:30 am. Now she can get up at 7:30 am.
Wu Hongli’s mother was happy, too. She thought more sleep would help her daughter grow taller.
But some parents worried that more sleep would mean less learning. There used to be five classes in the morning. Now there are only four.
Many teachers, though, say the changes will help students learn better.
“Students used to doze(瞌睡)for the first two classes in the morning,”said Wu Zongping, an English teacher at Chendu No.12 Middle School. “But now they look fine and they learn much better than before.”
【小题1】What made the Sichuan middle school students happy?

A thief returned a mobile phone and thousands of yuan he had stolen from a woman after receiving 21 text messages from her, a local newspaper reported.
Pan Aiying, a Chinese teacher at Wutou Middle School in Qihe County, in East China’s Shandong Province, didn’t think her text messages would help to get her belongings back.
A young man riding a motorcycle robbed her of her bag, in which there was her mobile phone, bank cards and 4,900 yuan, as she was riding her bicycle home on Saturday evening.
Pan said at first she considered calling the police, but then decided to try to persuade（说服）the young man to return her bag. Pan called her lost phone with her friend’s, but couldn’t get through. So she began sending messages.
“Hey, I’m Pan Aiying, a teacher from Wutou Middle School. You must be going through a difficult time. If so, I will not blame you. ” Wrote Pan in her first text message, which got no answer. “Keep the 4,900 yuan if you really need it, but please return the other things to me. You are still young. To make mistakes is human. Correcting your mistake is more important than anything. ” Pan wrote in another message.
She gave up hope after sending 21 text messages without any answer and planned to call the police the next morning. However, as she left her home on Sunday morning, Pan found her stolen bag lying in the courtyard. Nothing was lost.
“Dear Pan: I am sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me. You are so kind even though I stole from you. I’ll correct my ways and be an honest person,” said a letter left with the bag.
【小题1】Where was Pan Aiying robbed?

A big, mighty(高大的) tree stood in a forest. Its branches(树枝) spread out and its roots (根) went deep in the earth. A lot of people came here to have a rest under it. And a lot of birds stood on its branches to sing and dance. The big tree was very proud all the time.
At the foot of the tree, there was a little plant. The plant was thin, and seemed to be blown down by any of a little wind.
One day, the two neighbors were having a little chat.
“Well, little one,” said the tree to the plant, “why not put your feet deeply in the earth, and raise your head high in the air as I do?”
“I see there is no need to do so,” said the plant with a smile. “In fact, I think I may be safer in this way.”
“Safer?” said the tree. “Are you safer than I am? Do you know how deep my roots are in the earth and how strong my branches are? Who can possibly pull me out by the roots or bow my head to the ground?” And the tree didn’t want to say anything to the weak plant.
But the tree was to regret its words very soon. One evening, a great hurricane(飓风) came. It blew the trees off their roots and almost destroyed the forest completely. It uprooted（将……连根拔起）the mighty tree and blew it away with great force.
When the storm had gone, the villagers living nearby came to check the damage. The mighty tree lay on the ground, but the little plant still stood there.
【小题1】Who was the big tree’s neighbor?