The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago linked Europe, Africa and Asia.

People reached these different places along these roads. Scientists and archaeologists（考古学家） believe people began to travel the Silk Road about 3,000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world, the Silk Road had covered almost 6,500 kilometers. It stretched from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.

Businessmen travelling along the Silk Road carried silk, of course. They also carried and traded spices, cloth, rare jewels, slaves and gold.

During its busiest period, the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix. The Silk Road allowed the sharing of precious goods and new ideas. These included people and trading goods from the Mediterranean, Persian, Magyar, Armenian, Bactrian, Indian and Chinese areas. All these peoples travelled the Silk Road, and they shared goods, stories, languages and cultures.

In modern times, the old Silk Road routes（路线） are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels and horses. There is even a Silk Route Museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35,000 objects from all along the Silk Road. In this way, China protects（保护） the history of many countries and peoples. Seeing is believing. If you have a chance, please go to have a walk and have a look.

Antarctica (南极洲) is the fifth largest continent on Earth. It is also the coldest, windiest, driest and highest. It is an ice-covered place where no large plants grow, and no land animals live there. Antarctica covers an area of more than 13.6 million square kilometres. It is nearly twice the size of Australia, or one-and-a-half times the size of the United States of America.

Antarctica does not belong to one country, and it has no government. People visit Antarctica – usually as tourists, or to do scientific research – but no one lives there all the time.

Antarctica was the last place to be discovered. It is not certain who first saw Antarctica, but sailors began to map Antarctica’s coast from their ships in the 1800s. The first proved landing was in the mid-1890s.

Over the next few years, several men tried but failed to reach the South Pole, which is the Earth’s southernmost point.

Finally, a team led by Norwegian Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911. By then, countries around the world were becoming more and more interested in the frozen place, and soon Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom had laid claim（声称）to parts of Antarctica.

As so many nations had made a claim to govern in Antarctica, it was clear that fighting might break out. Diplomats(外交官) from different countries wanted to stop a war from starting, so they began talking about a treaty for Antarctica. A treaty is a written agreement signed by two or more nations.

Several countries had already set up research stations in Antarctica where scientists could live and work. Most scientists worked during the summer months when it was not as cold as in winter. Scientists hoped a treaty would allow them to continue their work and to exchange information with scientists from other countries.

Answer the following questions. (No more than six words)

Chinatown (唐人街) is the name of an area (地区) in the middle of London. It is a large Chinese community (社区) with a lot of Chinese restaurants, Chinese supermarkets and shops.

In the 1950s, it was a poor area and everything was very cheap. At the same time, the world rice market became bad and thousands of farm workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs. They began going to London to look for work. They found jobs in the restaurants in this area.

These restaurant workers often worked for17 hours a day and had no time to learn English. As more Chinese arrived, more shops and businesses grew up. Women came to join their husbands and children came to join their fathers. The community grew, and Chinatown was born.   

In the 1970s and 1980s, British-born Chinese started to have a better education (教育) and this brought economic (经济的) success to the area. Many families moved out of Chinatown, and there was more space for businesses. Chinatown soon became a popular place for tourists (游客).

Now everyone knows about London’s Chinatown. During the Chinese New Year, the streets are seen with flags and thousands of Chinese into the streets. For most time of the year, though, Londoners and tourists go there mainly for the food in the Chinese restaurants. The best restaurants are the ones where the Chinese eat.