My grandmother some homeless cats in the garden.

Part 3 Reading and Writing

    Bamboo(竹子) is one of nature s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.

    Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist reported one bamboo plant which grew 1.5 metres in 24 hours! There are more than 1, 000 kinds of bamboo. Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world, but in Europe, they can't grow.

    Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimetres wide while others may grow to be more than 30 centimetres across. This plant also comes in different colours, from yellow to black to green.

    Bamboo has been used to make many things such as hats and kitchen tools. Because it is strong, bamboo is also used to build buildings.

    Many Asian countries have used bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for buildings and supporting(支撑) new buildings and bridges while they are being built.

    In Africa, poor farmers are taught how to bring water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to bring water because they have no money, and their crops often die from no rain and no water. Bamboo pipes(管子) help poor farmers bring water to their thirsty fields without spending much money.

    In almost every big university(大学) in the United States, football is a favourite sport. American football is  1. Players sometimes kick the ball, but they also throw the ball and run with it. They try to take it to the other end of the field. They have four chances(机会) to move the ball ten yards(码). They can carry it or they can throw it. If they move the ball ten yards, they can try to move it another ten yards. If they move it to the end of the field, they get six points(点).

    It is difficult to move the ball. Eleven men on the other team try to  2 the man with the ball. If he does not move the ball ten yards, his team has to kick the ball to the other team.

    Each university wants its team to win. Many thousands of people come to watch.

    They all shout for their  3 team.

    Young men and women come on the field to help the people shout more. They dance and  4 while they shout.

    Each team plays ten or eleven games each season. If a team is very good, it may play  5 game after the season ends. The season begins in September and ends in November. The best teams play again on January 1, the first day of  6. Many people go to see these games and many others watch them on TV.