—About half an hour on foot.

—___________.

—I can't agree more.

    The Chinese used the abacus as early as the 2^nd century BC, but now are welcoming“machine brains”to educate the young in this modern age.

    For the young, e-learning seems so1Zhu Xufei, 12, uses her parents' mobile phone to study English every day on her way to school and back home. Through an app, she can listen to and repeat back words and sentences in English. The app even tells the difference between her speech and proper pronunciation, and then 2 provides the score.

    The mother of 12-year-old Zhu said,“The apps have enabled her to learn and practice spoken English anytime, anywhere,”she says.“The apps also have been designed to use games to encourage learning.”

    It's very popular nowadays, especially with parents. WeChat accounts of parents post progress reports every day on 3their children are doing. For example,“Day 30: My son Thomas has learned 99 English words on Talking Pets.”

    It's not only children using mobile devices（设备）to learn new things. Many Metro or bus passengers can be seen with earplugs turned into app courses, like business management or the driving test.“I don't have to4books around and turn pages on crowded buses,”an office lady says.“With just a touch of the screen on my smartphone, I can do practice tests whenever I have time. It also records my 5 and makes it easier for me to review them.”

    E-learning has been welcomed among education services. Zheng Lili, owner of an English training school, says the learning apps help6 better monitor the performances of students.

    We believe that education should be'whole-person'development and such devices are just support tools.

    Research suggests that at least 64% of people now spend up to four hours daily of spare time in front of a screen. Just as TV watching has been linked to higher chances of being fat and getting diseases, this extra sedentary time is bad news for our health.

    ⒈Choose outdoor activities over technology

    When you're at home, make it a rule that you can't be online if the sun is shining. Instead, you have to go for a walk, ride a bike, swim or get some other kind of healthy, physical activity for at least an hour before you can pull out your phone or tablet, or take a seat at the computer. This rule should be fit for everyone in your family.

    ⒉Limit social media use

    Social networks have changed computer and mobile use for people of all ages. Whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat. Limit the amount of time you spend on social media. Avoid aimless browsing(浏览) and give your time online a purpose research holidays or catch up on the news of the day. Then log off.

    ⒊Save time for reading

    Challenge yourself to read at least 30 pages of a great book before you check your computer or mobile phone. Pick the right reading material and you'll soon find you've discovered an enjoyable pastime.

    ⒋Create projects for yourself

    It's amazing how much you can achieve when you're not glued to (长时间盯着) a screen. Do a list of one-hour evening projects. Some suggestions are organizing kitchen cupboards, cleaning your bedroom. Then try to do one each evening.

 Paddington Bear  a pop-up book of London in a shop one day?

 did Sherlock Holmes popular?

  amazing trip to the South Pole it is!

The young man wasn't  to express his ideas in front of the public.

Many popular children's books   by Doctor Seuss in the 20^th century.

The secretary asked they  going to celebrate the opening of the shop.

    Shanghai Disney Resort released details of its new Toy Story Land just now. There will be three ride attractions. It will open in the summer 2018.

    It is a sign of the early success of Shanghai Disney Resort and shows the confidence the company has. Itknows the growing need for themed entertainment in China.

    According to the resort, tourists will feel as if they have becometo the size of their favorite Toy Story characters. It enables them to join in on the laugher and fun.

    As new rides, Rex's Racer has a 30- meter-tall U-shaped track. The ride will goand backward at increasing heights and speed.

    Another ride is the Slink Dog Spin. The third ride, Woody's Round-Up, is made up of 11 ponies, each one pulling a cart, in a farm. Other attractions the Meeting Post. There tourists can pose with cartoon character from the Toy Story movie series.

    The most popular TV program in the UK last year was a show called The Great British Bake Off. Each week people take part in the competition. They are trying to make the best cakes and bread within a time limit. There are two judges, and each week they choose a “Star Baker” (the best baker). They also choose one person to leave the competition. At the end of ten weeks there is one winner.

    The program started in 2010, and nobody it to be so popular. People really enjoyed watching the baking and the good atmosphere on the show. The people in the show were very friendly to each other. This was very different from other TV show. Some people think the show is rather British, with a good sense of  and friendly people. Audiences also enjoyed learning how to make different of cakes , biscuits and bread.

    This year there were some changes in the show and even some new judges, but the show is as popular as before.

Question

Dear Dale,

    My friend asked me to do something that's against the rules. I wanted to say no, but I was afraid that she would get mad at me, so I did it anyway. Now she wants me to do it a . How can I tell her no?

    White Shirt

    Answer

Dear White Shirt,

    We never want to disappoint our friends, but we should never do things that we shouldn't do just to make others happy.

    Throughout your life, you will probably be asked to do things that you don't think you should do. It sound like you could have a problem saying no to people, but rather than be direct(直接的), there are other ways to deal with this kind of s.

    Instead of simply saying “No”, try to give reasons for your d For example, if a friend asked you to swim in the river but you don't want to, you could say, “ I don't think that's wise. The water's very cold and there's naround to help us if we get into danger.”

    It's wrong of your friend to risk getting you into trouble. If she were a t friend, she wouldn't ask you to break the rules. If she asks you to do something you don't want to next time, just explain to her wyou don't want to do it. You should never do anything that you think is wrong.

    Perhaps you friend was just looking for a bit of excitement, but if she wants to break the rules, she shouldn't make you feel bad for not doing so.

    If you really want to keep the friendship, tell her that you don't want either of you to get into trouble. You are not supposed to break the rules, for rules exist simply to keep us safe. And it's always better to be safe than s as the saying goes. Hope I can help you out.

Dale.

    When Jan and Brian Dutcher moved to San Diego for Brian's new job at San Diego State University, the neighbors smiled and introduced themselves. But there were no “ bring a plate” invitations, no car pooling for her daughters Liza, 12 and Erin, 15.

    “The family really didn't know each other, and we missed that,” says Jan.“We are far from relatives. Neighbors are our family.”

    So Jan, an artist, decided to repeat a project she had done for Liza's fifth-grade class: ask each person to paint his or her face on a big canvas(帆布).The finished piece would become the new family photo.

    First , Jan painted a grid(网格) on the canvas and put it up in the garage with a table of paints nearby. Then whenever she was home, the “art room” door was up , with an open invitation for neighbors to paint. The first to stop in were kids riding by. “They thought it was cool,” says Jan, but the adults weren't so keen. “ Most said they hadn't picked up a paint brush since kindergarten,” she says. “They were afraid they'd mess it up.” But as word slowly spread, they came, some using their driver's license photos as models.

Then something started to happen. They returned —to see who had painted, or if they could recognize who was who. In Jan's garage, they began to chat about schools, jobs, and families. Almost daily. Wendy, who lived across the street and was seriously ill, came in her wheelchair to watch the fun. Neighbors began to offer their support.

    When the worst things happened and Wendy died, they stood by her husband, Bill and invited him over for dinners.

    This year has been different in the neighborhood. Families take turns hosting happy hours. “We're watching over each other now just like in the painting.” says Jan.

    You are graduating from middle school soon. Your parents will give you a gift to celebrate the important time. Write a letter with at least 60 words to your mum and dad. Tell what you want and how useful and important it is to you. The beginning part of the letter is given.

你即将初中刚毕业，父母准备一份礼物给你庆祝这一重要时刻。写一篇至少60词的信给你的父母。告诉他们你想要什么礼物，它对你的重要性及用处。信的开头已给。

（注意：短文中不得出现考生的姓名、校名及其他相关信息，否则不予评分。标点符号不占格）