—You are __________. We will go on a 6-day trip to Chongqing.

—Thank you. I am worrying about the long way to go.

—You just have ___________. Wait until you finish this competition.

—Yes, and please get me some milk. I prefer coffee _________ milk.

—___________. I hope I can go there again.

—I don't like it _______ it is much faster.

—________.

    Washington was the first president of the United States. He was very1even when he was still a 12-year-old boy.

    Once a thief 2 some money from Uncle Post, Washington's neighbor. The door of the house was not broken, and things in the room were in good order. Washington 3 that the thief must have been one of the villagers.

    That evening at the villagers' meeting he said, “We don't know who stole the money 4.

    God does. God sends his wasp（黄蜂）to tell good from 5 Every night the wasp flies 6 us but few people notice it.” Then, all of a sudden Washington waved his band and cried out, “Look! The wasp has landed on the thief's7 It is going to sting（叮咬）!”

    Everybody turned to 8 the thief. But soon the noise died down. All eyes were 9 on a man who was trying hard to drive the “Wasp” off his hat.

    “Now we know10 stole the money,” Washington said with a smile.

    On June 2, 1886, a German threw a message in a bottle into the water while his ship crossed the Indian Ocean. Around 132 years later in January, the bottle was 1 on the Australian coast, making it the oldest-known message in a bottle in the world.

    The bottle was thrown into the water to study ocean currents（洋流）. But throwing messages in bottles into the ocean is not just for 2 People send out such messages for many reasons. Some people write information about themselves in 3 of finding a pen friend.4 write down secrets, hoping that waves will5 those secrets. And still other people just write down some jokes, songs or anything else they think might be 6.

    The reasons and ways might be different, but the7 is always the same: to reach out and try to connect8someone. This kind of shared feeling might be 9 this tradition has remained popular for so long. In 1989, the British band The Police wrote a song called Message in A Bottle that described this 10 A hundred billion bottles washed up on the beach. “Seems I'm not alone at being alone,” the singer said.

    When parents send their children to school, often they don't know what happens day to day. Parents depend on what their children tell them about they are doing and what they are learning. Generally schools will host parent-teacher meeting at least twice a year. Parent-teacher meetings are short meetings between parents and their children's teacher. Usually they are held when teachers give put a student's grades for the term. The parent-teacher meetings give teachers a chance to let parents know how their child is doing. A teacher will let a parent know the student's advantages and bring to the parent's attention any problems with grades or behavior（行为）. The meetings also offer parents the chance to ask questions and see what their child is learning.

    Most children do not go along with their parents to the meetings. This allows both the parent and teacher to talk honestly about the child's progress without making the child feel bad. Usually a teacher will offer advice to the parent on how to support their child's education.

Hello

    I just joined "English Kids". Feeling bad that I could have found this earlier. Now my son is 4 years old.

    He can understand but not started speaking English. What should I do?

Maria

Hi

    Thanks for your post. It's never too late to start practicing English with your son! It's great that he ready understands some English, and in his own time he will start to speak. This is certainly a go time to start practicing English with him and I hope that the advice in the article will help.

    Don't expect too much too quickly. Children often need a lot of time to take in the language before they begin speaking themselves. The main thing is to be patient, give your son lots of encouragement and to show him that you enjoy speaking English, If you are enthusiastic, he will be too!

    I hope that help.

Best wishes.

Jo

    Learning English kids team.

    A young man was traveling down a country road, going a bit too fast in his new car. There were many kids playing between the cars parked on the side of the street.

    As his car passed, one child suddenly appeared and threw a brick at the car. The man stopped the car and jumped out. He caught the kid and shouted at him, “What are you doing?” He continued shouting, “That's a new car. It will be expensive to fix the damage you did with that brick. Why did you do it?” “I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do. It's my brother,” he said, “He rolled（滚落）off the side of the road and fell out of his wheelchair. I can't lift him up. He is hurt and he is too heavy for me.”

    The young man felt shameful and said nothing. He lifted the kid's brother back into the wheelchair.

    “Thank you, sir.” the child said. The man then watched the little boy push his brother toward their home.

    The young man did not repair the dent（凹槽）in his car. He can hear the boy's hopeless voice whenever he saw it.

    Sometimes, when you don't make the time to listen, life throws a brick at your head.

    On March 14, one of science's brightest stars went dark. Stephen Hawking, the world-famous British scientist, died at 78 in Cambridge, UK.

    Hawking is considered by many to be the greatest scientist in history since Albert Einstein. He came up with the theory（理论） that the universe (宇宙) began with the Big Bang and will end in black holes. His theories became the base for a lot of later research. He also wrote books to help common people understand the universe. His most famous book is A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 10 million copies around the world.

    Besides his scientific achievements, Hawking was also someone who had a strong will. When he was 21, he got a serious illness that stopped him from walking and talking. Later in life, he had to sit in a wheelchair and “speak” using a computerized voice. But this didn't stop him from living a meaningful and colorful life.

    He celebrated his 60th birthday by going up in a hot-air balloon; when he was 65, he took part in a zero-gravity (零重力) flight to experience weightlessness. He hoped to travel into space one day. In 2015, Hawking spoke about how he felt life was unfair when he first knew about his illness. “But now, 50 years later, I can be quietly satisfied with my life,” he said.

Lisa: Hi, Mandy. What are you doing right now?

Mandy: I'm getting ready to bring Willy to his computer class.

Lisa: Why is your son in so many different classes.

Mandy:

Lisa: But does he like all those classes?

Mandy: He is too young to know what he likes

Lisa: Around 3:00.

Mandy: Sorry, I don't. Willy's class ends at 3:00. And I promised him that I would take him swimming.

Lisa:

Mandy: No, I won't. I'll be there on time.

    Bird lovers know that a good place to go bird-watching is Guandu Nature Park. As many as 220 kinds of birds come to this park every year. Since the park offers birds lots of food to eat and places to build their nests, it has become a paradise（天堂）for birds.

    Guandu Nature Park is also a great outdoor classroom. The park's Nature Center provides guided tours to the public. During the tour, visitors can learn about the environment. So, if you want to have a fun and educational weekend, come to Guandu Nature Park. Get away from city life and head into nature.

假如你是李华，你们学校打算举办一场以“感恩老师”为主题的活动。请根据以下要点，给你的美国笔友Mike 写一封邮件，介绍这次的活动。

时间：5月30号

活动内容： 1）给老师献花致敬；

2）把写满感谢祝福话语的卡片贴在墙上；

3）为老师表演节目(put on performances)

你的感触：……

注意： 1）词数80-100；

2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3）信中不能出现与本人相关的信息；

4）开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。

Dear Mike,

    Our school will hold an activity to express our thanks and love to the teachers.

    What do you usually do to thank your teachers? I am looking forward to your reply.

Yours,

Li Hua