A

    If you want to stay out of debt（债务）, you need to set a budget. First, know what you are spending your money on. Write down what you buy and how much you spend. You can use an app or a computer program. Then look at your information. First, write how much your food, housing, transportation, and other monthly bills like electricity cost. These are your needs. Then write your goals. These are any debts you have to pay and money you want to save. Then write the other things you enjoy. These are extras, such as going to restaurants, movies, or the gym. These are the things you like but don't need. How much do you spend on these extras each month?

    Now look at your income. Your income is the amount of money you make each month. How much of it do you spend on needs, goals, and extras? One good rule is 50 percent of your paycheck is for your needs. Pay for things in this order: needs first, goals second, and extras third. The first step insetting a budget is to know where your money goes. Then you can make payments, plan for your goals, and make good choices.

B

C

Class Afloat is a Canadian school on a tall ship! The ship is 210 feet long and 30 feet wide, and it can take up to sixty students . The classrooms are well-equipped and comfortable, and there's even a library! It isn't necessary to know anything about sailing—-students can learn on the ship.

    Not all the students are Canadian. There's usually a mix of nationalities. This year, there are also students from Mexico, the US, Germany, and Turkey. There's a mix of ages too. There are high school students sixteen to eighteen years old, and first-year college students.

    The teachers design special study programs for each student. Because the school is a ship, you can do some exciting classes,for example, Marine Biology (studying the animals and plants in the sea) and History of Geography courses about the places you visit. Students also learn all about sailing!

    Students don't just study. They must also clean, cook and sail the ship. In their free time, students can rest, read, or watch a movie. In the evening, they relax with friends and have club meetings.

    Every sixteen to twenty days, the ship stops in a port for three to six days. In port there's lots for the students to do-- homestays, camping trips, museum tours, cultural events, hiking, etc. They also go boating and do other water sports. Parents can meet up with the students in one port every term.

    Students also take part in two volunteer programs in Senegal and the Dominican Republic. They help local families in different ways, for example, with basic health matters or starting a business. Students learn how, with just a little money and time, they can make changes that improve other people's lives.

D

    Do you know when restaurants were invented? The first restaurant were invented thousands of years ago. However, they were very different from restaurants today.

    The first restaurants were in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. These restaurants served food in large stone bowls people didn't order food from a menu. Everyone used to share the food from big bowls. People believe that these places were very popular because most homes in ancient Greece and Rome did not have kitchens. Also, people didn't have to store food at home if they ate their meals at these restaurants.

    Later, restaurant began to open in China. In the early 1100s, more than one million people lived in the city of Hangzhou, China. It was a very busy city, and people had money. All of these people had to eat. Smart cooks started cooking and selling food along the Imperial Way, a very big street in the city. Unlike in ancient Greece and Rome, people in China could choose food from a menu. They didn't have to eat the same food as everyone else.

    For the next several centuries, there were restaurants all over the world. People could buy food on the street or at inns-- small hotels. Then in the middle of the 1700s, restaurants started opening in Paris. These restaurants were more similar to restaurants we know today. There was a bigger variety of food, and eating in these restaurants was a more enjoyable experience. In the 19th century, trains made travel much faster and simpler. In the end, this kind of restaurant began to appear all over Europe and in other parts of the world.

    Now, restaurants are everywhere. You can buy a variety of different kinds of food. You can have food sent to your door. But remember it wasn't always like that.

Family Traditions

    Where are your family traditions? The following information comes from several readers：

JARED:We take turns picking a movie to watch together. It's fun because I watch something my parents like, and they watch something I like. My mother likes old black and white movies, so I see a lot of them! We also make pizza and eat it in front of the TV.

WINNIE: My favorite meal is spaghetti and meatballs. My mom usually cooks, but my dad and sister help. On my sister's birthday, we eat pizza. On my mom's birthday, we have chicken, and on my dad's birthday we have steak. Of course, we always have a birthday cake, too. What are your family tradition? The following information comes from several readers:

DANNI:My family is really busy. We have a large family, and it's not easy for everyone to get together at the same time. On that day, we go to a nice restaurant and we talk and talk and talk.

SUZIE:After dinner, we go to the living room and play a board game, such as Scrabble  or Monopoly. We have about seven different ones we play, but we only play one game a night. I plan to keep this tradition after I start my own family.

ROB:I get up early and make something special, such as a mushroom omelet with fruit salad. Then I put it on a tray with a newspaper and a flower, and bring it to my mother for breakfast in bed. She always acts surprised, but I do it every year.

    This story tells of two sporting heroes who made an impossible dream come true. Bob Champion was a young jockey (骑师) with a bright1. Then, one day, he fell off his horse. He went to the doctor2his injuries(伤) and was surprised when he3that he had cancer. The medical treatment lasted many months and made him very4.At times, he nearly died.

    As the same time, there was a successful5called Aldaniti. Unluckily, during one race, the horse got a serious injury. The horse's owners6to put the horse down though the doctor advised the horse's trainer to do so. They7Aldaniti for a whole year and the horse's injuries got better.

    By this time, Bob Champion was out of8. Slowly, he got back his strength. Eight months later, he9to his job as a jockey. A month after that, he rode the winning horse in a race. Soon afterwards, Aldaniti10returned to training.

    Early the next year, 11Bob Champion and Aldaniti were almost back to full fitness. Now, there was a new plan. Bob decided to12Aldaniti in the Grand National, one of the UK's most famous horse races. People  watching the race knew all about the13fights against ill health and injury. Every one of them wanted the fairy tale to have a14ending. And it was perfect. Aldaniti and Bob Champion were real sporting15.

Hitchbot

    Have you ever seen a hitchhiker(搭便车的旅行者）standing by the side of a road? Now drivers in Canada might seeunusual hitchhiker; a hitchhiking robot.

    One of its inventors, David Harris Smith, has hitched across Canada three times. Smith and a friend, Frauke Zeller, have built Hitchbot because they wanted(see) if people would stop and give the robot a lift and talk to it. The robot can chat about things it has learned, and about(it) trip. You might think it's a joke,Smith and Zeller's experiment has a serious point: can robots and people get along?

    Hitchbot(begin) its journey in Nova Scotia in July. It has already completed a third of its 6,000-mile trip to Victoria. More than 57,000 people are following its journey(close) on Facebook and Twitter, and travelers have posted lots of(photo) on the websites. Hitchbot has also done some shopping, eaten motor oil, and had fun with travelers. Nobody knowsit will finish its journey. It might be(long) than expected, but Zeller and Smith want Hitch to getmany rides as it can. It hasn't been in a self-driving car yet, but anything is possible!

—Coffee, please. I pcoffee to tea.