Enjoyable Family Picnics

    Going for a picnic is great at any age. It can either be a simple lunch in the park or family barbecue at the beach. Whether with little kids or just as a romantic afternoon date, picnics can be fun and relaxing. Just remember to prepare.

    Check the weather forecast. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Prcnics are never much fun when it gets too hot or starts to rain. If it is likely to rain, but you still make up your mind to go, think about bringing umbrellas.

    Pick a location suitable for your family's needs. Different locations are for different types of picnics. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Choose one with a playground for them, and perhaps some bathrooms nearby. Do you want a quiet afternoon to read, or a park with a big field to play soccer on?

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Food is the most important part of a picnic, so don't forget it! Remember to bring any utensils(器皿)you might need, as well as napkins and a garbage bag to clean up afterwards. Bring some books, balls or anything else that could be fun. Finally, don't forget your camera.

    Other ideas. If it gets hot in the afternoon, why not try a morning picnic to enjoy the songs of the birds in the fresh morning air? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It can be fun to have a picnic in your backyard. If you're going on a hike, pack a lunch and turn it into a picnic. But remember to bring extra water!

    Remember to prepare, and you'll soon be enjoying picnics wherever you are. But keep in mind that not everything always go as planned. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It may seem obvious but it's often forgotten.

B. Do you have little kids?

C.Just lean to laugh and enjoy outside

D. Not everybody likes eating outside

E. Another idea is to stay at home

F. What to bring

G. Do you need big trees to keep the heat off on a sunny day?

Money Matters

    Parents should help their children understand money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So you may start talking about money when your child shows an interest in buying things, candy or toys, for example.

    1 The basic function of money

    Begin explaining the basic function of money by showing how people trade money for goods or services. It is important to show your child how money is traded for the things he wants to have. If he wants to have a toy, give him the money and let him hand the money to the cashier(收银员). {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When your child grows a bit older and understands the basic function of money, you can start explaining more complex ways of using money.

    2 Money lessons

    Approach money lessons with openness and honesty. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you must say no to a child's request to spend money, explain, — You have enough toy trucks for now. Or, if the request is for many different things, say, — You have to make a choice between this toy and that toy.

    3 {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

    Begin at the grocery store. Pick out two similar brands of a product — a name-brand butter and a generic (无商标产品), for example. You can show your child how to make choices between different brands of a product so that you can save money. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If he chooses the cheaper brand, allow him to make another purchase with the money saved. Later, you may explain how the more expensive choice leaves less money for other purchases.

A. Wise decisions.

B. The value of money.

C. Permit the child to choose between them.

D. Tell your child why he can — or cannot — have certain things.

E. Ask yourself what things that cost money are most important to you

F. Talk about how the money bought the thing after you leave the toy store.

G. The best time to teach a child anything about money is when he shows an interest.

    If you plan to go abroad for your further education,first you should read something about the custom of the country.For example,in the United States,it is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning.If you telephone him early in the day,while he is shaving or having breakfast,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.The same meaning is attached to telephone calls made after 11:00 p.m.If someone receives a call during sleeping hours,he assumes it's a matter of life or death.So{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    In social life,time plays a very important part.In the U.S.A. guests tend to feel they are not highly regarded if the invitation to a dinner party is extended only three or four days before the party date{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.In other areas of the world,it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance because plans which are made for a date more than a week away tend to be forgotten.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.Thus,misunderstandings arise between people from cultures that treat time differently.Being punctual is valued highly in American life,for example.If people are not punctual,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.In the U.S. no one would think of keeping a business associate waiting for an hour,it would be too impolite.A person who is 5 minutes late is expected to make a short apology.

A.they will not be trusted

B.But it is not true in all countries

C.Different races understand it differently

D.the time chosen for the call communicates its importance

E.they may be regarded as impolite or not fully responsible

F.The meaning of time differs in different parts of the world

G.the time of the call shows that the matter is very important and requires immediate attention

    Although many Chinese students say that their knowledge of English grammar is good, most would admit that their spoken English is poor. Whenever I speak to a Chinese student, they always say, “My spoken English is poor.”{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    I would like to suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English.

    First, they fail to find suitable words to express themselves due to a limited vocabulary.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}However, you can speak with a limited vocabulary, if you choose a positive attitude. Others will follow you as long as you use the words that you know.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous. Yet students should remember that their goal should be FLUENCY NOT ACCURACY. Your aim in writing is to be accurate following the rules for grammar and using the right words and spelling them correctly. However, in speaking your aim is fluency. You want to get your message across, to talk to someone in English, as quickly and as well as you can, even though sometimes you may use a wrong word or tense , but it doesn't matter.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The third reason is that not enough attention is paid to listening . You have one mouth but two ears !All that hearing is necessary for you to start speaking .

    Fourth, most Chinese students are reactive rather than proactive language learners. Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their English always remains poor.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. The person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowances for nay mistakes he hears.

B. They may try to avoid making similar mistakes next time.

C. Obviously the better answer is to expand their vocabulary.

D. If you have this proactive outlook, then you will see English opportunities wherever you go.

E. However, their spoken English does not have to remain “poor”!

F. Second , they are afraid of making mistakes.

G. The second reason lies in the reluctance of using what has just been learned.

    If anyone had told me three years ago that I would be spending most of my weekends camping. I would have laughed heartily. Campers, in my eyes, were people who enjoyed insects bites, ill-cooked meals, and uncomfortable sleeping bags. They had nothing in common with me.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

The friends who introduced me to camping thought that it meant to be a pioneer.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}We sleep in a tent, cooked over an open fire, and walked a long distance to take the shower and use the bathroom. This brief visit with Mother Nature cost me two days off from work, recovering from a bad case of sunburn and the doctor's bill for my son's food poisoning.

    I was, nevertheless, talked into going on another fun-filled holiday in the wilderness.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Instead, we had a pop-up camper with comfortable beds and an air conditioner. My nature-loving friends had remembered to bring all the necessities of life.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}We have done a lot of it since. Recently, we bought a twenty-eight-foot travel trailer complete with a bathroom and a built-in TV set. There is a separate bedroom, a modern kitchen with a refrigerator. The trailer even has matching carpet and curtains.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}It must be true that sooner or later, everyone finds his or her way back to nature. I recommend that you find your way in style.

A. This time there was no tent.

B. Things are going to be improved.

C. The trip they took me on was a rough one.

D. I was to learn a lot about camping since then, however.

E. I must say that I have certainly come to enjoy camping.

F. After the trip, my family became quite interested in camping.

G. There was no shade as the trees were no more than 3 feet tall.

When did we start walking for leisure?

"Going for a walk" is a popular pastime among older and younger generations alike because of its well-known benefits for our physical and mental health. But you may be surprised to hear that wandering through pretty streets or hiking in mountainous have not always been considered leisure activities, according to Daniel Gale, a researcher of pedestrianism (步行运动).

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Before that, it was just something people did out of necessity, some of whom even associated it with criminal activity. But for Charles Dickens, the famous English 19th Century author, marching through London streets and tramping around the countryside was a big part of the creative process. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} He walked at an impressive pace of four miles per hour, according to his biography by Peter Ackroyd.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Perhaps you can take inspiration from another big-thinking wanderer. 19th Century American writer Henry David Thoreau took a slower approach, preferring to stroll over hills and fields and through the woods. He said that he could not preserve his health and spirits without walking at least four hours a day.

This idea of taking a stroll to clear your head has survived through to the 21st Century. But have pedestrian manners remained the same? A 1780 article for the London Magazine advised pedestrians to avoid things such as hanging around in conversation and obstructing people behind you. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

In this modern age, when many of us are tied to our desks and to our screens, try the simple act of stepping out onto the city pavements, or getting lost in nature. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Whether you see yourself more as a casual stroller or a purposeful strider (阔步者), why not build a habit out of it?

A. What if speed-walking isn't your thing?

B. This may make all the difference to our wellbeing.

C. Nowadays, we could add distracted phone-users.

D. He brought the recreation of walking into fashion.

E. Going on an urban walk is much more pleasant now.

F. It was a time to absorb what was going on around him.

G. In Britain, walking for fun wasn't really a thing until the 1780s.