America's holiday shopping season started on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Shoppers make the most money this time of year, about 20 percent to 30 percent of all revenue all year. About 136 million people shopped during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In an era of instant information, shoppers can use their mobile phones to find deals. Nearly 80 percent of this year's holiday shoppers, or about 183.8 million people, shopped on Cyber Monday. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Online spending on Black Friday rose 15 percent to hit $2.7 billion this year. Cyber Monday spending increased 12 percent to $3 billion. NBC News reported that for many, shopping online was a more comfortable alternative than crowded malls.

    The shift to online shopping has had a big impact on solid shopping malls. Since 2010, more than 24 shopping malls have closed and an additional 60 are struggling. Fortune says the weakest of the malls have closed. However, the business in malls is thriving again, it adds.  According to a survey, 94.2percent of malls were full with shops by the end of 2014. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The average American consumer will spend about $805 on gifts. That's about $630.5 billion between November and December – an increase of 3.7 percent from last year.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}That goes to China's Singles' Day, celebrated on November 11, which posted record sales of $14.3 billion in 2015.

A．More and more people shop online nowadays.

B．That is the highest level in 27 years.

C．It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

D．One-in-five Americans used a tablet or smart-phone.

E．The traditional mall industry can hardly survive.

F．Cyber Monday falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

G．Nonetheless, Cyber Monday is not the biggest online shopping day in the world.

    Although most parents don't like doing it after a long and exhausting workday, reading bedtime stories does make a positive influence on your child's emotional and mental health. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    It helps to develop children's imagination.

    Reading bedtime stories can develop your children's ability to form pictures or ideas in their mind. A healthy imagination makes their minds work well and teaches them to think quickly yet effectively. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    It improves children's language.

    Reading also improves your children's language. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They'll most likely use those words in the stories you read right after they hear them. Listening to many stories helps kids to express their opinions better.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Reading books makes people more learned. When children hear the stories you tell, they learn grammar and vocabulary, for example. It helps them be successful in school as they already know a lot from your stories. What's more, every story has its moral aspect and tells them what's good and what's bad.

    These reasons leave no chances of doubting whether to read bedtime stories to your children or not.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}They will thank you in future, I promise.

A. It makes children knowledgeable.

B. It fosters children's affection for reading.

C. Bedtime stories create just unforgettable moments.

D. They remember most words you say and enlarge their vocabulary.

E. Take a look at the best benefits of it and you'll never be lazy to do that.

F. They'll be successful in many aspects thanks to a wonderful imagination.

G. So however tired you are, find time to read bedtime stories to your children.

    How do actors and actresses memorize hundreds of lines? Memorizing lines takes practice and constant repetition. However, there are a few ways to make the memorization process run smoothly and quickly.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    For most performers, there is no quicker way of memorizing lines. To learn lines, an actor must recite the play loud over and over again. Most rehearsals (彩排) encourage this by running through the lines or having a “read through”. By the time opening night arrives, most actors have spoken their lines hundreds of times.

    Listen to your cast members.

    Sometimes inexperienced actors spend rehearsals just looking at fellow performers, waiting patiently to say their next line. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This will help the actor learn his lines better because the context of the dialogue is absorbed.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Because there is often not enough rehearsal time, many performers find ways to listen to the play's dialogue during everyday activities. They use a tape recorder or an MP4 player to listen to the lines from each relevant scene (剧情). Some actors prefer to record the lines of all the characters, including their own. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Others like recording the lines of fellow cast members (参演人员), and they leave a blank space so that they can insert their dialogue while listening to the recording.

    Think positively and don't panic.

    Most actors will experience stage fright before the opening night. Actors forget lines now and then. When it happens, however, most of the time the audience never notice. If you forget a line in the middle of your performance, don't freeze. Stay in character. Keep the scene going to the best of your ability. If unfortunately you forget a line once, you will probably never forget that line ever again. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Record your lines.

B. Practice makes perfect.

C. Read lines loud and repeat them.

D. Read lines loud and remember them in a flash.

E. Sometimes embarrassment is the toughest method of memorization.

F. Then, they not only listen carefully, but they also speak all of the lines.

G. Instead, they should be listening carefully, responding in character at all times.

    A TEDx event is a local meeting where live TED-like talks and TED Talk video are shared. The content and design of each TEDx event is unique and developed independently, but all of them have features in common. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. For events less than half a day in length, two TED Talks videos are required to be shown. For longer events, 25% of the total number of talks must be official TED Talk videos.

    Being a TEDx organizer can be an unexpected experience. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    As a TEDx organizer, you'll have the choice to feature (以...为特色) live talks at your event, bringing attention to undiscovered voices in your community. If you decide to include individual speakers, choose special people who have a fresh way in their field, a unique story to tell in a good way.

    Follow rules & guidelines

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. But there's a reason they're part of the TEDx program- to make your job easier. The better you know the TEDx rules and guidelines throughout your TEDx journey, the less you'll have to deal with annoying details to correct later on.

Apply in advance

    Before you organize a TEDx event, you must get a TEDx license from TED.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. You'll need more than three months to organize your event after your license is approved to give your speakers enough time to develop and practice their talks.

A. TEDx is such a global program that it is popular

B. Discover local voices

C. Then, set an event date months before

D. Rules and guidelines can be a pain

E. If you're thinking about becoming one, below are some tips for you to review

F. Rules are very important

G. Every TEDx event either shows TED Talk videos, or shows both videos and live speakers

Go fly a kite

    Learning how to fly a kite is simple, and flying kites can be a fun form of exercise.

    Of course, the first thing you need is a kite and a ball of string (线) {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Then wait for a windy day.

    When the perfect day arrives, find an open space, such as a field. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Before flying your kite, find out which way the wind is blowing. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} To begin flying your kite, stand with your back to the wind and hold the kite up so the wind can catch it. If the day is not very windy, you may need to get your kite started by running.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} At the same time, walk backwards a few steps to keep the string tight (拉紧的). Now that your kite is up in the air, you can decide how long to fly it and how high you want it to go.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Slowly wind up (卷起) the string. Try not to pull your kite in too fast or it may crash (坠落).

    Flying a kite is a great way to spend a windy afternoon. If you follow these steps carefully, you will have something more fun to do than sitting inside and watching TV. So on the next windy day, get up off the sofa. Go fly a kite!

A. You can do this by throwing grass into the air.

B. Finally, you will need to bring your kite down.

C. You can buy your kite and string at a toy shop.

D. Follow the instructions to put your kite together.

E. Nothing beats seeing a kite sail high into the clouds.

F. Don't fly your kite near trees because it can get caught.

G. Once the wind catches your kite, let out more string so it can climb higher.

    The pine tree is a special kind of tree.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}This is because many people put pine trees in their homes at Christmas time. They decorate the tree with colored lights, and put Christmas presents under the tree. Pine trees are different from other trees because most other trees lose their leaves in winter.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}So pine trees are also called evergreens.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}They have hard, thin leaves called needles. Pine trees also have pine cones. Pine cones look like hard berries. If you walk in a forest, you will see many pine cones on the ground.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}When the seeds fall to the ground, a new tree starts to grow. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The wood is used to make furniture and boats. Many kinds of birds build their nests in pine trees. The seeds of pine trees are food for small animals such as squirrels and mice and for bigger animals such as rabbits and black bears. The needles are good food for large animals such as deer and moose when they cannot find anything to eat in the winter. If you walk in a forest of pine trees, the air has a wonderful smell. In winter, the white snow on the dark green trees looks very beautiful.

A. Pine trees stay green all year long, even in winter.

B. Pine trees do not have soft leaves like the maple tree.

C. Some people call the pine tree a Christmas tree.

D. Pine trees are very beautiful all year round.

E. Pine trees are valuable for many reasons.

F. Inside the pine cones are seeds.

G. The seeds inside the pine cones are the favorite food for some animals.