School Lunches from around the World

   Do you wonder what children are eating for lunch across the world? Take a look at different school lunches and learn something about kids'school lives across the world.

   In Japan, 99% of elementary school(小学)students and 82% of junior high school students eat kyushoku (school lunch). It includes a bottle of milk, a bowl of rice, usually some types of fish, a salad, some kinds of soup, usually with tofu and vegetables, and a piece of fruit.

   In the United States kids have hamburgers and chips for lunch. Those school lunches are making the kids so fat that many are unable to meet the physical fitness standards(标准). The good news is that Improving Nutrition(营养) for American's Children Act was recently passed. That will help to make school lunches more nutritional(有营养的).

   In Beijing, school lunches are usually provided from home. A food service worker picks up the fresh meals from home and sends them to schools.

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     Speaking exams can be stressful! What if you don't understand the examiner (考官)? What if you don't get the exact word you need? Don't panic (惊慌)! Remember that everyone gets nervous in exams, especially oral exams. So, don't worry and our tips will help you feel more confident in a speaking exam.

★ Listening to as much English as possible will help to improve your speaking. Listening to songs, and watching films, TV series or video clips will help you feel more confident about speaking.

★{#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you speak English regularly in class, you will find it easier to speak in an exam.

★{#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's not a race. Before you speak, think carefully about what to say and speak a little slower than normal.

★{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Use words and expressions you have used before. If you don't know a word, think of another way to say it.

★{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you find this difficult, practice with a friend at home. Stand at opposite ends of a room and speak to each other in English. Or speak to each other in English on your computers.

★{#blank#}5{#/blank#} So, take some deep breaths before the exam and try to relax.

A. It is very hard to break a code without the code book.

B. Only people who know the keyword can read the message.

C. As long as there have been codes, people have tried to break them.

D. You can hide a message by having the first letters of each word spell it out.

E. With a code book, you might write down words that would stand for other words.

F. Another way to hide a message is to use symbols to stand for specific letters of the alphabet.

    Secret codes (密码)keep messages private. Banks, companies, and government agencies use secret codes in doing business, especially when information is sent by computer.

    People have used secret codes for thousands of years. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Code breaking never lags(落后) far behind code making. The science of creating and reading coded messages is called cryptography.

    There are three main types of cryptography. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}For example, the first letters of "My elephant eats too many eels" Spell out the hidden message "Meet me."

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You might represent each letter with a number, for example, Let's number the letters of the alphabet, in order, from 1 to 26. If we substitute a number for each letter, the message "Meet me" would read "13, 5, 5, 20, 15, 5."

    A code uses symbols to replace words, phrases, or sentences. To read the message of a real code, you must have a code book. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, "bridge" might stand for "meet" and "out" might stand for "me." The message "bridge out" would actually mean "Meet me." {#blank#}5{#/blank#} However, it is also hard to keep a code book secret for long. So codes must be changed frequently.

    I have a lovely dog named Bobby. He looks pretty with short legs, big ears and short tail. He is my good friend and he is also easy to take care of. I walk him at least twice a day, feed him and spend time with him. He also gives his love to me in return.

    He is always there to lick me and lie on me. I like playing with him. I think he can tell when I am happy, sad, angry or troubled. Sometimes he can be noisy and run around the room. In a word, he is not only my dog, but also my friend.

    I love him. He can roll on the floor. He can play balls with me. He can look after my house when I am out. Bobby is very clever. But sometimes he isn't.

    One day Bobby runs away. He is out for three days. After he comes back, I tie him to a tree and give him some food. Bobby begins to eat. But then he stops. He sees a fox. The fox is looking at his food. Bobby barks and barks. He wants to catch the fox. But he can't. The fox runs round the tree. Bobby runs after the fox. So the rope goes ground the tree. Of course Bobby can't run. Quickly he eats up the food and runs away.

Dear Xia Yu,

    Do you know that there are two special days for parents in America? One is Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May, and the other is Father's Day on the third Sunday of June. On these two days, American children often give gifts to their parents or take them out for lunch or dinner. Common gifts are flowers and cards for mothers and shirts or ties for fathers. I heard that it is becoming more and more popular to celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day in China. I wonder if children over there also give similar gifts to their parents. I believe that there, are many ways to show our love. Actually, we don't have to spend a lot of money. It is also a good idea to help parents to do something instead.

—June

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