Thumbs Down to Texting （屈指发短信）

       Do you have a mobile phone? Do you send text messages to your friends and family?

       Text messaging or “texting” is becoming very popular. But, scientists have discovered that texting can give us problems with our hands. Be careful! Too much texting can cause swelling in our thumbs. Our thumbs were not made for pushing small buttons, over and over. Scientists call this problem RSI. We spoke to a doctor called Harriet Wilson, who treats many sick people with RSI. She says we need to see how much time we are spending in typing text messages. If we are spending more than 10–15 minutes at once, we could have problems in the future.

       As mobile phones develop, they are getting smaller with buttons closer together. Texting with a smaller phone is worse than using a larger phone with bigger buttons. Using a computer keyboard and playing video games can cause the same problem. So more and more people could find themselves with RSI. Among them, most are university students and teenagers, as they do not know the risks of spending so much time using computer, video games and mobile phones. If we don't do something about this, too many young people could grow up in terrible pain.

Hi, Daming,

    You ask me about how to improve（提高） your English listening. Here are some advice(建议). I hope they can help you.

    Relax(放松) yourself.

    Before you start listening to something, don't get excited or nervous（紧张的）.You need to relax．This will help you with your listening.

    Listen carefully to the first sentence.

    The first sentence tells a lot about the whole passage．For example，if，at the beginning，you hear “Our reporter says…”,you know you will hear a piece of news，not a children's story, or a science report.

    Think when you're listening.

    When you're listening, try to do some thinking．For example, you can think of the following questions: When, where and how? What does the speaker want to tell us? In this way, you may understand the passage better.

    Listen to important facts.

    It's important for you to remember some important facts. For example, if the passage is a science report, you should try to remember its findings, and how the scientists get their results. This is also very helpful to your listening．

Yours,

Tom

My pet died-how can I feel better?

    Every day when Elena came home from school, her cat Tomaso would run to great her. One day, Elena came home and her cat wasn't there. Her mom said that Tomaso had died.

    Who has pets?

    Millions of people across the world own pets. Maybe you have a pet, and maybe some of your friends do, too. A pet can be a special friend. It can play with you or just be with you when you don't feel like talking.

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    Unluckily, pets can't stay with us forever. Like all living things, they will die at some point. Sometimes a pet dies from old age. Sometimes a pet dies from an accident. Sometimes a pet gets too sick to live.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    It's sad when a pet dies. You may feel lonely because your pet was your friend. To some kids, it may seem like no one understands what they are feeling. Someone said to Elena," You can get another cat. " But Elena knew she'd never have another cat just like Tomaso.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Elena decided to talk with her parents. Elena's parents told her about the pets they used to have and how it was difficult to say goodbye. At first, it can be hard to talk about the pet you're missing. You might want to forget about everything instead. But talking with someone you love is the best way to help you start to feel better.

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    When a pet dies, you and your family may want to find special ways to remember your pet. It can be a big help to share a sad thing with people you love. You might have a ceremony(仪式)for your pet or just share memories of fun times you had together. You might want to tell stories. You could write a poem, too. That's what Elena did.

    Healthy is the first for everyone. Many people— parents, doctors, teachers and others, want children to become healthy.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Here are some good rules to be healthy.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I know we hear this one all the time, but kids sometimes forget. So remind (提醒)them to wash their hands before eating and after using the bathroom or playing outside We have a rule that everyone has to wash their hands as soon as they get home from school.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Our children need to have different kinds of healthy foods and they need to be healthy and strong. Don't eat junk food(垃圾食品). It is not good for their health.

    Drink water and milk. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} But cold water is the best drink when they want to drink something. They can take water bottles with them when they go to school every day so they can drink as much as they want.

    Listen to your body. Good breakfast can help children study or play better. And eat well for lunch. But don't eat too much in the evening.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} No getting enough sleep can be a problem for children of any age. They can't watch TV, play computer games, or use the computer and mobile phones too much time. Good sleep is really needed for kids at every age.

    Play sports every day. It's also important for children's health.

A. Wash hands.

B. Milk is good for children.

C. Sleep for eight hours every night.

D. Eat all kinds of food, it's better to eat more fruits and vegetables.

E. It's important to eat well, play sports and have a healthy habit (习惯)

    When you go to a new school, it can be terrible. You may worry about making friends. But do not worry too much. Most of the time some people are friendly and some people are not. What makes a person a friend? Here are what the two students say.

    "My name is Helen. Amy and Sally are my best friends. I made friends with Amy when I was three years old. Now we're 14! I like her because she is happy and very friendly almost all the time. Sally is a quiet girl. She makes friends more slowly. However, she is just as good a friend as Amy. They are interested in the same things as me. We all like sports and we often play tennis together in the park. And we also like reading books in the school library. And we listen to each other's problems. We are all good at different school subjects, so we help each other with our homework too!"

    "I'm Tina. My best friend is Mabel. She and I always talk and laugh (笑). There are many things we both like. We like music. We often play the guitar and sing. We also go to movies, but sometimes we can't agree (同意)on which movie to see. Sometimes we just walk around. We also like swimming. On weekends, we usually do the homework, play sports and go to the Music Club. When I'm busy, sometimes I can't see Mabel for about a month. But we still find time to see each other. It's always fun to be with her.