Mayme Clayton collected books, magazines and letters written by African Americans. Her son, Avery Clayton, thought her collection was important. Unlike most books, these were rare and hard to find. They were written by writers who helped shape African American culture.

    One book in the collection was written by Phillis Wheatley. Wheatley was a slave who wrote poetry. She was the first African American to publish a book. Wheatley herself signed (签名) the book in the Claytons' collection. No one else owns a copy signed by Phillis Wheatley.

    By the time she passed away at age 83, Mrs. Clayton had more than 30,000 books by or about black people. Her collection also includes papers about slaves, photographs, movies, sheet music, and personal letters by black leaders and artists. It is one of the biggest personal collections of African American history and culture in the United States.

    Avery Clayton's dream was to create a museum for his mother's treasures.  Scholars say that Mrs. Clayton's collection is very important. Without her work, part of African American heritage (遗产) would have been lost. "We didn't know these things existed," says Sara Hadron of California's Huntington Library.

    The collections new home is likely to be in Culver City, California. Part of Avery Clayton's dream is to share the cultural riches his mother collected with others. He especially wants children to have a chance to see the collection. " At present African American culture is being explained by pop culture," he says, " It's important to offer a more complete picture."

    Were you the first or the last child in your family? Or were you a middle or an only child? Some people think it matters where you were born in your family. But there are different ideas about what birth order means. Some people say that oldest children are smart and strong-willed. They are very likely to be successful. The reason for this is simple.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} So this child is very likely to do well. An only child will succeed for the same reason.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Middle children don't get so much attention, so they don't feel that important. If a family has many children, the middle one sometimes gets lost in the crowd.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} He or she is the baby. Often this child grows up to be funny and charming.

   Do you believe these ideas of birth order too? A recent study saw things quite differently.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They didn't take many chances in their lives. They usually followed orders and seldom made their own decisions. Rules didn't mean as much to later children in the family. They went out and followed their own ideas.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    My parents used to tell me how important school was for me, but I didn't think so. I paid little attention to it.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One day, when I walked past a mobile phone store, I saw an advertisement on its door. It was hiring(雇佣) new workers! I went into the shop to ask for the job. The manager looked at me for a few seconds from head to foot, then asked," Do you have a high school diploma(文凭)?"He continued,"{#blank#}2{#/blank#}”

    I felt so ashamed(感到难为情的) and uncomfortable that I didn't know what to say, so I just turned around and left. I could not fall asleep that night.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}I must go to school or I can't do anything without a good education, "I said to myself silently. I never went back to the store again until I finished my study and got a diploma.

    Everything looked the same when I returned to the store. However, compared with last time{#blank#}4{#/blank#}I showed my diploma to the manager. He looked at it and said," Great, you are in.'

    Now I am still working in the same store. With this experience, I always advise people to attend school.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Now I am not worried about my future because I'm still reading and learning books about my work in my free time

    The table above shows the sleeping patterns (模式) of people doing {#blank#}1{#/blank#} jobs. It is clear that there are big differences among them. For example, students continuously (连续地) sleep for {#blank#}2{#/blank#}each night because they go to school during the day. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} are busy and stressed out, so they only sleep for 6 hours. But they also sleep continuously during the night. Truck drivers sleep 6 hours and doctors sleep the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} hours among the five. However, because of their jobs, they have to divide their bedtime into different periods. Finally, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} mothers sleep when their babies do. They often have to wake up during the night to comfort (安抚) their babies. It is important to consider sleeping patterns when choosing a job.

    It's easy to tell someone good news, but what about bad news? Are there any good ways to give bad news without making people too upset? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    ★Say something good. Try to start the conversation with something good so that what you say is not all bad. For example," I know you play soccer very well, but we only need one teammate." Or you may end the conversation with a promise. "{#blank#}2{#/blank#}."

    ★Prepare your listener for the news. Use words to introduce what you're going to say, like "I'm really sorry, but..."or "I'm afraid I've got some bad news." {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    ★Try to give a reason. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Try to explain the decision: if you have to cancel a trip with friends, can you explain why?

    ★{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. If you're giving someone bad news, try to use a soft friendly voice to make you sound kind. Say things to show you understand, like "I'm really sorry. I know this must be disappointing."

    Iceland is a northern European country with amazing natural beauty and oceans around. There are lots of volcanoes(火山). It has a short summer which lasts from June to August. The long winter starts from September and ends next May.

    Summer in Iceland is a golden season for tourists. Every year, people from all over the world come here to see the beautiful sights and enjoy the exciting whale-seeing(观鲸).

    In winter, when people in Iceland complete their daily work, they will have a lot of special activities to spend the long dark night. Skating, riding snow motorbikes and having parties can really make an exciting night. After all the fun, a hot bath must be the first choice to relax. There are also story telling activities for children, which can teach them to be strong and kind. The most popular stories are about Christmas in Iceland.

    Because of a long cold winter, Iceland has a short growing season. Food problem was always a headache for Iceland in the past. It had to buy most of its food from other countries. Later, when farmers learned to use lights and underground heat to grow crops(庄稼)all year round in the greenhouse, things changed a lot.

    Living in such a nice environment, most people in Iceland live a happy life. According to a survey about happiness made each year in Europe, Iceland is always among the top 3.