You may think that inventions are far away from your everyday life. But in fact, almost everyone can invent. It's just that they do not realize that their idea could be the start of an invention. Once inventors see their ideas have some practical value, they don't let them run away.

    For example, the inventors of the dishwasher, American Josephine Cochrane, loved to give dinner parties. But she found it took too long to wash her dishes by hand. She decided that a machine could do the job faster. So, in 1886, she began to make one for herself.

    Here are the steps to create inventions. The first and most important step is to find the problem. Start by looking at what is wrong with things you see now and ask people around if they remember ever saying, “I wish someone would invent something for...” Then you might notice situations(情况) or things in need of improvement. The next step is to think about possible solutions. An invention is a new way of solving a problem. So think of many and unusual ways. You can often come up with a solution to a problem by looking at it from a different side.

    The hardest part of inventing is coming up with a problem and finding a solution. Once you have an idea, you can always get help building your invention. This problem-solving technique can also work in your everyday lives. So, why not try it in your studies, in your relationship with others, or even in the way you look at the world?

    Music touches our hearts and shortens (缩短) the distance between people of different countries. The super star Jay Chou has cooperated with the American NBA star Kobe Bryant to create a song named TheHeavenandEarthChallenge. That's a song written by Jay Chou whose favorite sport is basketball. It expresses the love for basketball. And it encourages young people to be more confident. Jay Chou has learned much from Kobe's sports spirit. In the song, Jay Chou does most of the singing part while Kobe plays a part of a rapper (说唱者). People can download the ring tone(铃声) of the song from the Internet. All the money from the downloads will go to Project Hope, which aims to improve the educational environment in poor areas in China.

My name is Lily and this is my family tree.

    Should friends be different or the same? Different people have different ideas. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. I am outgoing. I like to have friends who are similar to me. Both my best friend Linda and I like traveling. We went to Italy with our families last summer vacation. We stayed there for two weeks.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

My name is Mary. I like to have friends who are different from me. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. I am quiet and I like reading very much. Betty likes sports and she plays ping-pong well.

    I'm Peter. I like to have friends who are like me. It can be very helpful. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}and my good friend Rick is quiet, too. Sometimes I don't know what to do with my problems and he can tell me what I should do.

    I'm Bill. I have both kinds of friends. I think it is important. That makes my life more interesting.

    Much meaning can be carried clearly with our eyes，so it is often said that eyes can speak. Do you have such kind of experience? On a bus you may look at a stranger, but not too long. And if he finds that he is being looked at, he may feel uncomfortable. It's the same in daily life. If you are looked at for more than necessary, you will look yourself up and down, to see if there is something wrong with you. If nothing goes wrong, you will feel angry toward the person who is looking at you that way. Eyes do speak, right?

    Looking too long at someone may seem to be impolite. But sometimes things are different. If a man looks at a woman for more than 10 seconds, it may mean that he wishes to attract her attention, and to make her understand that he loves her. When two people are in a conversation, the speaker will only look at the listener from time to time, in order to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what he or she is saying. Lovers will enjoy looking at each other or being looked at for a long time, to show something that words cannot express.

    Clearly，eye contact(接触)should be done according to the relationship between two people and the place where you stay.

    For most people, summer holidays mean sun, sea and sand, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. She had a holiday full of ice and snow. She and her family travelled across Greenland! Starting just above the Arctic Circle (北极圈), Sarah's family used dogsleds with kites to cross the world's biggest island.

    Sarah says {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. "There is only snow, ice, and more snow. " The family travelled 15 miles a day for 22 days, moving faster when strong winds pushed along their kites.

    Then the weather became a bit hot for the dogs to pull sleds during the day, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. The Landrys lived in tents, ate dried food, and took baths with heated water. When they weren't travelling, they played with kites and made snowmen. Using their mobile phones, the family could send and get emails even from Greenland's ice cap! The road to the top was icy and dangerous.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. "Icebergs (冰山) were so bright, just like the rising sun." said Sarah. Now she and her family have returned home, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Next holiday, they are going to the South Pole.