People live around the world. They like to have celebrations (节日). In China, people celebrate Spring Festival. It is in January or February. They wear red clothes because red is the color for good luck. Chinese children also get money from their parents or grandparents for the Spring Festival. In Gambia (冈比亚), people celebrate Independence Day (独立日). It is in February. They wear bright clothes and play music at the celebration. In England, people celebrate May Day. It is in May. They wear beautiful clothes to celebrate the coming spring. The children like to dance on this day. In America, people celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It is in November. They have a very big dinner with their families or friends. They eat turkey and a lot of other delicious foods. They have a long talk after the dinner.

    Every child has a dream of what they want to be, right? When Rence Butts was little, her dream was to become a volunteer firewoman because her father was a fireman. Sadly, when she was fourteen, her father died(死)and she was never able to volunteer with him. Rence's story doesn't end there. She was strong and never gave up, at last she became a good firewoman.

    I think she's great. She's always glad to do anything for anyone in need. With 140 people in her station, Rence is one of the only three women. What's more, she is always glad to help others.

    What Rence did helps me believe that I can do anything. I hope someday to be just like her:

    To wake up and help people every day.

    With more and more cars on the road, traffic jams (堵车) are inevitable. Traffic jams can lead to more accidents as there are more cars, with more people trying to get to their destination, all the while getting worse. Although it's impossible to avoid traffic jams altogether, there are some tips you can follow to reduce the amount of time on the road.

    Check for traffic jams before you leave. You can listen to the radio for traffic news, or check on the Internet to get up-to-minute information on traffic. If the route you want to take is heavy with traffic, you can choose another.

    Look for a different route all the time. Most traffic jams happen on busy roads. Using country roads could avoid a lot of traffic. Although the distance you may have to travel is further, it can work out quicker.

    Set your car radio to receive traffic bulletins. Many new car stereo systems (汽车音响系统) are equipped with a radio system by which you can hear the traffic channel. This way you can get the latest traffic information and change your journey if necessary.

    __________. Most traffic jams usually occur(发生) during rush hour, so try to avoid this time period if possible. Some jobs offer flexible working hours so that you can travel to work outside of rush hour. Some jobs even allow you to work at home so as to avoid moving altogether. Ask your manager to see what you can do if traffic is a problem for you.

    Use public transport instead. The easiest way to avoid traffic jams is to take buses or the underground instead of driving your own car. Not only will you avoid traffic jams but you will most likely be saving money.

    When it comes to the letter grade on your test or homework, you might notice that there is no letter E. Have you ever thought about why that is so?

    In the A, B, C, D and F grading system, the first four letters are typically considered passing grades. An F in this system simply stands for“fail”.The word“fail”happens to start with the letter F, which seems to leave out the letter E. The fact”．Some schools have U grade for“unsatisfactory”,or I grade for “incomplete”.

    Even with all this said, we should also point out that E grade actually has been used pretty commonly throughout the history of letter grades in the US.

    The first college in the US to use a letter grading system like the ones we use today is Mount Holyoke College. In 1897, they began to use the following grading scale:

A: 95-100%(excellent)       B: 85-94%(good)      C: 76-84%(fair)

D: 75%(barely passed)       E: below 75%(failed)

    We can see the inclusion of E instead of F.

    Gradually,the letter grading system became more popular throughout the US. However, many schools decided to drop the E grade and go straight to F.There is no evidence(证据) to really support this, but one possible explanation is that teachers were worried that some students and parents might mistake E for “excellent”.

    Why do we have letter grades? Well, part of the reason is that they made grading simpler during a time of great change for schools. As the 20th century began,growing cities and an increase in immigration led to larger school classrooms. Most teachers at that time thought this new letter grading system was an easy, fair and clear way to grade students.

    Today, more and more people argue that letter grades don't fully reflect(反映) student learning. However，as teachers try to improve grading methods, many parents continue to favor the letter grades they got as kids, they are familiar(熟悉) and easy for parents to understand. So while they might not be perfect, the letter grades probably aren't going away any time soon.

    When Norman left high school, he went to a college to learn cooking for two years. He enjoyed cooking and was good at creating (创造) his own dishes. Then he got a job in the kitchen of a big hotel as an apprentice (学徒) for four years.

    ①Norman soon found that cooking in a hotel was nothing like cooking for his family at home. He needed to work in a hot kitchen for a long time every day. A lot of people couldn't stand it, but Norman enjoyed it. He always made new and unusual cakes on Friday. More and more people visited the hotel on Friday just ②________ his cakes. The hotel owner soon found out why.

    When Norman decided to leave the hotel, ③the hotel owner offered(提供) him more money and the position (职位) of the head cook. Norman took the position and saved most of the money he made. Finally, he bought his own hotel last year. Then he found he needed a lot more skills than just cooking skills. So he went to an evening school to learn business every Tuesday and Friday.

    Norman enjoys having his own hotel. But he also enjoys working in the kitchen and ④thinking up new creations when the hotel is not too busy.

    An old lady walked into a clothes shop. She asked the salesgirl to show her a new dress in the shop window. The girl stood behind the counter, taking no notice of the request (要求) . The old lady asked again, but she still received no answer. Then the old lady said to herself, "I'm too old to see well. I can't even tell a plastic (塑料的) model from a real girl."

    When the girl heard this, she shouted. "What did you say? Did you say that I am a plastic model?" The lady was greatly surprised. She said to herself, "The model can speak! It must be a robot of a new type."