Today is Sunday. It's Lingling's birthday. She is fourteen years old. She wants to have a birthday party at home.

    She invites(邀请) her friends to the party, and one of them is her best friend, Mary. They come to Lingling's home at 6:00. They have some fruit and drinks at the party. They sing Happy Birthday in English to Lingling. After that, they eat a big birthday cake and play games. All of them are very happy. Lingling's friends go home at half past ten in the evening.

    Bikes are popular in the Dutch（荷兰）. In fact, nearly half of all travel in the Dutch is by bike. Now, one Dutch bike designer（设计师）, Thomas, has taken the country's interest in bikes by making a school bus bike.

    The big bike has eight sets of pedals (踏板) for kids, a driver seat for an adult, and three other seats, comfortably letting little kids for their trip to and from school. The bike even has a motor, which can help with high hills or at times when few kids on it.

    So far, Thomas tells Fast Company, he's sold 25 school-hikes, at a price of $ 25,000 each—less than it would cost to buy a traditional school bus with the same number of seats. Along with the traditional color, the bikes are colored yellow so that they can be seen easily.

    Thomas says he's sold school bus bikes to neighboring countries such as Belgium. England and Germany, but so far, the school bus bike hasn't been sold in the United States. If the U.S. agrees to buy this kind of school bus bike, it could do a lot of good to improve exercise for a young age and help them keep healthy.

    Donna Reid had just finished her training as a children's doctor. A famous research hospital in New York had offered her a job with good pay. And her boyfriend, Tony, had a clinic in their hometown and hoped she could work with him. At the same time, a small hospital, Backwoods Hospital, in a very poor area had also offered Donna a position. Now it was time for her to decide where to work.

    Dad: Donna, that research hospital in New York has a good reputation for children's medicine. Some of the best children's doctors in the country work there and you can learn a lot from them.

Mom: Yes, I agree it's a good hospital and the pay is good, too. But, that's not the point.

    Dad: Then what's the point?

Mom: It's in New York, too far away!  Let me tell you what, dear Donna. Tony's clinic is just several blocks away. You don't need to travel far if you work there. Tony is a nice young man and I guess you'll get married soon.

    Dad: Ha! It's hard enough to live with a husband or wife. Working with them, too? That's a choice for trouble. Well, Donna, what do you think?

    Donna: I'm thinking about accepting the offer from Backwoods Hospital.

    Dad: But Donna, look at their offer! You'll be on call six days a week, 24 hours a day. That's really a hard job.

    Mom: Oh, Donna, the pay is another problem.

    Donna: It isn't a dead-end job, Mom and Dad. But anyway, I didn't __.

    Dad: No? Then why did you become a doctor?

    Donna: I want to help people. You know that. And Backwoods serves a very poor and needy population. Backwoods, here I come!

    Sleep plays an important role in brain (大脑) development. Children should get enough sleep.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} A study says that because of being short of sleep, it is much harder for children to do something carefully. And also they become forgetful and easy to make mistakes. Another study shows that the right amount of night—time sleep is just as important for children's development as healthy eating and taking exercise.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In general a younger child needs more sleep than an older one. Children at the age of 5-11 will need 10-12 hours of sleep a night while children at the age of more than 11 will need less hours.

    In fact, many parents don't know how to help their children get enough sleep. Here is something you can do. For children at the age of 5-11, a 30-40 minutes' routine (常规) before sleep is helpful.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} In the activities, children relax and enjoy themselves a lot, and they will go to sleep more easily.

    Children at the age of more than II may go to bed late in the evening, talking with friends online, playing games or watching TV. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  And even they will be tired during the day. So limit(限制) your children's use of the Internet, games and the TV before they go to bed.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. If not, many problems will come to them.

B. Why does a child need so much sleep?

C. How many hours of sleep is enough for a child?

D. So they will find it, difficult to get up in the next morning.

E. It includes a bath, reading a story together and so on.

F. Taking exercise is as important as enough sleep for children.

G. And don't allow them to have a computer or TV set in their bedroom.

    Improving Listening Skills in the Classroom

    Listening is a skill that needs to be learned and used well to be able to succeed in any environment. In the classroom, great listening skills mean the difference between a successful student and one who struggles(挣扎)in school.

    Come to class rested.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}When your body is well taken care of, your mental(精神的)focus will be much better. If you come to class sleepy or tired, it may be impossible for you to keep your eyes open and concentrate(集中)on what the teacher is saying.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Have everything you need at the start of the class. If you have homework, make sure you are ready to hand it in. Bring out your notebook and pen so you can start taking down notes. Also, try to read your textbooks before coming into class. It will help you understand more easily what your teacher is talking about.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When you're in the front of the class, you'll have an easier time hearing what the teacher has to say. You won't have a daydream when the teacher is near you.

    Take down notes.

    Write down what you hear in class. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It will also make you concentrate more on what is being said so you can properly take notes. Try to concentrate when you are in class so that you are able to get the key points during a lecture.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Once you learn techniques(技能) to help you with this skill, you should see an improvement in your listening.