Who is the greatest teacher in Chinese history? You can't think of anyone else when you hear people read Confucius' words.

    Confucius was born on September 28^th, 551BC in the Kingdom of Lu, in today's Shandong Province. Chinese people see Confucius as the greatest thinker（思想家）and also the greatest teacher. He had about 3,000 students. For more than 2,000 years, Confucius's ideas are around in people's everyday life. Now millions of people around the world are learning Confucius's ideas.

    Why are his ideas so popular? They help not only in everyday life but also in society. Confucius's most important ideas are being kind and having good manners. Confucius said young people should take care of the old. People should give up thinking of themselves and work for others.

    Confucius and his ideas are becoming more and more popular. Now, more than 100 Internet websites are teaching people about Confucius and his ideas.

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    The young woman at the airline check-in desk meant no harm. She greeted a customer with a question which would be no problem in Chinese," What's your problem?" But this question is impolite in English, and the customer became very angry. In this situation, the young woman should say." May I help you?" or" How can I help you?" Then she would not be facing an unhappy traveler.

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    Maybe you would like something. Instead of saying" Giving me a hamburger," say," Could I have a hamburger, please?" or "I'd like a hamburger." English speakers often use the expressions" please "and" thank you". When requesting something, use" Can I" or "Could I". In formal situations," May I" is the best.

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    When someone asks your opinion, you don't want to make them feel upset by saying something they think is unkind. Maybe someone asks," What do you think of my idea?" Don't say," It's a terrible idea." if you don't like it. Say," I don't think it's the best idea." Then people will accept your opinion more easily.

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    When you can't accept an invitation, don't say." I can't. I'm busy" Refuse in a more indirect way." I'm afraid I can't…" or" I'd love to, but…" or" That sounds great, but..." These phrases soften the message and make it easier to accept.

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    Avoid saying others have done wrong. Don't say," You don't understand me." Say, Maybe I need to make clear what I mean." Give special attention to" I" or" We" rather than" you". Take time to learn polite phrasing. Then you'll make your communication with people more pleasant.

Future and Today

    It is well known that everyone has his own dream as well as his own future. But do you know what future really is? I have to say that future is now. That is to say we must treasure(珍惜)every minute now. If we want to have a bright future, we should know how important time is and use it well.

    There is an old English saying: "Gain time, gain life." Then what's time？ Time is something that we can't see or touch, but we can feel it passing by. Time is always with us. When we are at table, time passes; when we play, time goes by unnoticeable. We always say "Time is money", but time is even more precious(珍贵的)than money, because when money is spent , we can earn it back. But if time is gone away, it will never return. So, some of us even say time is priceless(无价的).

    We should always remember: future is now. For us students, we should try our best to work hard in order to create a great future of our own. We should make the best use of every hour and be the master of today. We should do everything before us as well as possible. And never put off what can be done today till tomorrow.

    As we all know, "Time and tide wait for no man." If you waste today, you will regret(后悔)tomorrow. So from now on, work hard. Tomorrow will be better, and your future will be brighter. Remember:" No pains, no gains." Today's hard work is the cause of tomorrow's harvest(收获).

Title: Future and Today

    Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. No one knows the exact date of Christ's birth, but most Christians celebrate it on December 25th. On this day, many people go to church, they can take part in special religious services. In Britain, Christmas dinner is eaten at noon. During the Christmas season, they also exchange gifts and decorate their homes.

    One German couple tried their best to prepare for their Christmas decorations in a different way. Thomas and Susanne decorated the outside of their house with a few simple Christmas decorations. From the outside, their house looks normal. However, the inside of the house is so different from the outside.

    They started decorating in October. It took them 8 weeks to set everything up. They put 100 Christmas trees into their small house! They decorate the trees with small coloured electric lights and 16,000 baubles.

    They did not always have so many trees. In the beginning, they had a small Christmas collection. As time went on, they grew their collection rapidly. They started decorating in early October. It's so special even the bathroom has a Santa Claus toilet seat.

Information Card

    My name is Jack. I am English. And I'm in Beijing now with my family. Let me tell you our life(生活) here.

    My parents are teachers. They like to work(工作) here very much. I have a sister and a brother. My sister and 1 are in the same middle school in Beijing. My brother is only three.

    We have a nice house(房子) in Beijing. My room is big and nice. You can see a bed, a desk, a chair and a sofa in it. I have a computer, too. My books and computer are on my desk. On Sundays, I like to play computer games. I love my room.