Recently, Chongqing Three Gorges University has held an activity named “Cell Phone Ninja” (手机忍者). They would like their students not to use cell phones for 21 days. It is really a challenge (挑战) for most students.

    The activity started on April 12. Each student who volunteered to take part in this activity got a bracelet (手环). If the students did not use their cell phones, there would be a photo on the screen of the bracelet to show that. If they used their cell phones, a different photo would appear on the screen of the bracelet. After the last class of each day, the students sent the photos to the school's public WeChat.

    More than 800 students wished to take part in this test, and 400 were chosen. After seven days, only 103 students remained. The test was set for 21 days because some scientists believe that 21 days is long enough to help form (形成) a habit.

    According to the teachers in the university, the activity was not a competition. It depended on students themselves to make the decision. The teachers hoped their students could form better study habits through activities like this one.

We all long for friendship, but how to make a friend? “The best time to make a friend is before you need one.” Joy Steven said. The following are some tips for you.

   ● {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Friends usually begin with strangers. Getting in touch with other people is the first step to make a friend. Friends can't be made in empty air. Best friends take time to make.

   ● {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Friends understand each other when talking. Many unpleasant personal quarrels can be avoided if you will take the time to understand others' feelings and points of view.

   ● {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Touching is a warm form of communication between friends. When you see best friends communicating, you will notice them stand close together, touch each other comfortably and listen to each other. Sometimes a friendly touch is more powerful than words.

   ● {#blank#}4{#/blank#}    

Praise is a powerful tool to make a friend. Honest praise can affect your friends' lives. So try to praise your friends, including your general ones.

   ● {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Trust and loyalty go hand in hand for friends. Friends can share secrets with you, because good friends never break confidence and are loyal forever.

Doris has written a restaurant review on the Internet．

Excellent English food at the Country House

    Last Saturday night，my family and I ate at the Country House．

    The Country House serves traditional English food，we paid about 15 to 20 pounds a person to eat there．

    The food was wonderful．The fish pie reminded me of my grandma．She used to cook it for me．I also had some fish and chips，and it was fantastic．

    The waiters were polite，but a little slow．We were seated at 7 p．m．，but we did not receive our food until 7：40 p．m．

    I would certainly recommend the Country House for good，traditional English food．However，you should get there early and be prepared to spend a lot of time waiting for your food．

    We often see top students around us and everyone knows about them. Let us take Jenny as an example. She is the monitor of our class. She spends a lot of time working for our class. But she always gets good grades in all subjects. How do students like Jenny do that? When I asked her, she said, "Hard work is not the whole story. It's not how long you sit at the desk with your books open. It's what you do as you are sitting." In fact, we can see many top students spend fewer hours on their studies than their classmates. Jenny gave me some valuable suggestions.

    If your math teacher gives you five exercises, you should do six. If your Chinese teacher gives eight pages of reading, you should read nine. The more you practice, the more you learn.

    Studying is a matter of your personal interest, so choose the way you are most comfortable with. Some people like working at night when the house is quiet, while others like doing their work early in the morning. However, others like studying as soon asthey arrive home from school while the work is fresh in their minds. No matter(无论) which way suits you, try to do your best.

    Studying is your business and the business comes before entertainment(娱乐). When you are studying, phone calls should go unanswered, TV shows unwatched, snacks given up. Studying is the only thing in your mind. Nothing can pull your attention away from what you are studying.

    Studying is like eating. You should eat a little at a time. You can plan what to do today, but don't do too much. When you can't finish the work you planned to do, you will feel stressed and may lose confidence. On the other hand, you will not study well without a good plan. It all depends on how you manage your time.

    The students who hand in a clearly written paper are already half way to get an A. Tidy papers are likely to get higher marks than messy(乱糟糟的) ones. When you write clearly and do your work carefully, the thoughts in your mind are clear. You are able to make fewer mistakes.

    Everyone in this world has their own favorite game. I have my own, too. My favorite game is football. I often play football with my friends in the evening. I like this game ________it is exciting and challenging. Football is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players each. It is a ball game played on a grass field with a goal at each end. The objective of the game is to score by kicking the ball into the opposing goal. The winner is the team which has scored more goals at the end of the match.

    Football _______ (play) at a professional level all over the world, and millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favorite team or watch the game on television. There are many international competitions of football. One of the major international competitions in football is the World Cup. My favourite star in football is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. I wish to become a professional football player. I learnt teambuilding, discipline as well as teamwork through playing football.

    There is something different in this week's blog. Let's look at some birthday customs around the world.

Harry Baker, Perth, Australia

    It's my birthday next Wednesday. I'm going to be 10 years old. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} in my country. My mom's going to make me a huge plate of fairy bread. It's a snack. We make it with bread, butter, and colorful sugar called "Hundreds and thousands".

Jim Dixon, Montego Bay, Jamaica

    I love birthdays! They are a lot of fun. Here in Jamaica, we have an old custom. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Guess what we do? We throw flour (面粉) at our friends! It's my best friend's birthday tomorrow. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I'm going to buy a lot of flour to throw at him.

Victoria Smith, London, UK

    My grandmother is going to be 100 years old in June. She's very excited because she's going to get a special letter from the Queen. The Queen sends a letter to every person who reaches 100. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Jiang Li, Beijing, China

    In my country, we celebrate birthdays with a special type of the food. Noodles are a sign of long life for us. This year, I'm going to make some "long life noodles" for all my friends. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} and have a great evening!