It is said that about half of the people in China smoke．Many young boys and girls have the habit of smoking，though they are middle school students．

    More and more people have come to realize how serious this problem is．But they are never bored with it．Some people think it is a kind of fashion，some think it is of great fun and others think that smoking can refresh(提神)themselves．

    (A)Smoking causes many illnesses ． A lot of people always cough(B)           smoking．The most serious illness caused by smoking is lung cancer(肺癌)．At the same time smoking is a waste of money．Besides，careless smokers may cause dangerous fire．

    (C)我们都知道吸烟对我们的健康有害。In order to keep healthy，we should get rid of the bad habit of smoking．Please stop smoking at once．

    Chinese are very generous when they begin to educate their children. No caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the USA or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a good start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend a large number of money on education. Even poor parents will buy a computer for their child.

    However, what most parents fail to see is that the best education they can give their children is usually very cheap. Parents can see that their children are skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize is that today's children lack (缺乏) self-respect and self-confidence.

The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.

    Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework. These activities are teaching a child not only to read, but also to think. And that is more important.

    I'm Sara, I'm a middle school student. At school, we have nine subjects -- math, English, Chinese. science, geography, history, art, P.E. and music.

    My mother is a Chinese teacher and she says Chinese is interesting and important (重要的). I like Chinese, I always read Chinese books before 1 go to bed. I also like history, it is my favorite subject. Mr. Brown is great fun. In his history class, I can learn many interesting stories(故事).

    Mr. Green is my math teacher. He says math is useful and interesting, but I think it is boring. My science teacher, Mrs. Smith, is nice. I listen to (听) her carefully (认真的) in class. But I can't do well in the science exam(考试). I don't know why. This subject is really difficult for me.

    We always have art, P.E. or music in the afternoon. For me, the classes in the afternoon are fun amt relaxing. In P.E. class, I like to play ping-pong with my P.E. teacher, Mrs. Miller plays very well.

根据材料内容简要回答下列问题

    There is half a glass of water on the table. Is the glass half empty or half full? This question can represent a situation where there is both opportunity(机会) and trouble, but people with different point of views see the same situation in different ways. Ask yourself this question and see what kind of person you are.

    If your answer is "half empty", it shows that you tend to look on the dark side of things. You are a negative-thinking person. You are worried about what you don't have or what you have lost more than what you already or still have. In other words, you are a pessimist(悲观主义者).

    If you see the glass as half full, you tend to look on the bright side of things. You are a positive-thinking person. You know you should take the opportunity that comes your way rather than worry about getting into trouble. This is to say, you are an optimist.

    We don't live in a perfect world, but if we can change the way we see things, the things we see will change.

The Inside of the World

    When I was a very little boy, I was always asking questions.

    One day when I was walking with my nurse along the city street, I asked, "Jane, what's under the street?" "Oh, just dirt (尘土) ," she replied. "And what is under the dirt?" "Oh, more dirt," she replied.

   {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. So I asked again, "Well, what's under that?" "Oh, nothing-I don't know-why are you always asking so many questions?" she asked

    I knew there must be something under that. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. I also heard that Chinese lived on the other side of the world, head down. I wanted to find out if that was true.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, down, down, down, till I came through on the other side, and then I would know. I was a very little boy, you see. With a small shovel (铁锹) , I started a hole in the back yard behind the grapevines (葡萄藤). No one knew what I was doing. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Then one evening my father asked, "What's that hole in the back yard?" {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

He didn't laugh when I told him, but he asked me if I knew how far I would have to dig.

    I hadn't dug through the world, but I did know how far it was.