Films provide more than just entertainment．Watching foreign language films is a way to develop language skills．While watching a film，you are immersed（沉浸）in the language and can pick up new expressions that you might not find in a textbook．Some difficulties can arise when watching foreign language films-for example，unfamiliar colloquial language or strong regional accents．With this in mind，here are my tips to help you make progress in English learning while enjoying the films．

    Choose a film type that you enjoy.

    If you like action films，watch an action film-for example Indiana Jones．If you prefer comedies，watch a comedy-anything with Hugh Grant in always provides a laugh！It's simple enough，but if you choose something you enjoy watching in your native language，you're more likely to enjoy it in English．

    Choose something that you are familiar with.

    It's best to start off with something simple because in this way you have a higher chance of understanding the film．Disney films such as The Lion King，or the more recently released Tangled，are classic examples．Other cartoons such as Rango and The Lego Movie are also worth a watch．

    If you need to，use subtitles（字幕）．

    Subtitles are very helpful for beginners．using subtitles in your own language is the easiest choice，but for more advanced learners why not consider using English subtitles？This way，you can match the written subtitles to the words spoken on .screen．It helps you to develop your language further.

    I hope you find these tips useful-if you want to recommend a film to other users，feel free to use the comments section！

    Have you ever wondered what an American high school is really like? This article will describe a typical (典型的) high school and its students.

    A typical American high school has several large buildings and enough space for about 1,500 students. Every student is given a locker. When students first arrive at school, they go straight to their lockers to put away or get their textbooks and to hang up their outdoor clothes. As American textbooks are expensive, students would rather loan(租借) than buy them. Students must pay back if they lost any of them.

    American students have different types of school transport. They usually take a yellow school bus or walk to school if they live close enough. Sometimes their parents drive them to school. When they turn 16 years of age, most take a free driving class at school for one term. If students earn passing grades in the class and also pass their state driver's exam, they can begin driving themselves to school.

    Each day, students take six or seven classes. They must take science, math, English and social studies. They can choose art, homemaking, fashion design and other classes. In some schools students are required to take one or more of the following special classes: health education, physical education or foreign language studies. Students move to different classrooms for each subject. This is because each teacher has their own classroom. There is a five-minute break between classes, to give the students the time to hurry to their next class.

    The regular school day usually ends early in the afternoon. After school more than half of the students are involved in after-school activities. These activities include sports-especially football, basketball, baseball and soccer or clubs, such as yearbook, speech, school newspaper, photograph or student government.

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Dear Miss Li,

    I'd like to thank you for giving money to "Animal Helpers", I'm sure you know that this group was set up to help people like me. You helped to make it possible for me to have Lucky. Lucky makes a big difference to my life. Let me tell you my story.

    What would it be like to be blind or deaf? Or imagine you can't walk or use your hands easily. Most people would never think about this, but many people have these difficulties, I can't use my arms or legs well, so normal things like answering the telephone, opening and closing doors or carrying things are difficult for me. Then one day last year, a friend of mine helped me out. She talked to Animal Helpers about getting me a special trained dog. She also thought a dog might cheer me up. I love animals and I was excited about the idea of having a dog.

    After six months of training with a dog at Animal Helpers, I was able to bring him home. My dog's name is Lucky—a good name for him because I feel very lucky to have him. You see, I'm only able to have a "dog-helper" because of your kindness! Lucky is very clever and understands many English words. He can understand me when I give him orders. For example, I say, "Lucky! get my book," and he does it at once.

    Lucky is a fantastic dog. I'll send you a photo of him if you like, and I could show you how he helps me. Thank you again for changing my life. Best wishes, Ben Smith

    Once a king got two nice falcons(猎鹰) from his son. He had never seen such beautiful falcons before. He loved them so much and he ordered the best falconer to train them to fly.

    After several months, the king came to see how the training was going on. He found that one falcon had already been able to fly high in the sky, while the other one was staying on the branch(树枝) of a tree quietly without moving.

    The king called all his falconers together and ordered them to try every way they could to make it fly. But none of them succeeded. One day, while the king was taking a walk in the forest, an idea came to his mind. He decided to find someone who knew the natural environment well to solve the problem. Then he sent for a farmer who lived in the forest into his palace to train it at once.

    The next morning, the king saw the other falcon flying above in the sky freely. "It is unbelievable!" shouted the king. "How could you make it happen?"

    The farmer replied, "It's very easy. I just cut off the branch where the falcon rested."

    It is always the same to humans. We all have "two flying wings in our hearts as well, but we often seem not to notice them and stay where we feel safe and comfortable. We won't realize we can fly so high and freely until the "branch" we are resting on breaks.

Give water, save lives

A bottle of water may not seem like much to you, but thousands of bottles will be of great help for people who live in drought-hit(遭受旱灾) areas in China.

Since last autumn, there has been very little rain in Southwest China. Some places, especially in Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, have experienced a serious drought. Crops (庄稼) died, the land cracked(裂开), and wells (井) and rivers dried up. More than 20 million people are having difficulty in finding safe drinking water.

After learning about the drought, many people around the country helped by giving water, money and other things.

Last week, every member of the Communist Youth League (共青团员) and Young Pioneers(少先队员) were encouraged to give one bottle of water to the drought-hit areas. Students in primary schools and middle schools quickly joined the activity. In Yuhua Primary School in Xi' an, 900 students bought over 1,000 bottles of water with their pocket money. They also wrote their wishes on the bottles.

The serious drought has also made students realize the importance of saving water. Students from Nanshan Middle School in Huizhou, Guangdong went on the street to tell people to take part in water-saving activities.

"I've heard that some children in drought-hit areas don't have enough drinking water. They have to drink muddy ( 含有泥土的 ) water. I feel really sad about that," said one student. "I decide to take a shower twice a week instead of every day to save water," he said.