Celebrate!

Pinatas(彩饰陶罐)

    In Mexico, children often get pinatas on their birthday．Their parents put chocolates and other sweets inside the pinata and hang it on a tree．Then the children hit the pinata with a stick. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Noodles

    In China，people often celebrate birthdays by eating with family or friends，and the last dish of the meal is always noodles. The noodles are long and thin. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can't cut them. In Chinese culture，long noodles mean you will have a long life.

Business birthdays

    A business birthday shows that a company is successful．Many businesses in the USA celebrate important birthdays, like 10, 50 or 150 years．{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Sometimes they make TV advertisements．It is a good chance to advertise the business.

Name days

    As well as a birthday, many people in Southern Europe also celebrate their name day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People have big parties and open their houses to anybody who wants to come．People bring small gifts，often flowers or a box of sweets．

Islamic New Year

    In Muslim(穆斯林) countries across the world，people celebrate Eid. Eid means festival or celebration．During Eid，people visit family and friends，as well as people who are sick or in hospital．{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Children receive toys，too．Children often wear special traditional clothes during the Eid celebrations.

A．You have to eat them in one piece.

B．They go out for a meal to celebrate.

C．Companies hold parties and send cards.

D．They give presents, such as sweets and food.

E．It breaks and the sweets fall out on to the ground.

F．This is one of the two important festivals in this country.

G．In Greece, name days are more important than birthdays.

Planning a September trip to France

    September is one of the very best months to visit France．Not only will you enjoy plenty of sunshine and warm weather, but the tourist season is beginning to wind down-which means cheaper airfares, lower prices at hotels, and fewer crowds．{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ●Go wine tasting

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And there are plenty of wine-related events and festivals around the country．So September is a great time to visit the vineyards around the country and go wine tasting．The Bordeaux, Loire and Burgundy regions are all lovely and great places to visit vineyards．Besides that, going to the castles of the Loire region in between visiting vineyards on such warm and Sunny days is also very enjoyable．

    ●{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The temperatures are slightly lower，but plenty of sunshine makes for perfect conditions to enjoy a barge cruise on the canals of France．With such comfortable weather and beautiful scenery at this time of year, nothing equals hanging out on the deck of a barge．

    ●Visit the museums

    Many museums in France have extended opening hours during the summer to accommodate the extra tourists and locals. And some museums also have extended opening hours into September．Wandering around the Louvre will take you into a wonder world，where you can enjoy the world-famous art． {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Besides the above，riding a bike through France's villages is also a welcome activity for young visitors in September．You call shop for the most fashionable clothes or goods here．You can see the beautiful and fantastic scenery along the road．{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A．Take a barge cruise.

B．Enjoy the music concerts.

C．So, don't hesitate and start to plan your September trip to France flow!

D．France is a beautiful country．

E．September is the beginning of the grape harvest season in France．

F．Going out of the Louvre, you can walk to the modern and fashionable Champs Elysees to do some shopping．

G．If this is your first trip to France, here is some handy information to help you get started planning your vacation!

    Any woman can be strong. I don t just mean strong in mental aspect.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}You may think that strong women are born, not made. You may be thinking of Olympic weightlifters lifting dozens of kilos over their heads, or of bodybuilders posing.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is a requirement for everyday life. Strength is what you need if you carry your luggage. You need to be strong to pick your child up off the floor. And, most of all-especially as you get older-you need strength simply to stand up without falling over.

    As we age, we progressively lose muscle mass, which can make us weaker.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We might have trouble going up and down steps, picking up something heavy, even standing up from a seat. But while ageing is unavoidable, building muscle through strength training is meaningful.

    A programme that is becoming more and more commonly used is Starting Strength. The basic Starting Strength programme consists of four different lifts. Trainees learn these lifts step by step.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Three times a week they perform three of the lifts. If they are successful in a period, they then add 2.25kg in the next period.

    But barbell (杠铃) lifting doesn't just offer physical strength; it also gives women emotional and mental confidence.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. But strength is not just about appearances.

B. I mean simply being able to fight against gravity.

C. Being strong doesn't mean having a stony heart, either.

D. However, this condition can be improved by working out.

E. Most people begin to learn the lifts using an empty bar weighing 20kg.

F. In daily life, the actions we take for granted become more and more difficult.

G. However you feel about your body, you can become the strongest version of yourself.

    Every animal sleeps, but the reason for this has remained foggy. When lab rats are not allowed to sleep, they die within a month.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One idea is that sleep helps us strengthen new memories. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We know that, while awake, fresh memories are recorded by reinforcing (加强) connections between brain cells, but the memory processes that take place while we sleep have been unclear.

    Support is growing for a theory that sleep evolved so that connections between neurons (神经元) in the brain can be weakened overnight, making room for fresh memories to form the next day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Now we have the most direct evidence yet that he is right.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The synapses in the mice taken at the end of a period of sleep were 18 per cent smaller than those taken before sleep, showing that the connections between neurons weaken while sleeping.

    If Tononi's theory is right, it would explain why, when we miss a night's, we find it harder the next day to concentrate and learn new information — our brains may have smaller room for new experiences.

    Their research also suggests how we may build lasting memories over time even though the synapses become thinner. The team discovered that some synapses seem to be protected and stayed the same size. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} “You keep what matters,” Tononi says.

A. We should also try to sleep well the night before.

B. It's as if the brain is preserving its most important memories.

C. That's why students do better in tests if they get a chance to sleep after learning.

D. Similarly, when people go for a few days without sleeping, they get sick.

E. The processes take place to stop our brains becoming loaded with memories.

F. Tononi's team measured the size of these connections, or synapses, in the brains of 12 mice.

G. “Sleep is the price we pay for learning,” says Giulio Tononi, who developed the idea.

Learning how to apologize is similar to learning any new behavior. It may feel awkward and may not be polished at first {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There are several tips that will help you as you learn how to apologize.

First of all, wait until the right time and you are in the right place. Although public apology is often appropriate, discretion（谨慎）should be used. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Remember, you will be raising a topic that may recall a bad experience or bad feelings. Be respectful as you approach this task.

Be direct and brief in your approach. Acknowledge the fact that injury has occurred and then take responsibility for what happened. Be sincere in expressing your regret and demonstrate your willingness to take ownership of the situation. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

Even if you follow these steps, be prepared for rejection. Sometimes, the person apologizing has an expectation that the apology will lead to immediate forgiveness and acceptance. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you think of the offense（冒犯）as an emotional bruise（瘀伤）, think of the healing process as the color changes we see as a bruise heals.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Knowing when to keep one's mouth shut is a virtue. Keeping quiet may be very difficult, as post-apology listening is not easy. We may hear unpleasant observations from another about our own shortcomings. We may hear the expression of anger. One of the ways we let others know we are truly responsible and accountable for our mistakes is by listening to the other party pour out the feelings associated with our actions.

A. Forgiveness and acceptance may take time.

B. To give or receive a good apology is an art.

C. But with practice, everyone can learn to do it.

D. Listening to the response to our apologies is important.

E. Most apologies can and should happen in a private setting.

F. In other words, avoid excuses and offer to repair the damage.

G. Taking responsibility doesn't mean accepting blame for everything.

When was the last time something important slipped your mind?. Maybe it was the answer to a test question, the name of an acquaintance or where you left your keys. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}People's ability to remember has less to do with natural talent than it does with training and practice. When students want to prepare for a test they often try to study by simply reading over the material. again, copying notes, etc. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} People remember more when they actively engage with the material they are learning rather than passively receiving it.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Come up with questions about the topic, and try to answer them without looking at your notes. It also helps. to try to engage with the material in different ways. For example; you could sketch or diagram the information, or you. could write your own outline or study guide. The more you use the information, the more likely you are to remember it.

A psychologist(心理学家) named . Herman Ebbinghaus made. an important discovery about memory and forgetting. He found that people tend to forget information in a regular pattern. They forget the most information shortly after learning it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Every time the person reviews the information, it causes them to forget less of it——which means they remember more. So it is essential to review things you want to remember shortly after learning them. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Applying these strategies will help improve your memory so that you can access everything you learn whenever you need it.

A. Practice makes perfect.

B. Strike while the iron is hot.

C. Fortunately, memory can be improved.

D. Over time, you can review them less and less frequently.

E. The rate at which they forget then slows down over time.

F. One great way to do this is to test yourself on the material.

G. But these methods of remembering are not always effective.