These days when someone says a computer has a bug (小虫子) in it, usually they mean that there's a problem with one of its programs. Maybe your computer crashed when you were in the middle of a game.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    But back in the early days of computers, a woman named Grace Hopper was part of a team that discovered the very first computer bug.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} She had been invited to help program a new computer, the job of which was to quickly deal with the math problems ships used to find their way.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Then it translated the patterns of holes into the math problems it was supposed to solve.

    One afternoon in 1947 Hopper and her team were running a program. But the computer wasn't giving them the right results.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} They finally ended up taking the computer apart, looking for problems. What did they find? It was a moth (飞蛾)! The moth was blocking some of the holes in the paper—{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Some people think Hopper was the first person to use the word “debug” to mean “get rid of the problems in a computer”.

    Are you preparing any gifts for your friends now? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, but choosing a proper gift can be a big headache, because it takes a lot of time and effort to think of the right gift for someone. Before you finish your list, keep these dos and don'ts in mind:

    Do put thought into your gift.

    If you like something, that doesn't mean that your friend is going to like it, too. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Don't get him/her an ordinary gift, and reflect back on your previous conversations to see if he/ she talked about a certain gift he/she had been wanting to get.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Make sure the gift you're buying is appropriate for the person. For example, if you're buying a friend a gift, remember not to overspend or personalize it too much. Take a moment to think about how your relationship is with the person before getting him/her something.

    Do get a gift receipt (收据)

    If you're purchasing something for your friend, make sure you ask the salesperson to include a gift receipt. It's just a polite gesture, and you know your money won't go to waste.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Don't leave the price tag (标签) on.

    Make sure you don't leave the price tag on the gift and that you're giving a gift receipt and not the original bill.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, and it's not important for him/her to know anyway.

A. Don't buy an inappropriate gift

B. Don't be afraid of spending money

C. Giving gifts has forever been so pleasant

D. Take some time to really think about what he/she likes

E. If your friend doesn't like the gift, he/she can just exchange it

F. Giving someone you care about a very special gift can be tough

G. It's not proper to let your friend know how much you spent on the gift

House Sitting

    In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting. It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.

    In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home. There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You need to be good with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have.

    Some house sitting Jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the house owner have a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there. One of the important things to get are references from the home owners where you have stayed. A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well. You can show these letters to prospective house sitting Jobs and they know you will do a good job.

A. I have done house sitting many times.

B. Thousands of people do this all the time.

C. It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries.

D. Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job.

E. You must take a little care over what your description says about you.

F. This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas.

G. You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country.

    Some people think working overtime means you're a hard worker. You have to sacrifice your personal time to stay at work, produce something, help the company, and be a more devoted employee. But is that right? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. This means it takes you longer to produce something than someone else.

    A good manager knows how to encourage his employees to work to their full potential instead of expecting them to work late even if they don't have something to do. People who stay in their office until late hate their jobs. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Overworking may negatively influence the level of productivity and efficiency(效率). Any company that makes their employees work those hours is not being managed well. The fault lies with management, who should take a good look at themselves. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. And the boss would prefer you work efficiently 7 hours and then go back home than 8 hours with poor efficiency.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The fact is the competition is so fierce that if you don't work hard someone will easily and willingly replace you, especially in the IT industry. Employees are told they need to work longer hours or they don't belong or are denied promotions. It is time to abandon the culture of overworking, to work smarter, more efficiently and have a balance with personal life.

    Nowadays, it's hard for a young person to build a good future, for pressures are on his (or her) shoulders: housing, children, parents, themselves, etc. But everyone must keep working hard to have ourselves on the way to the good future, which is not certain. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. No one wants to work overtime.

B. The boss thinks highly of overworking.

C. Working too many hours only means you are inefficient.

D. And it affects their performance, as well as other aspects of their life.

E. What's sure is that if you're lazy and don't work hard, no good future will come.

F. Managers believe that overworking is an evidence of devotion from their employees' side.

G. In many countries, overworking would be criticized because it reflects poor work efficiency.

    After entering high school, you must wonder how to study well. Here are some good skills for you.

    Go to class. If you want to do well at school, going to class is the first step in studying well. If you miss classes, you will miss what the teacher thinks is important. As a result, you'll miss what is the most likely to end up on the test. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Take good notes. Try not to write down everything. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Write down unfamiliar terms. After class, review your notes as soon as possible. You can fill in details that you missed and review the material while it is still fresh on your mind.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you are struggling in class, talk to your teacher. He or she may be able to give you more help before or after class. Most teachers have little sympathy(同情)for students who just become worried about failing during the last few weeks of the grading period.

    Take part in class discussions. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Asking questions and having eye contact with your teachers and classmates can increase your participation(参与)and your focus during the class discussion. If the material is difficult, you'd better read it before class. This helps you make your point clear in class.

    Form study group. Get students together who want to do well in class. Make sure that everyone is familiar with the material because you do not want to spend time re-teaching material to people who do not understand it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Sometimes group sessions(上课时间)can become chatting sessions.

A. But be careful!

B. Don't be late for your class.

C. Talk to your teacher if you need help.

D. You should write down all the new terms.

E. So if you want to study well, go to every class.

F. All you need is to put down the main points in your own words.

G. In order to learn more in class, it is helpful to take part in class discussions.

Washington Irving once wrote, "…Europe held forth the charms of storied and poetical association. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Her very ruins told the history of times gone by, and every moldering (腐朽的) stone was a chronicle (编年史). "

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Cultural tourism becomes a new landmark in the tourist enterprise. For a tourist guide, it is an easy job to introduce or describe the natural scenery to the visitors, but it is not that easy for them to explain the culture. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} From the ancient times, the ancestors of Chinese laboured, lived, and multiplied on this vast land and have created splendid culture. As one of the four birthplaces of world's earliest civilizations, it has a recorded history of nearly 4, 000 years. Throughout the history of Chinese civilization, its agriculture and handicrafts have been famous for their high level of quality. During these 4, 000 years, China has raised many great thinkers, inventors, statesmen, strategists, men of letters and artists, resulting in a rich cultural heritage and fine cultural traditions. 

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Click the links below to know each aspect specifically, which offer introduction, culture, and history of every division. 

A. Tourism is always closely related to culture. 

B. Europe was rich in the treasure of age. 

C. China is a large country with time-honored history. 

D. Of all the global tourist attractions, China tops the list. 

E. Topchinatravel here collects some treasures of Chinese culture for your reference. 

F. Therefore, visitors have to study the culture themselves in order to gain an impressive trip. 

G. Therefore, we cooperate with tourist agencies throughout the world offering unforgettable travels.