What do you do when you begin to read an English newspaper？

    You'd better know what sections are there．Usually, there is international news, business, science and technology, entertainment or lifestyle, sports and cartoons．You can choose your favorite section to read carefully．Then, you come to the article itself．If you don't have time to read the whole article, the headline and the photo give you a general idea of the story．

    A news article includes body text and a photo with a short piece of text under it．It usually puts the most important information at the very beginning．If you don't have much time to read the story, just have a look at the first paragraph．A feature article is an in-depth report on an event or person．It usually has an interesting opening．You get to know the idea of the article as you read．Another kind of article is an opinion article．Usually, some famous people give their own opinions about an important issue in a fun way．Opinion is different from news stories that are all facts．

    The earth is our home. We must take care of it. Life today is easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought some new problems. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. We can see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it. Man has polluted the earth. The more people, the more pollution. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, the problem was not so serious. When the land was used up, the river was not clean in a place, man went to another place. Now man is slowly polluting the whole world. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, It's bad for living things in the world. Many countries don't let burn something bad for air in houses and factories in the city. Pollution by SO₂ is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It's caused by heavy traffic. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. When you are riding, there is no pollution. But even in developed countries, most people don't go to work by bike. It's not because bikes are expensive or people are tired if they ride to work. It's because the number of cars on the roads becomes larger. So more people put away their bikes and go to work by cars, then things getting worse and worse. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} and make it so difficult and expensive for drivers to take their cars into the city that they will go back to use their bikes.

A. For industry was not well-developed.

B. We should have special roads only for bikes

C. Air pollution is still the most serious

D. Because there were not so many people many years ago

E. People say it's best to ride bikes

F. One of the biggest problems is pollution

     Look at this classroom. What is in it? There is (有) a schoolbag. Is this schoolbag Tim's? No，it isn't. It's       ， but Tim doesn't like brown. It's on Jack's desk. Maybe(也许) it's his. Is this yellow ruler Kate's? Yes, it is. She likes rulers very much. What's this? Oh, it's an English dictionary. Whose (谁的) dictionary is it? Let me see. Tina's name is on the dictionary, so the dictionary must (一定) be hers. Look at those pencils. They are white, green and purple. They are on George's desk. Here is a black pen. It's on the teacher's desk. It must be Mr Green's. Look at these English books; they are mine. I like English.

    British people pride themselves on their polite manners towards one another in public. They often use the word 'sorry'—even when they don't really mean it! Usually, if they want to ask a stranger for the time, they would start by saying 'Sorry to bother you. Do you know what time it is?' If they're five minutes late for an appointment (约会), they would generally greet the person by saying 'Sorry I'm late!'

    They use the word 'sorry' in so many different situations that the meaning of the word has changed a little over time. The two main dictionary definitions (释义) of 'sorry' are: 1) feeling sad for someone else because of their problems or bad luck; 2) feeling regret because you've done something wrong. Now, think about this. Normally, when they want to ask a stranger a question, they start with 'Sorry to bother you'. In this situation, they aren't saying sorry because they feel sad for that person or because they feel regret.

    So what does 'sorry' really mean? And why do British people use it so much? Well, in the British culture, saying 'sorry' is a way to be polite, especially to people who they don't know very well. It's also a very clever way to get what they want. In a recent experiment, an actor went up to a different strangers on a rainy day to ask if he could use their mobile phones in order to make a call. When he went up to one group of strangers and asked them without saying 'sorry' first, he was only 9 per cent successful in borrowing their phones. However, when he said 'sorry' to another group of strangers about the bad weather before asking if he could use their mobile phones, he was 47 per cent successful. So maybe saying 'sorry' is not just being polite, but it is also a good method to get what they want too!

Maker Moment

    Last year, Izzy Goldstein, 12, learned in science class that we can reduce air pollution by using natural energy sources, such as wind and solar power, instead of gasoline. This made her wonder what she and her schoolmates could do to help the environment. "Maybe if my school got  a bike rack（架子）, more kids would bike to school instead of depending on cars," Izzy told TIME for Kids. Rather than ask their school to buy a rack, Izzy and her friends decided to make a bike rack by themselves.

    They came up with a design. They calculated how much wood they might need. They measured how long the boards should be. They used power tools to cut them and put them together safely. And they did all this in their school's makerspace.

    Makerspaces are workspaces where kids can learn to create objects using technology, engineering, art and design. These spaces often feature a mix of high-tech machines, such as 3D printers and robotic Kits(工具箱), and simple materials like clay and cardboard.

    Izzy goes to the Harley School in New York. It is one of a growing number of schools across the United States with makerspaces. Makerspaces are largely inspired by Maker Faires(创客盛会), which are events that give people a chance to share their creative projects. Each year, about 250,000 people attend the Maker Faires in San Mateo, California, and Queens, New York. Maker Faires have also spread to countries around the world, including Egypt, France and Thailand.

    Schools are introducing makerspaces to the curriculum(课程)because makerspaces give kids a way to have ideas and build something from those ideas. Kima Enerson is a makerspace teacher at the Harley School. But she says kids can become extraordinary makers in an ordinary classroom, too.

    In Harley's Lower School (pre-kindergarten to Grade 4), students learn about the basics of computer software. By third grade, they study coding and how electricity works. In sixth grade, they learn to safely use tools such as drills and saws. When students get to high school, Enerson shows them how to apply their skills to solve global problems. "Throughout the process of designing, students are learning to create something to better the world," she says

    Halloween is a strange holiday. It started several centuries ago in Europe. It began as "Hallow Evening" which means "holy night". At that time November 1st was called "All Saints' Day" (万圣日) and people honored all the saints who did not have their own special day. People believed that all the spirits of dead people were active on the night of October 31st. So people would play all sorts of tricks on each other.

    Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night. Pumpkins area symbol of Halloween, so orange has become the other traditional Halloween color. Making lanterns out of pumpkins is a Halloween custom.

    Halloween is great fun for children. They dress up as ghosts(鬼) or witches(女巫). Small children go "Trick-or-Treat". They wear costumes, knock on doors, and shout, "Trick or Treat!" People almost always choose to give them candy as a treat, instead of choosing to receive a trick from the children. Adults sometimes "trick or treat" their friends, too. Usually the "treat" is a glass of wine or some small gifts.