This week we asked students at New Star High School about the best ways to learn more English. Some said they learnt by using English. Some students had more specific suggestions.

      Lillian Li said the best way to learn new words was reading English magazines. She said that she never studied grammar. She thought it was too boring.

      Wei Ming felt differently. He has been learning English for six years and really loves it. He thought studying grammar was a great way to learn a language. He also thought that watching English movies was a good way to watch the actors say the words.

      Liu Chang said that joining the English Club at school was the best way to improve her English. Students got lots of practice and they also had fun.

A Smart Dog

    Rico is a dog who lives in Germany,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} When his owner says the name of a certain toy, Rico can find it. In fact, he seems to know the names of 200 toys!

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. They put his toys in a room and then told him to go in the room and find a certain toy. Since nobody was in the room with Rico, he had no help from anyone finding the right toy. The researchers did this test forty times. Rico found the right toy thirty-seven times!

    Then the researcher tried something else. They put seven of Rico's toys in the room and one new toy that Rico had never seen before.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} . This new toy had a name Rico had never heard before. Rico found the right toy seven out of ten times!

    Researchers cannot really say that Rico know words or languages.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}They believed Rico can think about what he hears and thin about what he knows. In fact, Rico seems to thin and remember things as well as three-year-old child.

    From these tests, animal researchers know one thing for sure. Rico has given them a lot to think about.

A. Then they told Rico to go into the room and get the new toy.

B. However, these tests seem to show Rico is smart.

C. Some researchers in Germany wanted to test Rico.

D. His owner has trained him to find his toys.

How to pick a great book to read

    The world is full of great books just waiting to be read. How can you pick one you'll really like.

    Here are some tips:

    What makes you happy?

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Are you really into dinosaurs or dogs or a film star? Are there a few careers you're interested in? You can find books about almost anything you like, and you're more likely to enjoy reading a book if you're already interested in its subject.

Fact and fiction?

    Some books are entirely made up and imagined Those are called fiction books{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Non-fiction books tell stories using facts—but that doesn't mean they're boring. Non-fiction books can bring everything to life.From the first trip to the moon to what it's like to explore the deepest oceans. Try both fiction and non-fiction books to see which you like better.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}What was your mother's favorite book when she was your age or your dads? Ask them and give it a read. Then you can talk about what they liked about it and share your thoughts. It's a fun way to get to know your family a little better, and to find a book you'll enjoy!

    Ask an expert.

    Your local library is a great place to find books that you'll love, and you don't have to search them by yourself.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Your librarian can help you find other books that you're sure to love.Your teacher is another good person to ask.

Organize a book swap.(交换)

    Why not get some friends together and trade favorite books? It's always fun to see what your friends are reading.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}You also can look for book swaps in your area.

    Reading is fun. When you read, would you like a paper book or an e-book(电子书)? Some people choose e-books, some love paper books, and others prefer reading both.

    Li Ming, a university professor (教授), is busy doing some research. So he is often on business. When he is at the airport or on the train, he especially loves reading e-books. He also likes reading paper books in the library for the research work. Besides, he enjoys the smell of the paper books.

    What's more, Li Ming would like to read with his family. There is a reading time from 8:00 to 9:00 each Friday evening at home. Everyone reads and shares what they learn from the books. One Friday evening, Grandma took out an old paper book and said to her grandson, “Li Lei, this is the first book your grandpa gave me. There is his name on the front page. Whenever I read it, I can get something new from his notes. And I can still remember the happy life we lived together.” Li Lei said, “But I enjoy reading e-books. E-books need no paper. Many forests will be saved.” Grandma advised, “Don't read for a long time, or your eyes will get sore.”

    Different people have different ideas about e-books and paper books. No one knows whether e-books can replace (代替) paper books or not. Somehow, books are our friends. No matter which kind of books you choose to read, you can learn more about the world through them.

    Kevin has an interesting hobby. He likes collecting tropical fish (热带鱼). He keeps his hobby for seven years. Now he is fourteen. There is a big aquarium in his room. There are many fish in it.

    Kevin often travels around the world with his family. He loves it because he can see the underwater world in many places. Under the water, he can see lots of tropical fish. Sometimes he can see sharks (鲨鱼). He wants to keep one or two small sharks in an aquarium, but he can't do it at home. So Kevin goes to help in the ZO0 on the weekend. There he can see a lot of sharks and some other big fish. Kevin likes working in the zoo because he can work with his favorite animals and learn more about them.

Information Card

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}⑴Helen wants to go to a beautiful place. There she can enjoy beautiful natural scene.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}⑵Lucy would like to go to a theme(主题) park and buy some souvenirs(纪念品).

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}⑶Jack wants to go fishing by boat or ship.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}⑷Li Mei is from Zhejiang. She wants to go to the north to see the snow.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}⑸Peter is interested in history and he likes traveling in the city.