To:      tss_liam@kidstarmail.net

Subject: Hello!

———————————————————————————————————————-

Hi, Liam!

      So you're my new pen friend. Let me tell you a bit about myself. I'm 14 years old and I live in Calgary, CanadaI have two older brothers, Brian and Sam. I'm the only girl.

      I love sports and I'm always looking for exciting new hobbies to try. I like playing baseball in winter.

      It's fun beating the boys! But summer is my favourite time of the year. I love skateboarding and rock climbing in summer.

     Skateboarding's great because it's so fun and easy to learn! I often skateboard after school. There are many placesin the park where I can do stunts. I'm good at stunts like jumping and turning the skateboard!

     Rock climbing is also really fun. I usually climb with my dad on weekends. We can't do it on real mountains very often because we live in the city. We do indoor rock climbing instead but it's not as challenging.

    So that's me! How about you? Please write back soon!

Bye for now!

Anne　

Hello, my name is Kate. I have studied in a nursing school for three years. During my second month of the school, our teacher gave us a small test. I answered the questions very quickly until I read the last one:“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” I thought this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman a few times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how could I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. “Of course,” said the teacher, “As a nurse, you will meet many people. You should care all of them, even if al1 you do is just to smile and say ‘hello’.”  I've never forgotten that lesson. Later I learned her name was Dorothy.

    In fact there are lots of videos of school bullying online every year. We feel angry with the bullies and sorry for the victims in fights and blackmails. Some middle schools and primary schools in some far counties and villages are the worst-hit parts. Nearly half the victims of bullying in middle schools choose to stay silent rather than ask for help or ways to solve the problem, China Youth Daily reported.

    There is a study on junior middle school bullying made by the China Women's University. It showed that 48.9 percent of the students never asked for help after being bullied. And the study also told us 52.6 percent kept silent because they were afraid of “losing face among schoolmates”.

    The China Youth and Children Research Center made a survey of 5,864 primary and middle school percent of students suffered bullying, while 6.1 percent were often bullied by senior schoolmates.

    Cases of violence between boys and girls totaled 85 percent of all school bullying, the report said. Violence between girls accounted for as much as 32.5percent of the total. Unlike direct arguments usually seen between boys, the violence between girls more often took the form of insults, which terribly caused victims have strong feelings, it was added.

    A study published by the Beijing High People's Court showed that 68 percent of offenders attacked their schoolmates in a cruel manner and nearly 60 percent of school violence cases were caused by small matters, Legal Daily said.

    Earlier, Tang Jun of Renmin University of China told reporters that the social risks of school bullying have been given too little care. We should train our teachers to deal with school bullying, improve their skills of preventing it, and help the victim students to recover physically and mentally. At the same time, students and their parents should know the school's rules about bullying and what they should do if it happens. Second, children should be taught to stand up for themselves. They should try to solve problems by talking them out. Children should tell someone if they are being picked on. Third, parents should look for warning signs of bullying. We must pay more attention to it and try our best to solve it.

    I'm Zhao Kai. I have a good friend. His name is Ben.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}He comes to China because(因为) his parents work in China.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}He speaks English very well, but his Chinese isn't good. I often help him with his Chinese and he helps me with my English.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}He has many friends in our school. Ben often plays with his friends.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}His favorite food is jiaozi. I often invite(邀请) him to my home for dinner.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Do you want to be Ben's friend?

A. We help each other.

B. He comes from America.

C. So he is very happy.

D. He likes to eat Chinese food.

E. Now Ben is in my class.

    Recently, Chongqing Three Gorges University has held an activity named “Cell Phone Ninja”(手 机忍者). They would like their students not to use cell phones for 21 days. It is really a challenge( 挑 战)for most students.

    The activity started on April 12. Each student who volunteered to take part in this activity got a bracelet(手环). If the students did not use their cell phones, there would be a photo on the screen of the bracelet to show that. If they used their cell phones, a different photo would appear on the screen of the bracelet. After the last class of each day, the students sent the photos to the school's public Wechat.

    More than 800 students wished to take part in this test, and 400 were chosen. After seven days, only 103 students remained. The test was set for 21 days because some scientists believe that 21 days is long enough to help people form a habit.

    According to the teachers in the university, the activity was not a competition. It depended on students themselves to make the decision. The teachers hoped their students could form better study habits through activities like this one.