Why do people play sports? You might say “ to get exercise” and you'd be right. To have fun?  That's true , too. According to report, people who play sports get a lot more than just fit.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You may think sports will take up all your study time. But research shows that students who play sports do better than those who don't. Exercise improves learning, and memory, which can help students become more active in the classroom.

    It's clear that people who play sports learn teamwork and goal setting skills.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}While working with teammates to win games and achieve goals, you're learning how to be successful. Those skills make you good at work and in family life.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In addition to being fit and keeping a healthy weight, people who play sports are also less likely to smoke. And later in life, people who exercise are less likely to have cancer or some other illness. Playing sports improves self- confidence{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Why? It builds confidence when you can practice, improve, and achieve your goal. Sports are also a feel-good activity because they help people stay and make new friends.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Playing sports can make you have less stress and help you feel a little happier. A person's mood improves during exercise. Friends help improve your mood. And being on a team creates close relations between friends. It's good to know your teammates will be on your side —- both on and off the field!

A. Exercise cuts the pressure.

B. Sports are good for people's health.

C. Sports teach people useful life skills.

D. People who play sports do better in school.

E. People who play sports feel better about themselves.

What's in a Name?

    Many American names come from England. But where did most English names come from?

    Centuries ago, most people in England had only one name-- their first name. In the 11th century, five or six of the 50 people in a village might be named William, and it was easy to get confused. But in the Middle Ages, people found a way to describe each person exactly. If there were four Williams in one village, one might be referred to as William the son of John. A second might be called William from the hill. A third, William the blacksmith(铁匠). And a fourth, William the brown haired. In conversation, people might refer to the four Williams as William John's son, William hill, William smith, and William brown.

    It was 300 or 400 years before the extra(附加的) names gradually developed into last names, or surnames. They were passed on from generation to generation. By the 1300s, Robert, the son of William smith, had the name Robert smith, even if he was not a blacksmith like his father. As the last name became widely accepted, the first letter was capitalized, as in Robert Smith. By the 15th century, most people of the upper and middle classes had surnames.

    Many surnames were based on father-son relations. The "son of" part was added to the father's first name, like Johnson, meaning John's son. Sometimes it was shortened to just "s", as in Jones or Evans.

    Surnames like Hill described the place where a person lived. They are the most common type of surname. A third kind of surname was based on a person's job. Forester was someone who looked after the forest. In the Middle Ages, occupation names such as Baker, Carpenter, and Miller became common. The fourth kind of surname was nickname(绰号). A man whose surname was Bear might be as fierce as a bear.

    Have you ever wondered why some surnames are so common? The most common surname in the English language is Smith. Being able to make metals(金属)into tools was an important skill in the Middle Ages, and many people were trained as blacksmiths. The most common American surnames are Smith, Johnson, William and Brown.

    People usually eat {#blank#}1{#/blank#} at Mid-Autumn Festival.  The special food for Lantern Festival is {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} is on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar year. The fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar year is {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Mid-Autumn Festival is on {#blank#}5{#/blank#} of the eighth month of the lunar year.

    Last week Lu visited England. He stayed with my grandmother. He said it was a strange visit. "I don't understand, but I frightened(害怕) your grandmother a lot. When I arrived, I gave her a purse from Zhengzhou, she looked in it and asked me to take it back.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Do English people like spiders?"

    "Later we went shopping. Someone was painting a shop front, so there was a ladder(梯子).Grandmother stopped me from walking under it and said I must walk around it. I liked the shops and bought some lovely rose soap(肥皂) for my mother, a smart umbrella for my father and some new shoes for myself.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your grandmother came in and screamed(尖叫) !"

    "Then I broke a small mirror in the bathroom.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}I felt very sorry. When I left I gave your grandmother some flowers. She counted and there were 13. She didn't like it.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}"I explained to Lu, "My grandmother follows the old customs(习俗). You must not give someone an empty purse or they will have no money. You must not kill a money spider or the same will happen. Also it is very unlucky to walk under a ladder and to put new shoes on the table. An open umbrella in a house means someone will die. Breaking a mirror brings seven years' bad luck, and 13 is also a very unlucky number.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}."

Hi, I'm Gina. In February, 2018 my mother had a yard sale. During the sale, she had a conversation with a young girl called Nancy, for they had a common interest in some books she had for sale. They enjoyed their conversation so much that they exchanged their phone numbers. Later they became friends and got together a few times. When my mom moved into her new house, she had a family dinner and invited Nancy and introduced her to my brother. Five months later Nancy married (结婚) my brother.

In 2018, there was another special "yard sale" that I'll never forget. One day, after work from school, I found one of my neighbors had a lot of things out in their front yard with cars and people everywhere. I ran to the yard at once and wanted to find some good cheap things too before everything good was gone. But then I found out it wasn't a yard sale. In fact, policemen were taking the stolen (被偷的) things out of the house. My neighbor was a thief! Luckily, I didn't ask how much the TV was.