I have three friends. They are Lucy, Mary and Mike. They have their favourite pets(宠物). The dog is Lucy's favourite. She thinks(认为) it can help us and it is our good friend. Mary likes the cat. She thinks it is nice to play with it. Mike says his favourite pet is the bird. It can sing very well.

    How do you feel when you go to a birthday party? What about making a speech in front of the class? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}If you think you are too shy and want to be a little braver, try the following. You can make it!

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    There is no need to hide(隐藏) it. When they get to know you're a shy kid, they'll understand you better. This also helps you feel more at ease(自在) in talks.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk to. Remember that other people have feelings, too. And most people will stay away from an angry- looking person.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    If you find it hard to start talks, say something nice about people around you. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Think more about ways to enjoy the party or the game. Don't waste( 浪费) time worrying about your looks or whether people like you or not.

    Learning to play an instrument can be one of the most exciting ways to spend your free time. There are many different kinds of instruments to choose from: guitar, piano, violin … There is always one that's right for you. The following may help you make it.

    Make a choice (选择).

    First, you need to choose an instrument that you would like to learn to play.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} This may be the kind of music that you also enjoy listening to.

    Get your instrument.

    When you finish choosing your instrument, you need to buy it. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Some schools will lend students instruments. Or you can buy a second-hand instrument and it's usually much cheaper.

    Get ready to learn.

    After you get your instrument, you should then make a learning plan. You can have personal(个人的) lessons with a music teacher or go to a music school. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Play for others.

    After you learned to play a song for some time, you should start playing for others. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Then you can try to play for larger groups of people.

    Keep going.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Keep learning as much as you can and practice often. As you learn more, you will get better and better.

A. You can also choose to learn on your own.

B. If it is very expensive, you can borrow one.

C. It is a good idea to start with your family or friends.

D. To become a good musician, you have to keep playing.

E. You could also think about the kind of music you'd like to play.

    There is half a glass of water on the table. Is the glass half empty or half full? This question can represent a situation where there is both opportunity(机会) and trouble, but people with different point of views see the same situation in different ways. Ask yourself this question and see what kind of person you are.

    If your answer is "half empty", it shows that you tend to look on the dark side of things. You are a negative-thinking person. You are worried about what you don't have or what you have lost more than what you already or still have. In other words, you are a pessimist(悲观主义者).

    If you see the glass as half full, you tend to look on the bright side of things. You are a positive-thinking person. You know you should take the opportunity that comes your way rather than worry about getting into trouble. This is to say, you are an optimist.

    We don't live in a perfect world, but if we can change the way we see things, the things we see will change.

It's early in the morningand the alarm clock has already rung several time. You have to pull yourselfout of bed and rush to school because you're afraid of being late for school.

As a school student, this is probably a commonexperience for you. But thanks to new rules, students in Zhejiang andHeilongjiang provinces can now stay in bed longer than before.

On Feb 23, the Zhejiang Department of Educationannounced (宣布) a new rule that asksprimary schools to start school later. According to the rule, start times couldbe different among different grades, with students in Grade 1 and 2 starting noearlier than 8:30 am.

A similar guideline (指导方针) was announced by the education department in HeilongjiangProvince on Feb 24. Students from all primary and junior high schools in theprovince have been required (要求) to arrive at school noearlier than 8 am.

According to a 2016 study by the ZhejiangDepartment of Education, half students in Grade 4 slept nine hours or more anight, while the enough sleep time for primary students in 10 hours.

"I welcome the new rule so much. It is sucha wonderful rule that gives my son enough time for breakfast, which isnecessary for his health and growth", a mother named Xu Li said. She isfrom Hangzhou and his son is in Grade 1. These changes have received muchpraise as they make students get enough sleep and enough time for breakfast.

Pushing back school times isn't unique (唯一的) to China. In the United States, schools in at least 21 statesbegan to start school later in 2017, as studies have shown that later schoolstart times could be good for students' development.