In America, boys and girls like watching TV. Some children spend six hours a day at school and four to six hours a day in front of the TV sets. Some children even watch TV for eight hours or more on Saturday.

    Television is like books and films. A child can learn both good things and bad things from it.  Some TV programs help children to understand the news, the people and places in other countries. With TV, children do not have to go to the movies. They can listen to interesting music or watch a game at home. But some programs are bad for children, so parents sometimes should help them to find other interesting and useful things to do.

    We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs (习俗) for each festival.

    Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China

    “It'll soon be Chinese New Year. Before it, we'll clean the house and decorate it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and we'll go out a lot to celebrate in the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival.”

    Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia

    “Australia Day is on 26th January and it's an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there's lots of music and dancing. What fun！”

    Amy, 14, New York, USA

    “The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It's still a very important day for families to be together. This year we're going to visit my grandparents and we'll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year.”

Information Card

    Is your life ruled by love or by fear? Love and fear are two opposite feelings that shape our life in very different ways. Most of us are controlled by both of them. However, even a tiny change towards love and away from fear can bring more happiness. Here are some suggestions towards love.

    Cultivate Gratitude(培养感恩之心)

    Gratitude makes us feel happier. If you remember to be thankful for the blessings(赐福)of your life, you will feel more connected to yourself and others. When you let worries go and have gratitude instead, love appears quickly.

    Test the Reality of Fear

    Sometimes fear can be like a cloud that keeps out the sunlight. A simple way to deal with fear is to test its reality. Write down three things that you're afraid of. Then look at each point and ask yourself,  "Is this fear really grounded(基于) in reality? "I know when I do this, I often find that fears aren't reasonable.

    Take Action

    Taking action is the best way to control fear. For example, if you are not feeling well, but you don't go to a doctor, you may imagine that you are having a serious health problem.

    Once you've been to a doctor, talked about the problems and dealt with them one by one, your fear will become smaller and even disappear.

Li Ming's birthday

    It's Saturday today and it's Li Ming's birthday. He is twelve years old. Li Ming is very happy because he gets lots of presents from his family and friends. Now let's see what they are.

    His parents have a birthday party for him. Li Ming's mother makes a birthday cake for him. It's big and delicious. He likes music very much, so his father gives him a ticket to a concert.  His uncle gives a book to him as a birthday present.

    He likes it very much. His sister Betty sends him a birthday card and she makes it by hand. And his friend Tom gives him a football. They often play football after school. Li Ming likes these presents. They sing Happy Birthday together and have a good time.

Li Ming's birthday {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

⑴Hi, Im Han Mei{#blank#}1{#/blank#}              A. Brown.

⑵Hi, Mary. Nice to meet you!{#blank#}2{#/blank#}     B. Hello, Han Mei! Im Tom.

⑶Hello, Helen. How are you?{#blank#}3{#/blank#}     C. Hi, Tom! Nice to meet you, too.

⑷How do you spell it?{#blank#}4{#/blank#}           D. It's 25438541.

⑸What's your family name?{#blank#}5{#/blank#}       E. Hi, Eric! I'm fine, thanks.

⑹What's this in English?{#blank#}6{#/blank#}         F. It's a map.

⑺What's his phone number?{#blank#}7{#/blank#}      G. B-A-G.

⑻What color is it?{#blank#}8{#/blank#}              H. It's black.

⑼Good evening!{#blank#}9{#/blank#}             I. Yes, M-A-P

⑽Can you spell it, please?{#blank#}10{#/blank#}    K. Good evening!

Birthday Food Around the World

    What would people like to eat on their birthday? The answer would be different in different countries.

    In many countries, people have birthday cakes with candles. The number of the candles is the person's age. The birthday person must make a wish and blow out the candles. 59. If he or she blows out all the candles in one go, the wish will come true. In the UK, people sometimes put a candy in a birthday cake. The child with the candy is lucky. In China, it is getting popular to have a cake on your birthday. But many people still eat very long noodles for their birthday. They never cut up the noodles because the long noodles are a symbol of long life. In some places, Chinese people also eat eggs on their birthday. They are a symbol of life and good luck. All of these birthday foods may be different, but the ideas are the same. 他们会给过生日的人带来好运。