You probably talk to friends more than you talk to your parents. That's natural. Still, most of us want a parent's help, advice, and support at times. But talking to the parents may be difficult or terrible-especially when it comes to certain subjects. Here are some suggestions to make it easier.

    Talk about everyday stuff—and do it every day. The more you do something, the easier it gets. Talking to parents about everyday stuff builds a bond that can help you discuss something more serious with them later.

Find something to chat(聊天) about each day. Talk about how your team did at the sports meet. Share something one of your teachers said. Even small talk about what's for dinner can keep your relationship comfortable.

It's never too late to start. If your relationship with your parents makes you feel nervous, try getting into conversations slowly. Mention the cute thing the dog did. Talk about how well your little sister is doing in maths. Chatting with parents every day not only keeps the present relationship strong, but it can help a might-be-worse relationship get better.

    When parents feel connected to your daily life, they can be there for you if something really important             .

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     Hello, I'm Tom. I remember at one time, when we were running on the playground, I was too tired to go on. As I wanted to give up, some of my classmates cheered me up. My classmates' encouragements helped me finish the run. I'll never forget it.

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     Hello, I'm Mary. When I was in Grade Two, I didn't prepare well for an English contest. I said sorry to my teacher. He said: “Any opportunity is important. You should never give it up easily.” Later on, I made good use of every opportunity. I'll never forget him.

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     Hi, I'm Lucy. The time I traveled to Qingdao with my classmates was the most unforgettable experience. We swam in the sea and caught crabs (螃蟹) on the beach. We played games and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I will never forget that trip.

     ④   

     Hi, I'm Jim. I took part in the red song competition with my classmates last year. Every day, we rehearsed(排练) very hard in order to get a good result. Because of our hard work, we achieved a good result in the competition.

    Death Valley is a huge place. It is more than 225 kilometers across the southern part of the state of California, and across the border (边界) with the state of Nevada.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It can be dangerously cold during the winter months. The air temperature during the summer can be as high as 57℃. The heat of Death Valley has killed people in the past. It will continue to kill those who do not honor the climate. Death Valley does not forgive (原谅) those who are not careful.

    Death Valley was named by a woman in 1849. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Thousands of people from other parts of the country traveled to the gold mining (开采) areas in California. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did.

    Many people were not careful. They made bad choices or wrong decisions. One group of people had reached Death Valley by December. They avoided the terrible heat of summer, but there was not enough water. There were few plants for their work animals to eat. The people could not find a pass through the tall mountains to the west of the valley. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They had to kill their work animals for food and began to walk out of the valley.

    As they left, one woman looked back and said, “Good-bye, death valley.” {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

A. Slowly, they ran out of food.

B. Death Valley has a long history.

C. The name has never been changed.

D. Death Valley is a beautiful but dangerous place.

E. That was the year after gold was discovered in California.

    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.

The story of the magazine

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    When you look at the different kinds of colorful magazines in the shops (and online) today, it's easy to think that they are a modern idea. However, magazines have been around since the 18th century and they have been an important part of people's daily lives for hundreds of years.

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    One of the earliest magazines was The Gentleman's Magazine which was started in London in 1731 by a man called Edward Cave. He was the first person to use the word "magazine" about a regular publication. The word comes from the Arabic makhzan or storehouse. His idea was that his magazine was a storehouse, or place that you could keep information about many different things.

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    Magazines became more popular in the 19th century. They gave people tips to help them with their daily lives, and they often had serialized (系列的) stories which gave the readers a new episode every week. Each part finished at a very exciting point in the story. Famous writers such as Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created serialized novels for magazines.

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    One very important serialized novel was Hard Times by Dickens. It came out in 20 weekly parts between 1 April and 12 August, 1854 in the magazine Household Words. This magazine was very good value and it was a cheap way for readers to buy a version of' a novel.

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Soap operas on TV today are often similar to the serialized novels. These old stories have often been made into modern films or TV series and they are still popular with modern audiences because they are so exciting.

    Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel lately? Can you imagine the flying feeling as you are pulled up to the top and then moved down to the bottom quickly again?

    Today a Ferris wheel is usually 40 to 60 feet tall. That seems very high when you are on the top looking down. But the first Ferris wheel was 264 feet high- taller than a twenty-story building! Can you imagine the view from the top of that?

    The first Ferris wheel was built for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The people who planned the fair were looking for an attraction that would bring people to Chicago. George Ferris handed a drawing of a giant wheel that people could ride on. At first everyone laughed at his strange idea. But Mr Ferris did not give up, and finally the idea was accepted. The ride opened in June of 1893.

    Today's Ferris wheels have 12 to 16 seats, which each carry 2 or 3 people. But that first one had 36 enclosed cars, each holding 60 passengers. When filled, it carried 2,160 people. During that summer in Chicago, about 1.5 million people rode the Ferris wheel.

After the fair, the ride was moved to a nearby amusement park built especially to show off the wheel. In 1904, it was moved again一to St. Louis for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. After the fair there, the wheel stood unused. In 1906, it was finally sold to a company for scrap metal(废金属).

    Luckily a Chicago bridge builder, W.E. Sullivan, figured out how to make a smaller Ferris wheel that could easily be taken apart and put together. In 1906, he started the company that still makes many of the Ferris wheels used today.

    But, whenever you ride one, remember that it all began with George Ferris's strange idea!