The first people who drank tea were the Chinese. The bush grew wild all over the south of China. Chinese people liked the taste, and found that the drink could refresh (使恢复精力)them. The new drink reached England in 1657. It was sold at one of the coffee houses. Only the very rich people could afford (买得起) to drink.

    Now, people drink tea all around the world. But tea does not mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries people have very different ideas about drinking tea. In China people always have tea together with their friends. They may drink tea at any time of the day. They only put tea leaves in their cups. They prefer the tea with nothing else in it. In the USA people drink tea at breakfast or after meals. They usually use tea bags to make their tea. Making tea with bags is faster and easier than making it with tea leaves in teapots.

    Today, when we think of Western tea culture, we often think of the English, afternoon tea and beautiful china tea cups. It's believed that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. She invited some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o'clock. This meal included cakes, sandwiches and tea. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups and plates, and silver teapots, knives, forks and spoons were used. Soon, afternoon tea parties became popular social occasions (社交活动). Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in modern Britain.

    There are five people in my family. We all like watching TV, but we like different TV shows.

    My grandpa is a great fan of Beijing Opera. He likes watching it very much. Now he is in a Beijing Opera club. There he talks about Beijing Opera and acts with other Beijing Opera fans.

    My grandma likes cross talk, and she often watches them when she is free. Her favorite cross talker is Guo DeGang.

    My father is a reporter in a TV station. He watches all kinds of TV shows, but he likes news program best.

    My mother is a teacher. Her favorite TV shows are soap operas. She thinks they are very interesting. But I think they are boring.

    I like playing basketball, so my favorite TV shows are sports shows.

     {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It has around 3 billion fans — nearly half the world's population! And about 300 million people play this game. That's 4 percent of the world's population!
    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Many people in old days played early forms of this modern game. Cuju (蹴鞠)，a ball-kicking game in China, was reported as early as 2,500 B.C. Around the same time in Greece, people were also playing a similar ball game with any part of the body except hands.
    But modern soccer didn't become official(官方的) until 1863. An Englishman called Cobb Morley introduced the idea of a soccer association(联盟). {#blank#}3{#/blank#} From then on, other associations in the countries were set up. They came together to build up the FIFA, which organizes the World Cup.
It's not easy to tell what makes soccer so popular. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Soccer needs only two feet and a ball. This makes it a sport that developing countries can easily play. Some of the sport's best players come from these poor nations.
    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The sport's no-hands rule makes beautiful dance — like movements on the field. What's more, this sport excites the heart. Teams might score only a few times each match, so matches can turn around suddenly.
    No one knows who will win at the next World Cup. But one thing is certain: The world will be watching.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}⑴Tommy: I like to have this class best because I like playing basketball and soccer very much.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}⑵Cindy: In the class, I can learn to play many  kinds of instruments(乐器). I can also learn to sing many new songs.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}⑶Wendy: I love this class best because the language is becoming more and more important (越来越重要) in the world.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}⑷Ted: Many girls think it is hard to learn it well，but I like it best. It's is difficult sometimes, but it is interesting.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}⑸Lin Xi: I like it best because it is my mother tongue(母语).It is one of the oldest(最古老的) languages in the world.

    "How are you?" is a nice question. It's a friendly way people in the United States greet each other. But "How are you?" is also a very unusual question that often doesn't have an answer.

    When a person meets a friend on the street and asks "How are you?", he only expects to hear the answer "Fine." even if the other person isn't! The reason is that "How are you?" isn't really a question and "Fine." isn't really an answer. They are simple ways of greeting people and saying "Hello".

    Sometimes, people also don't say directly what they mean. For example, when someone asks "Do you agree?", the other person might be thinking "No, I disagree." But it isn't very polite to answer so directly, so the other person might say. "I'm not so sure." It's a nicer way to say that you don't agree with someone.

    People also don't say directly what they are thinking when they finish conversations with others. For example, many conversations over the phone end when one person says, "I've got to go now." Often, the person who wants to hang u gives an excuse: "Someone's at the door." "Something is burning on the stove!" The excuse might be real, or it might not be. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk any more, but it isn't very polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn't hurt the other person's feelings.

    Whether they are greeting each other, talking about an opinion， or ending a conversation, people often don't say directly what they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's all part of the game of language!

    If you think you are too shy and want to be a little bit braver, just try the following things.

    Be open to others.

    Tell people you are shy. There is no need to hide(掩盖) it. When they get to know you are a shy kid, they will understand you better. This also helps you feel relaxed(放松的) in talks.

    Try to smile more.

    When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk with. Remember that other people have feelings, too, and most people don't like an angry-looking face.

    Learn to be a good talker.

    If you find it hard to start a talk, say something nice about people around you. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking to that person?

    Get your attention elsewhere.

    Think more about ways to enjoy parties or games. Don't worry about your looks or whether(是否) other people like you or not. You will become relaxed and find it's not so hard to talk with other people.

Title: {#blank#}1{#/blank#} to be a little braver