"Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell." This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD 53 wrote it. 

We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?

    Picture this, you're rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?

Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no car, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live a simpler live.

     One family in the UK went "back in time" to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones. The grandmother, Lyn, said, "The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes." The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a "trendy, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things"   

    In 2009 a group of parents in Lymington started sharing worries about their children's money-management skills. Pocket money was now stored in a building society rather than a piggy bank (储蓄罐); household shopping was done online; the children rarely saw their parents handling cash. They were spending online, too. Money had become intangible. How, then, were children to learn its value?

The answer they came up with was GoHenry, an app now available in America as well as Britain. It is designed to help young people learn good spending habits through real-world money activities. Parents sign up with their own bank accounts and pay a monthly fee of £2.99 or $3.99 for each child aged six or over. Adults and children download separate versions. Parents can schedule pocket money and set chores. When those are marked as done, the child is paid the agreed amount. Parents can see what the child has bought and where. And they can choose where the card can be used: in shops, online or at ATMs.

Children get cards printed with their name. They can put money in savings pots, view their spending and balances, and set savings targets. "They could decide to save ten dollars for a friend's birthday in four weeks' time, or set a goal at 12 to have $2,000 to buy a car at age 18," says Dean Brauer, one of GoHenry's founders. "The app tells them how much to save each week to meet their goal."

A big benefit of such apps is that they inspire family conversations about money. According to the latest research, more than half of British parents find the subject hard to discuss with their children. And yet most agree that children's attitudes to money are formed in their early years.

Some GoHenry customers are wealthy parents who worry that their children will grow up with little knowledge of money. Others have slim incomes but regard the app as a preparation for their child's future. Some say that they have been in debt and want their children to avoid that mistake when they grow up; others that the app is cost-effective because their children learn to plan spending. Even though young people no longer touch and hold money, they can still be taught to handle it well.

How can we practice our {#blank#}1{#/blank#}English?

The first and the most important thing is to believe {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.You should always be full of confidence，or you won't be able to improve your English.You should often encourage yourself，"Come on！Don't be afraid！"You should never lose heart and never give {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

Maybe you are afraid of losing face，but you should think since we are students and we're {#blank#}4{#/blank#}，there's no need to worry {#blank#}5{#/blank#}anything.You must always be active in practice.It's no problem that your pronunciation and intonation (语调) can't be as good {#blank#}6{#/blank#}the native people because we are Chinese，and we don't have chances to live in {#blank#}7{#/blank#}countries and talk with the people there.But you must know that the main way to study English is to make ourselves understood and {#blank#}8{#/blank#}other people.You should believe that native speakers will not laugh at you，but {#blank#}9{#/blank#}they will encourage you.So if you {#blank#}10{#/blank#}brave enough，you'll certainly make rapid progress in your spoken English.

Don't be shy or afraid！Just have a try.

Reading books is a good hobby for all kinds of reasons. 

First, reading books is f{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. You can always keep yourself happy if you like reading. This is especially useful when the weather is bad. It is a relaxing hobby too. You can really become lost in a book. 

Next, you can read a book anywhere: in a car, in a waiting-room, on a plane, in bed — even in the bath. All you need is a book! Reading is a convenient hobby as it is e{#blank#}2{#/blank#} to stop and then start again. 

Another good reason for reading books is that it is useful. If you read as a hobby you will get better and better at it. This m{#blank#}3{#/blank#} that you will read faster and will become better at understanding what you read. As your reading improves, you will probably find your schoolwork becomes much easier. Many school subjects depend on good reading and, as you read, you learn more and more. 

Some people say that reading is out of date(过时). This is not true. You have to be able to read to use a computer and, the better you read, the better your computer skills will be. Reading is n{#blank#}4{#/blank#} out of date!

Good readers are most likely to be good writers, too. They are usually good at spelling as well, and have more things to write about. Reading books is a wonderful hobby, one of the best. W{#blank#}5{#/blank#} other hobbies could be more useful, or more enjoyable？

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