Doing the Right Things in Britain

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    When you stop a stranger in the street to ask for directions, start by saying “Excuse me….”Also, you should say “Please” when you ask for something, and “Thank you” when people give you something.

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    Smile when you talk to people in shops, restaurants and on public transport, and they will probably smile back.

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    Don't sit or stand too close to people you don't know. Britain people don't often touch each other, and usually say “Sorry” when they touch someone by mistake.

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    Don't ask personal questions like “How old are you?”, “How much do you weigh?” or “Are you married?” You can talk about the weather, or recent TV programs, or football matches.

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    Make sure when to meet someone before you go to his home. It's unusual to call on someone when he isn't expecting you.

    We always think classical (古典的) music fans are quiet and shy, and lovers of rap (说唱音乐) are outgoing.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}According to a study in Edinburgh, it is.

    Professor North, who did the study, says that people often show their personalities through the kind of music they listen to. More than 36,000 people from around the world joined-the study.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Here are some of the results:

Western and country music fans are hard-working and not shy.

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Classical music fans are quiet.

Rap fans are outgoing.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People think heavy metal fans are very sad and unhappy. But like classical music fans, they are in fact easy-going and creative, and not very outgoing.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Heavy metal fans in Sweden have more in common with heavy metal fans in Brazil than with Swedish fans of pop.

    In August, 2012, I visited London with my husband(丈夫) and our two sons Sam and Eric. We spent four days visiting some interesting places and enjoyed ourselves. The fifth day, I wanted to relax at the hotel. But the children didn't like it. So I carefully thought about how we would spend the last day. I read a passage about HMS Belfast in a magazine. In fact, I was not very interested in visiting a warship(战舰), but my sons and their dad liked it. So we decided to go there.

    The weather was sunny that day. We left our hotel at 8：00 a.m. It took us about two hours to get to HMS Belfast. Children under 16 were free of charge(免费)．The price of the ticket for an adult (成年人) was ￡14.The warship was very large. We took some photos there. Sam was interested in everything on it and said it was the most interesting place in London.

    Drones（无人机）are like planes, but come in many shapes and sizes. They have no pilots and controlled from outside the drones. During these years, they have been used to attack（进攻）enemies or moved goods in dangerous areas.

    Now small drones are a part of people's lives. For example, people use drones to take photos or make videos. Besides, a drone delivery (投递) service has proved successful.

    Online store JD can use drones to deliver small packages（包裹）. It has built several drone stations so that it can load(装载) and deliver its packages.

    Drones have made our shopping experience different. We can order a new coat in early morning and it will be delivered before we finish breakfast.

    Bizzby Sky, a UK company, has created a delivery service for small goods. Open a smartphone app(应用软件), enter your address, set a time and pay enough money for the delivery service. Then in minutes, a drone will do tasks for you.

    However, any drone company needs government permission (允许) to fly its drones in many countries. We believe we will see more and more drones with goods fly in the sky very soon.

    People burn coal, gas and oil to get energy But there are problems with these fuels (燃料). (A)________, these fuels cause pollution. Pollution makes the air and water unsafe for humans. Secondly, these fuels will not last forever. One day, we will run out of these fuels.

    Scientists are looking for new kinds of energy. One is heat from the Earth. We know that (B)地球中央非常热. We cannot reach the center of the Earth, but in some places the heat from the Earth's center comes to the surface of the Earth. Perhaps you know about some of these places One place is volcanoes (火山). It is very dangerous to go near an active volcano, (C) _______ we cannot use the energy from this.

    Another kind of heat from the Earth is hot springs (温泉). In these places, hot water comes to the surface of the Earth. If this water is near a town, the hot water can be sent in pipes (管道) directly to people's houses to heat them .In Iceland, this is a common way to heat houses.

    (D)In Australia, scientists are looking for ways to make energy using hot rocks under the surface of the Earth. They want to pump (抽水)water onto the hot rocks .When the water hits the rocks, it makes stream(蒸汽). The steam is piped to power stations where (E) it is used to make electricity. The electricity can then be sent all over the country.

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.