Januany 1st is New Year's Day. People all over the world celebrate this festival. On New Year's Day there is a one-day holiday in most countries all the time. The real celebrations for New Year always happen on the night before called New Year's Eve. There are a lot of interesting customs in the west, and there are a lot of differences from country to country.

    In China the spring Festival is a family get-together. And so is Christmas in many western countries. But New Year for some families is a time to get together with their friends, too. Most people often have parties to welcome New Year. At these parties, there are all kinds of food and drink, and people often sing and dance until the time nears for the coming of New Year.

    On New Year Eve when midnight comes, people often say “Happy New Year” to each other. Champagne （香槟酒） is a favorite drink for New Year. In many western countries frieworks（烟火）are let off at midnight, and many people like to make a noise, maybe they want to drive away bad spirits（幽灵）.

    At New Year people often sing one important Scottish (苏格兰）song with the name Auld Lang syne (Good times long ago).

    Some people in the West like to stay at home during their weekends. They work in the garden, visit their friends, read books or watch television. Many families take their lunch to a park or some where far from the city. They like to eat under some trees or near a nice lake. If they live near the sea, they often go to the seaside. There they can fish, swim or enjoy the sunshine.

    Some people in the West like travelling. They think travelling and outdoor activities are interesting and exciting. They work hard to save money, but their main purpose is to travel.

    Most Western students often make use of their weekends to camp. There are thousands of interesting camp bases in Western countries. They can swim, go fishing, attend lectures, and take part in many other activities there. It can help them quest for the secrets of nature and teach them how to be self-reliant(自立的).

    Bullying（欺凌）can happen to anyone. It happens to millions of children around the world. Every year, a great many children around the world are bullied, but there are things that can be done to help.

What is bullying?

    Bullying is when someone makes you feel bad or hurts you again and again. Bullying can happen at school, out of school or online. Bullying includes:

calling people mean（恶意的）names.

laughing at people.

telling lies about people.

taking someone's things without permission（允许）.

not letting someone play in a group, hitting people.

What is cyber-bullying?

    Cyberbullying happens online and includes:

sending bad messages online, sharing photos online without permission,

not letting someone be in an online group, spreading lies online

What can you do?

     If someone is not kind of you, tell an adult who you know and like. For example, talk to parent or a teacher.

    If you get bad messages, don't reply. You should save them and give them to your teacher, your family or the police. Ask an adult for help. Don't share something before you make sure it is true. That will stop the cyberbullying.

    Talk to your parents or teacher or an adult if you are worried about a friend.

    Say sorry if you are not kind to someone. You can write a message or talk to the person. And always remember: think about how to be kind in the future.

For more information, visit our home page at www.kidsworld.com.

    Li Qiang and Li Gang are brothers. But their living habits(习惯) are different. Now let's go to Li Qiang's room. Li Qiang cleans his bedroom every day and puts his things away. Look! There is a computer on the desk. There are two footballs under the bed. A guitar and a kite are on the wall. Some books are on the shelf. So he must be a careful boy. Now let's go to Li Gang's room. The room is not clean. There are some books on the floor. Can we see his clothes on the desk? Oh, yes. We can also see a football and a knife on the desk. Li Gang never does any cleaning. So his room is  in a mess(混乱).

    What do you think of Li Qiang and Li Gang? I think Li Qiang is a good boy. Li Gang must learn from his brother.