A

    A class teacher, in my opinion, plays an important role in a child's development. Every year when my daughter moves to a new class, I have a usual big worry –her new class teacher. This year, she is moving to Class Three and I can't wait to see how things are going on.

    Last year, my daughter did not like her teacher at all. It was so bad that she did not look forward to school. It was a year full of trouble and worries.

    This year, Miss Purity is gentle and humorous. It's hard not to like her. Here are the changes in my daughter.

    She becomes an early bird. Last year, mornings were like a fight because I had to force Tasha to hurry up when she was preparing for school. I had to pull her out of bed, tell her to take breakfast and then drove her to school. But now, our mornings are like a party. She wakes up early, prepares everything at a high speed and then rushes to school to be with Miss Purity.

    She's happy. She enjoys school and school work and keeps talking about what they did at school when she comes home.

    She's responsible. She used to be careless and forgetful. But now she never forgets even her water bottle at school. She makes her bed and helps in the kitchen.

    Her diary is full of praises. The diary is the tool of communication between the teacher and the parents. Last year, her diary was always full of negative reports. One time, she poured water in a child's lunchbox, another time she threw another kid's textbook in the toilet. Now she began to share her snacks with those who did not have anything. She's always volunteering to clean the blackboard, the teacher's chair and desk.

    She does well in school. Finishing her classwork was such a big problem. She had to do it at home. But now, she finished both the classwork and homework at school.

    China covers large areas and has a great population. Different living habits have always been an interesting topic in the country. Recently, another difference between southern Chinese and northern Chinese became a hot one: the way people shop at markets.

    People from southern China say that they always buy what they need for just one or two meals. It is normal for them to buy half of a Chinese cabbage, two potatoes and 0.25 kilogram of beef at a time.

    However, one may be laughed at if he does this in the north. Instead, buying vegetables and meat enough for a week is usual. Also, you can buy a small amount (数量) of fruit, such as a single apple or pear, each time in the south. Shop owners even help you peel and cut them. But shop owners in the north hardly offer such service. And many fruits are sold in baskets and boxes.

    The difference could be due to the different weather.

    Food can be kept for a long time in the north, as it is usually cold and dry there. Many northern Chinese have the habit of storing food, especially for the long winter. But the hot and wet weather in the south makes southern Chinese buy just enough food for one meal or one day, or else the food may go bad.

    Summervacation is coming. The Parkers are taking a1 to Sanya. How will2 go there? They have3 ideas. The son Dale says, "Let's take the4.Taking a journey by train is really relaxing. We5enjoythe beautiful scenery (风景) from the window." Thedaughter Alice says, "But the train station is far from our6. If we go there by train, we have to7 early. So let's drive a car." "8?" asks Dale. "Because we can9 atany time we want," answers Alice. "But I think taking a journey bycar is10.What about taking a bus?" asks Dale. "Oh, I don't like that. Thereare always11 people on the bus, and it12 a long time," says Alice. Then they go toask for their13ideas.Mr. Parker wants to take the plane because it's the fastest (最快的)way. He says that they shouldn't spend too much time on the way,14they won't have much time to visit thecity. But Mrs. Parker wants to go by ship, because it is cheap (便宜的) andthey can save some15.Which do you think is the best way?

"Tom? Are you in bed yet?" called Mrs White. There was no answer. Mrs White put down her book and went to her 14-year-old sons room. Tom was sitting in front of a bright computer screen on which a motorbike was running fast.

"Oh, Tom. You're still playing that computer game. You must stop now, because it's half past eleven. If you don't go to bed at once, you'll be very tired tomorrow." said Mrs White.

"But I've nearly won the game." Tom said to Mrs White. She could see the excitement on his face. she sat beside him and said, "You're always playing on the computer. You spend more time on this machine than on your homework."

Today more and more families have computers. Parents hope computers can help their children improve their study at school. But many of their children use computers to play games, listen to songs and watch videos instead of studying. We often see that net bars are crowded with people, especially young boys. They spend a lot of time and money competing(竞争) with the computerized(用计算机控制的) machines. The more they lose, the more they want to win. The result is that they don't want to work or study.

In some countries, even scientists hate computers. They say computers cause millions of bring them a lot of trouble. Computer game addiction(瘾) is a serious problem in social life. Something should be done to solve the problem.

It just hadn't been a very good week. On Tuesday, Sam's father lost his job. Then on Wednesday, Sam's mother said that the rent(房租) of their apartment was going up. Now it was Friday, and Sam received an invitation from Rosa to her birthday party.

Sam knew Rosa from Adventure Club. He knew he would enjoy Rosa's party, but he didn't want to go without a gift. What could he possibly buy her with the little bit of money he had? Sam knew he couldn't ask Mom or Dad for any money-not this week!

Later that afternoon, Sam noticed a second-hand book sale going on. He went there and had a quick look. Two books caught his eyes. The first was a cookbook of Puerto Rican foods, and the second was a book about women explorers(探险家). "Rosa would like these," Sam thought, "But would it be tacky(蹩脚的) to give her second-hand books for her birthday?"

Sam decided that a second-hand gift was better than no gift at all. Besides, Rosa supported recycling in a big way. So, she would probably like it. With his last dollar, Sam bought the books and went home. He felt a little better.

The party was on Saturday. Rosa opened all her gifts and thanked everyone for the nice things they had given her. She paused(停顿) when she opened Sam's gift, which made him wonder if she liked the books, but nothing was said.

When Sam got home, he opened his e-mail and found this note from Rosa.

Dear Sam

Of all the gifts I received today, yours was the nicest. How did you know I would love a book about women explorers and a cookbook of Puerto Rican foods? Now I have something to read that will inspire me to follow my dream of becoming an adventurer and I have a book that I can share with my grandmother.she is getting older and wants to be sure her granddaughter knows how to make the wonderful foods of Puerto Rico. Thank you so much.

Love,

Rosa.

The week turned out to be a good one after all.