C

    Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar(日历).

    In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on December 31st—January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal(正式的) clothes, and they may drink champagne(香槟酒)at midnight. During the first minutes of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.

    Many cultures also do special things to get rid of(摆脱) bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador(厄瓜多尔), families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned(燃烧) to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh(重新). Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.

    Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread(普遍的) Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black­ eyed peas(豌豆) for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!

    In England, people often talk about the weather because they can experience (经历) four seasons in one day. In the morning the weather is warm just like in spring. An hour later black clouds come and then it rains hard. The weather gets a little cold. In the late afternoon the sky will be sunny， the sun will begin to shine， and it will be summer at this time of a day.

    In England， people can also have summer in winter， or have winter in summer. So in winter they can swim sometimes， and in summer sometimes they should take warm clothes.

    When you go to England， you will see that some English people usually take an umbrella (伞)or a raincoat with them in the sunny morning， but you should not laugh at them.

    If you don't take an umbrella or a raincoat， you will regret (后悔) later in the day.

Peppa is a little pig. Many people know her name because they can see her on TV. Peppa has a big family. Her three family photos are on her desk. In the first photo, you can see Peppa's father, mother and little brother George. What about the next photo? Peppa's grandparents are in it. Who are in the last photo? Her uncle's family. Uncle Pig, Aunt Pig, their daughter Choel and their son Alexander.

 Now, let's learn more about Peppa's family.

▲Peppa likes red. She has many friends. George likes blue. He has many blueT- shirts.

▲Daddy Pig is an engineer(工程师). His friends, Mr. Rabbit and Mrs. Cat, do the same job. He loves watching TV. He doesn't like doing sports. Mummy Pig likes orange. She is very nice.

▲Grandpa Pig grows (种植) vegetables. Granny Pig can make delicious chocolate cakes. They have a tree house. Peppa and George love playing in it.

Tim and Li Fang are {#blank#}1{#/blank#} going to have any {#blank#}2{#/blank#} next week. They're going to work on a farm. 

They are going to leave at about seven thirty {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Monday morning. They are going to travel to the farm by{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They are going to {#blank#}5{#/blank#} old clothes because they are going to grow rice. They are going to have fish for lunch. They are also going to {#blank#}6{#/blank#} a swim at the farm. 

Tim and Li Fang are excited about {#blank#}7{#/blank#} to the farm. Not only they are going to help around the farm, but also they are going to learn about farming. 

Li Fang is {#blank#}8{#/blank#} that Tim won't arrive on time to catch the bus {#blank#}9{#/blank#}he is nearly always late. Li Fang often has to say to him, "Don't {#blank#}10{#/blank#} late, Tim. "

Do you like your family? Do you want to buy gifts (礼物) for your family to show your love to them? How can you buy right gifts for your family as a student? I have some tips (贴士、建议) for you. 

Know what your family like

Everyone has his or her favorite things. You can ask what your family like and then buy gifts. For example, Li Ming buys sports shoes and clothes because his family like sports. Lin Hui's sister is a10-year-old student so Lin Hui often gives her some lovely school things. 

Know how much you can pay (支付) for the gift

If the gift is too expensive, it will be hard for you to pay for it. Teng Fei is a middle school student and he doesn't have too much money. It takes him about 20 yuan to buy some flowers for his mother as a birthday gift. His mother is very happy. 

Know what your family need

Try to know more about your family and then you can know your family's need. Chen Jie's grandmother lives in Beijing. Chen Jie sends a beautiful sweater to her. The grandmother says it is very special and warm. 

Do you know about schools in the US? Schools there begin in August after a long summer holiday. There are two terms in a school year. It's the same as Chinese schools. The first term is from August to December and the second is from January to June. 

Most children in the US begin to go to school when they are five years old. They are usually in primary school (小学) and middle school for twelve years. After middle school, most students are seventeen years old. 

Middle school students take only four or five subjects every term like English, maths, science. They are useful. Students have classes happily every day. ____ They need to write many book reports (报告) after school. To finish homework, they often go to the library. 

There are so many interesting activities and clubs. Some of them are about sports. Some are about music or art. Students usually have a good time from these after-school activities. 

After high school, many students go to universities. They usually have to pay a lot of money for their studies. So many university students have to work after class to make money.