One night, Mary saw a girl sitting by the road near her house. The girl's coat was very old and thin. It couldn't keep warm at all. Mary thought a cotton coat may be helpful to the girl. So she opened the window and shouted to the girl, “Come to the front door of my house, please!” The girl was surprised, but she did as Mary said. She knocked at the door of Mary's house. Mary opened the door and smiled warmly to the poor girl. She handed a cotton coat to the girl. Just then she saw a smile on the girl's face. That night, Mary was very happy for what she had done.

    The poor girl had never appeared again since that night. Years later, Mary almost forgot the poor girl.

    One day, Mary got a call from a lawyer（律师）called Jack. Jack invited her to his office. After they met, Jack gave Mary a letter. It said, “Forty years ago, a beautiful girl helped me. In that winter, she gave me warmth and hope. Later I got through the hardest time in my life and then started a happy life.”

    After Mary read the letter, she remembered that homeless girl. “Where is she now?” asked Mary.

    “Mrs. Hope died two months ago,” answered Jack. “She left one of her houses to you. Besides, there is one more thing she left to you — a cotton coat.”

根据短文内容，回答下列问题。

    Playing is serious business for children．In fact, it's what they do best! Ask them why they do it, and kids will probably say, "Because it's fun!" But it's much more than that．It's also good for them．

    Studies show that from birth babies begin learning through playing．They use their five senses to get to know their new world．Touching allows them to discover how different things feel．Brightly coloured toys and clothing help develop a baby's sense of sight (视觉)．When small children choose which toy to play with, they begin developing their abilities in making decisions．

    Children love toys that allow them to use their imagination (想象力)．Sometimes an empty box is more fun than a high-tech (高科技) toy．That's because a box can become anything to a child．

    Crayons, paints and Play-Doh (彩色塑泥) are also good because they allow children to create．Traditional building blocks teach important pre-maths skills．

Playing doesn't become any less important once children start school．Many valuable lessons about life are learned on the school playground．Kids learn how to share, take turns and play by the rules．

    Hi! My name is Dave. I am a middle school student but I think my life is different from most other students. After school, I always hunt wild birds and animals with my father, uncles and brothers. I also help them to plant and harvest (收割) crops. I want to be a carpenter. A carpenter is someone who works with wood and fixes (修理) chairs and other things made of wood. I have made lots of things like tables and other furniture.

    My elder sister does many different kinds of things every day. She makes our candles (蜡烛) by using the oil and fat from sheep and cows. These candles give us light at night. She also gets the wool from sheep. My mother and grandmother also teach her to sew. She can make letters and pictures on the cloths with needles.

    I think we live a very happy country life.

    Can you imagine a sea of sand three times bigger than India? This is the Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world. It covers 11 countries in North Africa and is over 9 million square kilometers.

    In the Sahara, temperatures are very different during the day and at night. It is much hotter during the day than at night. During the day, the hottest time is between 2 p. m. and 4 p. m.-when temperatures rise to 33℃. But it is very cold at night, the coldest time is at 4 am, when temperatures fall to -1℃.

    Because of the extreme temperatures in the desert, it is a very difficult place to survive (幸存). Marco Rivera, our survival expert, has some tips.

    Take warm clothes and a blanket. You will need a hat, long trousers and a thick sweater to keep you warm at night. During the day, cover your body, head and face. Clothes protect you from the sun and keep water in your body. You will also need a warm blanket at night. It can get cold rapidly. When the temperature drops, it can be a shock and make you feel even colder.

    Try to drink some water at least once every hour. You need your water to last as long as possible. Drink only what you need. If you eat, you will get thirsty and your water will run out soon. You can eat a little, but only to stop you from feeling very hungry. Eat a small amount of food slowly.

    It's important to stay out of the sun during the day. Make a hole under your car and lie there. This will keep you cool and help you sleep. Find a warm place to sleep at night. A small place near a tree or a rock will be the warmest. But be careful before you decide where to sleep. Dangerous animals like snakes also like to sleep in these places. Look carefully for animals before you lie down.

Small talk

    Americans often have short conversations, called small talk, about unimportant things with strangers or people they know but not very well. They may have small talk at parties, while waiting in line at the store, at family events or work. It's a way to say hi and express friendliness.

    Small talk is very useful. It can avoid uncomfortable silences and build stronger relationships. For example, when you first meet someone or talk to someone you don't know well, you can break the ice by making small talk. Small talk with a colleague(同事) about his child may help you to understand more of his life outside the office.

    In 2013, researchers from the University of Essex asked some people to make small talk in a study. They found small talk can make people happier. People who talked briefly(短暂地) with a waiter in a coffee shop felt happier than those who simply went in, ordered and left.

    However some people are not good at small talk. Here are some tips to improve your small-talking ability.

    Firstly, find common ground. When you have something similar with your speaking partner, that means you have something to talk about.

    Secondly, ask open-ended questions. They are suitable(合适的) for small talk. For example, if you ask visitors whether they like your city, they may simply say "Yes." But if you ask "What do you think of our city," they will have more freedom in how they answer.

    Thirdly, become a student. Nobody knows everything. So, as someone is answering one of your open-ended questions, they bring up something about which you know nothing. So, tell them! This lets the other person become the teacher. They feel good about sharing their knowledge and you get to learn something. It's a win-win situation.

    Finally, practice makes perfect. Like anything, getting good at making small talk takes practice.

    If you make small talk in your native language, you might become happier. If you are making small talk using English, you will most surely improve your speaking and listening skills.

    It's true that you can learn new words when you read or listen, but you should also study new words seriously. Here are a few things I do:

    Make flash cards(识字卡)：(A) I find this is really the best way to learn new words. Make some small cards and write the new English word on one side and the word in your language or in easy English on the other side to test yourself. To really make this work, you have to review often (You need a system! ). I think this is the best method for learning English vocabulary.

    Make sentences with the new words: This is great if you can ask someone to check them. It's also great to make some really crazy sentences-that way you won't forget them! I also collect example sentences of the words I'm trying to learn if I see the word in a book, I write down the sentence.

    Make up a mnemonic：A mnemonic is a way to remember something, like a little story. For example, (B) 我在厨房的门上贴上单词 kitchen. The problem with this is that it works for a while but then you get used to the words and forget to read them!