Hot pot(火锅)is many Chinese people's favorite and Liu Yang is one of them.

    Three days ago, Liu Yang arrived in England . There he had three days of hamburgers, sandwiches and potatoes. Yesterday he was very excited when he heard that there was going to be a meal of hot pot to welcome the new students.

    He went into the room and sat next to an American girl. To his surprise, he saw potatoes and bread in front of him. Where was the hot pot?

    When she saw Liu Yang was very surprised , the American girl told him that hotpot is NOT hot pot. China has hot pot in two words but English hotpot is written in one word.

    Hotpot is made from meat, potatoes and onions. People put it in the oven（烤箱）all day in a heavy pot and on a low heat. It is easy to cook.

    Hot pot tastes fine. But Liu Yang still misses hot pot, two words!

    The Browns and Mary leave the train station for their home. After half an hour, they get to the Browns' home. Mary sees her new home, and she is very happy. She puts her jacket on the bed. Then Mrs. Brown says, "Mary, don't put your dirty jacket on the bed. "

    It's time for lunch. Mary is happy because she sees her favorite food chicken on the table. She tastes it and says, "Very nice. " Then Mr. Brown says, "Mary, you can't eat before your grandparents eat. And you mustn't talk when eating. "

    After lunch, Mary goes into Peter's room. Peter is not happy. He says, "Mary, you can't come into my room without(没有) asking me.

In the evening, the Browns go to bed but Mary doesn't. She is not happy because she thinks there are too many rules at the Browns' home. With her jacket, Mary goes to the train station. She likes it because there're no rules there.

    Four Simple Ways to Better Your Writing

    Keep It Simple

    My first tip for improving your writing is: keep it simple.

    Now, I know it's better to keep things simple and do it well, rather than over-complicate(使过分复杂) everything and do it badly.

    So, in English writing exams, you want to show off your English, but you want to show off your right English, not all this English that you don't know or haven't learnt yet.

    Have a Collection of Set Phrases(固定搭配)

    In order not to make mistakes, it's a really, really good idea to have a collection of set phrases and key words that you can use in the exam. Make sure that you have different ways to …

    Compare：in the same way, at the same time

    Give your opinion：from my point of view, in my view

    Add information : in addition, besides

……

    So, that's just a very brief list showing you exactly what you need to study to be fully prepared for any English writing exam.

    Reduce Your Word Number

    Use as few words as possible to reduce your word number.

Avoid pointless words like very, a lot. Replace them, instead, with a strong word. By using strong words, you can reduce your word number by a fair bit.

    Another way is avoiding there is and there are. We want everything to be as clear as possible. Thus, you can increase the quality of your writing.

    Check Your Work

    Tip number four. Students will make some stupid mistakes when they're writing. After being asked to correct the mistakes, they will say, "We already know this. So easy!" and it's because they don't check their work.

    I personally think it's much better if you write less and check more. Fewer words, high accuracy(准确率). Then you will make your writing better.

    Four Simple Ways to Better Your Writing

Information Card

We are often warned by our teacher not to waste precious (宝贵的)time, because time lost will never return. I think it quite true. What does time look like?  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Time is abstract (抽象的), so we have to think about it.

Time passes very quickly. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.  It is because they don't know how to make use of their time. They waste it in going to theatres, cinemas and parks, and doing other things. Why do we study every day? Why do we work? Why do most people would rather take buses instead of walking? The answer is very simple. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

Today we are living in the 21st century. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. When a person dies, his life ends. Since life is short, we must devote our time and energy to our study so that we may be able to serve the people well in the future. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, for it does not only bring us failure but also does us other harm. If it is necessary for us to do our work today, let us do it today and not leave it until tomorrow.

Remember time is much more valuable (珍贵的)than money.

A. We look upon time as life

B. Nobody knows because we can't see it or touch it and we can't buy it with money

C. Some students say they don't have enough time to review all their lessons

D. Laziness is the thief of time

E. We wish to save time because time is precious