We live in different places. For example, some people live in the mountains; some people live on plains; some people live near water.

    Mary lives near the sea. The sea is blue. She likes to play on the beach with her friends.

    Tom lives by a lake. The lake is very big. The water is clear. He often goes boating with his family on fine days.

    Jack lives in the mountains. The mountains are very high. In the summer, it's very cool there. In the winter, the mountains are all white. Jack likes to play in the snow with his sister.

    Jim lives on a plain (平原). He likes flying kites when the weather is fine.

    Tony lives in the desert (沙漠). It is very hot and dry. It doesn't get much rain. Tony likes to ride his camel all around.

    David lives in a forest. The forest has many trees. It rains a lot there. David likes to climb the trees and play in his tree house.

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    Some people are afraid of answering the telephone call. Here are some tips to help you when you are answering the call.

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    Listening to someone speaking in a second language over the telephone can be very challenging because you cannot see the person you are trying to hear. You may not realize that your pronunciation isn't clear. So pay special attention to your pronunciation and speak as slowly as possible.

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    Don't pretend to understand everything you hear over the telephone. Don't be afraid to remind the person to slow down more than once.

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    Ask another student to practice talking on the phone with you. Try to talk for at least fifteen minutes. The most important thing about practicing telephone English is that you are not able to see others' mouths.

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    There are many ways to get free telephone English practice. After business hours, you can call and listen to recorded messages. Write down what you hear the first time, and then call back and check if your notes are right.

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    Many speakers make the mistake of being too direct on the telephone. Sometimes just one word such as could or may is necessary in order to sound polite. Take the time to learn how to answer the phone in a polite manner.

    Do you often throw away things you don't need anymore? Have you ever thought about how these things can actually be put to good use? Nothing is a waste if you have a creative mind.

    You have probably never heard of Amy Hayes, but she is a most unusual woman. She lives in a house in the UK that she built herself out of rubbish. The windows and doors come from old buildings around her town that were pulled down. The top of the house is an old boat turned upside down. And the gate in front of her house is made of rocks and old glass bottles. Amy recently won a prize from the Help Save Our Planet Society. The president said, "Amy is an inspiration to us all."

    Amy isn't the only one who is good at recycling. Jessica Wong from Hong Kong uses old clothes that people don't wear anymore to make bags. She has been doing this for a few years now. She opened a small shop where she sells her bags, and she has also set up a website to sell them online. She especially likes to use old jeans to make handbags. Her bags are cute and useful. "I plan to write a book about new ways to use old clothes," she said. "I hope people can read my book and enjoy it!"

    Wang Tao set up a small business in Shanghai four years ago. He is known for using iron and other materials from old cars to make beautiful art pieces. Some are large pieces that look like animals or humans, and some are smaller pieces you can put at home. The more popular works can even been seen in art shops around the city. Wang Tao hopes to set up a "metal art" theme park to show people the importance of environmental protection. Not only can the art bring happiness to others, but it also shows that even cold, and iron can be brought back to life with a little creativity.

    English dictionaries which were written before 18^th century had only words which were not common, or words which were difficult to spell. Then, in 1755, Dr. Samuel Johnson, a great English writer, wrote a famous dictionary. This dictionary contained common words as well as unusual ones. It also showed how words should be used in sentences.

    In 1858, a group of people who study language started to write The Oxford English Dictionary (OED). They wanted to list all the words of the English language. They even included words which were not used any more. They also wrote sentences that show the meanings of words. They also described the history of words, saying when words were first used in English, and which languages they came from. The OED tells us, for example, that "algebra" comes from Arabic and was first used in English in the 16^th century. The dictionary took hundreds of people over seventy years to complete. It has been improved many times, as the number of words used in English has increased. The more recent dictionary gives the meanings of over one million words. It is put into twenty-one books: each one is over one thousand pages long.

    Although Americans speak English, they use some words that are not used in British English. For example, the season an English person calls "autumn", is called "fall" by an American. The first dictionary of American English was published by Noah Webster in 1828. He also decided to spell some words in a simpler way. For example, he wrote "colour" as "color", "centre" as "center", and "plough" as "plow". These spellings are still used in America today. Since 1828, Webster's Dictionary of American English has been improved and made bigger many times.

    A good dictionary is a very important tool for every reader. Many modern English dictionaries are now available. They give different kinds of information. It is very important to choose the best dictionary for your needs and to use it often.

    We all want to protect our planet, but most of us are too busy or too lazy to make a change that would improve our lifestyle and protect the environment.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There is nothing new here but if you follow at least some of these suggestions, you can be proud of yourself for taking part in protecting the environment.

    Donate

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If they can still be used, give them to someone who needs them. You can also give them to charities. These charities will give them away to help people in need.

    Turn off your electrical devices (电器)

    When you are not using an electrical device, turn it off. For example, if you are not watching TV, turn it off. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's an easy habit to form which will help you save a lot of money.

    Walk or ride a bicycle

    Driving is one of the biggest causes of pollution. If your parents want to give you a ride, ask yourself the following question: Do I really need to use the car? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

This list is far from being complete, but besides protecting the environment, all these things will help you save money.