Teenagers growing pains

    Today, our students are facing many different problems and they want to ask some experts for help. Nancy says she feel stressed these days because of too much homework. She hasn't enough time to sleep for a long time and often falls asleep during the classes. John says he doesn't like to study because of the bad effect of computer games. Cindy says she gets fat because she likes to eat junk food and hardly ever takes exercise. Frank has the worst problem. He always fights with others as he doesn't know how to get on well with others and few of his classmates would like to talk with him.

    Hiram Fong grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. He began picking beans when he was only four years old to help support his family. Fong also sold newspapers, shined shoes, and worked as a golf caddy when he was a boy. A golf caddy is a person who carries a player's golf clubs.

    Fong began working in Hawaii's government in 1938. At that time, Hawaii belonged to the United States, but not a state. Fong believed that Hawaiians should be able to take part in making laws for the United States government, just as other Americans could. Fong said Hawaii should be a state of the United States. In 1959, Hawaii became the fiftieth state, and Fong was chosen as one of Hawaii's first two senators (参议员). He became the first Asian-American in the United States Senate.

    As a senator, Hiram Fong supported equal (平等的) rights. For example, he wanted the laws about immigrants (移民) to be fairer. He wanted to improve conditions for workers in factories and businesses. He also believed that women and men should be paid the same for doing the same job. In a lifetime of hard work, Fong found more than personal success. His work helped millions of people.

    Now you've finished three years of English study. There's one way to demonstrate(展示)

    what you've learned－take a test!

    Do you have any special methods you use to help you do better on a test? How well you do is often a matter of how well prepared you are. Here are some ways to make sure you're at your best on test days.

    Go to bed early. The night before a test is not the time to stay up watching TV. You want to be rested and wide-awake for test day.

    Have a good breakfast. Test day isn't a morning for donuts(面包圈). Nor is it a time to starve(挨饿) yourself. Eat plenty of low-sugar, high-energy food to keep your brain and body working their best.

    Be prepared. Make sure you have two pencils and anything else you were asked to bring.

    Watch the numbers. Make sure that the number of the items(项目) on your answer sheet matches the number of the question.

    Look over all the answer choices. Don't assume(假定) that choice A is correct until you've checked the others. You may find a better one. And it is wrong to eliminate(排除) any choice that you can see at once. You'll have a better chance of finding the right answer.

    Check the clock. Make sure you allow yourself enough time to answer every question and go back and check your answers. Don't spend too much time on any difficult question. Skip（跳

    读） it and come back to it later.

    Keep up with your schoolwork all year long. That's  how you get the skills you need for taking a test.

    There are four seasons in a year. They are spring, summer, autumn and winter. For all my friends, every season is good.

    Wang Dong likes flying kites and climbing hills. She says when spring comes, the days are getting warmer and longer. And everything begins to grow. The wind is not very strong. It's the best time to fly kites. And when you climb the hills, you can enjoy yourself. So she often says spring is her favourite season.

    "Swimming is my favourite sport,”says Anne. “When summer comes, I often go swimming in the rivers or lakes with my friends." You can enjoy yourself in the water.And you can swim like a fish there.

    “I often go climbing hills with my father during the long vacation of the National Day, ”says Liu An. “My father often tells me that I can see lots of beautiful things if I stand on the top of a hill. ”So he likes autumn best of all.

    Bob says he likes winter very much. He says, “I'm very happy when I am playing with snow.”He is making a snowman now.

Dear Jack,

    Can you believe I'm in a school of 2030 now? The school is like a beautiful garden. The wall of our classroom is colorful. Our school life is interesting.

    In the morning, we have three classes. We study on the Internet. We use the e-books. The teachers are all robots. They are in different rooms and they can answer any questions. Our robot music teacher plays the guitar very well. In the afternoon, we take a plane to the Mars to have two classes. I make friends with aliens(外星人). They are friendly and know us well. After class, we play soccer with them. Then we go back to the earth. Don't you think the life in this school is very interesting?

Mary

    When visitors came to see Sherlock Holmes in Baker Street, they often did surprising things. Sometimes they put their heads in their hands and cried. Sometimes they talked and talked, and couldn't stop. And sometimes they just sat there and didn't say a word. But nobody was more surprising than Dr Huxtable.

    He was a large man, tall, well-dressed. He came into the room, walked to one of the big chairs, and suddenly fell into it. He sat there, with his eyes closed, looking pale and ill.

    Holmes looked in the man's pockets-and found a train ticket from Mackleton, in the north of England.

    "Mackleton-that's a long way," said Holmes, "it's not twelve o clock yet, so he probably left home before five o'clock this morning. He was probably hungry."

    After a minute or two, the man began to move, and his eyes opened. A second later, he stood up. His face was now red and unhappy.

    "Mr Holmes, I am so sorry! I forgot to eat or drink anything this morning that's why I felt ill. But I'm better now," said our visitor," and Mr Holmes, come back to Mackleton with me by the next train, please!"

    "I'm sorry, that's not possible," said Holmes," I'm working on two important cases. I cannot leave London at the moment."

    "Important cases!" our visitor cried, "But this case is very important too. You know about the kidnapping of the son of Duke(公爵) of Holdernesse three days ago."

    "What! The Government Minister?" I was shocked.

    "Yes, that's him. And he is one of the greatest men in the country." said Dr Huxtable, "Mr Holmes, the Duke is offering five thousand dollars for news of his son, and another one thousand dollars for the name of the kidnapper."

    "That," said Holmes, "is a most interesting offer." He looked at me, "Watson, I think we are going with Dr Huxtable back to the north of England this afternoon."