My name is Lily and this is my family tree.

    Many people say that they are working too many hours.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. They can't take care of things at home. They don't have enough time to relax or to stay with their family.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. In France, people spend about 1,646 hours a year at work. In Japan, however, people work about 2, 159 hours a year. That means a Japanese worker works 513 more hours a year than a French worker.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Some people work extra (额外的) hours because they want to make more money. However, many companies don't pay overtime. Their workers don't get more pay for more work. Some people think it's their duty to work more hours. Some are afraid of losing their jobs if they don't work more hours.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. In France, people get five weeks of paid vacation a year. In Germany, they get four to six weeks, and in the United States, two weeks. One study shows fewer than half of workers used all their vacation days.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. If that is true, there must be a lot of dull people in the world.

    International travelers, whether traveling for business or pleasure, will find themselves alone from time to time. Here are a few ways to meet new people and perhaps even get new travel chances.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}⑴Be polite and friendly. Remember to put yourself in social situations. Restaurants, shops and parks are all great places to meet people. If you want to make local friends in a country, stay near the places the locals often visit.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}⑵Keep a small photo album in your bag when you travel. Photos of family, friends and pets will help your new friends learn more about you. They will share their similar experiences with you, and it will help you learn more about your new friends.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}⑶Can you help your new friends improve their Chinese? Can you cook a traditional Chinese meal? By sharing your experiences, you can have a close relationship with your new friends that they won't soon forget.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}⑷Many foreigners love Chinese goods but have to pay a lot when buying them in homeland, so you'd better prepare some gifts such as silks, tea and china (瓷器). They are always popular.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}⑸If you and your new friends get along well, you can give them your information and plan to live in each other's house for your next trip. Then you can visit their countries and stay in their houses while they stay in yours. In this way you will improve your friendship and live like a local abroad, but pay less for traveling.

    Note-taking is a skill that can help you do well in all your schoolwork. It can make you confident(自信的)when you are studying. But unluckily, most students don't know how to take notes.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} If your teacher writes notes on the blackboard, that's great. You can copy them or write down the most important facts of all in class. Different teachers do things differently. For example, some teachers may focus on（关注）lots of dates and facts in class, but they only write the important ones on the blackboard. Other teachers may not write anything down, but they may say something important again and again.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Don't be afraid to ask your teacher to repeat what you miss. If your teacher speaks too fast and you can't follow what he is saying, you can ask him after class.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Comparing your notes with your classmates' can be good for your learning. It can also help you and your classmates correct some mistakes.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Note-taking also needs organization. Keep notes for each subject in one notebook, so that you can find everything easily when a test comes.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}If you decide to recopy your notes every evening, you'll surely have less time to watch TV. But you'll save time in the coming test.