Canada 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

    Canada is a big country with six time zones. In the west, it is four a.m., and everyone is asleep, but in Halifax on the east coast it is eight o'clock and people are having breakfast. It is a cold Friday morning in November, and the temperature is ten degrees below zero Centigrade(度).
Argentina 9:00 a.m.
    In Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, it is nine a.m. on a warm summer morning, and people are starting work or school. November is a summer month in Argentina because it is in the southern hemisphere(半球).
Scotland 12:00 noon
    Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh, and the capital of the UK is London. It is twelve noon, or midday, in Edinburgh. Children are having lessons, but they are looking forward to the weekend because there is no school on Saturday and Sunday.
Egypt 2:00 p.m.
    Friday is already the weekend in Egypt. Friday is a special day for Muslims, so schools, offices and shops are closed in all Arab countries. So now, at two p.m., most people in Egypt are having lunch with their families.
Japan 9:00 p.m.
    Japan is seven hours ahead of Egypt, so it is already Friday evening there. The weekend is beginning. Most people are out with friends or watching television or playing computer games.
New Zealand 12:00 midnight
    It is late on Friday night, so most people are asleep. Now Saturday morning is arriving. It is morning in Canada too, but that is Friday morning!

    The world's forests become smaller and smaller. People are still cutting down the trees. Why is this happening? There are two reasons—land and wood. People need land for animals and crops. And people want wood. Japan, Europe and North American need wood. There, it is used for buildings or it is made into furniture.

    But most places from the forests are not good for animals or crops. The soil (土壤) in the forests is very thin. When trees are cut down, the soil is washed away by the rain or the wind. Soon there is nothing but sand. Then more land will be needed and more trees will be cut down.

Vision—phones(可视电话)

    Many inventions are very useful in our daily life. They have greatly changed our life. For example, radios, telephones and televisions are widely used in the world. When you turn on the radio, you can listen. But when you use the telephone, you can not only listen to others but also chat with them. However, you can't see anything at all. The television is much better than both of them. People can watch TV and listen to it, but they can't take part in what they see.

    Today, some people are using a type of telephone called the vision phone. With it two people can see each other when they are talking

    Vision-phones can be of great use when you have something to show the person when you are calling him or her. It may also have other uses in the future. Some day you may be able to call up a library and ask to read a book over your vision-phone. You may be able to do some shopping through it too. Perhaps in the future, the vision-phone will come into wide use in our everyday life.

Nowadays in school life, a lot of students develop a fear of tests. It's not because tests are something to be afraid of. Most students are afraid of tests mainly because they don't always think they are well—prepared and they don't have enough self—confidence. If you follow the advice below, it's not difficult to overcome your fear of tests.

People who know that they are not well—prepared are usually those who fear tests most. However, most students don't know when they are truly prepared for a test. As long as you know that you have studied well and long enough, you have reason to believe that you are well—prepared.

Be confident about yourself. Confidence before a test can bring about two results: either you fail the test and feel as if your confidence was unfounded (毫无根据的) or you could actually do well in the test because of your confidence. Some students find that they experience the first result. However, this is only because those students might not have followed the first advice mentioned above. As long as you have studied well, you will be more confident of your chance to succeed in a test. If you feel as if you have not studied hard enough, then you will not be as confident as you should be.

Ask your teacher in advance (提前) about the material that is going to be covered in the test. In this way, you will know what you should prepare for and you can get confidence in the test. But you have to be brave enough to ask. Most students do not ask unless their teacher gives the information first, so make sure that you ask.

You should know that tests are only telling if you have got the knowledge, not how good or bad your IQ is. So, even if you do badly in one test, you should know that there are other tests to come. As long as you think that there is another tomorrow, you can overcome your fear of a test. However, make sure that you are going to prepare well for the other tests.

Fear can be a problem in the process of achieving success. However, with the right attitude (态度) and preparations, you can overcome your fear of tests by using these suggestions.