What do you read when you are travelling by train or bus? What are other people reading? Perhaps a woman sitting near you is reading a love story. A man is reading a serious biography(自传) about a president. And there's a student reading an English textbook.

    What do their choices(选择) say about them? Do you think you can know them by what they are reading? I have got to tell you that your feelings of them may be quite wrong. The woman reading the love story could be a lawyer. She just wants a light read to take her mind off work. The man reading the biography wants you to think that he is very clever. The student reading the textbook isn't a student at all. She's an English teacher.

    Publishers(出版商) know that some people care what they read on trains or buses and so they put out different types of covers. For example， books about Harry Potter have a cartoon cover for young readers and then another more serious cover for grown—ups.

    So next time you are on a train， look around and see what other people are reading， but don't jump to any conclusions(结论). You will be wrong maybe.

Here is a sentence that you could say， “Don't judge（判断） a book by its cover”.

    Attention, please. We have exciting news for you today. Our yearly Short Story Competition for teenagers is now open.

    The regular（常规）subjects "friendship" and "hobbies" are still choices, but this year we have a new subject "travel". Your stories should be fewer than 2,000 words. You can send your stories to the organizer, Mr. Smith in Room 209. There is an amazing prize for you. The best story will be printed in the magazine, New Writers. Don't forget to hand in your stories before September 30^th.

    And you will know the results on October 15^th.

    So get your thinking hats on. For more information, visit our school website.

    When you are learning a language, listening, speaking and writing are important, but reading can also be very helpful. When you read, you can not only learn some new words, but also learn how to use them. When you read a passage, it gives you a good example for writing.

    Here are some good reading tips.

    Firstly, try to read at the right level (水平). Read something that you can understand. If it is too hard for you, it is not interesting.

    Secondly, try to understand the new words. If there are four or five new words on a page, don't use a dictionary. Instead, try to guess their meanings as you read. Mark (作标记) them with a pencil. Then look them up in a dictionary when you finish reading, and write them in your own vocabulary book. Try to remember them.

    Thirdly, try to read for a short time once a day. Fifteen minutes or half an hour every day is better than two hours every Sunday. For example, you can read before you go to bed, or after you get up or at lunchtime.

    Lastly, read something that interests you. Choose a newspaper, a book or a magazine about a subject that you like. It will be easy enough for you to understand. There is something interesting in it.

    If you think you are too shy and want to be a little bit braver, just try the following things.

    Be open to others.

    Tell people you are shy. There is no need to hide(掩盖) it. When they get to know you are a shy kid, they will understand you better. This also helps you feel relaxed(放松的) in talks.

    Try to smile more.

    When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk with. Remember that other people have feelings, too, and most people don't like an angry-looking face.

    Learn to be a good talker.

    If you find it hard to start a talk, say something nice about people around you. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking to that person?

    Get your attention elsewhere.

    Think more about ways to enjoy parties or games. Don't worry about your looks or whether(是否) other people like you or not. You will become relaxed and find it's not so hard to talk with other people.

Title: {#blank#}1{#/blank#} to be a little braver