You cannot choose your child's friends for him, but you can help him learn to choose friends wisely.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are a few ways to help your child make friends.

    Build your child's self­confidence.

     When he succeeds or has made a great choice, tell him you're proud of him.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your middle school student is going through many changes and may feel like he isn't “good enough”. Building his self­confidence will help him feel more confident and will make it easier for him to form healthy friendships.

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    Give him your full attention when he talks, and really listen to what he has to say.

    Discuss the qualities in a friend with your child.

    Discuss with your child the qualities that matter most, such as being reliable and kind, and making good choices when it comes to avoiding alcohol and tobacco.

    Get to know your child's friends.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's more important to talk with them and find out what they like to do. Allow your child to invite his friends over and get to know them better.

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    Afterschool clubs and sports programs are good places for meeting new people. Be open to exploring different activities with your child to find something that he enjoys.

A. Friends are very important for us.

B. Introduce your child to new groups of people.

C. Talk with your child every day and listen to his concerns.

D. Try not to judge your child's friends based on how they dress.

E. When he does not succeed, help him feel better and keep trying.

F. You can teach him ways to find friends who will have a positive influence on him.

G. There are many types of friends and we should be careful when making our choices.

    The importance of communication cannot be denied. Using effective communication skills is important to relationships and to success at work.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here are a few:

    Prevent misunderstandings. When you clearly communicate your wants, your needs, and your intentions, there will be no misunderstanding. Many of our arguments and disagreements occur simply because one of us did not communicate clearly. Another example of the importance of communication can be seen in the medical field. When a doctor tells a patient his diagnosis(诊断)and gives instructions for care and medicine, it is critical that the patient understands exactly what the doctor intends to communicate.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Strengthen relationships. We get to know each other (either in business or personally) by talking and listening{#blank#}3{#/blank#}People like people they know. In business, the more personable business person, who showed an interest in his customer, wins the sale every time over the business person who is aloof and shows no interests in the customer, whatsoever!

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Talking about your problem and stresses actually helps to relieve the stress and anxiety. You feel as if some of the burden has been lifted from you when a friend listens and shows that she cares.

    The importance of communication skills becomes obvious when you think of the many times that you communicate with someone during a single day{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Taking the time to improve our interpersonal skills is definitely worth the effort!

B. There are a number of reasons that communication is so important to us．

C. When you communicate well, people respond negatively to you.

D. Knowing more about someone strengthens that relationship.

E. Otherwise, serious results could occur!

F. Increase confidence.

G. Relieve stress.

    In the spring and summer months, thunderstorms are common. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In thunderstorms, lightning can strike (击中) people and buildings and is very dangerous.

It was reported that a man was struck by lightning when he was making a phone call under a tree. He died at once. You may not know it, but nearly 1,800 thunderstorms are happening at any moment around the world. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} So what should you do during a lightning storm? Scientists say that a person's chances of being struck by lightning are 1 in 600,000. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

If you are indoors during a thunderstorm:

    Stay away from anything that is metal because lightning can come into the house through it.

    Don't stand near the windows.

    Don't take a shower or bath. Lightning can travel through water.

    Never use the phone. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    If you are caught in a thunderstorm outdoors:

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If there's no building around, try to find a low place to stay in.

    Do not go under a tree because the lightning could hit the tree and travel through the tree to hit you.

    Never use a cell phone.

A. Try to get home as soon as possible.

B. Since they happen often, some people don't take them seriously.

C. Lightning could travel through the phone line and hit you.

D. In fact, many people are killed by lightning every year.

E. But you can reduce (减少) those chances by following these safety rules.

F. But it is very important for us to learn about lightning.

G. Go into a nearby building or car right away.

    Food feeds the soul. To the extent that we all eat food, and we all have souls, food is the single great united across cultures. With food, there are more opportunities to connect to memory and family and place.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Food as identity. French, Mexican, Chinese, and Italian cuisines each involve dozens of distinct regional foods. Every single culture and religion uses food as part of their celebrations.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Every season, every harvest, and every holiday has its own food, and this is true in America as well.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Sometimes food means living on. While the Chinese cooks who exported “Chinese” food around the world ate authentic cooking at home, the dishes they served, thus creating new cuisines entirely, were based on economic necessity.

    Food as pleasure. Things have changed dramatically in the past 20 years when it comes to food in France. Some of the ideas of French food life may be a performance. France is this pastoral nation where people are spending five hours a day going to 12 different markets to get their food.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Food as status. The introduction of global foods and brands has compounded food as a status symbol for some Chinese.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}In China, people eat food not necessarily for taste, but for texture. You can find food from all of the provinces of China in Shanghai, as well as every kind of global food style imaginable.

A. Food as survival.

B. Food as community.

C. It's the hardest to give up.

D. The celebratory nature of food is universal.

E. It is an accumulation, a function of your experiences

F. How and why you eat your food, is, of course, also very cultural.

G. But food in Italy is love, then nutrition, then history, then pleasure.

    Test-taking tips

    Passing tests is a huge part of succeeding at school. Clearly, if you want to do well on a test, you need to prepare by learning the material(资料) {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Just breathe.

    Even the best prepared student sometimes gets nervous before a test. Nervous feelings can cause people to forget facts that they know. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Breathing deeply is helpful for this. So is moving your body slightly, such as by rolling your shoulders around. Try to arrive for a test a few minutes early, so you can relax before it starts.

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    When you are handed a test, look over all the questions before you begin. Read them carefully, noticing details. Also pay attention to how many points each question is worth. Divide your time based on the percentage of your grade each question is worth.

    First answer questions you know and then go back to the difficult ones. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}But try to write an answer for every question on the test, even if you're not sure of the answer. The only exception(例外) is if you will lose points for wrong answers

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. If you're not sure whether you should change an answer, it's best not to. More often than not, your first instinct(本能) will be correct.

    Try your best.

    Above all, study well and try your best. If you do that, you can be proud of whatever score you get.

A. Pay attention to the time.

B. Read the test through first.

C. So one important test-taking tip is to try to relax.

D. But other actions can help make test-taking easier.

E. That way you don't spend too long on one question.

F. Check to make sure you have completed the whole test.

G. Try to finish early so you have time to review your answers and correct mistakes.

A writing club is a group consisting of writers who meet together to share and comment on manuscripts (手稿). People who write stories, poetry, or even non-fiction articles can join a writing club. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}But the usual site is in a library, bookstore, private home, or a school.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Joining a club allows writers to understand the challenges of being a writer. And members of a writing club can receive constructive criticism (评论) from their fellow writers so that they can learn how to make their articles stronger. Moreover, commenting on other writers' manuscripts allows them to see what makes a writing piece interesting or boring.

If a writer wants to become a member of a writing club, he can find one by contacting the public library or a local university. Many writing groups will advertise for new members in local newspapers as well. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

But sometimes, no matter how a writer has tried, he may still experience extreme difficulties finding a writing group to join or finding a writing group suitable for him. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} He only needs to advertise for desired members by posting online, placing an ad in local newspapers, etc.

For many writers, the journey of writing is demanding. For example, writing can be troubled by lack of inspiration. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}So joining a group of writers can be the ideal way a writer can improve his writing skills and assist others with their manuscripts.

A. And writing can be a lonely task.

B. There are many benefits of joining a writing club.

C. Members of a writing club should know each other.

D. If that happens, the writer can start his own club.

E. Joining a writing club has advantages and disadvantages.

F. It's also possible to find writing clubs on the Internet.

G. A writing club can have meetings just anywhere.