Good communication between parents and children can help develop a loving family relationship. Here are some tips on improving family communication.

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    Stop what you're doing and spend a few moments listening. Listen to what your parents want to say and try to understand the feelings they are expressing.

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    When communicating with loved ones, we will only take interest in what we want to say. Instead, we should always take interest in what your parents want to say.

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    You should carefully choose the words you want to say. Show your feelings by saying how you feel instead of pointing the finger at someone else. It is important to think first before you want to say something.

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    It is also important to mind the way you say. Kind words and soft tones can always make others feel you're sincere. So you should know what you say and how you say it.

A. Think first.

B. Learn to listen.

C. Find golden time for your family.

D. Be interested in others' words.

E. Know how to express.

    "I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning to surf the Intern"

    "I check my e-mail almost forty times a day."

    "I seldom spend less than three hours each time on the net."

    "spend more time in chat rooms than with my 'real-life' friends."

    Do you know any people like these? They are part of a new addiction(瘾) called Internet addiction. According to experts，Internet addicts(迷)spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week. They lose control of the time they spend on the Internet.

    For example, one college student was missing for several days. His friends were worried and 1ooked for him everywhere but couldn't find him. They called the police. The police found the student in the computer lab: he was surfing the Internet — for seven days straight.

    A study shows that about six to ten percent of Internet users become addicted. The teenager spend more time on the Internet than with friends and family. That's why some experts worry most about young people.

    Is "surfing the Internet" a hobby or all addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have one of the following symptoms(症状):

    You go out with your friends less and less.

    You can't wait to get online again.

    You've decided to spend a short time online，but then you spend several hours.

    You do not go to important family events or you do not do school projects because you like to spend hours on the Internet.

    What is the solution? Some experts suggest that people set strict limits(限制) on their time for Internet use. You have to learn to control it，or the Internet would control you.

Information Card

    Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings and senses, including Love, Happiness, Sadness and Wisdom lived. One day they were told that the island would sink(下沉), so they all got on boats and left except Love.

    Love was the only one that stayed until the last possible moment. Finally, Love decided to ask for help.

    Wealth was passing by Love in a beautiful boat.  Love said, "Wealth, can you take me with you?"

    Wealth answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no room for you."

    Love decided to ask Pride, who was also passing by in a beautiful ship. "Pride, please help me!"

    "I can't help you, love. You are all wet and might damage(损坏)my boat," Pride answered.

    Sadness was close by, so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."

    "Oh…Love, I'm so sad. How can I take someone else with me?"

    Happiness passed by Love too.  But she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called out to her.

    Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I'll take you." It was an elder. Love was so excited that he forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at the river bank(河岸), the elder went his own way. Love was grateful to the elder, so he asked Wisdom, another elder. "Who helped me?"

    "It was Time," Wisdom answered.

    "Time?" asked Love.

    Wisdom smiled and replied, "Only Time can understand how valuable you are."

    Nowadays, reading is becoming more and more important, so teachers always encourage(鼓励)their students to read more famous work like The Little Prince, Charlotte's Web and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and so on .

    Among them, the students like Charlotte's Web best. It's written by American author E.B. White .The novel tells a story of a pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a spider named Charlotte on a farm. When Wilbur is in danger of being killed for his meat by the farmer, Charlotte writes a message to praise（表扬） Wilbur in her web and saves him. Wilbur becomes famous in the village and he is safe in the end. When it came out in 1952, the book was welcomed by adults and children. And it's still very popular today.

(Amy and Bob are talking about what a good friend is like. A=Amy; B=Bob)

A: Bob,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}?

B: I think a good friend is good at sports.

A: You mean he or she is athletic?

B: Yes. And{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. He or she often makes me laugh.

A: Anything else?

B: Er, I think{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

A: I can't agree with you. I like to have friends{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

B: Do you think a good friend should be popular in school, too?

A: Well, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." These are certainly words that millions of volunteers around the world could agree with.

    In the US, April is National Volunteer Month, to praise and thank volunteers who lend their time, talent, and support to what they care about.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} People who volunteer spend their time doing things they feel strongly about. For example, animal lovers may volunteer at an animal centre to help improve the treatment of animals.

    Volunteering allows volunteers to meet new people, try out new skills and explore career choices. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Take Andrew Makhoul, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, as an example. Andrew didn't spend his last spring break relaxing. Instead, the 19-year-old boy decided to do something for people who were less lucky than himself. He travelled to an orphanage (孤儿院) in Guatemala in Central America. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And it depends on volunteers to stay open.

    Andrew doesn't speak much Spanish, but he found communication wasn't a problem, "You communicated with love," according to an article on his university's website. And what he gave out, he got back, "{#blank#}4{#/blank#}" Andrew's first time as a volunteer only lasted a week, but by the end of that week, he knew he'd be back soon — because he saw love and hope.

    US author Sherry Anderson once wrote, "{#blank#}5{#/blank#}" And this is perhaps why volunteers all around the world keep doing what they do — their work is "priceless".
 

A. It is in one of the poorest parts of the country.

B. You could see love when you looked in their eyes.

C. Volunteering means choosing to work without being paid.

D. It's a chance for poor children to get better care and support.

E. Life will be difficult, but I have the confidence to live a happy, full life.

F. For young adults, valuable lessons may also be learned through volunteering.

G. Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless.