We Both Like Music

    My name is Frank White. I'm fourteen years old. I was born on May 13th, 1999. Mike is my good friend. His birthday is May 15th. He is only twelve years old now. Every year on May 14th, we have a birthday party together(一起) at our school. Many friends come to our party. We all have a good time at the party. We both like music. We often have a pop concert. I play the guitar. He plays the drums. Mike often sends me some CDs and I often send him tickets for concerts.

    Do you ever wish you were as thin as a model(模特) or as strong as your favourite football player? Maybe you wish you were taller or just thinner a little. Those thoughts are a natural part of growing up.

    But learning what you can and can't change about your body is part of growing up, too. It can be hard to do. But when people accept the way they look, they often feel happier.

    Some children worry that they're not growing and developing as fast as their friends. It's important to know that puberty(青春期) doesn't happen at the same time for every child. And there are no special medicines that can make it happen sooner!

    Eating healthy foods and exercising more can make all children feel better. Why? Because they will help you feel energetic (精力充沛的) and keep your body working just the way it should be. Watching TV and playing computer games can be fun, but they don't do much for your body because you sit when you do them.

    But when you move your body—by playing, dancing, taking part in sports, or even cleaning your room—you exercise your muscles(肌肉). When you exercise the muscle, it gets stronger. And when you have strong muscles, you can do whatever you want to do!

    Recently, Gina felt sad. Several unhappy things happened to Gina. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} After hearing her words, the friend invited her to her home for tea and said, "All trouble will disappear after tasting tea."

    Gina couldn't believe her, but she still decided to go for relaxation. At the friend's home, her friend took out a square box and said, "I asked someone to buy the tea from China. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} "Then, her friend opened the box slowly, took out a spoon of tea carefully, put it into the teapot(茶壶)gingerly. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Only one minute later, the friend poured out a cup of tea and asked Gina to taste it. Gina drank it but nearly puked(吐）it out. She shouted, "Is this tea? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} " The friend just smiled She repoured boiled water into the teapot. After a minute, the friend poured out another cup and asked Gina to try the second one. Gina took a drink and found it was not as terrible as the first one but still bitter(苦的) {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When Gina drank the fifth cup, a sunny smile shone on her face. She said, "It tastes good! I've never tasted such a wonderful flavor(味道)."

    The friend said, "Life is just like this! Only when we taste it patiently can we feel happy."

    The digital(数字的)age has come into our life. In the USA, some teachers think digital search tools(工具)have had a good influence on the American teenagers, but others don't think so. More than 2,000 high school teachers took s survey on the Internet.

    75 percent of the teachers agreed the Internet and digital search tools have had a "mostly good" use for their students' research habits and skills. But 87 percent thought that these technologies" make the students not have enough attention." And 64 percent said the technologies "do little to help them in courses."

    Judy Buchanan is a director of the National Writing Project. Ms. Buchanan says digital search tools are helping students learn more, and lean faster. Teachers really like these tools because they are ways to make some of learning very exciting. Young people enjoy using these tools. And the goal is to help them do creative work, and not just that kind of copyist(模仿者，抄写员).

    But one problem is that many students don't have a good understanding of how to use the digital knowledge well. In other words, they trust too much of the information. Judy Buchanan says these students have not developed the skills they need to tell whether the information on the Internet is good or bad.

    Another problem is something that might not seem like a problem at all, being able to quickly find information from the Internet. Teachers say the ability of their students to work hard to find out answers is becoming weaker. They say students depend too much on search tools and do not make enough use of printed books.

    Besides, many teachers are also worried about the problem that the Internet makes it easy for students to copy work done by others, instead of using their own abilities.

The survey on whether digital tools {#blank#}1{#/blank#} American teenagers

    Jean is a bright young woman who comes from a rich and famous family. She goes to a good university and has everything that money can buy. Well, almost everything. The problem is that the people in Jean's family are so busy that they can hardly find time to be with her. In fact, Jean is quite lonely.

    So Jean spends a lot of her time on QQ. She likes being anonymous (匿名的), talking to people who do not know about her famous family and her rich life. She uses the name "Linda" on QQ and has made a lot of friends who she contacts quite often.

    Last year Jean made a very special friend on QQ. His name was David and he lived in San Francisco. David was full of stories and jokes. He and Jean had a common interest in rock music and modern dance. So it always took them hours to talk happily on QQ and sometimes they even forgot the time. Of course, they wanted to know more about each other. David sent a picture of himself: he was a tall, goodlooking young man with a big, happy smile. As time went by, they became good friends and often sent cards and small things to each other.

    When Jean's father told her that he was going on a business trip to San Francisco, she asked him to let her go with him, so that she could give David a surprise for his birthday. She would take him the latest DVD of their favourite rock singer. But when Jean knocked on David's door in San Francisco, she found that the special friend she had written to was a twelve-year-old boy named Jim.

    In 1995, the UNESCO's General Conference held in Paris designated the World Book Day on April 23 to say thanks to books and writers worldwide and to invite everyone to be a lifelong reader.

    The following reading list consists of 5 books, 3 in English and the others in Chinese, about China and Chinese culture.

    ⒈Insights into Chinese Culture (中国文化读本)

    As an overview of Chinese culture, this book shows many ways of Chinese culture, they include Chinese customs, scenic spots, science and technology, folk art, literature and international cultural exchanges. Many people think it a perfect start for anyone who wants to learn about China.

    ⒉Quotations from Confucius (孔子语录)

    This book keeps most of the words and thoughts from Confucius, who is the greatest educator and thinker in history. People around the world think Confucius' teaching ideas and philosophy are still working in today's education.

    ⒊Chinese Folk Art series (中国民间艺术系列读本)

    Published by Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House, each book focuses on one folk art, such as paper-cutting, clothing and Chinese New Year picture. Readers can enjoy the beautiful photos and learn the history and development of each art.

    ⒋Chinese Characters (中国汉字)

    This book offers us a main introduction about the wonderful culture of Chinese characters. With enough examples, it proves that learning the most difficult language in the world can be rather interesting.

    ⒌Symbols of China (中国符号)

    Taking a special way to explain Chinese culture, this book chooses over a hundred cultural symbols and tell the story behind every one of them. Like a hundred small mirrors, these symbols show the value of traditional Chinese culture.