Celebrate!

Pinatas(彩饰陶罐)

    In Mexico, children often get pinatas on their birthday．Their parents put chocolates and other sweets inside the pinata and hang it on a tree．Then the children hit the pinata with a stick. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Noodles

    In China，people often celebrate birthdays by eating with family or friends，and the last dish of the meal is always noodles. The noodles are long and thin. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can't cut them. In Chinese culture，long noodles mean you will have a long life.

Business birthdays

    A business birthday shows that a company is successful．Many businesses in the USA celebrate important birthdays, like 10, 50 or 150 years．{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Sometimes they make TV advertisements．It is a good chance to advertise the business.

Name days

    As well as a birthday, many people in Southern Europe also celebrate their name day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People have big parties and open their houses to anybody who wants to come．People bring small gifts，often flowers or a box of sweets．

Islamic New Year

    In Muslim(穆斯林) countries across the world，people celebrate Eid. Eid means festival or celebration．During Eid，people visit family and friends，as well as people who are sick or in hospital．{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Children receive toys，too．Children often wear special traditional clothes during the Eid celebrations.

A．You have to eat them in one piece.

B．They go out for a meal to celebrate.

C．Companies hold parties and send cards.

D．They give presents, such as sweets and food.

E．It breaks and the sweets fall out on to the ground.

F．This is one of the two important festivals in this country.

G．In Greece, name days are more important than birthdays.

    Everyone wants to perform well at school. Add these tips to your life and you should be on your way to being a top student!

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I cannot stress how important it is to pay attention to what your teacher is teaching you. Take part in class discussions if you have something worth adding. Pay attention during class, especially during lectures.

    Taking notes is important. You don't need to write down every single word your teacher says but write down what he or she writes on the board, or any special fact you think you might need for a test. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This away it will help you learn more effectively by actually thinking about what you are writing.

    Don't skip school. You will be missing out on stuff. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} However, you will have more work and you have missed lectures, Also, try not to be late for class. It's most likely that your teacher won't appreciate it and you will get yourself behind.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you have an "I don't care about school or this class" attitude, then teachers will be less willing to help you with problems or offer you extra credit. The same goes for lazy attitude. Have a respectful attitude to the teacher and other students. Try not to laugh when other students make mistakes.

    Always ask questions.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you don't understand, ask someone. Read your textbook and notes, and then if that fails, seek help. Ask a teacher, friend, classmate, parent, etc. Get a tutor if you need one.

A. Be prepared.

B. Write in your own words.

C. Pay attention to everything the teacher says.

D. Staying organized will be helpful.

E. There is no shame in needing some help.

F. It is true that you could make up the work.

G. Keep a good attitude towards things.

    Nowadays a vegetarian (素食的) lifestyle is becoming more and more popular. Keeping a vegetarian diet is one of the best things we can do.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} A well planned vegetarian diet provides us with all the nutrients (营养素) we need and avoids fat, cholesterol (胆固醇) found in animal flesh, eggs, and dairy foods. And it can provide protection against various kinds of diseases, including the three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer, and other serious diseases. The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have lower rates of death from heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure and lower rates of high blood pressure. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Scientists have also found that vegetarians have stronger immune systems than their meat-eating friends. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Vegetarians live, on average, 6 to 10 years longer than meat eaters.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Animals raised for food consume the vast majority of their calories simply in order to live, just as we do. We feed more than 70 percent of the grains to farm animals. So it's really a huge waste, isn't it? Try your best to find tips on the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Growing all the crops needed to feed animals requires great amounts of water and land.

B. This means that they are less likely to be affected by everyday illnesses like the flu.

C. Vegetarian diets are the only diets that work for long term weight loss.

D. All of these diseases are more likely to happen to meat eaters.

E. Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health.

F. It's never too late to turn over a new page.

G. Living on plants also saves energy.

    We all have our favourite teachers—those who treat us equally. But what about those teachers we don't know as well (for even don't like much)?

You can do lots of things to get a relation with your teacher. First，do the following:{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Complete all homework on time.Be attentive，be respectful，and ask questions.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Obviously，your teachers are really interested in their subjects or they wouldn't have decided to teach them! Show the teacher that you care，even if you're not good at math or fluent in French—send the message that you are a dedicated student.

    You can also schedule a private meeting during a teacher's free period.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} You can ask questions，inquire about a career in the subject，or talk about your progress in class. You may be surprised to learn that your teacher is a bit more relaxed one on one than when lecturing in front of the whole class.

However，here are some things to avoid when trying to establish a relationship with your teacher：

    ⒈{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Teachers sense when your only motivation is to get special treatment，a college reference，or a job suggestion.

    ⒉Trying to be teachers' pet. You just attract the teachers' attention on purpose and your classmates may start to hate you.

    ⒊{#blank#}5{#/blank#} It's OK to offer a small sign of thanks to teachers if they've been helpful to you. But a teacher is usually not allowed to accept the wrong message，and a teacher is usually not allowed to accept anything expensive.

A．Giving expensive gifts.

B．Show up for class on time.

C．Not being sincere.

D．Find the practical value in classes.

E．Use this time to get extra help.

F．Show an interest in the subject.

G．Get along better with your teachers.

    Eyesight plays an important role in our daily life. Every waking moment, the eyes are working to see the world around us. Over forty percent of Americans worry about losing eyesight, but it's easy to include steps into our daily life to ensure healthy eyes. Here are suggestions for a lifetime of healthy eyesight.

    Schedule yearly exams. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Experts advise parents to bring babies from 6 to 12 months of age to the doctor for a careful check. The good news is that millions of children now can have yearly eye exams and following treatment, including eyeglasses.

    Protect against UV rays(紫外线). Long-term stay in the sun creates risk to your eyes. No matter what the reason is, it's extremely important to wear sunglasses. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Give your eyes a break. Two-thirds of Americans spend up to seven hours a day using computers or other digital products. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Experts advise that people practice the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} As part of a healthy diet, eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamins C and E help protect eyesight and promote eye health.

    Practice safe wear and care of contact lenses(隐形眼镜). Many Americans use contact lenses to improve their eyesight. While some follow the medical guidance for wearing contact lenses, many are breaking the rules and putting their eyesight at risk. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Otherwise, you may have problems such as red eyes, pain in the eyes, or a more serious condition.

A. Eat your greens.

B. Eye care should begin early in life.

C. They can properly protect your eyes.

D. Stay in good shape by taking more vitamins.

E. Parents usually don't care about their own eyesight.

F. Always follow the doctor's advice for proper wear.

G. This frequent eye activity increases the risk of eye tiredness.

Four ways to get a feel for a college on your own

    There's more to visiting a college than a campus（校园）tour. And there's a critical part for students and parents: testing the school on your own. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ⒈Go to a dining hall or student union.

    The best common place where students relax and hang out is the cafeteria or student center, where you can see what college kids are like in their natural habitat.

"Go to lunch in a cafeteria right at noon, "says Edward Walker, founder of Independent Consultants in Education," {#blank#}2{#/blank#}"

    ⒉Sit in on a class.

    A lot of high school students aren't sure what they want to study yet when they are visiting colleges, but familiarizing yourself with the academic atmosphere is important. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You can come up with a few academic areas that you think you'd like to study and reach out to those classes.

    ⒊{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Chat with anyone walking around campus. Don't let mom and dad do it for you. "Your parents can talk to people, too and then you can compare notes, "says Walker." Talk to various groups of students so you'll get a well-rounded picture."

    Tour the community.

    Whether the school is in the countryside or in a city center, check out the off-campus area nearest the college. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Talk to parents.

B. Talk to students.

C. Many schools offer people chances to sit in on a class.

D. Here are four ways to get more familiar with a prospective（预期的）school.

E. That's one of the best places where you can learn about a school's atmosphere.

F. Big communities are still the major places that attract tourists in our society today.

G. If there's time, tour some of the museums or other points of interest and eat at a local restaurant.