Money Matters

    Parents should help their children understand money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}So you may start talking about money when your child shows an interest in buying things, candy or toys, for example.

1）The basic function of money

    Begin explaining the basic function of money by showing how people trade money for goods or services. It is important to show your child how money is traded for the things he wants to have. If he wants to have a toy, give him the money and let him hand the money to the cashier(收银员). {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When your child grows a bit older and understands the basic function of money, you can start explaining more complex (复杂的) ways of using money.

2）Money lessons

    Approach money lessons with openness and honesty. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you must say NO to a child's request to spend money, explain, “You have enough toy cars for now.” Or, if the request is for many different things, say, “You have to make a choice between this toy and that toy.”

3）{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Begin at the grocery store(杂货店). Pick out two similar brands（商标） of a product—a name-brand butter and a generic (无商标产品), for example. You can show your child how to make choices between different brands of a product so that you can save money. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If he chooses the cheaper brand, allow him to buy another one with the money saved. Later, you may explain how the more expensive choice leaves less money for buying others.

A. Talk about how the money bought the thing after you leave the toy store.

B. The value of money

C. The best time to teach a child anything about money is when he shows an interest

D. Permit the child to choose between them

E. Ask yourself what things that cost money are most important to you

F. Tell your child why he can or can't have certain things

G. Wise decisions

How to Read More and Learn More

    These days, more and more Chinese people enjoy sending and receiving messages on the phone. It can help them to get the latest news and communicate with friends. But I think I should read more books besides the textbooks, the more, the better. It can broaden my mind and improve my language skills. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Do you know how to read more and learn more? Here are some tips for you.

    Clear your purpose for reading.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Most people read for two main reasons, pleasure or knowledge. Clearing about your reading purpose can not only help you choose the books you really need to read, but also remind you why reading the book is important to you, so you will keep reading and complete the book faster.

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    No matter what you are reading, it is important to enjoy what you read. Your friends may tell you the books they love, but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy.

    Give up books that you don't enjoy.

    You may have chosen books that you are interested in, and they are right purpose. But while you are reading them, there may still be some books that you don't enjoy reading. Whenever you realize that you aren't enjoying the book you are reading, give it up.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Set a reading goal.

    It is interesting that I read the books borrowed from libraries faster than those I bought. The reason is the books I bought don't have a due date! I don't need to return those books.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Before you read each book, ask yourself what time you need to complete this book by.

A. Read only what you are interested in.

B. Read the books borrowed from others.

C. Remember reading shouldn't be a chore.

D. Of course, it also can help me to get good grades.

E. We need to get the latest news and communicate with friends.

F. Before you start reading, ask yourself why you are reading this book.

G. Having a reading goal helps you work out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day.

Third-Culture Kids

    Did you grow up in one culture, your parents came from another, and you are now living in a totally different country? If so, then you are a third-culture kid!

    The term “third-culture kid” (or TCK) was coined in the 1960s by Dr. Ruth. She first came across this phenomenon when she researched North American children living in India. Caught between two cultures, they form their very own. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} About 90 percent of them have a university degree, while 40 percent pursue a postgraduate or doctor degree. They usually benefit from their intercultural experience, which helps them to grow into successful academics and professionals.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In fact many hardships may arise from this phenomenon. A third-culture kid may not be able to adapt themselves completely to their new surroundings as expected. Instead, they may always remain an outsider in different host cultures. Max, for example, experienced this fundamental feeling of strangeness throughout his life as a third-culture kid.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} While this can be a way to create a network of friends all around the world, it can be difficult for a third-culture kid like Max to maintain close friendships and relationships.

    For a third-culture kid, it is often easier to move to a new foreign country than to return to their “home” country. After living in Australia and South Korea for many years, Louis finally returned to Turkey as a teenager. But she felt out of place when she returned to the country where she was born. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} She did not share the same values as her friends' even years after going back home.

    While a third-culture kid must let go of their identity as foreigner when he/she returns, the home country can prove to be more foreign than anything he/she came across before. The peer group they face does not match the idealized image children have of “home”.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    As a part of the growing “culture”, TCKs may find it a great challenge for them to feel at home in many places.

A. Yet being a third-culture kid is not always easy.

B. In general, they often reach excellent academic results.

C. This often makes it hard for them to form their own identity.

D. However, their parents can help them see the opportunities of a mobile lifestyle.

E. Their experience abroad helps them to gain a better understanding of cultural differences.

F. Unlike other teens of her age, she didn't know anything about current TV shows or fashion trends.

G. Additionally, making new friends and saying goodbye to old ones will at some point become routine for a third-culture kid.

How to Become a Lifelong Learner

    Learning doesn't stop just because school does. Making a commitment to yourself to learn something new every day, you will not only enjoy what you discover, but you will be able to apply your knowledge and become a teacher to future generations. Here are some steps to become a life­long learner. 

    Learn how you learn.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Note what learning techniques are most efficient for you and use them as much as is practical, such as viewing online tutorials on websites like YouTube if you're more of a visual learner. 

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Try many different things so that you don't box yourself into believing you're only good at a few things. It's probable that you're good at many things, but you won't know until you've tried. 

    Look at learning as an exploration and opportunity, not a chore (琐事)．Don't just force yourself to learn things because they are important or necessary. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Follow your heart, as well as your sense of duty. Do you remember the 8th grade history that you hated so much, with all those names and dates that seemed to mean nothing? The point was to bring you to learn details now, which will knit chunks of information together later.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}   

    Read, read, read.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Reading is a gateway into other worlds and into the minds of your fellow human beings. And reading will help you to learn the discoveries and mistakes of others who have gone before you; reading is, in effect, a shortcut so that you don't have to learn things the hard way. 

A．Learn where your talents and interests lie.

B．It was a chore then, but it makes sense, now.

C．Recognize the educational value in whatever you read.

D．Determine your own preferred learning style or styles.

E．Their ways of learning might help you to improve your own.

F．Make friends with your local library and new and used book sellers.

G．Instead, learn things that you need to learn alongside things you love to learn.

    When everything goes wrong, always look at what you have, instead of what you have lost. Because it's not what the world takes away from you that counts; it's what you do with what you have left.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Pain is part of growing.

    Sometimes life closes doors because it's time to move forward. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}When times are tough, remind yourself that no pain comes without a purpose. Remember that there are two kinds of pain: pain that hurts and pain that changes you. When you roll with life, instead of resisting it, both kinds help you grow.

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    Every time you get hurt, you heal. After darkness there is always light – you are reminded of this every morning, but still you often forget, and instead choose to believe that the night will last forever. It won't. Nothing lasts forever.

    Complaining changes nothing.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's always better to attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed. It's not over if you've lost; it's over when you do nothing but complain about it. If you believe in something, keep trying. Don't let the shadows of the past darken the doorstep of your future.

    The best thing you can do is to keep going.

Don't be afraid to get back up—-to try again, to love again, to live again, and to dream again. Don't let a hard lesson harden your heart. Life's best lessons are often learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes. There will be times when it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Everything in life is temporary.

B. And even if you fall short, keep going.

C. Your scars are symbols of your strength.

D. Those who complain the most, accomplish the least.

E. Here are a few tips to inspire you when you need it most.

F. That's a good thing because we often won't move unless life forces us to.

G. When you feel like quitting, remember that sometimes things can be right eventually.

    Five Things to Do in a Traffic JamTired of traffic jams? Here are some tips that can help you to calm down in a traffic jam. Listen to CD audio book. It's a good idea to keep several audio books in your car. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Listening to an exciting story is more interesting than sitting silently and being bored. Sing loudly. If you begin getting angry because of a long traffic jam, turn your CD player on or radio up. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Imagine you're a wonderful singer and the audience is listening to you in admiration. Your stress will disappear. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.You can use the radio and play entertaining games while waiting. For example, you can guess the song or the singer or to see how quickly you can recognize a new song. Have a snack Keeping a tasty snack in the car is especially good for waiting in traffic jams. Choose what you like most of all, so you will look forward to traffic jams to have a chance to eat the delicious snack. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}In that case, time is the last thing to worry about. Argue with the radio talk show host Find a station with a radio talk show.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}If you disagree, you can show your anger. Don't be afraid to call their ideas stupid. Only make sure that the car windows are closed so no one may hear you. Sitting in a traffic jam can be very stressful but next time you can use these simple tips, and you won't notice how long you have been waiting and soon you will be on your way.

A. Play games

B. Use the radio.

C. Enjoy every bite of it.

D. Listen to their debates carefully.

E. Loud singing can help to reduce stress.

F. Begin to enjoy them as quickly as you can.

G. The storyteller's voice can clear all your bad emotions.