What do you do when you begin to read an English newspaper？

    You'd better know what sections are there．Usually, there is international news, business, science and technology, entertainment or lifestyle, sports and cartoons．You can choose your favorite section to read carefully．Then, you come to the article itself．If you don't have time to read the whole article, the headline and the photo give you a general idea of the story．

    A news article includes body text and a photo with a short piece of text under it．It usually puts the most important information at the very beginning．If you don't have much time to read the story, just have a look at the first paragraph．A feature article is an in-depth report on an event or person．It usually has an interesting opening．You get to know the idea of the article as you read．Another kind of article is an opinion article．Usually, some famous people give their own opinions about an important issue in a fun way．Opinion is different from news stories that are all facts．

    Jia Meng used to keep a diary in Chinese. But one year ago, the 14-year-old girl from Heilongjiang Province began to write her diary in English, because Jia found her mother was reading her diary secretly. She changed the language because her mother can't read English. “It's like killing two birds with one stone.” said Jia, “My private things become safe and my English improves a lot.”

    Jia's mother is not the only mom who reads her child's diary. Recently, Renmin University of China had a survey among over 23,000 parents. The results show that 40% of parents read their children's sectects. That's why many teenagers try to find ways to protect their privacy(隐私).

    Wu Lei, 15, of Shanxi, keeps a diary, too. But he doesn't write it on paper. He writes online which he thinks is perfectly safe because his parents know nothing about the Internet.

    Lu Huan, 13, of Guangdong, said her parents always secretly listened to the talk between her friends and her on the telephone in their room. To solve this problem, Lu asked her parents to buy her a mobile phone.

    “Parents want to know what is going on in their children's lives,” said Shao Xiazhen, a teenage expert in Beijing. “But sometimes they go about it the wrong way.” Shao suggested to teenagers that instead of hiding their secrets, talking to parents should be a better solution. “If your parents know that you are safe, they'll let you keep your secrets.”

Information Card

    When you are on vacation without your parents, it's easy to feel homesick(想家的). How can you have a great vacation without your parents? Here is some advice for you.

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    Try not to think about it too much. Find something interesting to do. If you are busy enough, you will not think of your parents too much.

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    Hearing your parents' voices(声音) will make you happy and forget all your worries. You can call them at night and talk about some interesting things with them.

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    Talking to your friends will make you feel better. You can meet many new friends when you're on vacation. Join them and enjoy yourself.

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    When you miss your parents at night, listen to some relaxing music or read a good book. I think these ways can help you feel better.

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    Take some photos of your vacation and show them to your parents when you get home, It will be fun to show them what a great time you have had.

    Have fun! Just enjoy your vacation, and know your parents will be waiting for you at home.

    Not many kids are willing to help around the house, but if you start early and then make a list of chores that need to be done and by whom, they'll soon come to accept it as a part of life.

    ①随着孩子们长大，他们或许会为在家里做家务索要钱。Should you pay them? It's up to you.

    Sarah doesn't think you should ever pay children for chores with money or rewards (奖赏) ."This will make them think that the chore is an 'extra (额外的事物)'that they don't have to do if they don't feel like doing it," says Sarah.

    "If children are trying to save for something specific like a computer game, it may be an idea to give them extra chores like washing the kitchen floor, watering plants or washing the car that you will pay for," "Liz says." ②Then at the end of the month they get a little extra pocket money. It teaches them about saving up, and working for the things they want."