Some birthday customs are quite similar in many parts of the world—- birthday candles(蜡烛), birthday games, and birthday cakes. But some customs are more specific to certain countries. Here are some children talking about their customs.

Linda: I am fourteen. I come from Aruba阿鲁巴岛（拉丁美洲）（荷属安的列斯群岛中的大岛）. In our country, Children take something special to school for their classmates and all teachers. Each teacher gives the birthday child a small gift like a pencil, an eraser or a postcard. The birthday child is also allowed to wear special clothes instead of the school uniform.

Lucy: I am one year older than Linda. Denmark（丹麦） is my country. A flag is flown outside a window to show that someone who lives in that house is having a birthday. Presents are placed around the child's bed while they are sleeping so they will see them at once when they wake up.

Tom: I am as old as Linda. I am from Brazil. The birthday child receives a pull on the earlobe(耳垂) for each year in my country. The birthday person also gives the first slice of cake to his/her most special friend or relative, usually mom or dad.

B

    After you get back home from a trip, one of the most pleasant things is sharing your stories with people. And that's what we'd like you to do. Our magazine's “True Stories” section is for your strange experiences, heart-warming tales and funny stories on your trip. So if you have good stories, please write to us!

    If your story is chosen as the best one, you will win the nine-day trip across North America, including a seven-night trip along the California coast. For more information, please call 800-227-2826, or e-mail us at TrueStories@hotmail.com.

    Besides, you need to remember a few things if you want to write a story:

    Keep the story brief (简短的) and lively (within 250 words).

    Please send your story as the body of your e-mail, not as an attachment (附件).

    Most of the stories we print have photos, so send pictures, but try not to go crazy. Send only the best one(s).

    Please send your photos as an attachment, not embedded in (把……嵌入) the body of your e-mail.

    We don't mind if you or your friends are in the pictures, as long as you tell us who or what is in the photos.

    We need to be able to get in touch with you, so tell us your phone number and home address.

    At present, people use money every day. It is very important in our life{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Long ago, people didn't need money{#blank#}2{#/blank#} As time passed, people learned to raise home animals and plant crops(庄稼). Sometimes, families produced more than they needed, so they started to trade with other families. Later, people began to use money as a way of exchange(交换).{#blank#}3{#/blank#} They used shells, salt and large stones.

    During the 7th century B．C.(公元前), people began using coins as money. They were easier to carry{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The Chinese were the first to use paper money, as early as the 11th century. The Italian traveler Marco Polo saw the Chinese using money when he visited China in the 1200s{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Today, we have many ways to pay for things. Often, a bank card is used for paying. It is safer and quicker than using a lot of paper money. Besides, proudly, Chinese always use Internet and mobile payment, such as Alipay and WeChat.

A．Do you know the history of money?

B．Instead, people still use paper money.

C．They were similar to the money at present.

D．Later, countries began to make their own coins.

E．However, it was not the kind of money we use today.

F．They lived on wild animals, fruits and other plants.

G．European countries started using paper money in the 1600s.

    Hello. I'm Mike. I'm 15. I'm in No.1 Middle School. This is my Brother, Bill. He's in Shiyan Middle School. He's 10.That's my sister, Helen. She's 20.She's a teacher in our school. These are my parents, Peter Jones and Ann Jones. My father is 50 and my mother is 45.My father is a worker is. My mother is a doctor. I love them very much.

根据短文信息完成表格。

    Jia Meng used to keep a diary in Chinese. But one year ago, the 14-year-old girl from Heilongjiang began to write her diaries 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 privacy(隐私) becomes 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 national survey among over 2,300 parents. The results show that about 40% of parents read their children's secrets.

That's why many teenagers try to find ways to protect their privacy.

    Wu Lei, 15, from 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, from 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 cell phone.

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

Information Card

    Everyone has good days and bad days.

    Sometimes, you may feel that you're on top of the world and all the questions on your maths test might seem cays. But sometimes you feel frightened or you lose things, and you cannot focus on your school work.

    For more than 20 years, scientists have suggested that high self-esteem(自尊)is the key to success. They said that kids who feel good about themselves do better in school and have fewer emotional problems than kids who have a low opinion of themselves. , Now, new research shows that focusing just on building self-esteem may not be helpful. In some cases, having high self-esteem can bring bad results if it makes you less likeable(可爱的)or more upset when you fail at something.

    "Forget about self-esteem," says Jennifer Crocker, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, US." It's not the important thing. Crocker's advice may sound a bit strange because it is good to feel good about oneself. Studies show that people with high self-esteem are less likely to be sad, anxious, shy, or lonely than those with low self-esteem.

    But, after reviewing about 18, 000 studies on self-esteem, Roy Laumeister, a psychologist at Florida State University, has found that building up your self-esteem will not necessarily make you a better person. People with high self-esteem tend to think more of themselves while people with low self-esteem are more likely to rely on their friends when they need help.

    Researchers say it is best to listen to and support other people. Set out to create or build something. If you fail at something, try to learn from the experience. "The host therapy(药方)is to know your own weak points, "Vohs says. "It's OK to say, I'm not so good at that, 'and then move on."