Many teenagers (青少年) feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members don't know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it is quite usual for brothers and sisters to fight with each other, and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas.

      It is very important to have one good friend or a group of friends. Even when teenagers are not with their friends, they usually   A   a lot of time talking with them on the phone. This communication is very important in children's growing up, because friends can discuss things. Today some things are difficult to discuss with their family members.

      However, parents often try to choose their children's friends for them. Some parents may even   B   their children from meeting their good friends. Have you ever thought of the following questions?

      ·Who chooses your friends?

      ·Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?

      ·Have you got a good friend your parents don't like?

      Your answers are welcome.

    There are five people in my family. We all like watching TV, but we like different TV shows.

    My grandpa is a great fan of Beijing Opera. He likes watching it very much. Now he is in a Beijing Opera club. There he talks about Beijing Opera and acts with other Beijing Opera fans.

    My grandma likes cross talk, and she often watches them when she is free. Her favorite cross talker is Guo DeGang.

    My father is a reporter in a TV station. He watches all kinds of TV shows, but he likes news program best.

    My mother is a teacher. Her favorite TV shows are soap operas. She thinks they are very interesting. But I think they are boring.

    I like playing basketball, so my favorite TV shows are sports shows.

    Hello! I'm Barbara Green. I'm a girl. Look! I'm from America. I live at 225 King Street, Washington. (华盛顿) My telephone number is 474-8980. My e-mail address (电子邮箱地址） is barbaragreen@sina.com. Do you like to give a call or send an e-mail to me? I'd like to be your friend.

    Rock climbing is a popular hobby that many people enjoy doing. You can do it indoors on special walls or outdoors on real mountains. There are many advantages of rock climbing—it is fun and it also helps people forget worries.

    The most important equipment(设备)to have is good shoes .They need to be half a size smaller than your usual size. The next thing you need is a harness(保护带)．This allows you to move freely, but will hold you up if you fall .It's important to know how to use your equipment .If you are a beginner, it's best to have lessons. A climber with experience can help you a lot in the beginning.

    Rock climbing is very exciting for people of different ages. Climbers, however, must be careful not to pollute the environment .Sometimes rock climbers leave rubbish on the mountains where they climb. They should take it with them and throw it away. This will allow future climbers to enjoy a clean environment.

    In Western countries, most children get pocket money by doing some chores at home. They usually start to do chores at the age of ten. School students have to do their homework and study for test, so they don't have a lot of free time on weekdays and they often do some chores on weekends.

    Young kids can only do easy chores, so they don't get much money. But many of them only want to buy candy. And candy is cheap! They do the dishes after dinner and feed the pet cat or dog. Sometimes they water flowers and other plants in the garden.

    When kids get older, they want to buy more things. They want something more expensive than candy. Then they have to work harder. They often wash the car, cut the grass of feed the dog.

    Some chores can help kids learn new things. It is important for kids to learn how to do chores and help their parents with housework.

    Tea does not mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries people have different ideas about tea-drinking.

    Chinese people drink tea at any time of the day at homes or in teahouses. They prefer their tea with nothing else in it. The Japanese way of having tea is very old and full of meaning. There is even a special room for tea-drinking in Japanese homes. In England, almost everyone has a cup of tea in the late afternoon. The English usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with cream and sugar. They also eat cakes and cookies with tea. Americans usually use tea bags to make their tea. It's faster and easier. They drink tea mostly for breakfast or after meals. In summer they drink cold tea or iced tea.