While serious training is important for all dogs, playtime is just as important. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Use these games to help teach your dog how to play.

1). Hide and Seek

    Hide and seek isn't just for kids. Dogs can really enjoy this game. Pick up one of your dog's favorite toys or treats. Tell your dog to stay. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When you are ready, call your dog to come to you. If possible, squeak (使吱吱叫) the toy or shake the treats. Reward your dog with praise and the toy or treat when she finds you.

2). Fetch

    Many dogs have a natural ability to fetch. Other dogs can be taught how. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Play indoors with a soft toy or outdoors in a fenced-in area with a ball or disc. For dogs that really love to run, try this game of fetch!

3). Find the Treat

    Dogs have superior senses of smell, and most love to use their noses to find food. Let your dog use her brain and her nose to find hidden goodies. First, have your dog stay out of sight. Then, hide her favorite treats in various places around the room. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If help is needed, you can lead her around or point to areas for her to explore.

Whatever the game, safety comes first! Remember to watch your dog for signs of exhaustion or overheating when you are playing. Stop if your dog seems tired or shows signs of anxiety. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When other dogs or people are around, it may create a dangerous distraction.

    Etiquette, or good manners, used to be the glue that held society together. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Sadly, these days it has mostly gone by the wayside. This list is several best rules of etiquette that have now disappeared.

    Opening the Door

    In days gone by, a gentleman would always open doors for ladies. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This has now almost entirely disappeared and it is not entirely the fault of the men. I have seen women laugh at men for opening a door for them. They seem to be confusing manners with chauvinism（大男子主义）.

    Writing Thank-You Notes

    In days gone by, whenever a person received a gift, they would write a thank-you note as soon as possible. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Parents would sit children down after a birthday or Christmas and coach them in their first thank-you note. It is a shame that gift giving has now become a virtual obligation and the idea of a thank-you note would be laughed at.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    We seem to have completely lost the concept of correct timing when it comes to parties these days. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} After all, a party normally has a guest of honor-this is usually the oldest woman present. It was considered extremely rude in the past to leave a party before the guest of honor-and once the guest of honor left, it was a signal to all that they should begin their own preparations to leave.

A. Arriving on Time.

B. Leaving at the Right Time.

C. People leave with various excuses.

D. It enabled people to get on well with each other.

E. This rule was true even if the giver was a relative.

F. It could be the lady they were driving, or a stranger.

G. We've thrown away the concept of a guest of honor at will.

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.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    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.

    Friends play an important part in our lives, and although we may take the fact of friendship for granted, we often don't clearly understand how we make friends. While we get on well with a number of people, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Moreover, a great many relationships come under the general term "friendship". In all cases, two people like one another and enjoy being together, but beyond that, the degree of closeness between them and the reasons for their interest in each other change greatly.

    At the beginning, much depends on how people meet, and on good first impressions. As we get to know people, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Although these factors are not of the greatest importance, it is more difficult to have a good relationship with people when there is a big difference in age and background.

    Then, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Friends will stand closer together and will spend more time looking at each other than ordinary friends. Smiles and soft voices also express friendliness, and it is because they may give the wrong signals that shy people often have difficulty making friends. A friendly look with a wrong facial expression can turn into an unfriendly stare, and nervousness may be wrongly understood as unfriendliness.

    Some relationships are a result of argument and discussion, but it is usual for close friends to have the same ideas and beliefs, the same opinions and interests. The more closely involved people become, the more they depend on each other. And {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  Equally, friends have to learn to make allowances for each other, to put up with annoying habits, and to accept differences in opinions.

    In contrast with marriage, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But the support and understanding that results from shared experiences and affections does seem to create a close and lasting relationship.

A. we are usually friends with only a few.

B. many factors can affect friendship and relationship.

C. people want to do friends favors and hate to let them down.

D. argument and discussion can improve personal relationships.

E. we consider things like age, race, looks, economic and social status, etc.

F. there are no friendship ceremonies to strengthen the relationship between two people.

G. we pay attention to actual behavior, facial expression, and the way a person speaks.

Not all English is the same

    To many learners of English, it's easy to think that all native speakers have no trouble communicating with one another.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Well, it turns out that being a native English speaker from one country doesn't mean that you're able to perfectly understand a native English speaker from another country, and vice versa (反之亦然)

    Take the UK and the US for example.

    As a Briton, I grew up hearing American accents alongside British ones – on TV shows, movies and in songs.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} and how they would eat “cookies” instead of “biscuits”.  And it took me a while to figure out that the “trunk” (n. 后备箱) of a car is what us Britons call its “boot”.

    The confusion didn't stop at just vocabulary –{#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, when talking about shopping malls, Americans pronounce it “mawl” instead of “mal”. And for some reason that's hard for Britons to understand, Americans remove the “H” sound from “herb”, pronouncing it “erb”.

    These small differences may not change much in a day-to-day conversation between a Briton and an American.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Recently, for example, an American friend told me that she liked my pants. “You can see them?” I asked, shocked. Pants means “underpants” to most British people, which explains my horror.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} In the US, for example, a “bum” is a homeless person, while the same word in the UK is used to describe one's backside（n.臀部）.

    And, more amusingly, “trump” was only ever really used as a verb in the UK – meaning “to pass gas” – until the US' current president came into the spotlight.

But as long as you can speak one version of English, it's easy enough to understand any other – and any confusion just makes your day more interesting.

A. English is changing as it spreads around the world.

B. After all, English is English, isn't it?

C. I soon noticed how Americans would put “gas” in their cars instead of “petrol” .

D. However, confusion can still happen every now and then.

E. There are different words that mean the difficult thing.

F. Some words can even be offensive (adj.无礼的) without you realizing it.

G. I discovered that many words are even pronounced differently.

    Many effects of a lack of sleep, such as being bad-tempered and not working at your best, are well known.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Regular poor sleep puts you at risk of serious medical conditions, including obesity and heart disease, and it shortens your life expectancy.

    How much sleep do we need?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}But some need more and some less. What matters is that you find out how much sleep you need and then try to achieve it. As a general rule, if you wake up tired and spend the day longing for a chance to have a nap, it's likely that you're not getting enough sleep.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}An occasional night without sleep makes you feel tired and irritable( 急躁易怒 ) the next day, but it won't harm your health. After several sleepless nights, the mental effects become more serious. Your brain will- fog, making it difficult to concentrate and make decisions. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

How to catch up on lost sleep?

    If you don't get enough sleep, there's only one way to compensate (补偿) —getting more sleep.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If you've had months of limited sleep, you'll have built up a big sleep debt, so expect recovery to take several weeks.

    Starting on a weekend, try to add on an extra hour or two of sleep a night. The way to do this is to go to bed when you're tired and allow your body to wake you in the morning (no alarm clocks allowed!).

A. What happens if we don't sleep?

B. Why is a good sleep vital for a long life?

C. It won't happen with a single early night.

D. If it continues, lack of sleep can affect your overall health.

E. However, the cost of all those sleepless nights is more than those.

F. It's now clear that a solid night's sleep is essential for a long and healthy life.

G. Most of us need around 8 hours of good-quality sleep a night to function properly.