Many people believe that yellowing and wetness are the greatest enemy of stamps. In fact, stamps are afraid of not only wetness, but also light and dirty things. People protect their stamps in several different ways.

 To protect stamps,we should never touch the stamps with our hands.This avoids moving dirty things onto them. Stamp tweezers (镊子) should be used in all conditions.

 Stamps are printed things. The colour will slowly disappear if the stamps are put in the light for a long time. So we should not put stamps in the light for long. Direct sunlight must be avoided as well.

 Wetness is an important  problem for stamps. Some  collectors  will put stamps  in separate plastic (塑料) bags. However, it is possible that some stamps have taken in some water from the air before they are put into the plastic bags.Stamps yellow easily and rapidly after they take in wet air.To protect the stamps, some people also put the stamps into a special room which has a machine to  keep the air cool and dry. However, not many people can afford that.

 To keep stamps, stamp collectors usually put them under plastic covers. It is a common and simple way. This helps because the plastic cover keeps the stamps off the wet air. It also stops the fingersfrom touching te stamps.

 Some  collectors  prefer  to  store  stamps  inside  a  plastic  box  with  desiccants  (干燥剂).However, we should take care not to let the stamps. touch the desiccants. On top of that, don't  take your stamps out on a wet day.

Reading is a good habit, but the problem is that there's too much to read, and too little time to read every word of it. So ①we need to find good ways to read faster. There are hundreds of skills (技巧) to help you read more in less time. Here are two skills that I think are especially good.

Preview (预看) —if it's long and hard. This skill is especially useful for ideas of heavy reading like long magazine articles (文章) and business reports (报告).

    Here's how the preview goes.

●Read the first two paragraphs (段落) and the last two paragraphs carefully.

●Then read only the first sentence of the other paragraphs.

    This skill doesn't give you all the details (细节, 详情). It stops you spending time on things you don't really want or need to read.

    Skim (略读)—if it's short and simple (简单的). Skimming is a good way to get ideas of light reading like popular magazines or sports and entertainment (娱乐) papers.

    Here's how to skim.

    ●Get your eyes to move fast. Sweep across each line.

    ●Pick up only a few ②key words in each line.

    Everybody skims differently. You and I may not pick up the same words when we skim the same piece, but we'll get a similar (相似的) idea of what it's mainly about.

Language Learning Tips

    Singing in the Shower One of the most pleasant ways to practice a new language is to sing your favorite songs while you're taking a shower. Then you can take a look at the lyrics to see if you've missed any words. Have fun, but don't waste too much water

—By Maria

    Don't Worry About Mistakes! Don't worry too much about mistakes. It's a part of learning a new language and you'll learn much more quickly by having a try at speaking than by saying nothing. In fact. People are only pleased to hear you trying to speak their language and think it's OK if you don't get it exactly right

—By Lee

    Talk to Your Animal Friends I talk to my pets in other languages, give them a common name in that language, and have them talk back in the language. My dog Ben, seems to understand me well even in a new language.

—By Keith

    Record Your Voice Listen to the made by a native speaker. Read the same text and record your voice. Now listen to both of them carefully to find out the differences and the weak points in your pronunciation. It's a great way to improve your speaking skills

—By Shirin

    As a student, I was most afraid to answer question in class, and I found that the students around me were just like me. At the beginning of each class, when the teacher ask a question. I always lowered my head because I was afraid the teacher saw me.

    One day, in a foreign language class, Mr. Black gave us a lesson. He wanted us to be active in class, so ask us some question, but no one answered," Let me tell you a story first," he said. "When I came to the United States to study, the university often invited famous people to make speeches. Before the beginning every speech, I found an interesting thing. The students around me always took a cardboard folded in half, wrote their names in bold(黑体) with the most eye－catching(引人注目的) color and then placed the cardboard on the seat. So when the speaker need the answer from the student, he could see it and call a listener's name directly. I couldn't understand that. My classmate told me the speakers were all top people, who meant chances. In fact, l really saw a few students got great chances because of that."

    After listening the story, l understand that the chance will not find you itself. You must show yourself all the time so that you can find a chance on the card.

    Dear Mike,

    I am so grateful you are coming to see my father at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. Here is how you can find North Street Hospital.

    After coming to the People's Square, you walk northwards at the traffic lights and then come to the gate of East Street Park. Turn right and walk along the road. You'll find the Police Station. And then turn left and go along the road and take the second crossing on the right. Go on until you reach the end. You'll find North Street Hospital in front of you.

    I'll meet you at the gate of the hospital. I'm sure you'll have no trouble coming here.

Yours,

Wang Ping