For me, living in Canda for 25 years, China is a new world that I have longed to explore. This spring, I chose Yangzhou to be my first stop on a 16-month trip around China. It was like love at first sight. At 15, I bought a book of collection of poems about Tang Dynasty. Through it, I heard of Yangzhou for the first time. I was deeply attracted by a poem written by Li Bai-“Sailing to Yangzhou in March”.

Yangzhou,sitting 2,500 years at the crossing of the Yangtze River and the 2,400-year-old Grand Canal(大运河),is one of the first 24 historic and cultural cities in China. In the old town,there are many streets and houses. It's best to visit the city in spring. Spring oaints the city in brigth colors.

 Yangzhou has always been famous for its gardens. Among them ,the Slender West Lake, one of the biggest attractions in the city,was my first stop. The park with its fantastic landscape and lots of history has enough to keep a tourist busy for the whole day. What a shame I simply could afford half a day!

 My next stop was He Garden,one of the best prottected gardens in Yangzhou. It was once owned by the family of He Zhidao in Qing Dynasty. He Zhidao successfully brought Chinese and Western architectural(建筑的) features together.

Yangzhou is also the starting point of the Grand Canal tour. Taking a boat along the part of the canal in Yangzhou, I was amazed at the liveliness of this ancient waterway and the city's history and culture.

 Luckily, my two-day trip to Yangzhou was filled with pleasure and wonder. It made me hungry for more China.

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    A very important world problem is the growth of population on the earth. The population of the world today is more than 6,500,000,000. That is a great number and we know it quite well. ①The important thing is not how large the population of the world is now, but is the rate(速度) of the growth. It is about 1.63% every year after the number of dead people has been taken away.

    To give you some ideas of the birth rate, look at the ②second hand of your watch. Every second, four babies are born in the world. Another baby! Another baby! Another baby! Another baby! ③You can not speak quickly enough to keep up with the rate of the growth of the population. It is growing faster and faster. So it goes on, hour after hour. In one day, people have to find food for about 350,000 mouths more.

    This great growth of population will make a big problem by the year 2050 — there will be as many as 7,500,000,000 people on the earth! So this is one of the biggest problems that you are going to meet in your life.

    Confidence is very important in daily life．It can help you develop a healthy attitude．A study shows that the people who are more confident are much happier{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But how to be more confident？Here are some suggestions：

    Speak loud

    When you are not confident，you can't do well what you want to do{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Try to speak loud enough so that people can hear you clearly．The high voice can help you become more confident．

    Play sport

    Physical exercise makes you tired but completely relaxed．A strong body helps you be full of confident．

    Encourage yourself

    Write down a list of things you did during the day to see how many things you have done well．Did you finish your task on time？Did you help your family with the housework？{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Get rid of fear

    Fear comes along with failure{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Don't hide your head just because you said something stupid last time．Try to start again and believe you can do better．

    Pick up a hobby

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}  In some ways，a hobby can make you outstanding．And it will make you happy and confident．

A．You speak in such a low voice that other people can hardly hear you．

B．If you like singing，sing as much as you can．

C．But it's easy to overcome if you know that failure is part of your life．

D．They can have more chance to make themselves successful．

E．Give yourself praise of the good things you've done．

    Do you often throw away things you don't need anymore? Have you ever thought about how these things can actually be put to good use? Nothing is a waste if you have a creative mind.

    You have probably never heard of Amy Hayes, but she is a most unusual woman. She lives in a house in the UK that she built herself out of rubbish. The windows and doors come from old buildings around her town that were pulled down. The top of the house is an old boat turned upside down. And the gate in front of her house is made of rocks and old glass bottles. Amy recently won a prize from the Help Save Our Planet Society. The president said, "Amy is an inspiration to us all."

    Amy isn't the only one who is good at recycling. Jessica Wong from Hong Kong uses old clothes that people don't wear anymore to make bags. She has been doing this for a few years now. She opened a small shop where she sells her bags, and she has also set up a website to sell them online. She especially likes to use old jeans to make handbags. Her bags are cute and useful. "I plan to write a book about new ways to use old clothes," she said. "I hope people can read my book and enjoy it!"

    Wang Tao set up a small business in Shanghai four years ago. He is known for using iron and other materials from old cars to make beautiful art pieces. Some are large pieces that look like animals or humans, and some are smaller pieces you can put at home. The more popular works can even been seen in art shops around the city. Wang Tao hopes to set up a "metal art" theme park to show people the importance of environmental protection. Not only can the art bring happiness to others, but it also shows that even cold, and iron can be brought back to life with a little creativity.

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    The young woman at the airline check-in desk meant no harm. She greeted a customer with a question which would be no problem in Chinese," What's your problem?" But this question is impolite in English, and the customer became very angry. In this situation, the young woman should say." May I help you?" or" How can I help you?" Then she would not be facing an unhappy traveler.

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    Maybe you would like something. Instead of saying" Giving me a hamburger," say," Could I have a hamburger, please?" or "I'd like a hamburger." English speakers often use the expressions" please "and" thank you". When requesting something, use" Can I" or "Could I". In formal situations," May I" is the best.

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    When someone asks your opinion, you don't want to make them feel upset by saying something they think is unkind. Maybe someone asks," What do you think of my idea?" Don't say," It's a terrible idea." if you don't like it. Say," I don't think it's the best idea." Then people will accept your opinion more easily.

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    When you can't accept an invitation, don't say." I can't. I'm busy" Refuse in a more indirect way." I'm afraid I can't…" or" I'd love to, but…" or" That sounds great, but..." These phrases soften the message and make it easier to accept.

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    Avoid saying others have done wrong. Don't say," You don't understand me." Say, Maybe I need to make clear what I mean." Give special attention to" I" or" We" rather than" you". Take time to learn polite phrasing. Then you'll make your communication with people more pleasant.