Many people in the United States celebrate Christmas Day on December 25.

    Christmas Day is just like our Spring Festival. People celebrate Christmas Day with a traditional family dinner. Many people decorate (装饰) their homes and gardens with lights, Christmas trees. People eat a special meal, such as turkey (火鸡）and a lot of other festival foods. Children often get a lot of gifts from their parents and friends. Shops are red and green. There are so many Christmas cards, Christmas hats, Christmas toys and many colorful things. So they looks very beautiful. We can give a toy to our friends: 我们花费许多的钱。

    Christmas is coming, and it also means a new year will come. Let's study harder to welcome the new year!

    Say the words “reality TV” and the show that comes into most people's minds is Big Brother{#blank#}1{#/blank#} There have been varieties in more than seventy countries. The basic form is simple: put a group of strangers into a house, record everything they do and watch how they live together.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}A similar show, the Real World, was broadcast in 1992 on MTV. But the form really became popular with the success of Big Brother, and it was copied again and again{#blank#}3{#/blank#} For examples, in wife Swap, a mother went to live with a family of strangers and tried to run their home.

    So what makes these shows so attractive? As we all know, living with people you don't know is full of pressures and personality problems are common{#blank#}4{#/blank#} A TV presenter thought it was all about relationships and real people and if you were not interested in reality TV, you were not interested in people.

    But is it healthy to be this interested in other people's private life?{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Not everyone prefers such shows, including the first winner of Big Brother, Bart Spring. He said he wasn't a fan of the programme or of people becoming famous for being stupid.

A. In similar shows, competitors were sent to different places, being with strangers.

B. And what kind of people want to appear in front of TV cameras twenty-four hours a day?

C. Competitors often have to share tasks and this also brings disagreement.

D. Love it or not, the programme is worldwide popular.

E. Actually the idea wasn't original.

The face—down generation（一代）

    If you were born in the 2000s, you are called the oh—ohs. The 21st century. That would make you young, creative, connected, world—wide, and no doubt smart. Maybe good—looking, too. Right? But what do other people think about your generation?

    Some adults worry that you're more interested in the screen in front of you than the world around you. They think of you as the "face—down generation" because you use your phone so much. They wonder how you will deal with school, friends, and family.

    Other adults worry that today's youth are spoilt(溺爱)and don't want to face the challenges of adult life. Many children born in the 1990s and 2000s were raised by "helicopter parents". They were always there to guide and help their children with a busy program filled with homework and after—school activities such as dancing, drawing, or sports. With parents who do everything for them, today's youth seem to prefer to live like teenagers even when they are in their 20s or 30s.

    Does the face—down generation need a heads—up? Well, probably not. The fact .is that many of today's teenagers are better educated and more creative than past generations. They seem to be willing to become leaders. More young people than ever volunteer to help their communities. There are also brave young people such as Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for pushing girls' rights to go to school.

    So if you're one of the oh—ohs, there's reason to be hopeful about the future. Things are looking up for the face—down generation. Chances are that you do great and laugh out loud.

    Last month I got the chance to take part in an underwater research project in an area of the Gulf of Mexico called the Flower Gardens. A team of professional researchers were trying to learn more about the fish and other animals that live in this part of the sea. The Flower Gardens are a long way from the shore(海岸) and we spent three days on a boat.

    The team used a piece of underwater equipment to collect information. This underwater equipment is called a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). The ROV could measure water depth and temperature and it also had a camera that sent live film back to the boat. The ROV was great fun. It was controlled by a computer on the boat, and I was allowed to operate it a few times.

    However, the thing I enjoyed most was diving into the water. At first, I was quite frightened—mainly because I couldn't see land in any direction. But as soon as I jumped into the water, I wasn't afraid anymore. It was amazing to see the colourful fish swimming around and I could see all the way to the Flower Gardens, which are almost 30 metres down.

    I will never forget the Flower Gardens. The trip was like a holiday but I also learnt new things about science and research projects. The team were very friendly and everyone was happy to explain what they knew about the sea. It was a great opportunity and it has made me think about my goals in life. The experience will surely encourage me to work harder to become a scientist.