A "blog" is a shortened name for a'web log". People write blogs about all kinds of things, from news and events to hobbies and reviews. Some people use them just as a simple record of what they have done.

    “Blogging" had become very popular as more and more people use the Internet. New technologies have made keeping a blog an easy thing to do, so millions of people now have their own blogs. They are usually free to set up and are easy to update. You can upload pictures onto a blog and link to other websites. To many people, these features make blogs much more useful than traditional diaries.

     We are now able to send texts, pictures and videos from our mobile phones directly onto the Web. New technologies like this are making blogging even easier, People also think that blogs are better than newspapers for finding out about news, events and opinions. They like to use blogs  because they can get information from everywhere. It looks like blogs are going to become one of the most important ways to find and share information in the near future.

Title：Basic Knowledge of A Blog

    When William Brown taught at Boston University, he once thought about the people that he hadn't thanked in his life. They taught him, encouraged (鼓励) him or cared a lot about him.

    Tina Johnson was a teacher. She once taught William geography, and William loved geography all his life. So he wrote a letter of thanks to her.

    He got the teacher's letter later. It began, “My dear Willie”. He was happy. Now over 50, he didn't think someone would called him “Willie”. Here is that letter.

    My dear Willie,

    I cannot tell you how much your letter meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room and cooking my own meals. You will be interested to know that I taught school for 50 years and yours is the first letter of appreciation (感激) I ever got. It came on a cold morning and it made me feel very warm.

    ......

    William cried when he read the letter. She was one of the people that William hadn't thanked in his past. She helped him to believe in himself. He would never forget her.

    There are some people we should always remember, because they helped to shape our life. William Brown found a way to show his appreciation—he wrote them letters.

    Who are some of the people that you need to say thank you to in your past? It may be too late to say “Thanks”.

A Smart Dog

    Rico is a dog who lives in Germany,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}When his owner says the name of a certain toy, Rico can find it. In fact, he seems to know the names of 200 toys!

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. They put his toys in a room and then told him to go in the room and find a certain toy. Since nobody was in the room with Rico, he had no help from anyone finding the right toy. The researchers did this test forty times. Rico found the right toy thirty-seven times!

    Then the researcher tried something else. They put seven of Rico's toys in the room and one new toy that Rico had never seen before.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. This new toy had a name Rico had never heard before. Rico found the right toy seven out of ten times.!

    Researchers cannot really say that Rico know words or languages.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}They believed Rico can think about what he hears and thin about what he knows. In fact, Rico seems to thin and remember thins as well as three-year-old child.

    From these tests, animal researchers know one thing for sure. Rico has given them a lot to think about.

    Lots of students know what a marathon (马拉松赛跑) is, but perhaps they don't know what a triathlon is. The triathlon is a sport that has three parts - swimming, bicycling and running. It is not an easy sport, but a man named Joe Salter is very good at it. A few months ago, he finished a special triathlon — he juggled (抛起接住) three balls all the time during the triathlon. That is to say, he kept on throwing and catching three balls while he was swimming, riding a bicycle and running.

    31-year-old Joe is from Florida, the USA. He loves juggling and he started at the age of 8. Joe did well in juggling. Later, he got the idea to do a triathlon and juggle at the same time to make it more fun. Many juggling fans laughed at his idea and thought it was just a joke. But Joe didn't give up and he kept practicing it. Because of his hard work, he made it at last.

    Talking about his triathlon, Joe said swimming was the hardest part. “It was difficult and complex(复杂的)," he said. “I basically only used my legs, so it took quite a lot of work. Also, swimming in open water made it a little harder. It was not like in a pool.”

    Have you ever saved money to do something special? Cindy Evans and her third-grade class are sure to answer, "Yes!"

    Cindy Evans works at Big Beaver Elementary School in Big Beaver, Pennsylvania. One day, she and her third-grade class read about the Great American Smokeout in Weekly Reader. The Smokeout is an event to help people give up smoking. The American Cancer Society runs it.

    "We read that about l million people give up smoking each year," said Ms Evans. Then her students asked her. "What does 1 million look like?" Ms Evans told her class the best way to see 1 million was to collect 1 million things.

    "I was thinking about collecting 1 million small things like erasers," said the teacher. But her students had a better idea: to collect 1 million pennies (分) and give them away to the American Cancer Society. Soon the class started their big job.

    Many people in the neighbourhood joined the students. According to Ms Evans, the bank in their neighbourhood had to keep more pennies because so many people were collecting them.

    That June, the class went to the office of the American Cancer Society with 1,177,500 pennies, or$11,775. They hoped that the money could help more people keep healthy.

    "Be proud of what you do," my father always told me, "whether you are a boss or a cleaner." When I was 15, I got a summer job in a hospital. I was told that my duties would include sweeping floors. I smiled and remembered Dad's words.

    Even though my job was the lowest, it made me feel excited. I saw it as a challenge because it was my first job. I learned to be on time and tried to do everything well. In return, I was treated with respect(尊敬) by doctors, nurses and patients. Each morning I imagined that the dirty dishes would make patients sicker if I were not there to wash them clean. After breakfast was done, I started sweeping the floors of all patient rooms and cleaning toilets. Though I was tired, I wanted the job to be done well. People would say, "That young boy really does a good job." That gave me pride.

    Working in the hospital taught me that being proud of one's job is important. It does not matter whether the job is sweeping floors or managing a large business. Through every job I have ever had, my father's words have always stayed with me. I have swept floors, and I have been a manager. I think Dad would be proud of me.