The United States is a country of immigrants. It is a place where people from all over the world come to build a better life. Some immigrants bring their families. Some bring a few of their favorite things. Others come alone with nothing but determination. One thing that every immigrant brings with them is their culture.

    American immigration began in 1607 with the colony (殖民地) of Jamestown. In 1620, another group of people left England to build a settlement in America. They wanted to go to a place where they could practice their religion freely. Then many more people left their homes in Europe to build a better life in America. Many also came to America from Africa. By 1770, more than two million people had moved to America. Later on, more people came to the United States than ever before.

    In cities all over America, you can see different cultures that formed this country. Many things that you may think of as being “American” are actually from a foreign culture. Some of the best examples of this are the foods people eat. Pizza and spaghetti are foods that all Americans know and love. But both of them are from Italy. Baseball is an all-American sport. But the hot dogs that people eat during the game are a type of food that was brought to America by German immigrants.

    Over time, pizza and hot dogs have become a part of what is considered to be American food. In the same way, different groups of people have come together to define what an American is. An American can be a person of any background. An American can be of any faith. An American can be of any skin color. They can speak English clearly. They can speak English with an accent. Each new immigrant adds something new to American culture. It will keep changing as more people come to this country.

    If you watch British television on Friday March 15,you might be surprised to see celebrities wearing funny red noses and joking around. But don't worry. They're not mad. It's all part of a biannual fund-raising event called Red Nose Day.

    Organized by the charity Comic Relief, founded in 1985 by two British comedians, the aim of the event it is to raise money to fight poverty and injustice in the UK and Africa. Celebrities and public figures support the event by making appearances on comic TV shows broadcast by the BBC. This year, for example, UK Prime Minister David Cameron appeared in a music video by One Direction, which the band produced for the event.

    But Britons don't just raise money for charitable causes on one day a year. They do it all year round. One way of doing so is-by shopping in charity shops. These small, inconspicuous shops sell clothes, books and household goods just like any other shop But there's one big difference—everthing sold in the shops is second-hand.

    There are nearly 10,000 charity shops in the UK, according to the Charity Retail Association. Their business model is simple: Anybody who has things they don't want anymore can donate them to a charity shop, where they are checked for damage, cleaned and priced. Most items go back on sale at a small part of their original price and the money that is made by selling them is used for a charitable cause.

    The idea of buying used clothes may sound off-putting, but for shoppers who have less spending money, such as the elderly or those in low-paying jobs, it has been a welcome option for years. Now, shopping at charity shops is also becoming popular with young people looking for alternative fashion." You can find very unique clothes for a very cheap price. It doesn't bother me that other people may have worn them. I simply wash them before I wear them," said Anne Marie, a 19-year-old Internet user from the US, in a comment on a Yahoo forum.

    So next time you spot a charity shop, why not go inside? Who knows, you might find a lovely dress for just a few pounds. Even better, you can enjoy wearing it in the knowledge that your money helped a good cause.

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    For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?

    Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents “point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents” complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

    In this article, I'll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen's hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child's failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn't matter what the topic is - politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg - the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority - someone who actually knows something - and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they'll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

    A child who suffers bullying(霸凌) usually has low self-esteem and their ability to learn and be successful at school is greatly lessened. Therefore, bullying must be stopped.

    The best and most obvious way to stop bullying in schools is for parents to change the way they raise their children at home. Of course, this is much easier said than done and everyone raises their children differently. Bullies, however, come from homes where physical punishment is used and children have been taught that physical violence is the way to handle problems and “get their way”. Bullies usually also come from homes where the parents fight a lot, so children have been modeled on such violence. Parental involvement is often lacking in bullies' lives and there seems to be little warmth.

    Early intervention (干预) is truly the best way to stop bullying, but parents of the victims or therapists(治疗师) can't alter the bully's home environment. Some things can be done at the school level, however. Most school programs that address bullying apply a multi-faceted(多层面的) method to the problem.

    Hand out questionnaires to all students and teachers and discuss if bullying is occurring. Define exactly what constitutes(构成) bullying at school. The questionnaire is a wonderful tool that allows the school to see how widespread bullying is and what forms it is taking. It is a good way to start to solve the problem.

    Get the children's parents involved in a bullying program. If parents of the bullies and the victims are not aware of what is going on at school, then the whole bullying program will not be effective. Stopping bullying in school takes teamwork and concentrated effort on everyone's part. Bullying also should be discussed during parent-teacher conferences and PTA meetings. Parental awareness is the key.

    In the classroom setting, all teachers should work with the students on bullying. Oftentimes even the teacher is being bullied in the classroom and a program should be set up to teach about bullying. Children understand modeling behaviors and role-play and acting out bullying situations is a very effective tool. Have students role-play a bullying situation.

    Have you ever wondered what the longest word in the English language is? Believe it or not, there's no simple answer to the question. You might think it would be as easy as opening a dictionary and looking for the longest word. However, it's far more complicated (复杂的) than that.

    Over time, many people have suggested many different words for the title of the longest word in English. How can that be? That's because the first thing that people have different opinions on is what should be considered a word. Some of the words were simply made up to be the longest! For example, there is one really famous long word that most kids know. It comes from Disney's movie Mary Poppins: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, which means wonderful. But since that 34-letter word was made up simply to be sung as a song in a movie, should it count?

    How about long words that actually describe something in the world? Scientists have come up with several possible choices. The name of a virus(病毒) totals 1,185 letters. There's also a protein(蛋白质) whose name totals 1, 909 letters. Should these win the title? "Not so fast!" say some people. Are these words ever actually used? Can they even be pronounced? And are they meaningful just because they are made up to be long?

    If you're wondering about some long words in common English, here are some examples. Those words include uncharacteristically (20 letters), deinstitutionalization(22 letters) and counterrevolutionaries (also 22 letters) Or perhaps the word "smiles" is the longest word in English. Sure, it has only six letters, but there is a "mile between the first and the last letters!

    Florence, Italy

    Who should go: art lovers, Renaissance historians and leather handbag shoppers with high credit limits.

    When to go: spring or fall. Travelers usually avoid summer in Florence.

    Paris, France

    Who should go: starving artists, Henry Miller fans, traditional food lovers.

    When to go: spring is the best time. That's what they all say, anyway. Autumn isn't bad, either, but I'd rather be rooting around the south of France in search of truffles (松露) in autumn. Summer in Paris isn't bad, really.

    Amsterdam, Holland

    Who should go: lovers of Dutch Master (artists I mean, like Rembrandt, not cigars), bicyclists—it's a bike city in a flat land.

    When to go: it can rain at any time in Amsterdam, but that's not a reason for not visiting this fascinating city. Off season tourists will be rewarded with good enough weather to stick around. Summer is good for sun lovers.

    Madrid, Spain

    Who should go: night owls—Madrid never sleeps, art lovers—the Prado is second only to the Louvre in presenting serious art, party-goers.

    When to go: spring, when days are warm and the nights are pleasantly cool. Demand for outside eating and drinking starts becoming stronger in March or April. Street life peaks in June and then slows in July and August as the temperature peaks. Autumn is also good, although you'll risk some rains.

    Venice, Italy

    Who should go: romantic dreamers who like walking through automobile-free streets, your mother (she'll want you to take her there, trust me), almost anyone who wants to see something really different and romantic.

    When to go: February is the time when the famous Venice Carnival is held and the weather is usually cold and foggy—perfect weather for Venice. Summer? A large number of tourists in shorts and whiny children ruin the atmosphere. You'll greatly enjoy yourself there in spring and early fall.