B

    Charles Lane loves playing all kinds of games．He has loved games all his life．He has always been interested in computers，too．Today, his love of games and his interest in computers come together in his work．Charles works for a company (公司)that makes video games．

    Charles never dreamed of working in a video game company．“It all started by accident(偶然)，”he said．“One of my friends worked for a video game company．He knew how much I loved games，and he told me about a job．It sounded like fun．”It was a job as a video game tester．

    When a video game company has a new game，they give it to testers．Testers play the game and look for bugs(程序错误)in it．The company wants to find and fix all the bugs before they sell the game．

    Video game testers need to have good computer skills．They need to understand how computers work．Charles did not have great computer skills when he went for the job interview(求职面试)，so he was nervous．However, the interviewers said，“That's OK．We can teach someone to use a computer, but we can't teach someone to love games．”

    Charles worked as a video game tester for three years．Now he is a video game producer (制作人) .This means that he works on every part of developing a new game．He really enjoys his work．He says，“It's really a great job．I'm sure it'll give me what I need to live a happy life and have a bright future．”

    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．

    China is a country with many colorful days and festivals. The Dragon Head Raising Day (Longtaitou) is one of them. This special day is on the second day of the second month in the Chinese lunar calendar. It stands for the start of spring and farming.

    The dragon is important for Chinese people. We Chinese people call ourselves the" descendants(传人)of the dragon" . Therefore, people celebrate the Dragon Head Raising Day with many customs.

    On the day in ancient times, people put ashes in the kitchen. This was to" lead the dragon into the house". People believed that with the help of the dragon, they could have a good harvest(收成)in autumn.

    Also, people cat special foods that day. The foods are usually named after dragons. For example, people eat" dragon whisker(细须)"noodles and dumplings called "dragon teeth " .

    Today, many customs have faded away(消退). But one that has remained is the cutting of hair. It is said that a haircut during the first lunar month may bring bad luck to the uncles of the family-mainly mother's brothers. So many people have their hair cut on the Dragon Head Raising Day.

    Why do people cry? Scientists say the body produces tears because they need them. One kind of tears is for the eye, the other is for the heart. They both work as cleaners If something else like dust(灰尘) gets into your eye, tears also come into the eye to clean it out. If you are hurt by something, your strong feelings produce some poisonous chemicals(毒素) in your body, and at the same time, tears come out with them. If these poisonous chemicals are not cleaned out of your body as soon as possible, they will do harm to the heart sooner or later.

    In the United States men have heart problems more often than women do. Doctors say heart problems have something to do with the pressures(压力) of living and working now. Perhaps men suffer more from these illnesses because they do not cry enough. They need to cry more.

    In fact, you can find many ways of reducing the pressures to keep fit. Crying is natural and physical one.

    When you are learning a language, listening, speaking and writing are important, but reading can also be very helpful. When you read, you can not only learn some new words, but also learn how to use them. When you read a passage, it gives you a good example for writing.

    Here are some good reading tips.

    Firstly, try to read at the right level (水平). Read something that you can understand. If it is too hard for you, it is not interesting.

    Secondly, try to understand the new words. If there are four or five new words on a page, don't use a dictionary. Instead, try to guess their meanings as you read. Mark (作标记) them with a pencil. Then look them up in a dictionary when you finish reading, and write them in your own vocabulary book. Try to remember them.

    Thirdly, try to read for a short time once a day. Fifteen minutes or half an hour every day is better than two hours every Sunday. For example, you can read before you go to bed, or after you get up or at lunchtime.

    Lastly, read something that interests you. Choose a newspaper, a book or a magazine about a subject that you like. It will be easy enough for you to understand. There is something interesting in it.

    Maybe Snoopy is the coolest dog in the world; maybe Snoopy is (A) ____________of the greatest kids on two legs. He is a happy-go-lucky (逍遥自在的) dog that everyone loves.

    Snoopy is the pet of Charlie Brown, whose name Snoopy could (B) never remember. For Snoopy, his master is just “that round-headed kid” who brings him his meals.

    Snoopy never speaks, but he can make himself understood by using facial expressions and thought balloons.

    In Snoopy's little head, he is everything (C) but a dog. Since 1956, Snoopy has been standing (D) 用两条腿代替四条腿and doing independent thinking. Here are two perfect examples to prove this point.

    Charlie once told Snoopy, “Look, Snoopy, that boy throws a branch, and then his dog will run to pick it and bring the branch back.” Hearing this, Snoopy picked up a branch and threw (E) it.

     (F) At another time, Charlie read his newspaper to Snoopy, “It says that (G) ____________ will be a dog show. Will you think about it?” Snoopy thought, “How can I? I don't even have a dog!”