Many people say that they are working too many hours. They don't have enough time to relax or to stay with their family.

    Work hours are different from one country to another. In France, people spend about 1, 646 hours a year at work. In Japan, however, people work about 2, 159 hours a year. That means a Japanese worker works 513 more hours a year than a French worker.

    Why do people work so many hours？Some people work extra hours because they want to make more money. However, many companies don't pay overtime. Their workers don't get more pay for more work. Some people think it's their duty to work more hours. Some are afraid of losing their jobs if they don't work more hours.

    Many people say that their vacations are too short. In France, people get five weeks of paid vacation a year. In Germany, they get four to six weeks, and in the United States, two weeks. One study shows fewer than half of workers used all their vacation days. In Great Britain, there is a saying, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull(迟钝的) boy. "If that is true, there must be a lot of dull people in the world.

There is an English saying:" Laughter is the best medicine." Until {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, few people took the saying seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They find that it {#blank#}2{#/blank#} people's blood pressure, the heart beating and breathing. It {#blank#}3{#/blank#} works the stomach and even the feet. So laughter exercises the body and improves people's health.

As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics; in which they help to improve their patients' condition {#blank#}4{#/blank#} encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.

A. Smart Kids.

Do you like to solve problems? If you have a boat and an elephant, how can you weigh the elephant by a river? This book is full of such stories.

B.Tastes of China.

What is your favorite food? Can you cook it? The foods in this book come from all over China. Get ready to be surprised.

C. Celebrate and Sing: Spring andSummer

Have fun together and pass the traditions to the young members of the family with this collection of songs for the spring and summer holidays.

D. Little Heroes.

What makes a hero? Are heroes brave? Are you brave like Li Ji? She wants to kill a giant snake with the knife she has found.

E. Big Dreams.

Everyone dreams when they are sleeping. Some dreams are scary like"Too Many Suns". In the story, a hero saves Planet Earth.

F. Small Hopes.

Do you have small hopes or big hopes? Read about this in "The Farmer and Stump". The story is not only funny, but it teaches as well.

Hi, I'm Tom. I have a pencil box. It's big and it's purple. It's my good friend. It's from my mom. What's in the pencil box? My ruler is in it. It's blue and red. That is a pencil. It is black and white. It's not my pencil. It's Cindy's. She likes black and white. You can see a green pen and an eraser in it, too. The pen isn't mine. I find(找到) it in the classroom this morning. It's Tim's. His name is on it. He isn't at school now. Tim's telephone number is 8069-4725. I can call(打电话) him. The nice eraser is my sister, Linda's.

Patrick Dan was 12 years old when he decided to do something different. He thought it could be fun to raise worms (养虫). He wanted to sell the worms to 1 to help them improve their fields. He could also sell the worms to fishermen. Then he 2 to do that. In spring, Dan bought many worms. He put the worms in clean earth. He then put water and leaves there. When the worms got fat, Dan sold many of them. But one winter he did not put them in a warm place. The 3 weather killed all the worms.

The next spring, Dan did that again. He bought more worms. He tried his best to 4 them. Many people bought Dan's worms. When winter came, Dan took the worms inside so they would stay 5 .

However, one day, he suddenly got a(n) 6 . It was from the state of Chicago where he lived. It said, "Everyone who sells things has to 7 taxes (税)!" Dan made only 50 cents per day by selling worms, but he still had to give part of that money to the state. Dan told many people in his town what had happened. He told them about his 8 . Later some people showed a video of their talk with Dan online. In the video, they said that the law was not 9 .

To everyone's great joy, the law was 10 changed. Children like Dan can now sell things without paying money to the state.

How do US kids start to talk with their new {#blank#}1{#/blank#} ? They always start with nice words. 

 For example, a US kid says, "I love {#blank#}2{#/blank#} pencil box. Where is it from?" The new classmate likes to hear this. He or she says something about the pencil box. Then the talk really {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. 

US kids also talk about their breakfast, family{#blank#}4{#/blank#} and so on. A smile can {#blank#}5{#/blank#} them start a talk, too. So just say"hi" and smile when you meet new classmates in your school.