Washington—Wild applause broke out at the Parent Teacher Association national offices when several government spokespeople announced a decision to return the subject of civics(公民学) to high school curricula nationwide.

The decision is symbolic of the new agenda to restore(恢复) the United States Constitution to its pre-Bush-era status. In a joint statement, Senators Harry Reid, Republican of Kentucky, said that the decision proves the two parties can work together on an issue of national importance.

    The announcement came following a series of school strikes organized by parents angered by a recent study by the National Opinion Research Center. The findings showed a total ignorance of government structure and citizens rights by graduating high school seniors.

    Some of the fallacious opinion and beliefs mentioned in this cross-country study included: the president has the power to interpret treaties(条约); the president is not bound（约束） by law; the vice president is independent of all three branches of government; torture（刑讯） is not a punishment and therefore cannot be considered “cruel and unusual”.

    The study noted that many students' political consciousness dated back only three years — in other words, their awareness of constitution rights had been entirely formed during the Bush administration.

    The study also found that students were growing incapable of telling the difference between living figures, historical figures, and corporate-licensed figures such as cartoon characters.

    The revived civics courses will teach students about the structure and function of each branch of government, the theory of checks and balances, theories of the role of government, and constitutional(宪法的) law.

    "We have so much work in front of us." said Los Angeles area high school teacher Roberta Morales. "Trying to develop students' sense of citizenry and the public good and undo so many self-centered individualistic messages will take great effort."

    I grew up on a farm in the small rural (乡下的) community of Catawissa, Missouri, as the sixth of seven children{#blank#}1{#/blank#} In the fall of 1970, he was working on a house when the ladder broke. His back was broken.

    He stayed in the hospital for three weeks. When Dad returned home, he was still in a back brace(支架) and unable to work{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    One night we heard a car coming up{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Rose was at the door, holding an envelope filled with money. She told my dad she had collected money and was there to deliver it

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I can still hear her saying, “Archie, whenever someone's baler (干草打包机) is broken, you bale their hay. Someone passes away, Altha is cooking. It's our turn.”

    That evening, this 6-year-old understood what being a good neighbor was, and that because her parents were good neighbors, their kindness would be returned. I learned later my mom's sisters all “adopted” one of us kids to help with Christmas, and we received gift baskets from more than one organization.

My parents were used to being the givers and not the receivers of such generosity (慷慨{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. He tried to protest but Rose would have none of it.

B. Besides running the farm, Dad was also a carpenter.

C. Apart from a carpenter, Dad was also running a farm.

D. We kids were always curious about who was visiting.

E. I was too young to realize our family had no money coming in as Christmas approached.

F. It was comforting to be helped when in trouble, but what was important was to help others in return.

G. They had a bit of pride to swallow, but continued all of their lives to show us kids the value of kindness.

    Generally, the skills and attitudes you form as a student will be especially important to your development. The following tips can help you become an active student.

    Don't be satisfied with yourself{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Leave no room for the average of the ordinary. If you can do good things, try hard to become better. If you have become better, try to become the best.

    Give yourself new challenges{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Any new things will give you the chance to understand yourself better. You should try anything. What you learn from these activities can be useful in the future.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}One reason why a student is not active may be that he has a defeated(挫败的) attitude. As much as possible, you should face each challenge with the willingness to succeed.

    Think over your mistakes, if there are any. Being active doesn't mean you will always be successful{#blank#}4{#/blank#} However, they will never succeed if they don't realize the meaning of failure.

    Keep a to-do list. This can serve as a reminder when a student becomes lazy{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. To achieve this, you have to desire to become excellent.

B. Have strong faith that you will succeed.

C. Try to take an active part in group discussions.

D. Don't be afraid to attend activities you wouldn't normally do.

E. There are students who would give up the moment they fail.

F. You can't be active if you don't know what is going on.

G. It can keep you on the right track and help you organize your tasks for the day.

    You've seen news reports about people who need assistance after a natural disaster, or TV programs about how lonely and isolated older people can get. Maybe you've walked past people who are living on the streets.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The answer: you can volunteer. Volunteering gives you an opportunity to change people's lives, including your own. Helping others in need is such an important part of life. So how do you go about it?

    Find what's right for you.

    Volunteering isn't school.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}You can choose what really interests you and who or what is most deserving of your time.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    After you've discovered what interests you, decide how much time you want to spend and what fits into your schedule.

    Expand your mind.

    Volunteering is a great way to learn new skills — from working as part of a team to setting and reaching goals.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}And it can help you develop a new understanding of people who are different from you — people with disabilities, people in financial problems, sick kids, or the elderly.

    Feel good.

    Volunteering helps people feel they make a difference — that they do have the power to change things for the better. When people depend on you, it can change the way you look at yourself.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Volunteering is also a great way to get a view on your own life.

A. It can give you a chance to discover what kinds of things you're best at and enjoy most.

B. Instead of having the choices made for you, you've got to pick.

C. Doing something for others helps people to change the world.

D. So what can you do about any of those things?

E. You can feel proud of what you've achieved.

F. Find what fits your schedule.

G. Change things for the better.

How to read more and learn more

    These days, more and more Chinese people enjoy sending and receiving messages on the phone. It can help them to get the latest news and communicate with friends. But I think I should read more books besides the textbooks, the more, the better. It can broaden my mind and improve my language skills.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some tips for you.

    Clear your purpose for reading.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Most people read for two main reasons, pleasure or knowledge. Clearing about your reading purpose can not only help you choose the books you really need to read, but also remind you why reading the book is important to you, so you will keep reading and complete the book faster.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    No matter what you are reading, it is important to enjoy what you read. Your friends may introduce you the books they love, but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy.

Give up books that you don't enjoy.

    You may have chosen books that you are interested in, and they are right purpose. But while you are reading them, there may still be some books that you don't enjoy reading. Whenever you realize that you aren't enjoying the book you are reading, give it up. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Set a reading goal.

    It is interesting that I read the books borrowed from libraries faster than those I bought. The reason is the books I bought don't have a due date! I don't need to return those books.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Before you read each book, ask yourself what time you need to complete this book by.

A. Read only what you are interested in.

B. Read the books borrowed from others.

C. Remember reading shouldn't be a burden（负担）.

D. Of course, it also can help me to get good grades.

E. We need to get the latest news and communicate with friends.

F. Before you start reading, ask yourself why you are reading this book.

G. Having a reading goal helps you work out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day.

    Dream is strength. The strength can bring us wherever we want to get to and it can bring us a lot of wonders on our way to the place in our dreams.

    Dream is beauty. Maybe you can see the things full of magic and maybe you will be moved by your own dream.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. But should we have our life without dreams? Of course not.

    Everyone has his dreams and dreams are especially important to teenagers. As teenagers, you have many dreams. These dreams can be very big, such as winning the Nobel Prize. Or they can be small, for example, you may just want to become one of the ten best students in your class. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, what do you do with it? Do you ever try to make your dream come true?

    Andrew Matthews, an Australian writer, tells us that making our dreams come true is the biggest challenge in our life. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, or that it is impossible for you to become a writer. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. In fact, everyone can fulfill his dream. The first thing you must do is remember what your dream is. Don't let it leave your heart. Keep telling yourself what you want. Do this step by step and your dream will come true earlier because a big dream is made up of many small dreams.

    You must never give up your dreams. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. But the biggest one comes from yourself. You need to decide what is the most important and face all these difficulties bravely.

A. These kinds of thoughts stop you realizing your dream

B. There will be many difficulties on the road to your dreams

C. Once you find a dream

D. You may think you're not very good at some school subjects

E. Both big dreams and small ones are very important to our lives

F. The world is so real that the dreams seem weak

G. Your talent is one of the most important factors in living your dreams