In classes, your teachers will talk about topic that you are studying. The information they provide will be important for you to know when you take tests. So you must be able to take good written notes from what your teachers say.

Here are the three stages(阶段) of taking notes and what you should do during each stage.

1. Before Class Review your notes you have taken before you come to class. This will be good for remembering what was covered. Get you ready to understand new information your teacher will provide.

2. During Class Keep your attention on what your teacher is saying and „the signal words that tell you what your teacher is going to say and it is important to write in your notes. Examples of signal words are „The most important point…and „Remember that… Be sure to include in your notes information that your teacher repeats or writes on the blackboard. Write quickly so that you can include all the important information in your notes. Do this by writing abbreviations(缩写） such as med for medicine, using symbols such as % for percent, and writing short sentences.

3. After Class Rewrite your notes to make them more complete and accurate (准确的) by changing abbreviations into whole words, symbols into words, and shortened sentences into longer sentences. Use them to answer your questions. If necessary, ask your teacher for help.

Save the world's trees

    "When it comes tothe Earth, there is no time to waste." says the Earth Day Network. And that isright. Protecting our environment is very important, and World Earth Day wascreated in 1970 to ask more people to protect our environment. On April 22, peoplearound the world celebrate Earth Day.

Every year thereis a special topic, and this year it is "Trees for the Earth", so Earth Daythis year will be all about planting trees. They are planning to plant 7.8billion trees within the next five years.

That's a biggoal, and you might wonder why trees are so important. Because they can take incarbon dioxide (CO₂) and protect the air quality(质量). CO₂ isa chemical in our atmosphere, but humans make too much of it. Each person makesabout 2.3 tons a year, which is bad for the environment.

Well guess what!Planting new trees is important because people cut down a huge number of trees.Last year, there were 3 trillion trees in the world, about 139 billion inChina. But according to China Daily, the world's total number has been almostcut in half since human civilization(文明) began. That's because 15billion trees are cut down every year.

So we need toplant more to make up for（弥补）the ones we lost. One treecan take in 21. 8 kilograms of CO₂ per year. And it's still one ofthe cheapest and best ways to get rid of CO₂.

    But don't forget that we can also help the environment by cutting down on how much energy(能源) or water we useevery day. Every little thing helps.

根据短文内容，回答问题（1-4），英译汉（5）。

    Alice and John are in the music club at their school. Alice plays the violin and John plays the drums. There are two groups in the school music club: the training (训练) group and the concert(音乐会) group. Everyone starts in the training group!

     "When I first started to play the violin it sounded terrible!" Alice said. "My family asked me to practice outside."

    After a year's practice, Alice and John play much better now. They are both in the concert group and they are learning more difficult music. "We're learning the music from the film Pirates of the Caribbean. It sounds fantastic!" John said. "Playing in the club with other kids is a lot of fun."

    Playing an instrument (乐器) is not only fun. It also helps children learn to concentrate (集中注意力). "I have to concentrate when I'm practicing," Alice said. "And now it's easier for me to concentrate on my schoolwork."

    Playing an instrument can also help children become more confident (自信的). As John said, "I was scared when I played in front of a lot of people for the first time. But now I really enjoy it."

    If you ask people of different countries "Could you tell me the way to the post office?" you will get different answers.

    In Japan, people use landmarks（路标）instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, "Go straight down to the corner. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The post office is across from the bus stop. "

    In Kansas, America, there are no towns or buildings within miles. So instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance. For example, people will say, "Go north two miles. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} "

    People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions. They will often say, "Follow me." {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Sometimes if a person doesn't know the answer to your question, he or she might say, "Sorry, I have no idea." But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers "I don't know." {#blank#}4{#/blank#}They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. A visitor can often get lost in Yucatan!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}You might not understand a person's words, but maybe you can understand his or her body language. He or she will usually point to the right direction. Go on in that direction and you may find the post office!

    Australia is the greatest island in the world.  Australia is a little smaller than China.

    Australia is big, but there are fewer people there. The population of Australia is smaller than that of Shanghai, a city of China.

    Australia is in the south of the earth. So when it is hot summer in our country, Australia will be cold winter. The seasons in Australia and in China are just opposite. Summer in Australia is from December to February, and winter is from July to August. When it's spring in China, it will be autumn in Australia.

    Australia is famous for sheep and kangaroos(袋鼠）. They are both popular in Australia. 

    You can see kangaroos not only in zoos but also outside the cities and towns. There are ten sheep for everyone in the country. So people call Australia "The country on the backs of sheep ". After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep are everywhere.

    Have you seen a kangaroo? It has a "bag" on its body. The mother kangaroo keeps its baby kangaroos in the "bag". It's very strange, isn't it?