Our dog Abbey died last month. My 4-year-old daughter Lucy missed her a lot and asked if we could write a letter to God to make sure he could look after Abbey well. I told Lucy that I thought we could, and she dictated(口述) these words:

    We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Lucy and addressed it to God/Heaven. Yesterday, we received a package addressed "To Lucy" with this note:

 (Teresa Lopez, from Cali, Colombia)

    Where I'm from, we're pretty relaxed①_______time. We don't like to rush around. So we don't mind if people are a little late sometimes. If you tell a friend you're going to their house for dinner, it's OK if you arrive a bit late. We like to enjoy our time slowly. We value the time we spend with our family and friends in our everyday lives. We often just drop by our friend's homes if we have time. We don't usually have to make plans to meet our friends .When we see each other, it's polite for boys to slake hands and for girls to kiss each other on the side of the face. We often just walk around the town center, seeing as many of our friends as we can!

 (Marc LeBlanc, from Lausanne, Switzerland)

    In Switzerland, it's very important to be on time. We are the capital of clocks and watches, after all! If someone invites you to meet him or her at noon, then you're expected to be there at noon. If you're even 15 minutes late,③你的朋友可能会发疯，So I make an effort to be on time when I meet my friends. I always leave the house early to avoid heavy traffic because I think it's impolite to keep others②_________.Also, we never visit a friend's house without calling first. We almost always make plans to see friends. We usually plan to do some interesting things, or go somewhere together.

根据短文内容完成下列各题。

Four ways to have a good school life

    Your schooldays should be some of the best and happiest days of your life. How can you get the most from them, and be sure you do not waste (浪费) this great chance to learn?

    Be active (积极的) at school

    Don't say things are difficult or boring. Take interest in school life and your school subjects. Join lots of activities. Put up your hands quickly in class. Go around the school with a big smile. If you are not working, you are wasting your time at school. Teachers cannot make everything enjoyable (令人愉快的).

    Keep fit

    If you don't eat a good breakfast, you will be thinking about food in class. If you go to bed late and don't have enough sleep, you will be sleepy in class. Play enough sports every day in order to keep your body strong.

    Face the problem

    Do not say you will do things tomorrow. If you get behind the class, it is very difficult to get back in front. You cannot finish the race if you rest all the time. Everyone fails some exams, loses some matches and has bad days. Don't make small problems very big and important. Don't forget to ask for help. You are young, and no one thinks you must do everything quite well!

    Spend the weekends

    Don't waste time lying in bed on Saturday or Sunday morning. Go and play sports, get together with friends in the park to relax, learn to play the piano, or help someone with problem. If you don't want to go out, there are also a lot of things to do. You may read a book, practice English or help Mum with housework.

    Follow our advice, and have a happy school life!

Small talk

    Americans often have short conversations, called small talk, about unimportant things with strangers or people they know but not very well. They may have small talk at parties, while waiting in line at the store, at family events or work. It's a way to say hi and express friendliness.

    Small talk is very useful. It can avoid uncomfortable silences and build stronger relationships. For example, when you first meet someone or talk to someone you don't know well, you can break the ice by making small talk. Small talk with a colleague(同事) about his child may help you to understand more of his life outside the office.

    In 2013, researchers from the University of Essex asked some people to make small talk in a study. They found small talk can make people happier. People who talked briefly(短暂地) with a waiter in a coffee shop felt happier than those who simply went in, ordered and left.

    However some people are not good at small talk. Here are some tips to improve your small-talking ability.

    Firstly, find common ground. When you have something similar with your speaking partner, that means you have something to talk about.

    Secondly, ask open-ended questions. They are suitable(合适的) for small talk. For example, if you ask visitors whether they like your city, they may simply say "Yes." But if you ask "What do you think of our city," they will have more freedom in how they answer.

    Thirdly, become a student. Nobody knows everything. So, as someone is answering one of your open-ended questions, they bring up something about which you know nothing. So, tell them! This lets the other person become the teacher. They feel good about sharing their knowledge and you get to learn something. It's a win-win situation.

    Finally, practice makes perfect. Like anything, getting good at making small talk takes practice.

    If you make small talk in your native language, you might become happier. If you are making small talk using English, you will most surely improve your speaking and listening skills.

    What a bad day today! Tom suddenly fell ill and was sent to hospital by my neighbors. The doctor said he has been suffering lung cancer and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}! Everybody was shocked and felt a pity for this good man.

    Tom, who is a famous writer about 40 years old, lives just next door. He is kind and warm-hearted and always ready to give a helping hand to others when in need, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    He often came to my house to tell me how to write stories and encourage me with his own experience. He told me he was born in a poor family. As a little boy, he had a dream to become a famous writer. He overcame thousands of difficulties to have entered a university. After graduation, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, and up till now, he is very famous around the country.

Unfortunately, when he was young, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} and became a heavy smoker, which has ended up as an invisible killer of his health.

    Although the world develops much faster and better, the resources on the earth get fewer and fewer. In order to protect them, something must be done.

    _______________. Water is the source of life. No water, no life. So it's very important for us to do so.

Not only should we protect drinking water and stop polluting it, but also make full use of it.

    _______________. It is crucial. We can't imagine what the life will be like without it Everyone should do his best to save it. Don't forget to turn off the lights or other electric machines when we finish working.

    _______________. They are useful. Please stop cutting them down and use recycled paper instead.

Make our world a green one to live in.

    _______________. Plenty of them can be recycled like cans, paper, bottles, and so on.

    The volunteers often teach people how to recycle, and gave us tips on how to save energy, and we should work together to protect the resources and improve the environment around us.