Animals

   Corona viruses are common in animals. Sometimes, animals get infected (感染的) with these viruses which may then spread to human beings. To protect yourself, you should not visit live animal markets or have direct contact with wild animals. Stay away from raw meat, animal organs and other undercooked animal products.

   When an infectious pet was found in Hong Kong, some may wonder if one can get virus from their pets. Until today, there is no evidence that a dog, cat or any pet can transmit (传播) COVID-19. Please do not kill or give up pets!

Touching surface with virus

   Studies suggest that COVID-19 virus may stay on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. However, the number may change under different conditions such as type of surface, temperature or the environment.

   If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with ethyl alcohol (酒精). After touching it, clean your hands with alcohol or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose.

Package(包裹)

   Before delivering to your home, a package has been moved, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature. Therefore, the possibility of being infectious because of your package from COVID-19-reported areas is rather low. There is no need to send your package back.

Smoking

   An article posted on Wechat recently says that cigarette can protect smokers from COVID-19 and thus make cigarettes sell very well. It is an online rumor (谣言)! As has been known, smoking harms people's health. It weakens the immune system and worsens diabetes and blood pressure. No smoking is still a must!

Transportation

   According to Feng Luzhao, an expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the major routes of transmission are still through respiratory droplets and direct contact. In order to protect yourself in underground station, wearing a mask and keeping your hands clean are good ways. People are also encouraged to use a personal transportation card or pay for the ticket via an app. After taking public transportation, washing hands is necessary.

The British {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(文化) of visiting friends is special. In Britain you may often hear "Drop in any time" or "Come to see me soon", but you can {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(几乎不) do that. People just say those things to make you feel welcome.

Here are some {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(建议). You'd better telephone before visiting someone as a {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (客人;宾客). If you receive an invitation that says "RSVP", you should reply to let the host know {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(是否) or not you plan to go. By {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(联系;交流)with the host, you can avoid some displeasure. You should never accept an invitation unless you really plan to go. You may say something to {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(拒绝), like "Thank you for inviting me, but I will not be able to come." The host may {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(期盼;等待) you to tell them as soon as possible if you aren't able to go after accepting the invitation.

Although it is not always necessary to give a gift to your host, it is {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(确定的;无疑的) that you are polite to do so. Also, the more {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(积极的;活跃的) you are, the sooner you will get on well with others. After the visit, a thank-you note or telephone call is a good way to show your thanks.

When I was in the middle school, I seldom raised my hands to answer questions in class. And I found lots of my classmates were just like me. When the teacher asked a question, I always lowered my head because I was afraid that the teacher saw me.

One day, in a foreign language class, Mr. Black gave us a lesson. He wanted us to be active in class, so he asked us some questions, but no one answered. "At the beginning of the class, let me tell you a story. " He said.

"When I came to the United States to study, the university often invited famous people to make speeches. Before the beginning of every speech, I found an interesting thing. The students around me always took a cardboard folded （折叠） in half, wrote their names in bold （粗体） with the most eye-catching color, and then placed the cardboard on the seat. So when the speaker needed the answers from the students, he could see and call a listener' s name directly. "

"I couldn't understand that. My classmates told me the speakers were all top people who meant chances. When your answer was to their surprise, it meant they might give you more chances. In fact, I really saw a few students got great chances because of that. "

After listening to the story, I understood that the chance will not find you itself. You must show yourself all the time so that you can find a chance and then catch it.

Have you ever thought how lonely your pet dog will be when you leave home for school or work? Don't worry! A teenager has created a helpful robot for you. 

Cassidy Matwiyoff, a student in San Diego, California, created Bowwow. It is a robot and it helps to pet(抚摸) dogs when their owners are not at home. " The robot starts to work by dropping the food. The dog walks over to eat the food. During this process, Bowwow is petting the dog. " Natwiyoff says. 

The girl got the idea after watching ABC's Shark Tank. She spent four years creating a prototype (雏形) of Bowwow with the help of her mother. After that, she went to an Engineering and Computing Capstone Design program in Chico State. She was allowed to introduce her invention to a group of engineers and teachers in the hope of getting it produced. 

One of them disapproved of the idea. " My dog would rip(撕) this to pieces, " he said. This lit(点燃) a fire within Matwiyoff. She spent the next four months doing research and testing Bowwow for dogs of different sizes and ages. 

Matwiyoff hopes to catch an investor's(投资者的) eye soon and bring her invention to the market. " One day, investors will be interested in my product and want to invest it. " she said. 

My cousin Sandy is an English girl. Her {#blank#}1{#/blank#} name is White. She is {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. In her room, her books and tape player {#blank#}3{#/blank#} in the bookcase. She always puts pencils, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, rulers and erasers in the pencil box. Now the pencil box is on the desk, her schoolbag is on the desk, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Two baseballs are {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the desk, but they' re not Sandy's. They' re her two brother's. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} father gave(给) them. Sandy {#blank#}8{#/blank#} a computer. It's on the table. There is a photo on the {#blank#}9{#/blank#}. Two girls are in the photo. Do you know {#blank#}10{#/blank#} the two girls are? Well, they are Sandy's good friends, Mary and Anna. 

With a history of more than 1，000 years in China，the oil﹣paper umbrella used to be a tool to keep out the rain for the Chinese. It's so named because the umbrella's surface is made of paper brushed with tung oil（桐油）. 

Although the oil﹣paper umbrella is now no longer commonly used for rainy days，it has never disappeared from people's lives. For example，it is still a symbol of romance in many places. For the Yao people living in the southwest China，an oil﹣paper umbrella plays an important role during a marriage proposal（求婚）. When a Yao man's relative visits a Yao woman's family to propose marriage，the relative will bring a red oil﹣paper umbrella. If the woman accepts the proposal，she will take the umbrella and hang 12 small cloth bags on the umbrella's ribs（伞架）. Then the relative will return the umbrella to the man to tell the good news. 

The oil﹣paper umbrella made in Fenshui，a town in Luzhou，Sichuan Province is world﹣famous. To make the umbrella，a craftsperson must complete more than 70 steps. It takes about half a month to make an oil﹣paper. The umbrella is both beautiful and durable（耐用的）. It can be opened and closed at least 3，000 times. Its surface won't divide from ribs even if the umbrella is put in water for 24 hour. 

Bi Liufu，a native of Fenshuiling，another town in Luzhou，has been creating oil﹣paper umbrellas for more than 40 years. He has won many prizes in national and international craft competitions. For Bi，making umbrellas is a lifelong goal rather than a way to make a living.