Schools in the UK are quite different from those in China. In the UK, at the beginning of the term, students must select their courses and teachers first.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So in the first term, don't select too many courses, or you'll feel nervous and it may influence your study. Then you have to ask for some teaching plans. There is some information about subjects, time arranging, marks and textbooks. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Different teachers have different teaching methods.

    If the teacher is called "killer" by the last grade, many students will give up choosing him, because this kind of teacher will leave too much homework, give too many exams and too low grades.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} How to buy textbooks makes each student feel hard. The textbooks in the UK are very expensive. Each copy is about $30 -50. In order to save money, many students buy some used textbooks. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    In class, discussing is very important. The teachers always encourage you to ask questions or show your own opinions freely. They don't usually ask you to sit well. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They usually don't give you much homework to do. So in the schools in the UK you can learn knowledge and do exercises by yourself. You must do almost all things independently.

A. And some students usually borrow textbooks from the school library.

B. At the same time, you must select the teachers.

C. Selecting is very important for your grades in the UK.

D. Instead, they allow you to sit or stand everywhere you like.

E. There is another thing after you select the courses and the teachers.

China is a nation with a rich culture in handwriting (书法). "Even though the computer is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (wide) used today, Chinese people should not forget the skill of writing with hands," said a Chinese government officer.

    So far, the computer {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (become) a very useful tool to help people to write. As people use computers more often than before, many people have forgotten how to write Chinese characters (字). People often makes plenty of {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (mistake) in writing.

    The Chinese character test shows that nowadays, many college students' handwriting has got even {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(bad). Many college students do not know how to make words or sentences in Chinese character in the right way. Not only kids but also many adults have met {#blank#}5{#/blank#}same problem. They might be able to tell the general form of a certain character. However, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} you ask them to spell out the character correctly, they can't. On the other hand, they can type out the character on a computer without thinking {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(two).

At present, China is trying its best {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(solve) this problem. With the use of certain technologies, teachers can write their teaching contents (内容) and the students can reply by writing in the nation language teaching course. We can also write letters {#blank#}9{#/blank#} our relatives and friends instead of sending messages. This can help {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (we) practice handwriting. Besides, there are many ways that we can try.

Children in the United States think that the long summer vacation can be a great time to learn or to do something new. The long summer vacation is always from the beginning of June to the end of August. That means young children can spend more time relaxing. Some like to do some reading or drawing at home. Some spend time outdoor activities, hanging out(闲逛) with friends, playing sports or just enjoying nature.

It is also a great time for families to travel to see interesting places for a few days or weeks. Families sometimes go to big cities to see famous buildings or places, but usually they like to find quiet places such as beaches or mountain areas.

It is also fun to go to a camp. During the summer vacation, there are many camps for school children, such as horse- riding camps, computer camps, science camps and music camps. Most children enjoy joining different camps every summer. They can make new friends and have a lot of fun.

There are also some kids spending their time in doing voluntary work— work for free. Kids will clean or paint schools, sing for the old people or read to children. Parents would like their children to do voluntary work because most of them think it is a good way for children to show their kindness.

On a hot summer day, Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they lay down in a tent for the night and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes woke up and pushed his friend. "Watson, look! What can you see in the sky?" Watson answered, "I see millions and millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" asked Holmes. Watson thought for a while. "First, it tells me that we will have a beautiful clear day tomorrow. Second, it tells me that the time is about twelve o'clock. And..." "What else?" Holmes asked. "Well, it also reminds me that the world is so big and we are so small. What does that tell you?" Holmes said with a grin (咧着嘴笑) on his face, "You silly guy! It only tells me that someone has stolen our tent!"