We live on the earth. We use the sea around us. What do we take from the ocean? And what do we give to it?

    We take fishes from the ocean—millions of kilograms of fish, every year, to feed millions of people. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}We take minerals (矿物) from the ocean. We can get salt by evaporating (蒸发) seawater. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}such as gold. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Seaweed (海草) becomes food of many kinds—even candy and ice cream—as well as medicine. Believe it or not, fresh water is another gift from the sea. We can't drink ocean water. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}But ocean water becomes fresh water when the salts are removed. In the future, we will find ourselves depending more and more on fresh water from the sea.

    The sea gives us food, fertilizer, minerals, water and other gifts. What do we give the sea? We pollute the ocean all the time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Throwing waste into the ocean is killing off sea life. Yet as the world population grows, we may need the sea and its gifts more than ever.

    We are finally learning that if we destroy our sea, we might also destroy ourselves. Hopefully, it is not too late.

Do you feel guilty(内疚的) for something you did? Maybe you made a mistake that hurt someone. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Either way, the simple words "I'm sorry" can help you and others feel better. It's not always easy to admit(承认) what you did is wrong. But you can't learn from your mistakes without admitting them.

Apologizing(道歉) is an important part of personal growth. When you apologize, the other person knows that you understand his feelings. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} But in fact, it shows that you are strong enough to put others before yourself. After apologizing, you may become closer to your friend than before.

But even after you decided to apologize, you may not be sure how to do it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

①Show that you feel guilty and understand how the other person feels. For example, you could say, "{#blank#}4{#/blank#} I feel terrible for talking to you like that."

②Don't keep doing what you apologized for.

③Don't put off(推迟) making an apology.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Apologies can be hard, but they are necessary for healthy relationships.

I often hear some students say English is difficult, and it gives them a headache. But English is very easy for me. I' m good at it. I' m very glad to tell you something about how I study English.

First, I think an interest in English is very important. When I learned English first, it was fresh for me. I was interested in it, so I worked hard at it. Soon we had an English exam and I got a very good mark. How happy I was! After that, I learned English harder and harder. Our English teacher often teaches us English songs, and the songs sound nice. I often think how interesting English is!

Second, I think English is a foreign language. I should learn it well in the following ways: Listen to the teacher carefully, speak bravely, read aloud and have a good vocabulary. Then practice again and again, never be tired. And I also have a good habit: Asking whenever(不论何时)I have a question. I must make it clear by asking our English teacher. How happy I am when I understand!

Besides this, I often read English stories, jokes and easy novels. They help me understand a lot of things. So to do more reading is an important way to learn English well. And I also write English diaries. English has become a close friend of mine.

Chinese is getting mare and more popular, so the UK government plans to invest（投资） 10 million pounds to help more kids lean Chinese Do you think it is necessary for the UK pupils to learn Chinese? 

Seneca （Canada）

I studied French for 2 years in high school, and German for 4 years in college and got good marks. I studied Chinese for about 4 months before moving to China. For any language, if you don't use it, it will be easy to lose it I've forgotten the French l leaned except for a few phrases. I speak Chinese every day. My writing, reading and listening are quite good, but far from fluent. I think it's necessary to learn Chinese. 

Tony（the UK）

Learning any language can be valuable, but it is not suitable for everyone. Chinese is a difficult language to learn, and teachers in the UK are not good at teaching foreign languages. However, China is a big and developing market for English businesspeople. For them, Chinese is worth learning. 

Bill（the US）

I don't think Chinese will replace（取代）English. Chinese is difficult to learn. To learn Chinese, you have to learn how to write and read it carefully. In the future, Chinese will become more popular, so I think learning Chinese is a good thing. 

I am a Grade 9 student. I love the National Day holiday a lot, because I can do many things I enjoy. How did I spend the seven-day holiday last year? I didn't travel or visit friends. I found a part-time job.

That was the first time I had been a waiter (服务员). It was harder than I had thought. At first, I was not good at the job, and I nearly spilt (洒出) the soup on a woman's dress. Some people were very unfriendly, and they got angry ( 生气的) with me because of my mistakes. I was so sad and tired that I was almost ready to give up the first afternoon.

A family with three children came to have dinner the next day. The children were asking for things all the time. I tried my best to serve them well. Then the father said to me, "Good job! Thank you very much for helping us." His words were just like a light in the dark. My tiredness suddenly went away. In the following days, I got used to the job little by little, and I had fun working in the restaurant.

When I got the money at last, I felt very happy. The experience taught me that many jobs are not easy. Everyone is great when they are working hard. The most important thing I learned is how much praise (称赞) matters to people. It can give us lots of strength (力量). I think my National Day holiday last year was interesting and meaningful.

Protect Yourself When Home Alone

There are many things that you should be careful with when you are at home alone. Read the following solutions(方法) to protect yourself.

Keep the door locked when you are at home alone. Many people think it's the best way to protect themselves.

Keep a list of phone numbers to call for help such as 110, the police station or a neighbour's number.

Be careful with the electrical appliances(电器). If you don't know how to use them, ask your parents. Make a safety check before going to sleep.

Look through the peephole(窥视孔) when you hear the doorbell ring. If there are strangers, ask" Who's that?" with the door locked and say" Come back later". Don't tell them that your parents are away. Say" Mum's having a shower" or" Dad's having a sleep". To ignore(忽视) the doorbell is not a good idea because sometimes bad people ring doorbells to see if anyone's at home.