All around the world, people drink tea. But tea does not mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries people have very different ideas about drinking tea.

    In China, for example, tea is always served when people get together. The Chinese drink it at any time of the day at homes or in tea houses. They prefer their tea plain, with nothing else in it.

    Tea is also important in Japan. The Japanese have a special way of serving tea called a tea ceremony(仪式).

    It is very old and full of meaning. Everything must be done in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in Japanese homes.

    Another tea-drink country is England. In England, the late afternoon is ＂teatime＂. Almost everyone has a cup of tea then. The English usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with cream and sugar. They also eat cakes, cookies and little sandwiches at teatime.

    In the United States people drink tea mostly for breakfast or after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make their tea. Tea bags are faster and easier than making tea in teapots. In summer, many Americans drink cold tea-＂iced tea＂. Sometimes they drink iced tea from cans, like soda.

    You must have remembered the story from your childhood: an old man was worried about his sons because they always quarreled with each other. So one day he asked them to break a bundle(捆) of chopsticks tied together. Clearly, none of them could. But when the bundle was untied, they were able to break each chopstick easily. Why? This is because of the power of unity(团结).

    Dr. John Maxwell, in his book Success Journey says that every success is not something you can achieve alone. Think about it —if at the end of all the achievements, you find yourself alone, will you call it success in a real sense? It is known to all of us that success always belongs to unity. But we often seem to forget it when it comes to individual(个人的) success. Most of us consider our success as a personal thing.

    Your dream and your success do not belong to you alone. Even though you work hard towards your dream, there are people who are working behind you to make sure that you are able to give yourself a hundred percent energy.

    Do you think that it is possible without unity? Don't you feel that these people are doing their best so that you can be successful? And so, unity plays an important role, even if you are talking about your personal success. Just like those chopsticks, they can't be broken only when they are tied together.

    So, it is your responsibility to keep unity if you really want to be successful in your trip. Only if you always treat things and people seriously, you will succeed because all the things and people around you have connections in some way.

Living next to next is the principle(原则) of a neighbor. Good neighborliness is the ideal to be aimed at. As the saying goes, no man is an island; he has to live with his neighbors. To make life easy and pleasant, he must cooperate with his neighbors. 

Whether one likes it or not, one cannot do without neighbors. The sympathy (同情), admiration and appreciation which a neighbor may offer will have a great humanizing influence. To share one's view and sometimes even sadness, one needs some neighbors. 

But all neighbors are not always keeping the friendly relationship. Stresses and tension(紧张) develop because of misunderstanding. Very often children may be the cause for tense feelings. The neighbor's son may pick a flower or a fruit from your garden and an argument may follow. Again he may throw his ball at your window breaking it. This may read easy on paper but not so in real life. But being broad-minded, one must be able to tolerate(容忍). Another reason for tension may be the animals. Your neighbor's dog may be a real trouble or his chickens would come into your garden and eat away your plants. 

In all these cases to keep up good neighborliness, some understanding between the neighbors is important. Small differences can be easily patched up or solved. Try to be friendly and the problem will not be difficult to solve. Nobody is perfect and it is better not to speak ill of your neighbors. A cheerful word, a nod or a small talk will strengthen the feeling of good neighborliness. 

①Walking slowly out of the classroom by himself to the dining room; taking his lunch; sitting and eating alone at a table of four seats, such moments are pretty normal to be seen on the 14-year-old schoolboy, Peter. He spends most of his school time on his own, which makes his parents worry about him so much.

②His parents' worries are easy to understand. It is widely accepted that being alone is a symbol of being left out and can bring a lot of trouble. Most people believe teenagers who are usually alone do have few friends and are unable to fit in with other people. At the same time, they are at greater risk of having mental(心理的) problems.

③However, a new study by some researchers at Wilmington College, shows that this may not always be true. Whether it is bad for teenagers or not depends on the reasons why teenagers are alone. If it is their choice, it may play an active role in their personal growth.

④According to their study, when teenagers choose to think alone, they put 100% of their attention into what is in their mind and are more likely to experience deeper thoughts and feelings than working with others. They may have a greater chance to create something new, In this way they can better develop their creativity(创造力).

⑤On the other hand, the ongoing noise children's brains receive every day can put great stress on them and make it hard for them to focus. Being alone lets them shut themselves off from the noisy outside world and think about what's best for them. Slowly they improve their ability to focus.

⑥As a matter of fact, our culture is always biased(有偏见的) against being alone. Maybe it is the right time for us to rethink about Peter's situation before we say what's happening to him.

大象是陆地上现存最大的动物，它们喜欢群居，体型较大但性情温和。但是由于人类对象牙制品(ivory products)的追捧，每年都有大量的大象被猎杀，一些种类的大象已濒临灭绝。假如你是李华，为了保护大象，你准备给你校报社写一封信，呼吁大家保护大象。

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