Did you know that money is not worth the paper it is printed on? Money is really just a symbol.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Long ago, people did not use money. They made or grew food, clothes, and other things they needed. Later, people started trading. They would trade what they made to someone else in order to get different foods and goods. To trade like this is to barter（物物交换）.

    The barter system was a good system. Bakers could trade bread for wheat. Weavers could trade cloth for meat. Trading not just let people work at certain jobs.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    But one problem with bartering was that not everyone agreed on prices. People had to work out a price each time they wanted to trade. Another problem was that the goods might be too heavy to carry. What if the cow farmer wanted to trade a cow for a horse with the horse farmer? They would have to carry their animals with them.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} What if the cow farmer wanted to trade a cow for a chicken? A cow is worth more than a chicken. The farmer should get “change.” But how can you make change from a cow?

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People used to use all kinds of small things for money. They used shells, beads, feathers, seeds, and even salt. A group of people would decide the worth of a kind of shell. Other kinds of shells would be worth more or less. Then people had money that was worth a certain amount. It was easy to carry. It was easy to make change.

    With time going by, we finally have the money that we use today.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. This is where money comes in.

B. That means it stands for something else.

C. They made clothes from wool from their sheep.

D. Bartering did not have a way to make change, either.

E. It also gave people a way to buy things they needed.

F. With money, we don't have to travel with chickens, cows, or clay pots!

G. When people traded, they no longer had to make everything they needed.

    More than 40 million Americans move each year, but not always by choice. Whether you're moving because of work or schooling or for better chances, adjusting to（适应）the life in a new place can be difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some tips to help you adjust to your new home.

Treat it as an adventure

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} So stay positive and get out there and explore! Taste the local food and visit famous places and museums. Try local activities that aren't popular in your former city, such as skating if you come from a beach town or surfing if you lived in the mountains. You may discover a talent or interest you never knew you had.

Get involved with（融入）your neighbors

    Introduce yourself to neighbors and everyone else you meet. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is the best way to get advice about living in your area, and to make new friends. Attend local events that interest you, visit the markets or yard sales, take classes and so on. All of these things will help you meet people come and feel connected.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It takes time to get to know a new place, so don't expect to feel comfortable right away. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} To help make the process easier you can meet new people, find a support group near you. A fresh move is also a fresh start. It is therefore a great time to start fulfilling a dream you've had, whether it is going back to school, starting a new career, or finishing a novel.

A. Find what you love.

B. Be patient and go after your dream.

C. Give yourself time to adjust.

D. Tell them you're new in the town.

E. It is especially true when you don't love your new city very much.

F. Show others the photos of your favorite places in your old town.

G. Living in a new place is a great opportunity to experience new things and grow up.

    Earth is home to around 7,000 languages, around half of which are expected to disappear by 2100.

    Languages disappear for many reasons. Sometimes younger generations stop learning a language because parents want children to fit in. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Native American children of the late-19th century were required to attend boarding schools where educators forbade them from speaking their native languages.

    The United Nations ranks endangered languages according to their risk level. For example, a "critically endangered" language is one that even grandparents don't speak often. New York's Onondaga language is an example with only 50 speakers left. An "extinct" language has no speakers. It is gone forever. Alaska's Eyak language is one example. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}In the same way, different languages contribute to cultural diversity. Saving these languages benefits our understanding of other cultures. Languages can show how a society looks at the world and what it values. A language may describe something in a way that is funny, too. In Welsh, it rains not cats and dogs, but old wives and walking sticks.

    The Endangered Language Alliance wants to save languages from disappearing. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} However, its efforts are limited. If an endangered language is going to make a real comeback, it'll probably get its start in schools. For nearly 100 years, public schools in Hawaii did not teach the Hawaiian language. Now students can keep learning in Hawaiian from elementary schools to college and beyond.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} At least one did. In 1881, a Jewish linguist named Eliezer Ben-Yehuda brought the 3,000-year-old language Hebrew back to life. Today it is one of the official languages of the country of Israel, with more than 4 million speakers.

A. The last person who spoke it died in 2008.

B. Why should we save endangered languages?

C. Various animals and plants benefit our environment.

D. With just 5 speakers left, it is absolutely endangered.

E. Can a language with zero native speakers come back to life?

F. Sometimes societies force minorities to give up their language.

G. The nonprofit group finds native speakers and records their stories.

    Violent Games: Fun or Harmful?

    If you play lots of video games, you've probably blown a zombie(僵尸) into tiny bits. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Many adults worry that playing such games could make children act violently in real life. Is that true?

The American Academy of Pediatrics(儿科) says that violence in any kind of media — from TV to music to video games — presents a risk to kids' health. A number of studies have shown a link between video games and aggression, including one published in JAMA Pediatrics in 2014, which found that kids who played violent video games showed an increase in aggressive thoughts and behaviors. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    But not all studies agree that violent games cause kids to act out. Another study replaced violent deaths with evaporation(蒸发) in a game. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} People who played the non-violent game without any training were more aggressive afterward than people who played the violent version but learned to control themselves first.

    And here's an even stranger fact: When violent video games are released, people carry out fewer violent crimes! Why? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Steve Levitt, coauthor of the book Freakonomics, said, “If you can make video games fun enough, then kids will stop watching TV, and they'll stop going out and creating violent disorder on the street.”

What do you think? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. One possible explanation: potential criminals are at home playing the new game.

B. Then, before playing the game, some people received training and others didn't.

C. More than 3,000 kids answered survey questions during a two-year period.

D. For example, thinking it's OK to hit someone you don't like.

E. Have you ever played any violent video games?

F. Do violent video games cause bad behavior?

G. Some games even pile up dead bodies.

Why Do We Find It Hard to Say "No"?

    As we all know, saying "no" to others is not easy at all. But sometimes we have to learn to say "no". {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Below are common reasons why people find it hard to say "no":

    ●{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You are a kind soul at heart. You don't want to turn the person away and you want to help when possible, even if it may eat into your time.

    ● Afraid of being rude. I was brought up under the idea that saying "no", especially to people who are older, is rude. This thinking is common in Asian culture, where face saving is important. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    ● Wanting to be agreeable. You don't want to alienate (疏远) yourself from the group because you're not in agreement. So you agree to others' requests.

    ● Fear of conflict (冲突) {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This might lead to an ugly confrontation (面对). Even if there isn't, there might be disagreement which might lead to bad effects in the future.

    ●{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Perhaps you are worried saying "no" means closing doors. For example, one of my friends' wives was asked to work in another department in her company. Since she liked her team, she didn't want to go. However, she didn't want to say "no" as she felt it would affect her promotion (晋升) chances in the future.

A. Wanting to help others.

B. Fear of losing chances.

C. Wanting to keep a good relationship.

D. I slowly realized I needed to learn to say "no".

E. You are afraid the person might be angry if you refuse him / her.

F. It means not making others look bad or lose face.

G. To learn to say "no", we have to first understand what's stopping us from it.

Whether you're traveling to the next town over or to the other side of the word, careful planning goes a long way toward ensuring your trip is a success. The right preparation helps you avoid potential disasters, such as having your credit card declined or running out of clean clothes to wear. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Make your reservations for fights and accommodations.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}, where you want to stay and how you want to get around, make your reservations. For flights, book around two months out. And don't wait till the last minute for your hotels either. You don't want them to be booked or almost-booked because then prices skyrocket.

Set a travel budget.

Before you do anything, you need to know how much money you will have for this trip. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, so start your planning by breaking down how much you want to spend on transportation, food, accommodation, sightseeing and any other activities you hope to include in your trip.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

If you're going abroad, you may be required to get a visa. Besides, check the website of your intended country's consulate or embassy to see what is required for you to enter the country. Visas may take weeks or even months to finalize, so check early in the planning process.

Pack appropriate clothing for your destination and trip.

Check the weather at your destination 2-3 days before you depart. This will let you know what type of clothes you need to bring. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Will you be expected to wear a suit for a conference, or will you be able to bathe in a bathing suit on the beach?