An old saying goes ”Laughter is the best medicine.”It's true that laughter is really good for our health. So, the next time you're feeling stressed, try to laugh a lot, ①develop a sense of humor and watch funny films.

The Comic Relief charity, an organization that helps people in need, uses laughter to raise money. Every two years in spring, many English people put on a red nose, make a fool of themselves and do "silly” things to make themselves and others laugh. Examples of silly things you can do are:

• Invite friends round to your house to watch funny films. They have to pay to watch the films—those with the most comfortable chairs pay more—and for food and drinks.

• Hold a talent show at school and ask your friends and teachers to sing, dance or tell jokes. Sell tickets for the show to the rest of the school.
• Have a red nose party at your house. All your friends come dressed in red—including red nose—and your serve red food and drinks. If they don't wear red, they have to pay a fine.
  
• Get the students in your school to make funny sculptures(雕塑)using all kinds of materials. Sell tickets to your Red Nose Day exhibition and part of the money goes to Comic Relief.

      The organization has helped people for more than 20 years. And how much have they collected since the first Red Nose Day? Over￡600 million!②             . In New Zealand, for example, people have made big red noses which they put on the front of cars and even buildings.

May 31, 2017

    Jaden is a six-year-old boy. He experienced the unlucky things of life twice. First he lost his dad when he was four and his mom died unexpectedly in her sleep last month. Jaden's heart was broken. His parents' death hit him a lot.

    But things always go towards a good side. A few weeks later, Jaden told his aunt that he was tired of seeing everyone sad all the time. He'd like to see more smiles around him. He hoped that the number of the smiles could reach 100.

    Then he asked his aunt to buy him some little toys and take him to the center of the city. “I'm trying to make people smile,” said Jaden. At first, he was not sure if the people passing by would like to receive his toys. In fact, he was always successful and got close to his dream step by step, because no one could refuse such a little boy's giving and expecting.

    “I'm keeping a count of 100 smiles,” said Jaden. When asked if he could make it, he answered, “I think I can.”

Reported by Barbara

B

    Kim is a Canadian boy. Now he is calling his friend Jenny. Jenny lives in London.

    Kim asks，“（A)How's it going?”

    “Great！”says Jenny.

    “（B)How is the weather there?”asks Kim.

    “Terrible! It's foggy(有雾的) and cold. Now I am studying in my house because the fog is very thick(浓密的）and we can't go to school.” answers Jenny and she asks “How's the weather in Toronto?”

    “It's sunny and warm.(C)我正在和奶奶散步。My brother is (D) playing basketball with his friends.

    “Are your parents at home?” asks Jenny.

    “Yes.” answers Kim.

    “(E)_________？”Jenny asks.

    “Oh，my mother is cooking and my father is watching the Chinese movie In 1942 on TV.”answers Kim.

    British people pride themselves on their polite manners towards one another in public. They often use the word 'sorry'—even when they don't really mean it! Usually, if they want to ask a stranger for the time, they would start by saying 'Sorry to bother you. Do you know what time it is?' If they're five minutes late for an appointment (约会), they would generally greet the person by saying 'Sorry I'm late!'

    They use the word 'sorry' in so many different situations that the meaning of the word has changed a little over time. The two main dictionary definitions (释义) of 'sorry' are: 1) feeling sad for someone else because of their problems or bad luck; 2) feeling regret because you've done something wrong. Now, think about this. Normally, when they want to ask a stranger a question, they start with 'Sorry to bother you'. In this situation, they aren't saying sorry because they feel sad for that person or because they feel regret.

    So what does 'sorry' really mean? And why do British people use it so much? Well, in the British culture, saying 'sorry' is a way to be polite, especially to people who they don't know very well. It's also a very clever way to get what they want. In a recent experiment, an actor went up to a different strangers on a rainy day to ask if he could use their mobile phones in order to make a call. When he went up to one group of strangers and asked them without saying 'sorry' first, he was only 9 per cent successful in borrowing their phones. However, when he said 'sorry' to another group of strangers about the bad weather before asking if he could use their mobile phones, he was 47 per cent successful. So maybe saying 'sorry' is not just being polite, but it is also a good method to get what they want too!

    If you ask people of different countries "Could you tell me the way to the post office?" you will get different answers.

    In Japan, people use landmarks（路标）instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, "Go straight down to the corner. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The post office is across from the bus stop. "

    In Kansas, America, there are no towns or buildings within miles. So instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance. For example, people will say, "Go north two miles. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} "

    People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions. They will often say, "Follow me." {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Sometimes if a person doesn't know the answer to your question, he or she might say, "Sorry, I have no idea." But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers "I don't know." {#blank#}4{#/blank#}They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. A visitor can often get lost in Yucatan!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}You might not understand a person's words, but maybe you can understand his or her body language. He or she will usually point to the right direction. Go on in that direction and you may find the post office!

    It's Monday today. When Alice gets up in the morning, she finds everything is white. It's snowing. It looks very cold. So she puts on a warm sweater. After having some milk and bread for breakfast, she wants to ride her bike to school. But her mom tells her not to do that because there's too much snow on the road. Then she walks to school. There's a P. E. class on Monday. Alice is very happy because she can play with snow with her friends.