Fun doesn't have to be expensive

    Everyone likes to have fun, but not everyone has much money to spend. Here are some free or cheap ways to enjoy yourself.

    Go outside

    Going outside in good weather can be a lot of fun if you don't want to stay at home. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you live in a city, you can go window-shopping. Or you can explore an old part of town and admire the buildings.

    Try a hobby

    While you're out, take pictures of things you find. Planning and taking pictures can make you aware of the beauty all around you. Photographic equipment can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. You probably already own a camera or a cell phone that can take pictures. Other creative hobbies can also be done with basic materials. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Find an event

    Libraries often hold free public events. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}And while you're there, borrow a book or movie for free. Museums and universities also hold free events.

    If you can't find a free event, you can volunteer at an event that requires tickets. People who organize concerts and plays need help.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Sometimes they reward volunteers with free tickets.

    Meet a friend

    Relationships are often the best things in life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For example, invite a friend for a walk, an event or a time working on your hobby. Hosting doesn't have to be difficult. If your friend comes in the afternoon, you don't have to serve a meal. You can sit and talk, play board games or card games or watch a movie together.

A. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

B. Stop by one to find out what's going on.

C. Hike or bicycle with a friend on a nearby path or in a park.

D. Whatever you do, find a friend to share it with.

E. It's a good idea to stay at home to watch a movie.

F. You can set up or take down chairs or greet visitors.

G. Drawing and writing require nothing more than a pencil and paper.

    Helen Keller once wrote, “The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.”{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The UN has set December 5 as Internatuional Volunteers Day to give recognition to these people.

    Nineteen-year-old Andrew Makhoul was a communications major at the University of Pennsylvania. It was coming up to spring break, but unlike his classmates, Makhoul wasn't planning on spending the break relaxing.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    He traveled to Guatemala. He went to an orphanage（孤儿院）in one of the most violent and poor parts of Guatemala city.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Although he didn't speak much Spanish, he found communication wasn't a problem: “You communicated with love.” And what he gave out, he got back: “You could see love when you looked in their eyes.”

    Makhoul's first time as a volunteer only lasted a week, but by the end of that week, he knew he'd be back in the future.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}The UN highlighted the case of Palestinian women who are survivors of breast cancer. As part of the UN's Aid and Hope Programme for Patient Care, the women have been volunteering their time to create low-cost breast prosthetics（假体）to be distributed to women for free, among whom Shahd El-Swerki is a brilliant example.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} By the end of her time there, she admired these women who are “not only survivors but also volunteers”.

    About 2,400 years ago, Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “The essence（本质）of life is to serve others and do good.” Volunteers all around the world are making these words come true, each and every day.

A. It depends upon volunteers to stay open.

B. She worked with the women as part of the programme.

C. Here, we tell two volunteering stories from around the globe.

D. Sometimes, volunteers themselves live with huge challengers.

E. He decided to spend his time doing something useful for people.

F. Volunteers want to do their best to make the world warmer and more beautiful.

G. These words certainly prove true for the millions of volunteers all over the world.

    Ebola is a dangerous virus that can cause people to get very sick and even die. The virus is causing the biggest problems in western Africa, where it has spread quickly.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But it can get worse and cause life-threatening symptoms (症状), such as bleeding and trouble breathing.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Ebola does not spread like colds or the flu because it does not float through the air. Ebola also doesn't spread through food or water, like some other viruses. Instead, Ebola spreads when someone touches the body fluids(液体) of a sick person.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    An outbreak is when many people are getting sick with the same illness around the same time. You may have heard of a flu outbreak, which is when lots of people get sick from the same types of flu virus. When an outbreak happens because of a virus, more people could get sick because there is a lot of that virus around.

    Where did Ebola come from?

Scientists aren't sure how the first person gets Ebola at the start. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Tropical animals in Africa believed to carry the virus include great apes, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, fruit bats, porcupines, and forest antelopes.

    What do kids need to do about Ebola?

    Ebola is making many people sick in Africa, but no matter where you live, it's always a good idea to wash your hands well and often. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. What is an outbreak?

B. How do people catch Ebola?

C. Why do I need to wash my hands?

D. It's very important that infected people get treatment right away.

E. Ebola symptoms can start with fever and headache, kind of like the flu.

F. But they think that people may pick up the virus by touching or eating infected animals.

G. Keeping hands clean can help protect you from common illnesses like colds and the flu.

    On December 22, 2016 I landed in the land of the “American Dream.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here is one of the things I've struggled with during my almost one year in the States.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} My uncle and aunt joked that I brought rain from Saigon to America. Saigon, where I come from, is the old name of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Vietnam is a tropical country where it rains most of the year. Before going to the U.S., actually, I had no idea what to expect about its weather, but the big rain on my arrival gave me the first expectation of what the weather here might be like.

    California is known for having a great climate — more sunshine, cooler in summer and warmer in winter. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} However, having been here for a pretty long while now, I have experienced various forms of climate in California.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Most of the time I was living in Silicon Valley, where the weather is a bit colder than where I study in Orange County. But I was really surprised to find chill-to-the-bone weather in San Francisco — a big shift from Silicon Valley in only about an hour's drive. How strange!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The worst is that I get n runny nose whenever I wake up in the morning. Because I am allergic to the cold and windy weathers, I keep sneezing badly, and even more badly if I get caught in the cold. I think that my body needs more time to get used to this climate, but as many people said, I am luckier to be in California where I don't have to fight with extreme weathers as in other states.

A. I am sensitive to weather change.

B. Such strange weather has affected my health.

C. So the amount of rain this year is considered unusual.

D. LAX airport in California welcomed me with a big rain.

E. So I quickly get used to the unchangeable climate in California.

F. The weather varies widely depending on where you are in the state.

G. Since then, I have discovered tons of dilemmas about life in America.

    Why Do We Forget Things?

    When it comes to having perfect memories, it is apparent that we humans must have had some faults in our blueprints(蓝图)! Why don't we remember everything that we want to remember? It makes us feel upset and get discouraged. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, it's true that we are all forgetful.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} These are stored in what we call our "long-term memory". What about before age three? Sigmund Freud, a doctor of Vienna, discovered the fact that we forget most of our early childhood. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They have different opinions. A very good theory, born from the results of experimentation with babies, is that absence of language ability at the time of an event stopped us from describing it to others.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Experts say that you can keep about seven things in your memory at once for up to three days. During that time, you may forget something in order to put something else in its place, or you put it into long-term memory. What goes into short-term memory are things you've learned about recently, in the past day or two. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For example, you may have met your favorite star last week, and this week you can tell all the details to a friend. A simple example to explain your short-term memory is to look at a list of twenty words for a minute or two. You will discover that you cannot remember more than about seven of them and that they are the ones in the beginning and at the end of the list because your mind has judged them to be more important than those in the middle.

A. Scientists now know that it may take longer to remember things for the old.

B. However, it is widely recognized that short-term memory can be improved.

C. Sometimes, it even causes us to lose self-respect or others to think less of us.

D. Psychologists have been studying what causes this forgetfulness since Freud's time.

E. Most of us have vivid memories of our lives from about age three to our present ages.

F. Only if something really unusual happens does it stay in your short-term memory for longer.

G. The other type of memory, the "short-term memory", is what we are usually referring to when we say, "I forgot."

Are you learning English and do you need help with grammar? Do you want to learn new vocabulary or slang? Well, you can find help online. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

⒈Dave's ESL Café Website

This is a complete website that can help you learn and practice English. You can read many stories and do a lot of exercises to test yourself. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}You can also post questions and answers onto the help center.

⒉{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

You can get free English courses from About.com and you'll get regular e- mails that will help you learn English.

⒊The Classroom by Voice of America

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}You can watch videos and listen to news stories to improve your listening and vocabulary skills. You can also hear English words and their meanings.

⒋Heinle's Newbury House Dictionary of American English

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Use this online dictionary to find simple and clear definitions, as well as example sentences and idioms. You can also find different cultural facts.

A. About.Com

B. You can surf the Café Website freely.

C. The Voice of America is shorted for VOA.

D In this way we can keep worries away and sleep better.

E. There is no way to solve all these problems.

F. Here are top 4 free English language learning websites.

G. Do you need a dictionary to find the definition of a word?