Trust has been considered as the basis of any relationship, including friendship. No relationship can last long with a lack of trust. Not many of your friends will have real faith in you as you would like to believe. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Sometimes, it takes years, even a complete lifetime, to trust someone. However, how do we know if our friends have faith in us?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} With whom will you share things that you don't want everyone to know? It would be with a close friend, whom you trust as much as you trust yourself. While a few of your friends may be fiercely protective of their privacy and may not tell their secrets to anyone, whose who do, surely find you trustworthy and reliable.

    Whom do you look up to for advice when you need it the most? It has to be either your parents or your friends. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is a shining example of trust. You only seek advice from people you hold in high regard and find dependable. The friends who trust you will never forget to include you in the important decisions of their life.

    Arguments and heated discussions are a part of every relationship, and this is also true for friendship. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} While some people find it difficult to forgive and forget, your friends will never have problems moving on. It is because they trust you and believe that you will never cause any pain to them on purpose.

    There are times in life when you find yourself a lonely soldier. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Your friends will never let you down and will strongly stand by you when you need encouragement. You can determine that they trust you and believe in your beliefs, if they side with you when you need the most.

A. People can be extraordinarily jealous sometimes.

B. You know they will never pass on wrong suggestion.

C. In fact, winning trust is, by far, the most challenging aspect of relationships.

D. Two people cannot have identical reactions to a situation and different opinions do exist.

E. No matter how close you are to your friends, you cannot take that comfort level for granted.

F. If your friends share their secrets, there's a good possibility that they have much faith in you.

G. However, people who are fortunate to have been blessed with true friends are never alone in any battle.

Money Matters

    Parents should help their children understand money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}So you may start talking about money when your child shows an interest in buying things, candy or toys, for example.

1）The basic function of money

    Begin explaining the basic function of money by showing how people trade money for goods or services. It is important to show your child how money is traded for the things he wants to have. If he wants to have a toy, give him the money and let him hand the money to the cashier(收银员). {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When your child grows a bit older and understands the basic function of money, you can start explaining more complex (复杂的) ways of using money.

2）Money lessons

    Approach money lessons with openness and honesty. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you must say NO to a child's request to spend money, explain, “You have enough toy cars for now.” Or, if the request is for many different things, say, “You have to make a choice between this toy and that toy.”

3）{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Begin at the grocery store(杂货店). Pick out two similar brands（商标） of a product—a name-brand butter and a generic (无商标产品), for example. You can show your child how to make choices between different brands of a product so that you can save money. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If he chooses the cheaper brand, allow him to buy another one with the money saved. Later, you may explain how the more expensive choice leaves less money for buying others.

A. Talk about how the money bought the thing after you leave the toy store.

B. The value of money

C. The best time to teach a child anything about money is when he shows an interest

D. Permit the child to choose between them

E. Ask yourself what things that cost money are most important to you

F. Tell your child why he can or can't have certain things

G. Wise decisions

    Grow Your Vocabulary by Learning Root (词根) Words

    English is called one of the most difficult languages for non-native speakers. One reason is that English has so many rules and almost as many exceptions of those rules. Sometimes, this leaves learners confused (困惑的).{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Not all words can be pronounced by their spelling. And, maybe the worst thing of all is that there are many idioms, or expressions in English.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} That is why there are many funny mistakes resulting from the misuse of idioms.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} A root word is the most basic form of a word. Root words can help you to break down large, new words into smaller units to discover their meanings.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} As a result, by learning 20 or 30 root words, you can enlarge your English vocabulary to include hundreds of new words.

    A root can be any part of a word that carries meaning: the beginning, middle or end prefixes (前缀), bases, and suffixes (后缀) are types of roots. The prefix appears at the beginning of a word, the base in the middle and the suffix at the end.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} One simple method is to first look at a base word and then look for familiar prefixes and suffixes that go with that base. For example, the word “construct” is a verb that means “to build”. The prefix “con-” means “together” or “with”. So, “construct” means “to put things together to build or create something”.

A. Another reason is related to the English pronunciation.

B. You can say we use idioms like they're going out of style.

C. The second difficulty lies in the spelling of the English words.

D. Having a good knowledge of grammar is also useful for English learners.

E. Building vocabulary through root words is quite useful for English learners.

F. Learning just one root word can help you understand several words in English.

G. However, it's comforting to know learning root words can help English learners.

    We are surrounded by messages trying to get our attention. Advertisers, politicians and other groups all try to get us to agree with them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Propaganda is not always a bad thing, but it often hides the truth about a topic. Its very similar to advertising, whose goal is to get people to buy something, while propaganda is to change what people believe.

    Propaganda Techniques

    To create propaganda, a common technique is name-calling. A politician might call someone a traitor or liar, which makes the other person look bad. Another is the trend technique. People want to be on the side in the favor. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Some propaganda is based on fear. It scares people into choosing a certain side or taking action, which might not be bad. Anti-smoking campaigns are one example. They may scare people into thinking that if they smoke, they will get cancer.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Propaganda is used by many groups, such as businesses, politicians and the government .It is spread through posters, television and radio. The Internet makes it easy to send messages to the whole world.

    Types of Propaganda

    Political propaganda has been around as long as there have been politicians {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People have used it for many years. War propaganda began during World War Ⅰ, more than 100 years ago.

    To see if propaganda is saying the truth, people need to do extra work. For example, ads might always sound like they're true. But before you believe them, try to think about who created and paid for them. Find out why they did it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

How to lead a balanced life

    Many students suffer from stress in their daily lives. They are under stress because their lives are not balanced. They focus too much on studying, worrying about what others think, and not enough on other things.

    You may wonder whether stress is a serious matter. The answer is "Yes". You should be aware that stress is a risk to your health. If you want to live a long and healthy life, you need to begin to guard against stress from a young age. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They can help to bring balance to your life.

    Be positive.

    You should always look on the bright side of life, and imagine that you will have a happy and successful future. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Force yourself to take a break from your studies and worries about exams. You can do this by taking a walk, reading a book, going to a concert or seeing a film. You can also just sit in a quiet place and be silent for a moment.

    Take up a hobby.

    Learn to paint, take up skating, or start playing a musical instrument. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Take care of your body.

    Stress is your body's enemy. Taking regular exercise, eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep are all the things that can help you.

    Laugh.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Seeing a funny film or telling jokes with friends will often make you happy when you are low.

A. Learn to relax.

B. Take some medicine for stress.

C. Here are some ways to deal with stress.

D. Work hard at your lessons before exams.

E. Sometimes laughter is the best medicine for stress.

F. One way to cancel out stress is through positive thinking.

G. When you are busy with a hobby, you leave all your worries behind.

    There are some popular family videos posted on Chinese social media. In these videos, a young child calls out to their mother or father; the parent enters the room smiling, turns around and calls out to their own parent; the grandparent then enters smiling and calls out to their parent – the great-grandparent.

    The format of these videos is being described as the "four-generation challenge". {#blank#}1{#/blank#} People from all over the world have left comments and even made their own versions.

    A Facebook user named Antoine Yupud wrote, "I have to give that to China. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}." The "four-generation" videos have not only touched foreign viewers, but also given them a deeper look into Chinese family values.

    In most East Asian cultures, it is common for many generations of a single family to live together under one roof. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Many Western countries tend to have nuclear families, made up of just children and their parents.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Kids usually move out of the family home after turning 18. Many apply for loans and work part-time jobs to pay for college and rent. If they choose to continue living with their parents after becoming an adult, it can be seen as a sign of immaturity or failure.

    Although family structures in the United States may differ, the loving bonds between family members are common to both. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Family devotion is usually a strong value.

B. This is called an extended family.

C. These videos have spread to social media in other countries.

D. Nuclear families gradually took the place of extended families.

E. In United States culture, independence is highly valued.

F. These videos have made many people miss their own grandparents.

G. That might be why the "four-generation" videos have gained popularity around the world.