Jonny:Hey! I'm just practicing Tai Chi(太极).Would you like to join me?

Peter:I know nothing about it. Is it difficult?

Jonny:It seems easy, but you need a lot of practice. You just follow me like this.

Peter:OK. Don't laugh {#blank#}1{#/blank#} me. I may look funny.

Jonny: Bend your knees slightly and reach out your arms like tree branches, naturallyand {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (gentle). Try to keep your body straight. Move slowly , then be sure to keep your balance and don't let your body shake.

Peter:I cannot control my body well. My legs become {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (pain).

Jonny: Keep {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (hold) your position for a while. It helps develop your strength and flexibility. Raise your leg and let {#blank#}5{#/blank#} stay in the air for seconds.

Peter:I feel my legs shaking. I cannot do this any longer.

Jonny: Be patient! Tai Chi {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (call) “shadow boxing” in English. It asks you to act like water: to be flexible as well {#blank#}7{#/blank#} strong. In real competition, a Tai Chi master borrows the strength of the competitor and uses this energy to fight back. The harder you try to beat him, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} more likely you will get hit. He controls you!

Peter:Unbelievable! Oh..., {#blank#}9{#/blank#} you don't mind, I'll stop and take a deep {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (breathe) .

    In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining(请客) at home. They often invite friends over{#blank#}1{#/blank#} a meal, a party, or just for coffee and conversation.

    Here are the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (kind) of things people say when they invite someone to their home: "Would you like to come over for dinner Saturday night?” "Hey, we{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(have) a party on Friday. Can you come?"

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(reply) to an invitation, either say thank you and accept, or say you're sorry and give an excuse: "Thanks, I'd love to. What time would you like me to come?" {#blank#}5{#/blank#}"Oh, sorry. I've tickets for a movie."

    Sometimes, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}, people use expressions that sound like invitations(邀请) but which are not real invitations. For example: "Please come over for a drink sometime." "Why not get together for a party sometime?" "Why don't you come over and see{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(we) sometime soon?"

    They are really just polite ways of {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(end) a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don't mention a specific(确定的) time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(friend). To reply to expressions like these, people just say "Sure, that would be great!" or "OK. Yes, thanks."

    So next time when you hear what sounds like an invitation, listen {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(careful). Is it a real invitation or not?

    Last weekend we celebrated Jacob turning nine{#blank#}1{#/blank#}his friends with an art party. Instead of hosting it at our house, we{#blank#}2{#/blank#}（decide ）to try something new to celebrate it. It cost US $50,00 to rent a small restaurant. I worked with a store manager. And I bought{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(balloon) and a few other things from him.

    On the day of the party, the tables in the restaurant{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(cover) and waiters and waitresses were ready to get to work when we arrived. We started with helping the children paint their own canvases(油画){#blank#}5{#/blank#}then create their own T-shirts. I should have advised parents {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(take)some old clothes,{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (unlucky)we did not. When one child got paint all over{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(him), I felt bad about that.

    Overall, Jacob had{#blank#}9{#/blank#}wonderful time. We were able to do the art parity for minimal cost. The smile on his face at the end of the day was all{#blank#}10{#/blank#}mattered to me.

    Have you ever asked {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(you) why children go to school? You will probably say that they go to learn languages, arithmetic, history, science and some other {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(subject). That is quite accurate. But why do they learn these things?

    We send our children to school {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(prepare) them for the time when they will be big and will have to work for themselves. Nearly everything they study at school has some {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(practice) use in their life. But is that the only reason for {#blank#}5{#/blank#}they go to school?

    There is more in education than just {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(learn) factors. We go to school to learn how to learn, so that when we have left school, we can continue to learn. A man who really {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(know) how to learn will always be successful, because when he has to do something new, he will not only be able to do it well himself, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}be able to teach others how to do it in the best way. The uneducated person, on the other hand， is either unable to do something new, or just does it {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(bad). The purpose of schools, therefore is not to teach languages， arithmetic, history science, etc. , but to teach pupils {#blank#}10{#/blank#}way to learn.

    A recent study found that people who live in colder climates consume {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (much) alcohol than people who live in warm weather.

    "Alcohol is something that everyone thought harmful for {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (decade), but no one has scientifically demonstrated it," a professor wrote in a press release.

Why do people in Russia drink so much? Everybody {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (assume) that's because the weather is cold. But we couldn't find a single paper {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (link) climate to alcohol intake. Since alcohol could increase warm blood flow in the skin, last month, the researchers in a study {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (suggest) that people should reach for booze (豪饮) when it's cold outside. The researchers combed through data to compare climate factors and alcohol consumption per capita (每人的). {#blank#}6{#/blank#} study also found that as temperatures and sunlight hours decrease, alcohol consumption goes up. Shorter hours of sunlight and cooler temperatures also relate {#blank#}7{#/blank#} higher rates of depression, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} is linked to an increase in drinking.

    The professor hopes this data will help influence health policies on alcohol abuse. "Knowing that cold places have more drink-related problems can could be {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (help) to the efforts in these areas {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (determine) better places," he said.