C

    My name is Chen Jie. I'm 12. I'm in PEP Middle School. I'm in Classroom 7D. I'm a Chinese girl. My home (家) is in No. 69 Mingzhu Road, Wuxue. My telephone number is 625—3781. My post code (邮政编码) is 435400. My type of blood(血型) is O and my school ID card number is PEPMS201507146.

How to be a friend of yourself

    We often pay attention to developing relationships with others, however, we forget the basic step: being friends of ourselves. How can we have good relationships with others if we don't even have good relationship with ourselves?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    First, forgive yourself. It's true that you are not perfect, but neither is everybody else. It's normal to make mistakes{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Second, accept things you can't change. There are some things you cannot change, such as your background and your past{#blank#}3{#/blank#} if you face the things you can't change, just smile, and move on.

    Third, focus on your achievements. You can try making a list of your achievements, which do not have to be big things there are a lot of small but important achievements in our life{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Last but not least, stop comparing yourself with others. You are unique.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} your success is not determined(决定) by other people. Instead, it is determined by your own life purpose.

Stories and Art of Chinese Fans

    You may think you cannot live through summer without air conditioners. But in ancient China, hand fans were almost the only ones to help people keep cool.

    Chinese people started to use hand fans over 2,000 years ago. The fans came in different shapes, such as round and square. They were also made from a11 kinds of materials. Palm leaf fans were cheap and easy to make. Feather fans(羽毛扇) showed the owner's high status. Sandalwood(檀香)fans could send out a sweet smell.

    Later, hand fans became far more than just something that could cool you down. They developed into art works, in which tuanshan (round fans)and zheshan(folded fans)were the most common.

    In the shape of a full moon, tuanshan was usually made of silk. They had beautiful birds and flowers on them. Women especially those in the imperial palace(皇宫),liked to use them. Meanwhile, men, especially the literati(文人), used zheshan. The literati liked them because zheshan were usually made of paper and they could paint and write poems on them. It was a way for them to show off their ability in literature, painting and handwriting. Almost anything can be painted on zheshan.

    Today, Chinese people still use these fans, only not many people write or paint on them any more. Next time when you are waving a fan, you may think of the stories behind it.

    Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes: {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here, we look at two examples

    A recent study by researcher Kraus shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were able to hear the talking person more clearly.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Think about violinists in an orchestra (管弦乐团). When the violinists play with the group, they hear their own instrument and many others, too. But the violinists must listen closely to what they are playing, and pay no attention to the other sounds. In this way, musicians are able to focus on certain sounds, even in a room with lots of noise.

    Schlaug, a doctor at Harvard Medical School, works with stroke (中风) patients. Because of their illness, these people cannot say their names, addresses, or other information normally. However, they can still sing.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Why does this work? Schlaug isn't sure. Music seems to make different parts of the brain work, including the damaged (损坏的) parts. This might help patients to use that part of the brain again.

    Music improves concentration (注意力), memory, listening skills, and our overall language abilities.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Playing an instrument or singing can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp (敏锐的) as we get older. Music is not only enjoyable, it's also good for us in many other ways.

(Amy and Bob are talking about what a good friend is like. A=Amy; B=Bob)

A: Bob,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}?

B: I think a good friend is good at sports.

A: You mean he or she is athletic?

B: Yes. And{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. He or she often makes me laugh.

A: Anything else?

B: Er, I think{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

A: I can't agree with you. I like to have friends{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

B: Do you think a good friend should be popular in school, too?

A: Well, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.