How to improve your vocabulary

    Vocabulary is a key part of learning a new language. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}  Maybe you can't learn a hundred new words a day, but you can learn one or two a day, totaling thousands of new words over the years. Here are some tips for building up your vocabulary.

    Make a plan to learn new words. If you want to improve your vocabulary more quickly, you have to make at least a small promise. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Make you vocabulary practical（实用的）. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, learn more of your trade language—- the words that are commonly used in your business or hobby or vocation(职业). Find better, fresher, clearer words to express what your friends are talking about.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} As you read, if you come across a new word that you don't understand. Don't miss it. Take the time to look it up in a dictionary. Write it down and use it later.

    When you learn a word, use it immediately and frequently. Put your new word into conversation with as many different people as you can. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Use it in sentences. Write it on a card and practice it while waiting for red lights.

A. Repeat it to yourself.

B. They're highly reusable

C. Start learning where you are.

D. Decide to learn one new word every day or two.

E. When you're writing something, use a dictionary frequently

F. Start by learning the words that can express what's most important to you.

G. The more you read, the more words you'll see, and the more you'll understand.

    Sagrada Familia

    Opening hours: 09:00—18:00(October—March); 09:00—20:00(April—September)

    Admission: $11, or $10 with the Barcelona Card.

    The temple has been under construction since 1882 and they've still got another 30 to 80 years to go before it is finished. The project's vast scale and its special design have made it one of Barcelona's top tourist attractions for many years.

    La Pedrera

    Opening hours: November—February: 09:00—18:30; March—October: 09:00—20:00

    Admission: $9.Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

    This building used to be called Casa Mila but nowadays it's more commonly known as La Pedrera.It is a unique modernist building in Barcelona and was made of bricks.It was built between 1906 and 1912 and in 1984 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site with other Gaudi buildings in Barcelona.

    Barcelona FC Museum

    Opening hours: April 6th—October 4th:(Monday to Saturday) 10:00—20:00; the rest of the year: 10:00—18:30

    Admission: $8.50 for entry to the museum and $17 for a guided tour.

    When you buy your ticket you have two options.You can buy a ticket for the museum to see the football stadium or you can buy a dual (双的) ticket for $15 where you get to see the museum and the scenes at the club.

    Miro Museum

    Opening hours: Check the website for details as they vary depending on the time of the year.

    Admission: $8.Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

    This museum has a wide range of Miro's works dating back as far as 1914.This artwork collection not only includes his paintings but also a good selection of sculptures.

    Katie Blomquist, a lst grade teacher at Pepperhill Elementary School in North Charleston, South Carolina, learned last year that one of her students wanted a bike for his birthday. But his parents could not afford it. So, like most other people that you will find here on InspireMyKids, she decided to do something about it!

    First, she thought about how to get a bike for that child. Then, she decided to think bigger. How could she also give a bike to his brother? Or how about a bike to every child in her class? Finally, her vision got even bolder! How might she find bikes for the 650 poor kids that make up her entire school. Even though Ms. Blomquist could not afford to buy the bikes herself, she felt she now had to do something about it!

    So, she decided to start a GoFundMe campaign to raise money. Her request caught on! In less than 6 months, over 1,000 donors from around her community, and even 10 countries around the world, provided over $80,000 in donations! This was enough to buy more than 600 bikes for Pepperhill students, along with locks!

After a big ceremony to surprise the kids, Ms. Blomquist's effort is not done. Katie Blomquist is starting a charity called “Going Places”, with a mission to bring joy to deserving children from low income families by providing them with bikes, swim lessons, summer camp chances, and more. This will enrich their growth and fuel their imaginations, supporting the most basic childhood right—a right to joy. And she has started yet another campaign for her chairty to help more schools and kids!

    When I was 8 years old, I decided to run away from home after a quarrel with my mother. With my suitcase(行李箱) packed and some sandwiches in a bag, I started for the front door.

    My mom asked where I was going. “I'm leaving home,” I said.

    “What's that you're carrying?” she asked.

    “Some clothes and food,” I replied.

    “If you want to run away, that's all right,” she said. “But you came into this home without anything and you can leave the same way.”

    I threw my suitcase and sandwiches on the floor and started for the door again.

    “Wait a minute,” Mom said. “You didn't have any clothes on when you arrived, and I want them back.”

    This infuriated me. I tore my clothes off — shoes, socks, underwear and all — and shouted, “Can I go now?”

    “Yes,” my mom answered, “but once you close that door, don't expect to come back.”

    I was so angry that I shut the door forcefully and stepped out of my home. Then I noticed down the street two neighbor girls walking toward our house. I was so shy that I saw the big spruce (云杉) tree in our yard and jumped under the low-hanging branches (树枝). A pile of dried-up brown needles (针状物) were beneath the tree, and you can't imagine the pain those sharp needles caused to my body.

    After I was sure the girls had passed by, I ran to the front door and knocked at it loudly.

    “It's Billy! Let me in!”

    The voice behind the door answered, “Billy doesn't live here anymore. He ran away from home.”

    Looking behind me to see if anyone else was coming down the street, I said, “Mom! I'm sorry. I'm still your son. Let me in!”

    The door opened and Mom's smiling face appeared. “Did you change your mind about running away?” she asked.

    “What's for supper?” I smiled back.

How to Drop a Pant Size in a Week

    Dropping one pant size in seven days is a difficult task, but with dedication, exercise and the right diet, you can make it happen.

    Increase your water consumption. Thirst is often misinterpreted as hunger, and if you are drinking the right amount of water, you will find it much easier to avoid snacking. Look to drink at around eight or nine glasses of water every day.

    Lower your calorie count. You can use a calorie calculator to determine how much you need to take in to maintain or lose weight. If you take in fewer calories than you burn each day, you will lose weight as a result. As a rule, an average-sized woman needs to take in less than 1, 300 calories per day for extreme weight loss, as you'll naturally burn around 2,000. Exact measurements differ based on age, height, weight and activity level.

    Cut the junk food. Chips, soda and candy seem harmless if taken as snacks, but can seriously affect your weight loss. Limit yourself to one or two snacks per day and switch your usual snack foods for baby carrots, apples and grapes.

    Break up your meals. If you want to lose weight, try eating four or five small meals per day instead of two or three large ones. This makes it easier for your body to process what you are consuming. Divide your required calories by the number of meals you'll be eating to determine how large each meal should be. Space your meals out two or three hours apart—try meals at breakfast, mid-morning, lunch, afternoon and dinner.

Doing intense aerobic (需氧的) exercise. You have to encourage your body to burn calories if you want to drop pounds and inches. Running is by far the fastest calorie burner, with the potential for 986 calories per hour. If you're unable to run, use an elliptical machine (椭圆机), jump rope, or participate in a high-impact aerobics class.

    The Chinese invented paper in 105 A. D. They mixed the bark of a tree and rags (破布) with water, put a screen into the mixture, and lifted out a thin piece of wet paper. They dried the paper in the sun.

    The Chinese kept their secret of how to make paper until a war with Muslims in the ninth century. The art of papermaking soon spread throughout the Muslim world.

    The Mayan Indians in Central America and Pacific Islanders also discovered how to make paper, but their knowledge never spread to the rest of the world.

    For centuries, all paper was made by hand. Rags were the main material. Then a French scientist discovered that people could make paper from wood, too. Finally, in the eighteenth century, a Frenchman invented a machine to make paper from wood.