In the US  Summer vacation starts in early June and ends around late August. Teachers will give summer homework. There are many classes and camps for middle school students. They can be about sports, cooking, boating or outdoor skills. Some students will try to make money by doing housework, such as babysitting or mowing the lawn(割草坪) for neighbours. Some will also do volunteer work, such as helping old or poor people.

    In the UK  ①Summer vacation starts around June 24 and ends on September 3. In Scotland, teachers hardly give schoolwork to kids to do during the summer. So, many of my friends and their families like to travel abroad.

    In France Summer vacation usually goes from mid-June to the end of August. French students don't have any homework or extra classes over the summer. Some students like travelling around the world. ②They see nature in Africa or visit English-speaking countries to learn English. Other students have fun in France. They go to the beach, see friends and watch movies.

    In Australia Summer vacation starts in late December and ends in early February. During the vacation, students have to finish their homework. They should read and write reports on three to five English books. They also need to work with their classmates to do science projects. Australian students often go to special interest classes during the vacation. They learn singing, cooking and so on.

Secrets of top students

⒈ Example One: "If I don't understand what my teacher is explaining in the science, I ask him to say it again," says Anna Lee. "also asking more helped a lot."  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

⒉ Example Two: "When a teacher asks us to do a lot of homework," says Dave Roman " I will draw up a timetable and plan to do it little by little, so it isn't so tiring. "  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

⒊ Example Three: One student put a vocabulary list on the wall of the bathroom. He learned a new word every day while brushing his teeth. Another student used the time to remember biology terms while practicing running.  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

⒋ Example Four: In high school, Mike played football, painted and was in the band. "I was so busy that I couldn't waste time looking for a pencil or missing paper. I kept everything in order." He says.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

⒌ Example Five: Christi is an excellent student at the university. If her math teacher asks her to do five problems, she does ten. If the history teacher asks her to read five pages, she reads ten. "Part of learning is practicing," she says, "and the more you practice, the more you learn."  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class and at lunchtime. Students with cars buy the large speaker and play the music loudly as they drive in the street.

    Adult(成年的) drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather and the life of American people. Most of the radio programs are music.

    Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape and radio stations use them in many places. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people will buy his or her tape. Some of the money from these tapes comes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star.

    There are other kinds of music that is important to Americans. One is called folk music. It tells stories about the common (普通的) life of Americans. Another is called Western or country music. It is about country life and the love between a country boy and his girlfriend. They are very popular among young people.

Dear Mike,

    Greetings from Los Angeles! Thank you for your postcard. Yes, your mother and I can visit you at Christmas. We thought to stay at home on Christmas Day, but now we are going to stay with you. And Jack isn't going to school then.

    The weather in Los Angeles is cold, but it doesn't matter. Sometimes we like the snow.

    We are going to buy plane tickets tomorrow because your mother wants to take a plane and she thinks it is fast. We will get to your city on December 18th. Our plan is to stay with you for two weeks. Is that all right with you？

    We are going to take our favourite recipes(食谱), so we can have a nice Christmas dinner on Christmas Day.

    See you soon.

Love,

Dad

    Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts, so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming deserts all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the deserts. People are doing bad things to the earth.

    Some places on the earth don't get much rain. But they still don't become deserts. This is because some green plants are growing there. Small green plants and grass are very helpful to dry places. Plants don't let the hot sun make the earth even drier. Plants don't let the wind blow the earth away. When a little bit of rain falls, the plants hold the water. Without the plants, the land can become a desert much more easily.

    Young children don't have the skills or knowledge to stay safe in heavy traffic. The following tips (忠告) will be helpful for you to keep your children safe in heavy traffic. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} As parents, make sure that you always set good examples. Your children will follow you and think it's OK to do like you. Teach your children to pay attention to traffic lights {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This helps them understand when it's safe to cross. Make sure that you walk between your children and the traffic, and hold their hands all the time.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} you can start to tell them the importance of traffic knowledge. Let them start to understand the reasons why they need to be so careful. Talk with them about road signs and traffic rules.

    Ask your children to play in a safe place. Never let them ride bikes on the road without an adult present at rush hour.

    The most important thing you can do is {#blank#}4{#/blank#} so parents encourage them to follow traffic rules. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} they'll volunteer to obey them. In this way, they'll be careful enough to keep themselves away from danger.