Mary Dexter is a student．She is from the USA．She studies in a middle school． 1  Her favorite subject is science．Though Mary is only 13 years old，she begins to think about her future(未来)．After she finishes high school，she wants to study at a big college(大学)in SanDiego． 2

    Mary wants to study marine biology．That is to say,she will learn about all the animals in the sea．And San Diego is a great place to study marine biology because it is near the sea，and the city has a great Sea World．People can see many sea animals there．

     3 "I want to work with sea animals and help them．"says Mary．

根据材料内容完成下列任务。

    I once believed that a friend is a friend all the way. Now I have changed my ideas about friendships.

    1). Friends of convenience(便利). They can be the people who live next door or the mothers of our children's closest friends. Friends of convenience are good indeed. They'll help us when we need it. They'll look after our cats when we go on holidays. But we don't ever get too close or tell too much. Between us, we'll talk about being overweight but not about being sad or disappointed(失望). However, people still find it necessary to make friends like this.

    2). Special-interest friends. These friendships aren't deeply personal or emotional(感情上的). They lie in some shared interests, so we may have an office friend, a tennis friend, or even a shopping friend.

    3). Historical friends. We all have a friend who knew us when…maybe we were back in the second grade of primary school, when our family lived in that two-room flat downtown. He or she was the first, the only friend we told our secrets to.

    The years have gone by, and we have gone different ways. But we're still a personal part of each other's past. We know how we looked before our teeth were straightened(矫正), and our getting together makes us think of an earlier part of ourselves, which is important and never lost.

    4). Cross-generational friends. These are friendships that from across generations(代). I have in my own life a precious(珍贵的) friend, a woman of 65, who is clever, who listens well, and who means not only an ideal mother to me but also the person I'd like to be when I grow up.

    Best friends, I believe, totally love and help each other.

Do you know from what English people get their family names? (你知道英国人的姓是怎么来的吗？)Finish the sentences after you read the story.

    Everyone has a family name. But what does it mean? From what do family names come?

    First, some family names come from the place of their homes. If a man lives on or near a hill, his family name may be Hill. In England people's names may be Wood, Lake, because they live near the wood or lake.

    Second, family names come from a person's job. If a person is a cook, he may be Cook.

    Third, many people get their family names from their father's given name. If you hear the name "Jackson", you know that he is the son of Jack.

    Improving Listening Skills in the Classroom

    Listening is a skill that needs to be learned and used well to be able to succeed in any environment. In the classroom, great listening skills mean the difference between a successful student and one who struggles(挣扎)in school.

    Come to class rested.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}When your body is well taken care of, your mental(精神的)focus will be much better. If you come to class sleepy or tired, it may be impossible for you to keep your eyes open and concentrate(集中)on what the teacher is saying.

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Have everything you need at the start of the class. If you have homework, make sure you are ready to hand it in. Bring out your notebook and pen so you can start taking down notes. Also, try to read your textbooks before coming into class. It will help you understand more easily what your teacher is talking about.

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    When you're in the front of the class, you'll have an easier time hearing what the teacher has to say. You won't have a daydream when the teacher is near you.

    Take down notes.

    Write down what you hear in class. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It will also make you concentrate more on what is being said so you can properly take notes. Try to concentrate when you are in class so that you are able to get the key points during a lecture.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Once you learn techniques(技能) to help you with this skill, you should see an improvement in your listening.

    There was a park near my home. Many people said there was nothing special there. One afternoon I went into the park. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} "Which way should I go?" I asked myself. The two paths(小路) were different from each other.

    The left one was wide and clean. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The flowers were very beautiful. I decided to take this path. But wait! I looked at the right one. It was not clean. For a long time I couldn't decide which path to choose.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It wasn't nice, but I didn't want to give up. At last I came to the end of the path. Ah! There was a small garden there. It was beautiful. I thought it was the nicest part of the park. When I told them what I had seen in the park, they just smiled at me without saying a word.

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    My trip to the park made me understand something about life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You may get a big surprise!