Family Traditions

    Where are your family traditions? The following information comes from several readers：

JARED:{#blank#}1{#/blank#}We take turns picking a movie to watch together. It's fun because I watch something my parents like, and they watch something I like. My mother likes old black and white movies, so I see a lot of them! We also make pizza and eat it in front of the TV.

WINNIE:{#blank#}2{#/blank#} My favorite meal is spaghetti and meatballs. My mom usually cooks, but my dad and sister help. On my sister's birthday, we eat pizza. On my mom's birthday, we have chicken, and on my dad's birthday we have steak. Of course, we always have a birthday cake, too. What are your family tradition? The following information comes from several readers:

DANNI:{#blank#}3{#/blank#}My family is really busy. We have a large family, and it's not easy for everyone to get together at the same time. On that day, we go to a nice restaurant and we talk and talk and talk.

SUZIE:{#blank#}4{#/blank#}After dinner, we go to the living room and play a board game, such as Scrabble  or Monopoly. We have about seven different ones we play, but we only play one game a night. I plan to keep this tradition after I start my own family.

ROB:{#blank#}5{#/blank#}I get up early and make something special, such as a mushroom omelet with fruit salad. Then I put it on a tray with a newspaper and a flower, and bring it to my mother for breakfast in bed. She always acts surprised, but I do it every year.

    There are some important festivals in Western countries. April Fool's Day is on April 1. People usually play tricks on others on that day. It's very popular in England and America.

    Mother's Day is on the second Sunday in May. It's a day to thank mothers. On that day, mothers usually get flowers and cards from their children. Fathers and children do the housework, so mothers can have a good rest.

    Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November in America. On that day, families all get together and have a big dinner.

    Christmas Day comes on December 25. It's the most popular festival in a year in Western countries. People exchange presents and visit friends.

根据短文内容，完成下列各题。

    There are many famous traditional Chinese doctors in China, and Li Shizhen is one of them.

    Here is the story of Li Shizhen and his great book.

    Li Shizhen was born in 1518. He became interested in Chinese medicine when he was stillyoung .His father was a popular doctor at that time, and Li Shizhen often saw that people were ill.

    ⒈He decided to study medicine so that he could help them.

    Li Shizhen read many books about medicine. He found that there were some mistakes in manyold medical books, so his hope was to write a new one. He tried his best to study medical science. He studied not only herbs(草药) in his garden, but also the wild ones. He went out to collect herbs and talk with old farmers. He learned a lot from curing (治疗) patients.

    After many years of hard work and study, Li Shizhen finished his great work Ben Cao Gangmu .At that time he was sixty. His book is one of the greatest books in the world medical field.

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Tips for Writing Better Articles

    Many of us don't spend a lot of time improving our writing skills. This can be a problem when we hand in our articles. Good writing skills will help us improve our grades and benefit us later in life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Make good word choices. When we're not sure which word is the right one for a sentence, look it up in a dictionary. Many of us choose words in a hurry and don't take the time to decided if they're proper. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Check facts. If we want people to believe what we write, we must make sure our facts are true. We should use dependable facts.

    Rewrite. A common problem is that we don't like to rewrite. In fact rewriting is the best way to find out and correct some mistakes, like grammar and spelling mistakes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, though it takes more time and more work.

    Read aloud. Sometimes it's easier to find problem with spelling, word usage, and grammar when we read aloud. Reading aloud help us not only find out our problems but also develop our writing.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Preparing a list is necessary for writing a good article. Such a list includes:

Is there a proper title? Have we explained every point? Are all the parts of the article included? This can help us to make sure that we have covered everything.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. But with a few simple steps, we can improve our writing skills and learn how to write better articles.

    Father's Day is a very new festival in British compared with Mother's Day, which has been a very popular festival in the UK for a long time.

    Father's Day started in America in the world. Once there was a man called William Smith, whose wife died and he had to raise (供养) six children by himself. His daughter thought when she grew up what her father had done for them. So she thought that there should be a Father's Day. Later, the festival was born, falling on the third Sunday every June.

    Britain took the idea of Father's Day from the USA. What do British people do for Father's Day? Well, most people would buy cards for their fathers. The card would have a nice message in it. Some people do buy presents as well. Popular gifts for Dads are probably ties, chocolates or socks because these are things that Dads can always use even if (即使) they don't want them.

As a special treat, British people might give their Dad a bit of rest—make him a cup of tea, or even wash his car to make him feel really relaxed.