“Thank you” is one of the first few phrases(短语） that our English teacher taught us when we began to learn English. Each time we receive help from others, we say “Thank you”. We may say it many times a day. It seems that “Thank you” is very popular among us Chinese students. But is it as popular in the UK?

    The answer is “no”. According to a recent survey （最近的报告）in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, “Thank you” is only the 20^th most popular way of expressing gratitude（感激） in the UK.

    The survey shows that British people like “Cheers” most to express their thanks. For example, when friends invite each other for a drink after a game, a smile and a “Cheers” may be the best way to say “thanks”.

    You may often hear the word spoken between two good friends. “Great”, “nice one” and “all right” are also popular informal（不正式的） ways of showing gratitude among friends in the UK.

    Of course, there are some formal ways to say “thanks” among British people. For example, when a stranger is especially helpful, they may say “brilliant” or “much appreciated” to express their gratitude.

    By the way, how do British people usually answer “thank you”? They like to say： “ You're welcome.”, “No problem” or “Sure”.

    Since you have many more ways to show your thanks, next time you want to say “thank you”, why not try one of these new British phrases?

    The train made a lot of noise as it came to a stop at the station. Martha waited for a while until her father held her hand. They walked onto the train together. Her mother and brother walked behind them.

    This was the first train ride for Martha and her brother Brian. They would take the train to visit their grandparents. They usually went there by car. But today, Mum and Dad wanted to try a different way.

    They walked to the middle of the train. They found some seats and sat down. A few minutes later, the train began to move.

    Martha and Brian felt a little nervous, but their parents said they would enjoy the ride. Dad said he liked the train ride because he didn't need to drive all the time. Mum added that she could talk to her two children face to face instead of turning around.

    When the children their parent's words, they felt relaxed.

    "The train isn't as noisy as I thought would be" said Martha,“ and I can stand up and walk around. I believe I can see everything through the windows.”“The train really goes fast," said Brian," I like that best of all. If we get on the train in the morning, we can see grandparents before lunch. I can't wait to enjoy their apple pie!"

根据短文内容回答下列各题。

Dear Bill,

    How are you?

    Here's a photo of my father and my uncle Andrew. This is my father, Carol Smith. He's in a green jacket. He likes sports and his favorite sport is basketball. It's interesting for him. Andrew is next to my father. He is nay father's brother. He likes sports, too. He can play baseball and basketball very well. He likes watching sports games on TV. He always plays sports with my father and me. It's relaxing for us to play sports. But he has only one basketball.

Yours,

Han

    Can dolphins talk? Maybe they can't talk with words, but they talk with sounds.

    Dolphins travel in a group. We call a group of fish a "school". They are not fish. Instead, they are mammals (哺乳动物), Dolphins talk to other dolphins in the school. They give information. They tell others when they are happy or sad or afraid. They say welcome when a dolphin comes back to school. They talk when they play.

    They make a few sounds above water. They make many more sounds under water. People can't hear these sounds because they are very high. Scientists make tapes of the sounds and study them.