Making Peace with Your Parents

    As a teen, you are going through big changes physically and mentally. Your interests are expanding（增加；扩大） {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Here is the challenge: Kids need to explore the world in new ways, and parents need to protect them from the dangers that are all out in that world. These conflicts（冲突）can easily set off fireworks in otherwise calm house. Sometimes conflicts can't be avoided. But by paying attention to the building blocks of successful relationships, you can work towards making home a happy and healthy place for you and your parents.

For instance, try to find a time to talk when your parents are not angry, tired, distracted , or hungry. A good time to talk is when you are all relaxed. Timing is everything. If the conversation begins to turn into an argument, you'd better calmly and coolly ask to stop the conversation—for now. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Listen to what your parents are saying, and repeat it back to them. This shows them that you're listening. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Respect is the building block of good communication. People who respect each other and care about each other's feelings can disagree without getting things ugly.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}How do you build trust? Trust comes by actually doing what you say you're going to do. Some teens find that doing fun activities with their parents can improve their relationships. Sometimes we forget that parents are more than rule-makers—they're interesting people who like to watch movies and go shopping—just like their teenagers!

    What do you do if you are trying your best, but your relationship with your parents continues to be rocky（难以维持的；不稳定的）? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}You can find supportive adults, such as a teacher or a coach, who can lead an ear.

    Remember you can only change your own behavior. Your parents are the only ones who can change theirs.

A. It also gives them a chance to clear things up if you're not on the same page.

B. You can pick it up again when everyone's more relaxed.

C. And then you will be able to accept what your parents say.

D. Faced with the challenge, children don't know what to do.

E. You are more likely to get along with your parents and have more independence if your parents believe in you.

F. And your desire to take control of your own life is growing.

G. You may consider seeking outside help.

    Do you have the experience of digging out your suitcase, deciding what to bring and being afraid that you've forgotten something?{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Hope they can transform the way you pack.

    Keep a Basket Handy

    Do you wait until the last minute to pack? Keep a basket in your bedroom, living room, or bath room that you can use to throw in items you'll need to pack as you come across them.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Besides, you can just put the contents of the basket into your suitcase if you are in a hurry to leave for the airport.

Buy Wrinkle-free Clothing

    You won't need to worry about carefully packing your items of clothing if they're made from wrinkle-free materials.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}You'll still look fresh and bright when you are in them at your destination.

    Keep Old Packing Lists

    Chances are that you end up taking trips that require you to pack similar items. Keep old packing lists from former vacations to the beach, ski resort, and city—that way, you'll always have a list of at least the basics.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}So you don't need to waste your effort to remember where you left your hand-written packing lists.

    Schedule a Packing Time

    Time can slip away from you before a trip-you may be caught up at work, at home, or be occupied with other responsibilities of daily life.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} That way, you will not need to do your packing frantically (狂乱地) from the last minute to 1 o'clock on the day you leave.

A. This makes you less likely to forget the stuff.

B. The best way to do this is to save them on your computer.

C. Buy necessary stuff when you arrive.

D. Determine a night well in advance of departure to pack.

E. That's why I've distilled (提炼) the art of packing down to some essential tips.

F. Just ball them up or put them at the bottom of the suitcase.

G. Rolling your clothes is the best way to save space for the suitcase.

How to Learn A Foreign Language

    Spend the time!

    By far the most important factor（因素） is how much time you spend in learning the language. The more time you spend with the language, the faster you will learn.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Focus on words and phrases!

    To build up your vocabulary, you'll need lots.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Learn these words and phrases through your listening and reading. Read online, using online dictionaries, and make your own vocabulary lists for review. Gradually（渐渐地）you will be able to use them.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Listen wherever you are on your MP3 player. Read what you are listening to. Listen to and read things that you like, things that you can mostly understand. If you keep listening and reading, you will get used to the language.

    Take responsibility for your own learning!

    If you do want to learn the language, take control. Choose content of interest that you want to listen to and read. Seek out（找出）the words and phrases that you need to understand in your listening and reading.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Discover the language by yourself. Talk when you feel like it. Write when you feel like it.

    Relax and enjoy yourself!

    Do not worry about what you cannot remember, or cannot yet understand, or cannot yet say. It does not matter.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}The language will gradually become clearer in your brain, but this will happen on a schedule（计划）that you cannot control. Just make sure you spend enough time with the language.

A. Listen and read every day!

B. You are learning and improving.

C. That is the greatest guarantee（保证）of success.

D. Do not wait for someone else to show you the language.

E. Start to notice words and how they come together as phrases.

F. Soon you will run into your new words and phrases elsewhere.

G. This means spending time enjoyably connected to the language you are learning.

                                                                                             Everyday life in Britain

The weather is the most common topic in Britain. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Because in Britain the weather changes a lot. Wind, rain, sun, cloud, snow— they can all happen in Britain.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} At banks, cinemas, shops, bus stops you can always see people in queues. They stand and wait quietly, often for a long time. Each new person stands at the end of the queue—- sometimes in rain, wind or snow. They never complain and they will get quite upset when someone jumps the queue.

    Men always shake hands when they meet.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} They shook hands to show that they didn't have a sword(剑). Now shaking hands is a customer most countries. In Britain you don't shake hands with your friends or family members. But you do shake hands when you meet a person for the first time.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} And they always send birthday cards or presents. There are also other cards like Christmas cards, good luck cards, congratulations on your new baby cards and get well soon cards. They have everything for every important moment.

    British people are very superstitious (迷信的). They believe in all sorts of signs they see. For them black cats are lucky. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The more leaves you catch the more lucky you will be. On the contrary, never open an umbrella in the house and never break a mirror because they mean seven years of bad luck.

A. Shopping is another common topic in Britain. 

B. Another common thing is Britain is queuing.

C. Hundreds of years ago, soldiers began this custom. 

D. In autumn if you catch falling leaves you are lucky.

E. Why do the British talk about the weather so often?

F. They also pay attention to tiny details like your birthday.

G. Never walk under a ladder, and don't walk past somebody on the stairs.

    Graduation is an extremely important time in one's life. Class members love to capture this special day in various photos. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, you can arrange them into a beautiful slideshow video to show your friends and classmates. Sometimes you can make them into an album and share it as a gift.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. You must have had a particular study group that you really bonded with. Consider getting a picture with the members directly. This can help you remember your professional connections and your most treasured group working experiences. Also, don't forget to bring in your extracurricular stuff. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, take a picture with mates with your instrument or holding a football to show your graduation day. You can add in some humor as well. Think of something humorous that you could throw into graduation photos, such as bringing in a silly hat or posing with your class members in a fun way. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.Visit some of your favorite spots throughout the campus. If there was a green space that you frequented or even a particular landmark like a statue or hall, you could consider taking pictures there. Capturing areas where you felt most at ease will help you preserve that very spot in memory.

    Last, the most popular shot to capture is the moment you shake hands with your headmaster on stage while receiving a diploma. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. It can help you remember how you were feeling on that day. It can also remind you of the proud sense of accomplishment for finishing part of your schooling.

A. He would be happy to show it off

B. As long as you like after-class activities

C. If you are in a band or play in a sports club

D. Preserving the memories from your graduation

E. This symbolizes the actual time when you graduate

F. Including extra personality can make you apart from others

G. Remember that your education was definitely a team effort

    Americans use many expressions with the word "dog". People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dog's life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.

    Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.

Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways.

B. Dogs are people's loyal friends all the time.

C. Still, people say every dog has its day.

D. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them nice meals.

E. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs.

F. Sometimes, morning rain can light up the day.

G. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.