When Justin Tong was a child, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him doing lots of housework such as carrying out the rubbish and sending newspapers. But when he grew up, he was better off than his childhood friends and lived a happier and healthier life.

This is the finding of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 children in London. It showed that the children who had worked hard in childhood had a richer and a happier future. "Children who worked in the home or community gained competence(能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said Daniel Brown, the psychologist(心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."

Brown's study followed these children in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Brown, the researchers compared the children's mental-health scores with their childhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

    Working at any age is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence — the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this.

    Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."

    In the time it takes you to read this sentence, the population of the Earth will have grown by 10 people. That may not sound much, but it is about 14,000 people an hour. That is the same as adding most of the population of Germany to the world every year!

    Most of these new people are born in developing countries. These countries are found in much of Africa, South America, and parts of Asia. In the developed countries of Europe and North America, the population is growing very slowly. This is because women in these countries have, on average, only one or two children. In the developing countries, many women have five or more children. In 1950, around one quarter of the world's population lived in the developed countries. By 2050, these countries will be the home to only around one tenth of the world's people.

    In the developing countries, more than one billion people already live below the poverty line (贫困线).These people don't have enough food to eat and they live in poor housing; children get little or no time at school and suffer from many kinds of diseases.

    The United Nations (UN) tries to guess population growth. At the beginning of the 21st century, the world's population was around six billion people. The UN has said that the world's population will level off at 12. 5 billion people by the year 2100. Other people think the world's population will continue to grow, reaching 14 billion people before it becomes stable or even falls.

    Li Qiang and Li Gang are brothers. But their living habits(习惯) are different. Now let's go to Li Qiang's room. Li Qiang cleans his bedroom every day and puts his things away. Look! There is a computer on the desk. There are two footballs under the bed. A guitar and a kite are on the wall. Some books are on the shelf. So he must be a careful boy. Now let's go to Li Gang's room. The room is not clean. There are some books on the floor. Can we see his clothes on the desk? Oh, yes. We can also see a football and a knife on the desk. Li Gang never does any cleaning. So his room is  in a mess(混乱).

    What do you think of Li Qiang and Li Gang? I think Li Qiang is a good boy. Li Gang must learn from his brother.

    It's hard to make friends if you stay at home all the time, so get out of the house and do things that will put you in touch with(接触)other people. It's easier to make friends with them when you find you like the same things as other people.

Don't be afraid to show people what you're really good at. You can talk about the things you like and do best. People will be interested in you if they, hear something interesting about you.

    Look at people in your eyes when you talk to them. That way, they'll find it easier to talk to you, or people may think you're not interested in them and may stop being interested in you.

    Be a good listener. Let people talk about themselves before talking about "me, me, me” You can ask people lots of questions and show that you are interested in their answers.

    Try to make friends with the kind of people you really like, respect(尊敬)and admire(羡慕). You shouldn't just make friends with those people you will meet them easily. Try to be friendly with all kinds of people. That way, you'll have a bigger group of people to choose from. Then you'll be easier to make friends with other people.

W: Did you go shopping in town yesterday, Jim? 

M: {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 

W: Did you go to the computer shop called "IT Sky" in Puguo Road?

M: Yeah. It was crowded yesterday. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

W: Did you buy any books? 

M: Yes, I chose five or six books. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

W: Where did you go after that? 

M: I went to Dream Clothes in Chaoyang Street. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It was 800 yuan. 

W: Oh, that was expensive. Do you always buy clothes there? 

M: Yes. The clothes last a long time and they look smart. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}