Do you live in a city? Do you know how cities began? Long long ago, the world had only a few thousand people. These people moved from one place to another. They moved over the land, hunting animals for food. No one knows how or when these people learned about growing food. But when they did, their lives changed. They did not have to move houses any more. They could stay in one place and grow it. People began to live near each other, so the first village grew. Many people came to work in the villages, and these villages became larger and larger. Then people had machines, life in the villages changed again. People built factories. More and more people lived near the factories. So the villages grew into cities. Some of them grew very big. Today, it's strange that some people are moving back to small villages. Can you tell me why ?

Memories about Teachers

    Recently we made a survey (调查)and asked a large number of people to tell us about their teachers. Here is what they remembered about their teachers:

    "What teachers do I remember? Well, I remember my first teacher. She was so kind and pretty, and she told us many interesting stories."

    "I remember an English teacher . he always had colored socks: red, green, even orange,"

    "I remember a math teacher. She was always dressed very well. I couldn't stop looking at her. I wanted to be like her."

    "Our chemistry teacher. He was so strict. We were afraid of him. I don't think he liked us."

    "The physics teacher was so boring. He could make us fall asleep very quickly."

    "One year we had a really good Chinese language teacher. He was very patient and told very funny stories. He was popular with all the class. We always worked hard for him. We are his friends,"

    "The P.E. teacher always said I was stupid. I thought teachers should give us encouragement. I am not interested in sports because of him."

    "I had one history teacher who always wore clothes of the same color. In three years I never saw him change."

    "I remember two teachers well. One was my music teacher who was very active, and usually had a loud voice. The other was my computer teacher, who was very serious, but here ally helped me when I had problems at any time."

Information Card

    Mobile phone has become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones during school hours.

    Mobile phone use among children has become a problem for the school this year. Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas gifts, and more students will want them.

    Mary Bluett, an official, said mobile phone's use is a distraction to students during school hours and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams.

    She said some schools had tried to ban mobile phones. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn't get in touch with their children.

    Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was a good reason, they could leave their phones at school office. They also said there were many reasons why the students should not have mobile phones at school: they were easy to lose and were a distraction（分散注意力） from studies.

    Many people say that they understand why parents would want their children to have phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.

    It's June, and summer vacation will begin soon. That's a good thing. Most kids love summer vacation—they've worked hard during the school year and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Also, the freedom of summer gives them self-esteem (自尊心), happiness, and creativity. When kids have free time, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, causing them to feel good about themselves and believe in themselves.

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    Traveling can be a fantastic way for parents to encourage continued learning during the summertime. Whether taking the kids on a road trip to visit family, or getting on a flight to travel in a different province or country, the learning possibilities are endless. If you and your family have a road trip or vacation planned this summer, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. With a little planning, parents can create learning opportunities that are so fun. The kids won't even realize you are putting education into their free time quietly and secretly.

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