Since the day of its birth, the United Nations has been the subject of much debate.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Others think that it is too weak. We can better understand this debate if we learn more about the U.N. and its history.

        The U.N. was started for two reasons. First, when the idea wasborn, people all over the world were tired of war. They felt that there must be peaceful answers to the world's problems.

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        The second reason was that modern science had developed newbombs and airplanes.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} National borders were beginning to lose theirmeaning. Science would develop even more dangerous weapons in the future. Onlyan international organization would be able to control modern science.

        Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. President at the time, believed thatthe Allies (联盟) should plan for peace before the war ended. On December 1, 1943, Roosevelt, Britain's Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin from Soviet Union agreed to start anorganization for world peace.

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        During the next year and a half, the idea of such anorganisation was debated around the world. Then came the big day. On April 11,1945, the first international meeting of the United Nations took place in SanFrancisco. The goal of the meeting was to write the U.N. Charter (宪章). All of thefifty-one nations at the meeting had their own ideas to offer for the Charter.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Every nation present voted for the Charter. Noone voted against it.

A. The U.N. Charter is a beautiful piece of writing.

B. After a long debate, a final Charter was agreed upon.

C. Even the smallest country on earth can have its voice heard.

D. They asked all countries, large and small, to join theorganization.

E. These weapons made it almost impossible for a country todefend itself.

F. Some people attack the organization because they think it istoo powerful.

G. They also felt that only an international organization couldkeep world peace.

    If your child is being bullied(欺负), there are ways to help him or her deal with it on a day-to-day basis and lessen its lasting effect.

    If your child tells you about a bully, focus on offering comfort and support, no matter how upset you are. Kids are not willing to tell adults about bullying because they feel embarrassed and ashamed.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Sometimes kids feel like it's their own fault.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Some kids are afraid that if the bully finds out that they have told others, it will get worse. Others are worried that their parents won't believe them or do anything about it.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Remind your child that he or she isn't alone. Emphasize that it's the bully who is behaving badly — not your child. Comfort your child and say that you will find out what to do about it together.

    Take it seriously if you hear that the bullying will get worse if the bully finds out that your child has told someone.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} But in most cases, teachers are the best ones to contact first. If you've tried that and still want to speak to the bullying child's parents, it's best to do so in a context where a school official, such as a teacher, can mediate.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Find out about the laws in your community. In certain cases, if you have serious concerns about your child's safety, you may need to contact legal authorities.

A. Praise your child for being brave enough to talk about it.

B. They also worry that their parents will be disappointed.

C. Many kids don't tell anyone because they feel ashamed.

D. They think that if they acted differently it wouldn't be happening.

E. A bully can turn something into a serious thing for kids.

F. Many countries have bullying laws and pocilies.

G. Sometimes it's useful to find the bully's parents.

Your friends have one, maybe even two or three. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Does it seem that everyone has one but you? No, it is not the latest video game, but something much more fun—a family pet.

    Dogs and hamsters(仓鼠) are both fun to hold and pet, but they relate to people in different ways. For example, dogs enjoy human contact. They love to play with their owners. They also like to show affection(喜爱) and love licking(舔) their owners' faces. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They need fresh food and water every day, and they need exercise. They also need someone to take care of them when their owners go out of town.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Having contact with people is not important to them. They like to sleep when people want to play. Unlike dogs, hamsters do not like being petted. Many will hide when their owners want to pick them up. Hamsters are also very independent. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Hamsters may be low on affection, but they need less daily care than dogs do. An owner usually fills up the food and water dishes only once a week. Hamsters need exercise too, but they get their exercise by running on wheels in their “houses”. If their owners go out of town, hamsters can be left alone.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The choice is yours.

A. Dogs like to be petted.

B. Your neighbors have one.

C. Hamsters are very different from dogs.

D. They like to spend their time exploring.

E. They need food and water just as dogs do.

F. However, dogs need a lot of daily care, too.

G. Dogs and hamsters both make good family pets.

How to improve reading efficiency

    ⒈Make sure of your purpose of reading.

    Before you start reading, ask yourself why you are reading this book. Most people read for two main reasons: pleasure or knowledge. Being specific and clear about your reading purpose not only helps you to avoid books that you don't need to read, it also reminds you the book is important to you.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ⒉Read only what you are attracted to.

    Whether you are reading fiction or nonfiction, it's important to enjoy what you read. Your friends may recommend books that they love, but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    ⒊Give up books that you don't enjoy.

    You may have selected books that match your purpose. You may have selected books that you are attracted to. But you are reading them, there may still be some books that you won't enjoy reading. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Remember reading shouldn't make feel annoyed.

    ⒋{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Having a reading goal helps you figure out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day.

    ⒌Give yourself a deadline to finish each book.

    Before you read each book, ask yourself when you need to finish this book. What I find interesting is that I tend to read books that I borrow from libraries faster than the books I bought. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I don't need to return those books. When you don't set a deadline to finish you book, there isn't a sense of urgency. And when something isn't urgent, you tend to slow down.

A. Set a reading goal.

B. Understand each word of the sentence.

C. Read books which you are interested in.

D. Reading is the most important way to get knowledge.

E. The reason is that the books I bought don't have a due date.

F. This encourages you to keep reading and complete the book faster.

G. Whenever you realize that you aren't enjoying the book you are reading, give it up.

    Earth is home to around 7, 000 languages, around half of which are expected to disappear by 2100.

    Languages disappear for many reasons. Sometimes younger generations stop learning a language because parents want children to fit in.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Native American children of the late﹣19th century were required to attend boarding schools where educators forbade them from speaking their native languages.

    The United Nations ranks endangered languages according to their risk level. For example, a "critically endangered" language is one that even grandparents don't speak often. New York's Onondaga language is an example with only 50 speakers left. An "extinct" language has no speakers. It is gone forever. Alaska's Eyak language is one example.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In the same way, different languages contribute to cultural diversity. Saving these languages benefits our understanding of other cultures. Languages can show how a society looks at the world and what it values. A language may describe something in a way that is funny, too. In Welsh, it rains not cats and dogs, but old wives and walking sticks.

    The Endangered Language Alliance wants to save languages from disappearing.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} However, its efforts are limited. If an endangered language is going to make a real comeback, it'll probably get its start in schools. For nearly 100 years, public schools in Hawaii did not teach the Hawaiian language. Now students can keep learning in Hawaiian from elementary schools to college and beyond.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} At least one did. In 1881, a Jewish linguist named Eliezer Ben﹣Yehuda brought the 3,000-year-old language Hebrew back to life. Today it is one of the official languages of the country of Israel, with more than 4million speakers.

A. The last person who spoke it died in 2008.

B. Why should we save endangered languages.

C. Various animals and plants benefit our environment.

D. With just 5 speakers left, it is absolutely endangered.

E. Can a language with zero native speakers come back to life.

F. Sometimes societies force minorities to give up their language.

G. The non-profit group finds native speakers and records their stories.

    Parents usually teach their children how to cross the street safely, by looking both ways for cars. But do they also teach them to put away their cell phones?

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Texting while crossing the street will soon be banned in the city. Beginning on October 24, you could be fined from $15 to $99 if you step into a Honolulu street while looking at your phone. Honolulu is the first major U.S. city to ban what is called "distracted walking". It recently passed a law in a seven to two vote. The law says: "No pedestrian shall cross a street or highway while viewing a mobile electronic device." In other words, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    The law's creators hope it will lower the number of people hit and killed by cars in the city. Mayor Kirk Caldwell told Reuters news agency, "We hold the unfortunate reputation of being a major city with more pedestrians being hit in crosswalks, particularly our seniors, than almost any other city in the country."

    The law includes all electronic devices with screens: cell phones, tablets, gaming devices, digital cameras and laptop computers. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Pedestrians may use such devices in the street to call emergency services and rescue workers, such as firefighters and police officers.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The state of Washington was the first to outlaw distracted driving back in 2007. Now, 46 other states as well as D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have laws against texting while driving reports the GHSA.

    If you still want to text while walking, you could avoid being fined in Honolulu (and be safer, in general) by using a voice-controlled digital assistant such as Siri or Google Assistant. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}