Book Review by Patricia Ann Turner

    It is school holiday time and Mitch Morrow's family have just moved to a new home in a new place. Mitch can't stop worrying about what his new school is going to be like. He  is not even sure about the neighbours. Next door live the Bull family and they have two children, Di and Bruce.  

    The older of the two,  Bruce,  is a large boy,  about Mitch's age. Mitch. Watches him carry big rocks. He looks really strong and unkind. Mitch gives him the name Bruiser（彪形大汉） because he has a black eye. Did he get it in a fight? Mitch imagines all the worst possible things about Bruiser. He is probably the class bully (恶霸). In his mind Mitch thinks of him as the enemy.

    Things seem to get more worring for Mitch. He finds out he will be in the same class as Bruiser. Then on the first day of school he learns that Bruiser is his buddy for the day.

    This is a lovely story for young readers to read or listen to. It has a wonderful message for all children about facing their fears —real and imagined.

    The pictures in the book catch the worry Mitch feels and make Bruiser rcally look like a bad guy.

    My only complaint is the colour of the printing of the text. Why there are pages of different coloured print I cannot tell. They may create problems for children with poor eyesight.

    I give it four stars.

    Making money isn't just for adults. Kids can do it too. Making money gives you more than money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} By working to make your own money, you'll learn how to succeed in the world. This includes dealing with money, understanding and getting along with other people. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Collect soft drink bottles. You can sell the collected bottles and use the money to buy a new basketball. At the same time, you are keeping the environment clean.

    Make greeting cards. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} try making special cards. You can sell your cards to make money.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You may have some books that you have read but you don't want to keep. Then you can sell them to make money.

    Win a scholarship(奖学金). If you get good grades at school, you can get some money as prize. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Sell old books.

B. However, you are polluting the environment.

C. It's also a learning process.

D. If you are good at drawing,

E. It's easy to make money if you try the following ways.

F. This encourages kids to work harder to get better grades.

    There is an old Spanish saying which goes, “Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}I would say, too many. We have to go for them now!

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Nobody likes to talk about death, but everybody is going to die at one point. None of us knows the hour, or the day. Therefore, today is all we have. Don^'t go to your tomb with unrealized dreams. Make the decision to go after every dream, big or small right now.

You will be much happier if you go for it. Imagine how happy you will be if you^'re living the life you always dreamed about.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Take control of your own happiness. Don't keep your dreams waiting. Go after them today!

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}When I was nine, I found an ad for selling greeting cards in a children's magazine. I asked my mother to let me send for the cards. Two weeks later when the cards arrived, I rushed from the house. Three hours later, returned home with no card but a lot of money. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Take me for example.

B. Tomorrow is not promised.

C. How many times have we put off our dreams until tomorrow?

D. A salesperson was born.

E. The only thing that is stopping you is yourself.

The Amazing Spider Man

    Spider Man is a hero. People got to know the hero through the Spider Man movie series.

    Now, a new Spider Man movie is coming to our eyes. It has a new name called The Amazing Spider Man. A new director called Marc Webbis directed the movie and a new actor, Andrew Garfield, played Spider Man.

    The Amazing Spider Man is also about the story of Peter Parker, a high school student. His parents left him when he was a boy, and he was raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today.

    As Peter finds a briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins to find out why his parents disappeared. The discovery of his father's secret will shape his destiny(命运)of becoming “Spider Man.”Peter will make his choices to use his powers and become a hero.

    Unlike the former one, the new movie focuses on Spider Man developing his abilities in high school, as well as discovering the mystery(秘密)of his parents, or at least what happened to his father.

    The movie is going to come out on July 3, 2012 in 3D.

    Researchers from two universities in Britain recently carried out a very interesting project. They aimed to find out what modern family needs from their home. The lucky family chosen to take part in the project was the Joneses parents Paul and Eve and their two sons, Jimmy(16) and Harry(13). They have just spent two months living in a specially designed hi- tech future house, where cameras recorded everything they did.

    TV while you bathe

    So what's in this modern house? It boasts(拥有) five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The sitting area has a huge TV and a digital picture frame- you can decide which photos you want to appear and change the picture as often as you like. The baths all have waterproof TV screens and DVD players. There is a remote control(遥控器) in every room which controls everything in the house from the lights to the cooker. The floors are all made of glass and all have under floor heating. The windows clean themselves and there is even a robot called "Iron Man" to do the ironing. Dirty washing goes into a lift which takes the clothes automatically to the washing machine. The "Iron Man" then does all the ironing.

    So how did it go?

    The Jones family were over the moon to be chosen to spend some time in the house. Here's what they said:

Paul: It was great. The house was so comfortable. One day our friends called round with their dog. The dog felt so warm and comfortable; he even slept on the floor! Oh, but there was one problem. One night we were all in bed and all the lights switched themselves on for no reason. It was a bit frightening!

Jimmy: I loved it, but I wish there had been a robot to help me with my homework.

Harry: Staying in was as much fun as going out!

Eve: I loved the TV in the bath but I never watched it before going to work in the morning. If I did, I don't think I'd ever get out!

    The Jones family are now back in their very ordinary home, but planning some hi-tech additions as soon as they can afford them!

The experts hope that results from their project will help developers meet the needs of a 21st-century family. One of the experts wrote a few sentences about his findings on this project: