Have you ever wondered what an American high school is really like? This article will describe a typical (典型的) high school and its students.

A typical American high school has several large buildings and enough space for about l, 500 students. Every student is given a locker. When students first arrive at school, they go straight to their lockers to put away or get their textbooks and to hang up their outdoor clothes. As American textbooks are expensive, students would rather loan (租借) than buy them. Students must pay back if they lose any of them.

American students have different types of school transport. They usually take a yellow school bus or walk to school if they live close enough. Sometimes their parents drive them to school. When they turn 16 years old, most take a free driving class at school for one term.  If students earn passing grades in the class and also pass their state driver's exam, they can begin driving themselves to school.

Each day, students take six or seven classes. They must take Science, Maths, English and Social Studies. They can choose Art, Homemaking, Fashion Design and other classes.  In some schools students are required to take one or more of the following special classes: Health Education, Physical Education or Foreign Language Studies. Students move to different classrooms for each subject. This is because each teacher has their own classroom.  There is a five-minute break between classes, to give the students the time to hurry to their next class.

The regular school day usually ends early in the afternoon. After school more than half of the students are involved in after-school activities. These activities include sports-especially football, basketball, baseball and soccer or clubs, such as yearbook, speech, school newspaper, photograph or student government.

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    In English, people use many expressions(表达) with the word "dog". People in the west love their dogs and treat them well. Dogs without owners to care for them lead a very different kind of life: The expression' to lead a dog's life" means living an unhappy life.

    Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing the same things, like good jobs. They say if a person wants to be successful he has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, this situation would be even worse if they became ill as a dog.

    Sometimes we should let a sleeping dog lie, which means we'd better not trouble a person who may cause problems. And if someone says you are a lucky dog, he is just saying you're very lucky.

    Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people Often have to learn new skills(技能) . Yet, some people say that it's always impossible to teach an old dog new skills. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.

    There are also some other dog expressions. The dog days of summer are the hottest of the year. A rain in summer may cool the weather. But we do not want to have a very heavy rain. In other words, we do not want it to rain cats and dogs.

    I am Canadian. I started learning French when I was 10 years old. But my whole experience with the language was in the classroom. All of that changed, however, during my last summer of high school. As a 17-year-old girl, I flew across the country by myself for the first time! I headed for Quebec to live in the province with a French-speaking host family, who didn't speak any English. And I would learn French at a local school.

    On the first day of school, all of us students were given a test to determine (测定) our language level. We were required to speak only French all summer.

    I made every effort to communicate in a second language by making new friends, seeing movies and even ordering food from restaurants in French. Though I couldn't understand most of it at the very beginning, the whole experience was exciting and refreshing.

    On weekends, my classmates and I took trips to different places around the province. On one trip, we went whale watching on the St. Lawrence River. Even though it was raining, we could see huge whales swimming around our boat. The most memorable part of our trip was a visit to historic Quebec City. I walked along the stone streets, took pictures of the European-style (欧式的) buildings, and learned some stories there.

    Finally my efforts paid off! At the end of the summer, I was able to communicate pretty well. I couldn't wait to go back to school and talk with my French teacher. Being fully immersed (沉浸)in a French-speaking environment was a valuable learning experience. And it could be the main reason for my improvement in French.

    Once upon a time, there were three fish living in a pool. One evening, some fishermen (渔夫) passed by and saw the fish." This pool is full of fish!" they said excitedly. "We've never fished here before. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}" After saying that, they left.

    When the oldest of three fish heard this, he was worried. He said, Did you hear what the fishermen said? We must leave this pool quickly. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}" The second fish said. You're right. We must leave here. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} "There's nothing to worry about." he said "We have lived here all our live. No fisherman has ever come here. I'm not going anywhere. My luck will keep me safe."

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}The second fish saw the fishermen coming early the next morning and left quickly. The oldest fish left the pool that evening.

The oldest fish saw the problem ahead (预先) and acted before it arrived. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But the fish that depended on luck and did nothing died in the end.

A. The second fish acted when it came.

B. But the youngest fish didn't think so.

C. The fishermen will come back tomorrow and kill us!

D. The third fish's luck didn't help him— he was caught and killed.

E. We must come back tomorrow with our nets (网) and catch these fish!