Eating out is more popular in Britain today than it has ever been. It is reported that British people spend more eating out than cooking for themselves and eating at home. It seems that many British people are becoming more and more interested in how good their food tastes, and also how healthy it is.

However, eating out can also be expensive, so British people do not eat out every night. When having a date with friends, or having a birthday, many people like to go to a restaurant, and people often also eat in a restaurant before going to the cinema or the theater.

As in all cultures, there are many rules of manners about eating. The knife and fork should be used in the correct way. It is also impolite to speak with your mouth full then you are eating.
   Most British cities have a large collection of food as well as British food, from the very cheap to the very expensive—French, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese and many, many more.

When people are too tired to cook after work, they often get a "takeaway". This means that they order from a take－out restaurant by telephone, and then go to get it. Many take-out restaurants also send it to your house. All you have to do is to open the door, pay and eat!

Tigers are fierce animals. They are the bosses of the Asian jungles with their cleverness，quickness and strength. A pussycat，on the other hand

As a mother，the Chinese﹣American writer Amy Chua is definitely a tiger. Her book，Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother （虎妈战歌） tells of the strict upbringing she gave her two children. She thinks that being  strict is the only way to d {#blank#}1{#/blank#} a child's potential and to make them strong，i{#blank#}2{#/blank#} and successful. Her kids were not allowed to watch TV or play video games. They were not allowed to "hang out" with other kids after school. They had to be the top students in their classes. And they had to p{#blank#}3{#/blank#} the piano and violin for hours every day. As a result，her kids became successful. She admits this caused a lot of tears and anger but she has few regrets （后悔）. 

Chua says，like her，most A{#blank#}4{#/blank#} mothers are tigers because they believe their children can a{#blank#}5{#/blank#} a lot if they're pushed hard enough. She says American mothers are really cats. They care more about their children's self﹣esteem （自尊）. They don't want to push their kids too hard for fear of hurting their feelings. W{#blank#}6{#/blank#} soft words and understanding，they encourage their children to find their own path. 

So，is a tiger mom better than a pussycat? Perhaps it depends on the differences between Asian and Western cultures. It may also depend on the child himself. Some kids need to be pushed w{#blank#}7{#/blank#} others respond to a gentler hand. 

To growl or to purr? There is no easy answer. 

Many students have problems in listening to English. Read the information below and learn more about how to improve your listening skills（技能）. 

Listen to the English radio.

One of the best ways to improve your English listening skills is to listen to the English radio on your mobile phone. 

●You should listen to the radio shows for more than 30 minutes a day. 

●Try to understand. Don't just let the English wash over you. If you find it too fast, try to pick out the key words to get a main idea of it. 

●You can also make notes when you hear some new words or phrases（短语）. Look them up in the dictionary and then listen to the show again. 

Watch English movies and TV shows.

Another fun way to improve your listening is to watch English movies and TV shows. 

●Try to choose films or TV shows that you will enjoy. This will make the listening more interesting. If you like the film or TV show, you may forget your job is to practise listening. You just enjoy it. 

●However, you should not watch movies or TV shows with Chinese. It will be difficult for you to focus on English. 

If you have any other questions, please send emails to us and we will give you the best answers. 

A Recent Survey About Students' Handwriting
 

Nowadays, the computer has become a very important tool to help people to write. 

As a result, students are paying less and less attention to their handwriting. However, when they were asked if they would like to improve their handwriting, most of them answered "No". It is very disappointing. Because they think they can type on the computer and handwriting is useless. 

Actually, handwriting is necessary and important because we need it in our everyday life. To have good handwriting, you need to follow these suggestions:

*Try different styles of pens until you find the right one. 

*Sit up straight but relaxed, with your arms on the table. 

*Practice it for a few minutes each day. 

Hello, everyone, I am Liu Lin, a student from Yunnan Lijiang Huaping Girls' Senior High School. Let me tell you something about my school.

Huaping School is a wonderful school. There are 500 students in my school. Walking through our school gate, you can see a big sports field. Students have great fun running and playing basketball here. The classroom building is behind the sports field. There is a big library near the sports field, you can read books there. Next to it is our school dining hall. It is very big and we have meals there every day. But there isn't any art building in my school.

Zhang Guimei is my Chinese teacher and she is also my favorite teacher. Now she is 67 years old. She has been a teacher for 47 years. In 2008, Zhang set up (建立) the school. She often helps the poor girls and gives them a chance to study, so their dreams can come true. She is a superhero in our heart. 

I think my school is the best school in the world. Welcome to my school!