The summer solstice(夏至), around June 21, is the longest day of the year in the northern half of the world. On that day, the sun is the highest in the sky, so the earth gets the most hours of light. People in many countries celebrate that day in a holiday called Midsummer.

    Different countries celebrate Midsummer in different ways. In towns in Sweden, people put up a Midsummer Pole(仲夏柱) made of wood covered with flowers. They dance and sing around it. After wards, they eat fish, new potatoes and strawberries. That night, young people pick seven different flowers and put them under their pillows(枕头) when they sleep to dream about the person they will marry.

    In Finland, people go out to the country and build huge fires to celebrate Midsummer. In the past, people believed that the fires drove away bad luck. Now, they're a reason to get together with friends for a big party all night. Because Finland is so far north, the sky is light most of the night on Midsummer. Many Finnish people start their summer vacations on that day.

    In some parts of Spain, people have big parties and enjoy fireworks(烟花) on the beaches at night to celebrate Midsummer. Some people believe that plant medicines work the best if they are made on Midsummer, so women go out to collect the plants that night. Some people put the plants in water and then wash their faces with the water for good health. And of course there are special foods: fish, potatoes and corn bread.

    Britons are well known for drinking tea. The average (典型的) person in the UK drinks around 1.9 kg of tea every year. That's around 876 cups of tea. Tea is drunk by all levels of society. But tea does not grow in Britain. Most tea grows in India and China. So, how did it become an important part of British culture?

    Tea arrived in London in the 1600s. At this time, British ships were exploring the world and came across the drink in China. It was not long before green tea could be bought from the market. However, it was only for the rich people.

    At the beginning of the 1700s, the amount (数量) of tea arriving in Britain increased rapidly. Black tea arrived at this time. At first this tea served exactly as it was in China. They soon discovered that it mixed really well with a little milk and sugar, giving the drink a special British colour.

    In the 1800s, tea was still a product enjoyed only by people with money. At this time, they began to have "afternoon tea". They drank tea with a snack around 4 pm to avoid feeling hungry between lunch and dinner. It is a still going today but has become less popular in recent times.

Title: {#blank#}1{#/blank#} and Britain-a short history

    Chogori(乔戈里峰)stands on the Chinese-Pakistan border. Chogori is from the Tajik language, it means" high, great and magnificent". Internationally, it is better known as K2. Chogori is about 8, 611 meters high, and it is the second highest mountain in the world.

    And Chogori is not Qomolangma. On the one hand, Chogori is a steeper(更陡峭的)and more dangerous peak. In fact, it is the most difficult peak to reach in the world. The first two people to reach the top of Chogori—Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni from Italy—did it in 1954. In 1986, the first woman did it too. Since 1954, only 281 people have reached the top, and 49 others have been killed (However, Qomolangma has been reached 3, 000 times and only 15 climbers lost their lives). Of all the over 8, 000-meter-high peaks, it has the highest death rate.

    On the other hand, this great peak is for professional climbers only. Here, no commercial(商业的)climbing organization will provide you any services, and even top-class climbers will choose their climbing partners with a particularly eagle(鹰)eye. The leader of a Japanese K2 team said when organizing his team in 1982, "We are professional climbers, and all know that if we run into trouble at a height of 8, 000 meters on K2, it is impossible to get help. If you do not have the confidence and determination(决心)to face possible trouble, you should not go!"

    This is Chogori! In the eyes of the top-class climbers, it is the most beautiful peak, and it is the danger that attracts them.

    Imagine a boy from a small village in East Africa. He has been looking after cows from a very early age. At twelve, he knows more about cows than most of us. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Has this boy ever had any education?

    Education is discovering about ourselves and about the people and things around us. All the people who care about us—our parents, brothers, sisters, friends—are our teachers. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We start learning on the day we are born, not on the first day we go to school. Every day we have new experiences, like finding a bird's nest(巢), discovering a new street in our neighborhood and making friends with someone we didn't like before. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Encouragement from the people around us makes it possible for us to discover things as much as possible. As we grow up, we begin to find out what we are able to do. We may be good at cooking, or singing or playing football. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Just thinking about cooking doesn't tell us if we are good at it.

We learn so much just in our daily life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Of course we can learn some things better at home than at school, like how to do the shopping, and how to help old or disabled people who can't do everything for themselves. At school, teachers help us to read and write. With their help, we begin to see things in different ways.

Car pool(拼车)

    "Beep, beep," goes the car horn(喇叭).You've got dressed，but you've not had time to eat breakfast. You run out of the front door with your schoolbag, and jump into the waiting car. Inside, your Friends say "hey" as one of their parents drives you to school. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 

    Car pools are a common way of transportation for many students in the US. You, along with many of your friends, can sit in one car.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} And your parents may take turns to drive you all to school {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  If you're late, you can eat that breakfast you don't have time for at home. If you're behind on your homework. this is your last chance to finish it before class. Some simply add to their sleep time before classes begin.

    Besides walking or cycling to class, car pools are green if you can't take the school bus. Instead of four cars taking four students to school each day, they can all squeeze (挤) into one. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

More importantly, car pooling teaches students valuable life lessons not taught in class. It can teach students about being on time. It can also teach them the bad influence of being late. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}