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.

Is there anything worse than that? You bravely raise your hand to answer a question, but your teacher just point out that you're wrong. What a shame! What could the teacher make you suffer (忍受) this?

    Relax. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Your teacher isn't calling you out to humiliate (使丢脸) you, but rather out of concern for you and your education.

    Having all your classmates come to know your weak points can be pretty hard, so how can you get past the shame and recognize class participation as a learning opportunity?

    Get out of your comfort zone. Terrill Schumaker, a teacher, explains that “the more you speak out, the more you learn how to grow and build confidence. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}”

Realize it's not a big deal. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. People aren't going to care all that much. “If I'm wrong or make a stupid point, then people laugh at me, but life moves on” says Grade 12 Kristen Wesenberg. Besides, everybody makes mistakes, and you can't be perfect all the time.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Of course it takes courage (勇气), but as Wesenberg says, ―What's the point of living in fear?‖ You won't learn anything if you are not brave enough.

    Use the experience as a learning tool. Wesenberg advises asking teachers why you're wrong so they can explain and you can learn.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. If you're wrong now, at least you won't be wrong in your next test!

A. Be brave in class

B. Trust your teacher instead

C. Use class time as a mini—test

D. And it's not the end of the world

E. Then you can live an exciting life

    Do you want to improve your English? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You should write down the correct spelling and grammar（语法）next to the mistakes. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.Listening to the radio and reading newspapers in English are also good ways.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    If you have a pen friend, you can write emails to each other.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}you can speak to him or her.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}You should keep smiling all the time because smiling always helps.

    I-Shou Lin（林义守） is a very successful businessman. When he was a child, he had no opportunity to get a formal education, but didn't let that hold him back. By the age of ten, he had begun a few small businesses. In 1988, Lin started a steel factory in Taiwan where he was born, and then developed it well. 11 years later, the production doubled.

    During this time, his mom reminded him of the importance of education. Because he had made some money, she felt he had a social responsibility to help in this field. Then Lin realized that few students studied electrical machinery. So he started Kaohsiung Polytechnic Institute （KPI）, which was later upgraded to I-Shou University.

    When asked about education, Lin replied that the next generation needed to be educated from an international point of view. And in 2004, I-Shou International School was set up.

    After suffering a serious illness, Lin realized that life is priceless. He looked for more ways to improve people's lives. As a result, he established a world-class hospital with the latest equipment and best-trained staff. I-Shou university's medical school combines education and medicine to educate students to serve those in need.

    Life needs fun as well. Having travelled to many countries and regions, Lin thought Taiwan should be as desirable as Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau. Then he developed E-DA World. It includes one of Asia's best outlet malls as well as the region's largest amusement park and theater.

    What do steel production, ______, ______ and entertainment have in common? The answer is: I-Shou Lin!

    There are 24 solar terms (节气) in China, and the Grain Rain (谷雨) is one of them. It falls on April 19 this year.

    This solar term is called the Grain Rain because it is known for "rain" that helps the grain grow. From its name, we can guess it means a time of more rain. So if you go out in the next two weeks, you may need to bring an umbrella with you.

    But this is a great time for planting crops. If you miss the time for planting during the Grain Rain, you will feel sorry later. So maybe you can try to plant some flowers or vegetables in your garden. When the spring rain falls, farmers begin to grow crops. Farmers often say, "Spring rain is as precious (珍贵的) as oil." It brings farmers hope for a good year ahead.

    There are also many interesting customs during the Grain Rain. In the northern part of China, people like to eat Chinese toon (椿芽) mixed with eggs. The food made during the Grain Rain tastes wonderful and is good for your stomach. In the southern part of China, the tea leaves are picked during the time. They are called Grain Rain tea, which is famous for its freshness and sweet smell.