New rules and behavior standards for middle school students came out. Middle schools are going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The following are some of the new rules.

You should not dye(染)your hair, smoke or drink. You should not copy others' work in an exam. Don't do it again if you did it!

     Good students love animals and care for other people. Being kind to animals is being kind to ourselves. Be friendly to the people around you. Try to think of others, not only yourself.

Don't look down on new ideas. Everyone's ideas are important. You should welcome them, because new ideas make life better for everyone.

Learn to protect yourselves. If you have to go home late, you should let your mother or your father know.

    Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the Internet aren't good for teenagers, so try to look through web pages that are good for you.

    Do you like walking? Walking is a good activity and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    You can start with short walks around your house if it's safe (安全的) enough to do that. So you can try walking from your house to your nearby friends' houses. And if your school isn't too far from your home, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    When you are hiking(徒步旅行) in the mountains, forests, or other beautiful places, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    It's a good way to run away from them and you will be happier. Also, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. What's more, you can also do all kinds of things, like having a picnic, singing songs or taking pictures. And I think {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

What's in a Name?

    Many American names come from England. But where did most English names come from?

    Centuries ago, most people in England had only one name-- their first name. In the 11th century, five or six of the 50 people in a village might be named William, and it was easy to get confused. But in the Middle Ages, people found a way to describe each person exactly. If there were four Williams in one village, one might be referred to as William the son of John. A second might be called William from the hill. A third, William the blacksmith(铁匠). And a fourth, William the brown haired. In conversation, people might refer to the four Williams as William John's son, William hill, William smith, and William brown.

    It was 300 or 400 years before the extra(附加的) names gradually developed into last names, or surnames. They were passed on from generation to generation. By the 1300s, Robert, the son of William smith, had the name Robert smith, even if he was not a blacksmith like his father. As the last name became widely accepted, the first letter was capitalized, as in Robert Smith. By the 15th century, most people of the upper and middle classes had surnames.

    Many surnames were based on father-son relations. The "son of" part was added to the father's first name, like Johnson, meaning John's son. Sometimes it was shortened to just "s", as in Jones or Evans.

    Surnames like Hill described the place where a person lived. They are the most common type of surname. A third kind of surname was based on a person's job. Forester was someone who looked after the forest. In the Middle Ages, occupation names such as Baker, Carpenter, and Miller became common. The fourth kind of surname was nickname(绰号). A man whose surname was Bear might be as fierce as a bear.

    Have you ever wondered why some surnames are so common? The most common surname in the English language is Smith. Being able to make metals(金属)into tools was an important skill in the Middle Ages, and many people were trained as blacksmiths. The most common American surnames are Smith, Johnson, William and Brown.

⑴Hi, Im Han Mei{#blank#}1{#/blank#}              A. Brown.

⑵Hi, Mary. Nice to meet you!{#blank#}2{#/blank#}     B. Hello, Han Mei! Im Tom.

⑶Hello, Helen. How are you?{#blank#}3{#/blank#}     C. Hi, Tom! Nice to meet you, too.

⑷How do you spell it?{#blank#}4{#/blank#}           D. It's 25438541.

⑸What's your family name?{#blank#}5{#/blank#}       E. Hi, Eric! I'm fine, thanks.

⑹What's this in English?{#blank#}6{#/blank#}         F. It's a map.

⑺What's his phone number?{#blank#}7{#/blank#}      G. B-A-G.

⑻What color is it?{#blank#}8{#/blank#}              H. It's black.

⑼Good evening!{#blank#}9{#/blank#}             I. Yes, M-A-P

⑽Can you spell it, please?{#blank#}10{#/blank#}    K. Good evening!

    Fire was discovered many thousands of years ago. The first time humans saw fire was probably when a tree was destroyed by lightning(闪电).Humans soon learned how to make a fire. They probably made the first fire by rubbing (摩擦)two sticks together. Fire was very important to humans. They needed fire to keep warm at night. They used fire to cook food. ⑶They used fire to keep enemies and wild animals away. In some parts of the world fire was used to send messages. The Indians in America, for example, used fire to make smoke as a message. In some other countries people lit fires to warn their friends of danger. ⑷Fire was also used to give light. Before the invention of the oil lamp(灯), humans burned sticks to get light. One man even used fire to tell the time. He invented a candle clock. He made a candle that took exactly twelve hours to burn. Then he marked this candle in twelve equal(相等的) parts. He lit the candle and could tell the time by counting the number of parts left of the burning candle. But the candle clock did not always work well. If there was a wind blowing on the candle, it burned too quickly.