Most people drink tea in the world. But tea does not mean the same thing to different people. In different countries, people have different ideas about drinking tea.

    In China, for example, tea is often served when people get together. Chinese people drink it at home or in tea houses at any time of the day. They often use hot water to boil tea leaves.

    Tea is also important in other Asian countries. People in these countries have a special way of serving tea. They hold a tea ceremony in their houses when important guests come. It is very old and full of meaning. Everything must be done in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in their houses.

    In the United States, people usually drink tea at breakfast or they drink it after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make tea. This way is faster and easier than the way of making tea in teapots. In summer, most Americans drink iced tea. They like to put some ice in their tea.

    On September 19, Alibaba went public (上市) on the New York Shock Exchange. It shows that Ma Yun does his business successfully. A short Chinese man seems(似乎) to be the tallest man in the world right now. Ma was an English teacher in the past. Now he becomes the richest man on the Chinese mainland.

    Ma was born in Hangzhou and grew up as a happy kid. At the age of twelve, he found that English was very interesting. Every morning he got up at 5 a.m., and then ran to a hotel near the West Lake. There he could communicate with foreign tourists in English. He did it for nine years.The experience(经验) made him become a fantastic English speaker and also opened his eyes to the wide world. In a 1995 trip to the US, he knew the Internet for the first time. Seeing the chance, Ma returned to China and set up a website without knowing much about computers. Four years later, Ma set up Alibaba in Hangzhou. People called him “Crazy Jack Ma”. But fifteen years later, Alibaba has developed into the world's largest e-commerce (电子商务) company.

任务型阅读，每空限填一词

阅读Mike的学习记录表，补全下面的句子。

    Today is Saturday．It's also the Teachers' Day, Lily and Tom's mother's festival．They get up early in the morning and want to help their mother do the housework．They first clean the room and then wash the clothes．And then they make breakfast for their mother Lisa．

    It takes Lily and Tom a long time to make the breakfast．They make a chicken hamburger and some salad．These are Lisa's favourite food．They also prepare(准备) a glass of milk．They think it's healthy for their mother．Then they go to their parents' room with the food and drink.

    Dad sits on the sofa and reads a newspaper to Lisa．There is much interesting news(新闻) in it．Lisa also thinks it is fun．They seem very happy．“Good morning, Mum and Dad,” say Lily and Tom．Then they walk to their mother and say: “Mum, Happy Teachers' Day!”

Lisa looks at the children and the breakfast．“Thank you so much!” Lisa feels very warm now.

    Tom has three good friends. They are Jack, David and Mark. They have different hobbies. Tom likes football. He often plays football on weekends. He thinks playing football can make him strong and healthy. He is in the school football team.

    Jack doesn't like sports. He likes listening to music. He likes Jay Chow best of all the singers. He has many of his CDs. He often listens to music on the way. He thinks music can let him feel happy.

    David doesn't like sports or music. He likes stamps. He collects stamps for five years. The stamps are very beautiful. He thinks collecting stamps can help him know more about the world.

    Mark likes taking photos. He has a few cameras. When he is free, he often takes out his camera and takes some pictures. Some of his pictures are in the newspapers. He thinks the world is beautiful. He wants to show the beauty of the world to others.

Small talk

    Americans often have short conversations, called small talk, about unimportant things with strangers or people they know but not very well. They may have small talk at parties, while waiting in line at the store, at family events or work. It's a way to say hi and express friendliness.

    Small talk is very useful. It can avoid uncomfortable silences and build stronger relationships. For example, when you first meet someone or talk to someone you don't know well, you can break the ice by making small talk. Small talk with a colleague(同事) about his child may help you to understand more of his life outside the office.

    In 2013, researchers from the University of Essex asked some people to make small talk in a study. They found small talk can make people happier. People who talked briefly(短暂地) with a waiter in a coffee shop felt happier than those who simply went in, ordered and left.

    However some people are not good at small talk. Here are some tips to improve your small-talking ability.

    Firstly, find common ground. When you have something similar with your speaking partner, that means you have something to talk about.

    Secondly, ask open-ended questions. They are suitable(合适的) for small talk. For example, if you ask visitors whether they like your city, they may simply say "Yes." But if you ask "What do you think of our city," they will have more freedom in how they answer.

    Thirdly, become a student. Nobody knows everything. So, as someone is answering one of your open-ended questions, they bring up something about which you know nothing. So, tell them! This lets the other person become the teacher. They feel good about sharing their knowledge and you get to learn something. It's a win-win situation.

    Finally, practice makes perfect. Like anything, getting good at making small talk takes practice.

    If you make small talk in your native language, you might become happier. If you are making small talk using English, you will most surely improve your speaking and listening skills.