要点：1).剪纸艺术起源于6世纪或甚至更早；

2).剪纸过去是为了宗教祭祀，现在是为了烘托节日气氛；

3).中国剪纸已发展成一种艺术。

注意：1).词数l00左右。

2).可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

3).开头和结尾已经为你写好。

参考词汇：剪纸paper cutting

Dear friends,

    I'm Li Hua.I feel honored to be your Chinese teacher this summer.

    That's it.Now let's begin our class.

1). 广受欢迎；

2). 它的优缺点；

3). 你的看法……

注意：

1). 词数100左右；

2). 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

    Children form opinions about drugs and alcohol at a very early age. Even four and five year olds have definite opinions about alcohol. Preschoolers, because of the commercials (商业广告) they see on TV, often think that alcohol helps people have more fun and be better athletes! Images of alcohol are everywhere in our society—consumption of alcohol is represented twice per hour in daytime shows, and three times in an average evening program. Also, posters about alcohol can be seen on buses, at underground stations, in streets and so on.

    Despite the wide spread of alcohol in our society, and the problems that can be connected with it, many parents feel uncomfortable when talking about alcohol with their children, or are not sure when and how to start. Many parents believe that teenage drinking is something that their children would never be involved in.

    Unfortunately, teenage drinking is very common in North Dakota. In a statewide survey of adolescents in junior and senior high school, only 24% claimed to have never consumed alcohol. When asked about their drinking in the past 30 days:

    •61% adolescents reported drinking

    •42% drank five or more drinks in a row

    •17% reported binge (大吃大喝) drinking

    •4.2% reported driving and drinking

    Other research on rural youth in North Dakota has found that about 10% of a sample of fifth and sixth graders were engaged in frequent drinking. Teenagers who reported alcohol use (especially those who began use in late elementary school and junior high school) were more likely to be depressed, feel less positive about both their family and friends, and have poorer grades.

    Research has found that children and even teenagers turn to their parents in making decisions about important things in their life. Decisions about using alcohol are undoubtedly something that parents will want to provide guidance about. So it's high time that parents should talk to children about alcohol seriously.

    What is eco-fashion? Eco-fashion is about making clothes that considers the environment, the health of consumers and the working conditions of people in the fashion industry.

    A closer look at the fashion industry points out many problems that are common practices in the creation of our fashions from the field to the factory. Firstly, the production of textiles pollutes the environment heavily. Cotton-planting uses pesticides; sheep-farming and wool-cleaning bring about global warming. Secondly, every stage of clothing production consumes a great deal of energy and some also involve chemicals which obviously do harm to the surroundings. In addition, there is a lot of waste produced in the process, especially in the form of polluted water. Thirdly, growing purchasing power and our shopping habits further worsen the bad effects. We are now buying clothes in increasing quantities and we are also quick to throw away clothes that have been worn only a couple of times.

    Then, how to solve the problem? To a large degree, it is the fashion producers that really have the power and the responsibility to shape our future. There are a great many ways these producers can reduce their ecological footprint, from switching to green energy and reducing energy use, through selecting sustainable materials and choosing local suppliers, to recycling and minimizing waste. On the other hand, as consumers we can all play our part by selecting environmentally friendly clothing and reducing clothing buying.

    There is some concern that eco-friendly fashions are just a trend that we will eventually grow tired of but we can make sure that doesn't happen. Now many people are beginning to shop for organic food products because the benefits of eating food free of chemicals are immediate. They relate directly to our personal health. In fact, choosing eco-fashion can also do good to our personal health, though it is mostly done by way of keeping the health of the planet.

How to Deal with Pressures at School

    As a high school student, if you are feeling stressed out or frustrated (沮丧的) by teachers, classmates, or schoolwork, it is important to know that you aren't the only one. Believe it or not, everyone has these feelings at some point and everyone should learn how to deal with them properly.

    First of all, you need to keep a positive attitude and not take things to heart. That someone got a better grade than you doesn't mean that they are smarter-perhaps they studied longer or knew the material more. It's easy to become frustrated if you are not doing as well as your friends, but being optimistic will help you deal with future similar situations.

    Secondly, if students at school are bullying (欺侮) you, don't let them make you feel that you are not good enough. They are simply insecure and do not know how to deal with the pressures of school. They are just trying to make others feel bad, so they can feel better about themselves. So it's of importance to know when to stand up for yourself.

    Lastly, it is necessary to keep things in perspective. For any situation that is stressful, take a second look from a different point of view. When I look back to the frustrations of my high school days, I notice that many of them seem very unimportant to me now.

    It's not easy to be confident when there are so many students who seem like they "have it all", but try to realize that you, too, are good enough. It's not a competition about who is smarter, more popular. or more beautiful- everyone is different- so embrace your individuality (个性).

Robotic Exoskeletons

Thanks to robotic exoskeletons, victims of spinal cord (脊髓) injury have a new reason to hope. Robotic exoskeletons, consisting of metal legs, motors, batteries, wiring, a controller and a set of strips work together like the user's bones, muscles and nerves-outside the body. Fastened into an exoskeleton and supported by sticks, users can direct the machinery to take them where they want to go.

In addition to partly restoring mobility, robotic exoskeletons offer the significant mental and physical health benefits of standing up and moving. Just being able to get up from a wheelchair gives patients a more natural, positive view of the world. It also helps relieve pressure on patients' skin and reduces the danger of pressure sores. Standing upright strengthens a disabled person's muscles and bones, improves heart health，and reduces certain other health complications (并发症). And it may actually result in partial nerve repair, something that can only happen when a patient is able to move.

As promising as this technology is, however, it is no simple cure-all for paralysis(瘫痪) or its complications. The motion is not accurate compared with natural walking, and exoskeletons are not easy to use, especially on surfaces that are not smooth. They are very expensive, costing about US$100000. Health insurance plans and government programs may not cover the cost of buying one.

Nevertheless, robotic exoskeletons, and access to them, will continue to improve. As with much modem technology, robotic exoskeletons will likely become more capable and easy to use, even as their cost goes down. Governments and insurers may increasingly see that the health benefits of these walking machines outweigh the costs, making it easier to fund them. Perhaps the day will come when nearly everyone paralyzed by spinal cord injury will be able to "walk" again.