Do you know "World Reading Day"? It is on April 23rd. It is the eighteenth "World Reading Day". As we know books are very important for us.

    In Germany, more than 70% of the people like reading: They often read. They read in their homes. They read in libraries. They read in parks. They even read in hospitals. Parents often read books for kids.

    It is easy to buy books in Germany. There are many bookshops in Germany. They are in big cities and small town. A bookshop can sell many books every day. Germans also like to buy books on the Internet. More and more people buy books on the Internet.

    In Germany, people often have reading parties. They are happy at the parties.

    Do you love reading? Hope you enjoy it!

    Different countries have different ideas about how to be polite. In Britain, table manners are important. But how do you show good table manners in Britain? Here is some advice:

    How to sit: You should sit up straight in your chair. When you eat, don't pick up the bowl. This is called very bad manners.

    Noises at the table: It is never a good idea to make a noise at the table. 

Using your fingers: Usually we don't pick food up with our fingers when we are eating main dishes. But there are some foods such as pizza, sandwiches, chips and fruit we can eat with fingers.

Passing things: If someone asks you to pass something like the salt, only get it if you are the closest person to it. Never lean (倾斜, 倾倒) across someone else's food. It's more polite not to use it yourself first — pass it directly to the person who asked, and then use it later. It's best to taste your food before you put salt in it.

    Your mouth: It is not polite to talk with your mouth full of food, nor to eat with your mouth open.

    How much to eat: It is polite to eat up the food that you have been offered, so a clear plate is a good plate. It shows that you enjoy the food. If you can't finish everything and you can leave a little, that is okay. You could say something like “That was very nice, thank you.”

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    Once upon a time，there was a king who had gone to visit neighboring kingdoms．He was gifted a pair of baby parrots by the king of the last kingdom where he was visiting．They were the most beautiful birds that he had ever seen．so，after returning to his kingdom，he called for a bird trainer and asked him to train parrots．

    The king also set up a place in the palace garden for the parrots．He often looked at them from his palace window．As time passed，one day the trainer came to the palace and told the king that though one of the parrots was flying high in the sky，the other one was not moving from its branch since the day it had arrived．

    When hearing this,the king summoned the best trainer from all his land and the nearby kingdoms．They came quickly and tried their best, but none of them could make the parrot fly!He even asked his courtiers to try to find a good way to make the parrot fly but they all failed．The parrot was not moving from his branch at all．Finally，after trying everything，the king thought to himself："Perhaps I need someone who may be more familiar with natural habitat．"He asked his courtier to get a farmer from the countryside and take him to the parrot to see if he could understand the problem with the parrot．

    The next morning，the king was surprised to see the parrot flying high above the palace gardens．He asked his servant to call that farmer to meet him．The servant quickly went and found the farmer．The farmer came and stood before the king．The king asked him，"How did you make the parrot fly?" With his hands folded with respect，the farmer said to the king，"It was very easy．I just cut the branch where the bird was sitting．"

    The way we spend our time can be. divided into three groups，or jars(罐子).These would be the necessary tasks jar, the voluntary tasks jar and the happiness jar.

    Every day，we spend time filling the necessary tasks jar. We fill this jar with useful things，like making money，doing housework，buying food and paying bills. We then fill another jar with voluntary tasks like taking children to activities and cooking family meals. Those jars are very important，but we may not enjoy them. If we don't fill them each day，our family won't run properly.

    However, we often forget to fill the third jar—the happiness jar. This is the jar that we fill with activities that make us happy. Is your happiness jar sometimes empty at the end of the day? We all have days like that. Between doing all the necessary, and voluntary tasks，time flies by on some days，and before we know it，it is time for bed.

    That is why each day we try to fill our happiness jar. Most days，I fill mine by going to the ballroom dance(社交舞)class. Playing music is another way that I fill my happiness jar. This week，I was happy to take part in an orchestra(管弦乐队)practice at my church(教堂).At the end of the evening, my happiness jar was full.

    Consider how your time is spent. Try to find ways to achieve a balance. At the end of the day，hopefully we've done all we can to make sure that our happiness jar is filled.

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    Just before the Midnight on Aug. 12th, 2015, a big explosion（大爆炸）hit the port City of Tianjin, China. Lots of people were injured by the explosion. Some of them suffered from chemical burns（灼伤）.

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    Put on gloves or protection suit（防护衣）. If possible. Avoid exposing yourself to chemical.

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    Keep the burn area in cold water for at least 20 minutes.

    Don't use a strong stream（水流） of water, if possible.

    Don't try to deal the burn area with other ways before you see a doctor.

    Don't put antibiotic ointment（抗生素药膏） on the burn. This could cause a chemical Reaction（化学反应） that worsens the burn.

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    You can cover a small burn with dry, sterile gauze

（消毒纱布）or clean cloth to protect it from being infected（感染）.

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    Though we can deal with this emergency by ourselves. We are not the doctors. So we must see the doctors for help us with the burn. The sooner you see the doctor, the safer you will be.

Customs on Eating

    Food in China and western countries is different. China has about 5000 years' old history. They may spend half of their time on food. Chinese people choose food very carefully. They only use. fresh materials (新鲜的材料) to make food. For example, they only eat fresh fish. Chinese have a lot of ideas for cooking. They can cook a chicken in over ten ways.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Western countries, like England or America, don't have fresh food because they buy their food from supermarkets which only sell stored materials (储存的材料).{#blank#}2{#/blank#}They are healthy for man's body. Western people do not have many skills for cooking, and mostly they only boil, steam (蒸) and bake the food. By the way, western people are very good at making desserts and chocolate. They can make very good cakes and chocolate{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    In China, the person who invites other people for meal would pay for the meal, but it's not the same way in western countries.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} They can afford it. They won't be happy if you pay for them. In western countries like America or England, people will always give tips (小费) to the waiter after they finish the meal in a restaurant. If you don't, the waiter will not be happy. In China this only happens in some top restaurants and hotels in large cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

    Another difference in eating is that:{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Chinese people only have three meals during a day. But western people may have more. They usually have afternoon tea when they would have fruit, cakes or biscuits with cheese.