To:      tss_liam@kidstarmail.net

Subject: Hello!

———————————————————————————————————————-

Hi, Liam!

      So you're my new pen friend. Let me tell you a bit about myself. I'm 14 years old and I live in Calgary, CanadaI have two older brothers, Brian and Sam. I'm the only girl.

      I love sports and I'm always looking for exciting new hobbies to try. I like playing baseball in winter.

      It's fun beating the boys! But summer is my favourite time of the year. I love skateboarding and rock climbing in summer.

     Skateboarding's great because it's so fun and easy to learn! I often skateboard after school. There are many placesin the park where I can do stunts. I'm good at stunts like jumping and turning the skateboard!

     Rock climbing is also really fun. I usually climb with my dad on weekends. We can't do it on real mountains very often because we live in the city. We do indoor rock climbing instead but it's not as challenging.

    So that's me! How about you? Please write back soon!

Bye for now!

Anne　

     Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Noise pollution makes us talk more loudly and become angry more easily. Water pollution makes our rivers and lakes very dirty. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. Both water pollution and air pollution are not only dangerous to our health, but also dangerous to animals and plants.

     Many countries are making new laws to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before they throw it away. They can not let out dirty smoke into the air, either. More and more cars are now using a new kind of fuel(燃料) which does not pollute the air.

     Laws are not enough. We must all help. We can use paper bags, not plastic ones. We can keep old cans and plant flowers in them. Everybody must help to fight pollution because we can keep our country clean.

Information Card

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    The young woman at the airline check-in desk meant no harm. She greeted a customer with a question which would be no problem in Chinese," What's your problem?" But this question is impolite in English, and the customer became very angry. In this situation, the young woman should say." May I help you?" or" How can I help you?" Then she would not be facing an unhappy traveler.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Maybe you would like something. Instead of saying" Giving me a hamburger," say," Could I have a hamburger, please?" or "I'd like a hamburger." English speakers often use the expressions" please "and" thank you". When requesting something, use" Can I" or "Could I". In formal situations," May I" is the best.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When someone asks your opinion, you don't want to make them feel upset by saying something they think is unkind. Maybe someone asks," What do you think of my idea?" Don't say," It's a terrible idea." if you don't like it. Say," I don't think it's the best idea." Then people will accept your opinion more easily.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    When you can't accept an invitation, don't say." I can't. I'm busy" Refuse in a more indirect way." I'm afraid I can't…" or" I'd love to, but…" or" That sounds great, but..." These phrases soften the message and make it easier to accept.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Avoid saying others have done wrong. Don't say," You don't understand me." Say, Maybe I need to make clear what I mean." Give special attention to" I" or" We" rather than" you". Take time to learn polite phrasing. Then you'll make your communication with people more pleasant.

    Johnny Smith was a high school student who was good at Maths. He loved his computer. He came home early every day, and then he worked with it till midnight. But Johnny was poor at English indeed. He usually got "F" in his English. One day after school, Johnny joined his computer to the computer in his school office. The school office computer had the grades of all the students; the Maths grades, the science grades, the grades in arts and music and the grades in English. He found his English grade was an "F" again! Johnny changed it from "F" to "A". The next day, Johnny's parents looked at his school report card. They were very happy. "An 'A' in English!" said his father. "You are a very clever boy, Johnny." However, they didn't even know that Johnny was a hacker.

    Hackers know how to take information from other computers and put in false information by using a mode. They join their computers to others' secretly. School headmasters and teachers are worried about hackers, so are the police, for some people even take money from bank computer accounts and put it into their own ones. And they never need to leave home to do it! They are called hackers.

    I'm Kitty. Today the clothes at Xingxing Clothes Store are on sale. So I want to buy some clothes for my grandparents, my parents and myself. Let me have a look. This yellow sweater is at a very good price—only 15 dollars. And it's OK for my grandfather. For my grandmother, I want to buy a pair of black shoes. It's very comfortable (舒适的). How about this blue T-shirt? Oh, my father can wear it to play basketball. And there are many socks in green, yellow, black, blue, red and white. I know my mother likes red very much, so I will buy these red ones. I need trousers, so I will take these blue ones.

    On the second Sunday in May is Mother' Day, American children of all ages give their mothers to something special. It is the one day children, young and old, try to show their love to mothers. It is the day to celebrate motherhood and to thank her for all small and big things she has done for her children. However, did you know that Mother's Day celebration is no recent thing?

    In the United States, Mother's Day became an official holiday in1910. An American girl, Anna, asked her governor to set a festival for mothers for their love. And they set the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and a year later all the other states celebrated it.

    On Mother's Day morning some American children serve their mothers breakfast in bed. Other children will give their mothers presents which they have made themselves or bought in stores. Adults give their mothers red carnations(康乃馨), the official Mother's Day flower. If their mothers left the world they may bring white carnations to their grave sites(墓地). This is the busiest day of the year for American restaurants. On her special day, family members do not want Mom to cook dinner!