Handwriting can make or break the first impression. If your handwriting is difficult for others to read, you will sometimes feel embarrassed.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. It needs lotsof practice to improve your handwriting.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Try each of them out on a piece of paper bysigning your name. Find out which type of pen you can write best with. You maybe amazed at the change in your handwriting just by changing to another pen.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Do not just do what feels comfortable becausethat is just your old bad habit coming back into play. Try to hold the penlightly and don't press too hard.

      Use your chosen pen to write Os on some pieces of lined paper.Write until you have filled up all the lines. Be careful with each O that youwrite.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Practice writing Os as much as possible.Remember : practice makes perfect. You may practice for weeks or months if youneed to{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

As your handwriting shows signs of improvement , go ahead andkeep on practicing by writing more words.

A. Gather different types of pens.

B. Practice holding your pen in different ways.

C. However , a bad writing habit is hard to break.

D. Choose a type of pen with which you write best.

E. It won't help if you write a lot of careless Os on the paper.

F. Two to three months' practice is enough to get goodhandwriting.

G. After you are confident in your Os, do the same thing withyour name.

    Life is just like a box. Inside it are happiness and sorrow, failure and success, hope and despair. Life is a learning process. Experiences in it teach us new lessons and make us a better person.

    Love

    Love plays a key role in our life. Love makes you feel wanted. Without love a person could become cruel and violent. In the early stage of our life, our parents are the ones who show us with unconditional love and care. They tell us what is right or wrong, good or bad. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.It is only after marriage and having kids that a person understands and becomes sensitive to the feelings of others. Kids make a person responsible and mature and help us to understand life better.

    Happiness and Sorrow

    Materialistic happiness is short­lived, but happiness achieved by bringing a smile on others gives a certain level of fulfillment.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.No mind is happy without peace. We realize the true worth of happiness when we are in sorrow. Sorrow is basically due to death of a loved one, failure and despair. But these things are temporary and pass away.

    Failure and Success

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.It helps us to touch the sky, teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way.

    Hope and Despair

    Hope is what keeps life going. Parents always hope their children will do well. Hope makes us dream. Hope builds in patience. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, because after every night there is a day. Nothing remains the same. We have only one choice—keep moving on in life and be hopeful.

Life teaches us not to regret over yesterday, for it has passed and is beyond our control. Tomorrow is unknown, for it could either be right or dull. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, so that we will enjoy a better tomorrow.

    Secret codes（密码）keep messages private. Banks, companies, and government agencies use secret codes in doing business, especially when information is sent by computer.

    People have used secret codes for thousands of years. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Code breaking never lags（落后）far behind code making. The science of creating and reading coded messages is called cryptography.

    There are three main types of cryptography. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, the first letters of “My elephant eats too many eels” spell out the hidden message “Meet me.”

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You might represent each letter with a number, for example. Let's number the letters of the alphabet, in order, from 1 to 26. If we substitute a number for each letter, the message “Meet me” would read “135520135.”

    A code uses symbols to replace words, phrases, or sentences. To read the message of a real code, you must have a code book. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, “bridge” might stand for “meet” and “out” might stand for “me.” The message “Bridge out” would actually mean “Meet me.” {#blank#}5{#/blank#} However, it is also hard to keep a code book secret for long. So codes must be changed frequently.

A. It is very hard to break a code without the code book.

B. In any language, some letters are used more than others.

C. Only people who know the keyword can read the message.

D. As long as there have been codes, people have tried to break them.

E. You can hide a message by having the first letters of each word spell it out.

F. With a code book, you might write down words that would stand for other words.

G. Another way to hide a message is to use symbols to stand for specific letters of the alphabet.

    Did you take part in a camp this summer? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}To choose which camp is best for you, first you must do a bit of research.

    Maybe you've never thought about it before, but every great summer camp has the same main goals — opportunity, challenge and growth.

    Opportunity means you are given a chance to do something special. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, if you are interested in writing, then you can choose to join a journalism camp. You may even have the opportunity to meet famous journalists there.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You must finish the task and succeed in overcoming the challenge. Then you will have a sense of accomplishment. For example, you could take a lifeguard course at some summer camps. If you pass the exam, then you will receive a certificate (证书）to become a real lifeguard.

    This also leads to the third and most important goal of every great summer camp personal growth. It doesn't mean growing taller and stronger or more beautiful. It means seeing yourself improve, learning something new and doing something you didn't know you could do before. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    So in the future, when choosing your next summer camp, remember to ask yourself: Is it a special opportunity? Is it a challenge? Will I grow?

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} These will all happen naturally when you have the right goals at summer camp.

A. Challenge means you are given a task.

B. It also means becoming more confident in yourself.

C. Some camps focus on developing a certain skill or ability.

D. But what about friendship, fun and joy?

E. There are so many summer camps and not all of them are the same.

F. Of course, summer camps aren't all about adventure or study.

G. It also makes you special because other kids don't have the same opportunity.

Five Steps to Better Handwriting

    Some kids love handwriting, but others hate when it's time to put their pen to paper. Maybe they are worried about their handwriting. Are you one of them? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are five steps that really work!

    Get a great grasp

    Try this — hold your pencil at the top and try to write your name. Pretty hard? But when you hold your pencil the correct way, writing is much easier. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Hold it in place with your thumb, and your index (食指) and middle fingers.

    Let the lines be your guide

    Lined paper is your friend! Those lines can help you create letters that are the right size and proportion (均衡). {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Also be sure to fill up the lined space completely. Those capital letters should be from the bottom line to the top one.

    Slow down

    If your writing is hard to read, try slowing down a little. If you rush, it's hard to control where you stop and start your letters.

    Lower the pressure (压力)

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}That makes it harder to make the smooth lines. Try easing up and don't hold the pencil too tightly.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Lots of games require you to write or draw pictures. So even though it's not schoolwork, you're still using the skills you need to control your pen better.

A. Play games

B. Ask for more advice

C. So "a" should be half the height of a capital "A". 

D. You've been writing since you were a little kid.

E. Some kids press down really hard when they write. 

F. The good news is that just about everyone can improve their handwriting. 

G. The best way to hold a pen or pencil is to let it rest next to the bas e of your thumb.

Signs of Healthy Friendships

Once in a while it's helpful to see if your friendship is as healthy as it can be. You might get used to a friendship over time to the point where you don't see the room for improvement. And since great friendships are priceless, you should always surround yourself with the kind of people who will lift your spirits, make you laugh, and remind (提醒) you that you are loved. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are characteristics (特征) that strong friendships share.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Friends make you feel comfortable with yourself, so you don't need to act like someone you're not. Your friends know your shortcomings and love you anyway. You are perhaps the "best version" of yourself when you're with your friends.

A healthy friendship includes plenty of gentle honesty. True friends won't pretend just to avoid an argument (争论). {#blank#}3{#/blank#} As a result, you'll know where you stand with your friends and won't be afraid to share your true opinions.

They argue in a healthy way.

One of the biggest misunderstandings about good friends is that they never fight. But let's face it everyone fights. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} In fact, voicing your opinions freely will cause you to disagree from time to time and that's okay.

Healthy friendships mean you can be friends with someone else, too.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} That's why great friends will improve your relationship yet still encourage you to meet people and try new things without them. A healthy friendship means that sometimes the two of you spend time apart, and that's okay.

A. Arguing isn't unhealthy.

B. Is your friendship as healthy as it can be?

C. Good friends dine out together from time to time.

D. Good friends are real and honest with each other.

E. With an unhealthy friendship, you know clearly that something is "off".

F. Even if you have the best friend, it doesn't hurt to expand your social circle.

G. In a positive friendship, your friends won't lie to you, and they won't hurt your feelings either.