With the summer holiday just around the corner, it seems like everybody is busy planning their vacations. Here are some tips that can helpyou enjoy your holiday without emptying your pocket:

Travel off-season

Go to your desired destination while the demand is low and takeadvantage of huge discounts. During the peak season, the hotel and flightprices increase quickly, and you'll likely spend more of your vacation timestanding in line due to the rush of tourists.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

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      Websites can help you find discount hotel rooms. Look for placesthat do not charge extra for children if they use the existing bedding. Staywith the locals. If you and your family are going to stay for a longer period,renting a small apartment is a good choice.

Eat like a local

      Why eat at big chain restaurants when you can experiencesomething new?{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

During your family trip, try new food where the locals eat. Thiswill not just save money, but also provide you with a new and differentexperience. For smaller meals and snacks, avoid restaurants and try street foodor other takeout.

Don't hesitate to bargain

      Tourist- heavy places are known for overcharging for just abouteverything. Clothes, travel goodies, souvenirs, etc. are very expensive atthese places. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Bargain hard to get the best price.

Choose local transportation

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      Instead, take buses, railways or subways, which are alwayscheaper. If you are planning to stay for a while, you can consider renting acar. Hiring a car is much easier than carrying your bags everywhere if you aremoving around a lot.

A. Save on hotels.

B. Surf the Internet while traveling.

C. Therefore, avoid buying anything there.

D. So it's best to find out when the off-season starts.

E. Planning your meals is another way to reduce your travelcosts.

F. For this reason, you shouldn't feel ashamed to ask forbargains.

G .As a tourist, avoid taking taxis whenever possible, sincethey are expensive.

                                                                                                 Love and Friendship

    They are both so much related to each other. And both are so dissimilar!. What are the difference between friendship and love? Is platonic(柏拉图式的) friendship possible between persons of the opposite sex? Let us try and understand.

    What is friendship? Why do we call a person our friend? When do we call someone a very good friend? If we care for a person, if we are always ready to help that person and if we share most of our thoughts with a person, they are our good friends. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We are always sure that our friends will underst and why we acted in a certain way. 

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} The friendship is so deep and the relationship is so intimate, that most of the things automatically understood by our friends.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} In a relationship of deep love, all the sharing that we discussed above is taken for granted. But love transcends(超出)all this. During love, we are attached with a particular person, while in friendship, one many have many friends. A loving relationship makes one so much attached to the other that one gets pained if his/her beloved is hurt! Love also involves a physical element.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} This is a vital difference . Nature gives us love so that the species can go forward. Nature does not give us friendship.

Your heart beats will never increase in anticipation of meeting your friend. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You will not feel totally lost if you don't meet your friend for a few days. You will not have dreams in your eyes thinking about your friendship.

A.You will not lie awake at night thinking about your friend.

B.What about love?

C.My answer is “Yes!”

D.Friendship does not have that.

E.We need not explain anything to our very good friends.

F.We can always count upon our good friends in an emergency.

G.The physical element may include hand in hand while walking.

    You may hear about earthquakes, but do you know what to do before, during and after an earthquake? Here is some advice for you:

    Before an earthquake

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}All family members should know how to turn off gas, water and electricity and know useful telephone numbers (doctor, hospital, police, 119, etc.). Never put heavy things over beds.

    During an earthquake

    It's important for each of you to stay calm. If you are indoors, quickly move to a safe place in the room such as under a strong desk or a strong table.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Stay away from windows, large mirrors, heavy furniture and so on. If you are cooking, turn off the gas.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Move away from buildings, bridges and trees.

    After an earthquake

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It's better to wait and leave when it is safe.

    Check around you and help the people who are in trouble. If your building is badly broken, you should leave it.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you can do it safely, turn off the gas. Then report it to the gas company.

A. It's necessary to prepare yourself and your family.

B. But earthquakes almost never kill people directly.

C. Earthquake is one of the most severe natural disasters.

D. The purpose is to protect yourself from falling objects.

E. If you arc outdoors, move to an open area like a playground.

F. Once the shaking has stopped, DO NOT run out of the building at once.

G. If you smell or hear a gas, get everyone outside and open windows and doors.

How to Become Best Friends with Your Dormmates

    You have never shared a room with anyone and now you are scared and confused. But do you know that student years are one of the most exciting and memorable? When I was a student I met lots of great people and my best friend as well. Sharing a room with absolutely unknown person might be challenging at first, but it will be a priceless experience in your life. Check out several tips on how to become best friends you're your dormmates.

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    This is the essential rule of any good relationship. Make a list of the things that are/aren't allowed to both of you and stick to it. Decide on the studying time, cleaning and visiting hours. Not only will it make your routine easier, but can also help to avoid misunderstandings and quarrels. It's important to talk about male guests and overnight visitors. If needed, you may set some rules for your visitors. When I was a student, our room was frequently full of friends and visitors, but I tried not to turn it into the social center.

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    You will escape many fights if you start talking about the problem once you feel it's necessary. When you accumulate the little things, they grow bigger and chances are you will say a lot of unpleasant things you don't really mean. Your dormmates simply cannot know or notice some things. That's why negotiations are always the right thing to consider. My dormmate was always forgetting to take away her wet towel from the dresser and it was just unbearable. When she performed the same thing for several times, I explained that it was a bit irritating and an annoying bad habit. That's it.

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    Common memories and experience are the right things that pull people together. You are newcomers and you have no idea about the territory of the campus. So why not explore the campus together? Generally speaking, any activity you can share will be of advantage. You can become workout buddies or you may turn out to be the fans of the same band.

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    I really appreciate togetherness and I was always a good mixer, but sometimes even such an easy going person like me needs some personal space and me-time. You spend every minute together and you need to take a break once in a while. It's absolutely okay. Discuss this question with your dormmates well in advance so that you won't have any problems during the school year.

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    This tip will help you to get along with the dormmate and will help you go far in life as well. Your dormmates may be from other countries with different traditions, religion and views. Be careful with the stereotypes and prejudgment, your ideas about the subject may be superficial and incorrect. Most probably your overseas dormmates will need some help during the period of adaptation to the new surrounding and life style. Sharing a room with an international student is a unique chance to learn another culture and language. Don't miss it!

A. Discuss the issues at once.

B. Accept the need of private space.

C. Agree on some basic rules.

D. Respect and accept cultural differences.

E. Explore together.

F. Get to know each other better.

G. Share your cleaning work together

How to Make a Chinese Hot Pot

    Eating a Chinese hot pot is a very common experience. People gather around the pot, dipping their food, waiting for it to cook, mixing their own seasonings (调味品) and enjoying each other's company. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Firstly, prepare a large pot of soup. There is no right or wrong way to prepare a soup, so feel free to make your own. A simple soup can be made by boiling water with the addition of meat bones or fish heads and a mixture of herbs, seasonings and vegetables.

    Then, cut a variety of meats and fish into thin slices.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Choose any food that you enjoy. Some common choices for Chinese hot pot include thin pieces of beef, pork, lamb and so on. You can make your hot pot using the more traditional method of using the meats and seafood that are local to you. Meanwhile, select, wash and prepare some vegetables. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Mushrooms of all kinds are also common to Chinese hot pot preparations.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. At home, a single hot pot would work well up to 4-8 people depending on the size of the pot. Make sure everyone is sitting in a circle and has easy access to everything on the table. Prepare a separate small dish for each guest to mix their seasonings. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}!

A. Finally, arrange the seating reasonably

B. Now comes the turn to enjoy your hot pot

C. It will guarantee that the items will cook quickly and fully

D. Here are some easy steps to make a Chinese hot pot at home

E. For more variety, consider dumplings, rice cakes and tangyuan

F. Popular choices include: cabbage, pea leaves, winter melon and tomato

G. It usually lasts a couple of hours because you are cooking and eating in small parts

Art galleries are places in which artists can display all types of works of art, including paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, etc. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} At the same time, however, each artwork must be protected from exposure to too much light since that can cause works to fade and therefore get ruined. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

The most common form of lighting used to light up the artwork is indoor spotlights on tracks attached to the ceiling near where the work is being displayed. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. It permits the lights to be moved more easily when the light patterns require adjusting. Recessed(嵌入的) lights in walls and ceilings can be useful so long as they are not fixed in place but can instead be easily moved to create ideal light patterns. Most art gallery directors state that a combination of tracked and recessed light equipment is ideal because the tracked lights focus directly on the artwork while the recessed lights are used in the nearby walls to provide a surrounding light source. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

How to angle the lights depends upon the height of the ceiling and the size of the artwork. Caution must be taken to avoid creating too many areas with shadows or to have the lights cause a glare on the artwork. Besides, the lights should not be bare bulbs(电灯泡) burning directly on the artwork but should be made in some way to make the lighting softer. According to experts, low voltage(电压) bulbs are the best to use when lighting artworks. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Thus artworks should be placed in a room where sunlight cannot directly hit them.

A. It can make the displays attractive.

B. Using tracked lighting is beneficial.

C. Light plays a key role in art galleries.

D. This light source can better improve the mood surrounding the work.

E. To better improve their appearance, the display area needs to be well lit.

F. Finding a happy medium between not enough light and too much of it requires considerable skill and experience.

G. Above all, natural light should be avoided since direct sunlight will damage artworks, particularly paintings, over time.