During the financial crisis, several of the country's biggest banks have been forced to sell or close. This has made lots of Americans afraid to buy expensive goods. 

    Samira Marino, a restaurant owner in Miami, has found everyone is ordering water instead of juice and more people are sharing meals.In more than two-dozen interviews with The Associated Press across the country last month，Americans talked about their concerns, from worries about small businesses to doubts about simply making ends meet. 

    The crisis began last year. Experts think it was because US banks lend money too easily. Last year a lot of people and companies,who borrowed money, have found themselves unable to pay it back. This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money. Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders, the whole world was in trouble. 

    This month the US government agreed on a $700 billion plan to try to save the financial market. But no one is sure whether it will help or not. President George W. Bush has warned it will take some time.

  Last week top finance officials from 20 countries promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble.

Globalization（全球化） means that people，ideas，technology，money，servi ces and many other things are moving between countries and changing the way people think and act.

Not everyone thinks the same way about globalization. Some people think it is bad，and some people think it is good. Some believe that globalization helps rich people get richer and makes poor people poorer. These people say that globalization helps big companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald's destory（破坏）local businesses. However，the people who think globalization is a good thing argue that globalization helps poorer people to become richer. They also think that it doesn't destory local cultures. These people also believe globalization helps prevent wars. This is because countries with economic（经济的）connections will try hard to keep good relationahips so that their economies aren't destroyed.

Whether you think globalization is good or bad，it affects the world in two areas：jobs and cultures.

Globalization has had a very strong influence on jobs all over the would. For some workers，such as engincers，lawyers and bankers，globalization has been a good development. These workers are able to successfully compete（竞争）globally and have seen an incrase in their pay. But for those who work in factories or in the aervice industry（at hotels，shops and restaurants）,it has not been good. Workers from poorer countries are trying to get these types of jobs. They will do the same job for less money. This decreases the pay for that job，so people get paid less to do it.

Cultures have also been affected by globalization. Foods such as Japanese noodles，Inaian curry and French cheeses have spread around the world. We can also see an increase in the use of Chinese characters（汉字）in tattoos（文身）. Some people get these tattoos but they don't really know what the characters mean. Globalization also affects the film industry. Most people have seen American movies. But because of globalization，Korean. Indian and Japanese movies have become more worldwide.

No one knows the future of globalization. Most experts agree that it will continue to grow and have an increasingly greater influence on people's lives in the future.

 The government in China plans to end its one-child policy(政策) and let families have two children instead.

   The plan was announced（宣布）on Thursday after high-level political meetings in Beijing. A Chinese Communist Party statement gave a number of reasons for the change in policy. The statement said the change is meant to balance population development, stop a falling birth rate(出生率) and strengthen the country’s labor(劳动力) force.

   China, with the largest population in the world, started the one-child policy in 1980. But the government allowed only a small number of couples to have two children. For example, some families in the countryside could have two children, if the first-born child is a girl.

   In 2013, the Chinese government gave other couples a chance to have two children if one of them was an only child.

   Jiang Quanbao, a teacher and population expert, explained how Chinese families react（反应）to the newest policy. “Too many young people in the cities are no longer interested in having a second child,” he said. “People in the countryside are more interested. But some of them are already allowed to have two children. ”

   At the end of 2014, China had a population of 1.37 billion people. A total of 800 million of them have jobs. But the labor market population will drop in 35 years. That is to say, the country will be in great need of labor by the year 2050. With the two-child policy, an increase in births can solve this problem.

   Boys and girls, what do you think of the two-child policy? Do you want to have a new-born brother or a sister?

President-elect Donald Trump gives his acceptance speech during his election night rally, Nov. 9, 2016.

Americans have elected Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States. The Republican Party candidate(共和党候选人) defeated the Democratic Party nominee(民主党候选人), Hillary Clinton.

"I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for every American. And that is very important to me," says Mr. Trump. Trump is also the oldest American elected president for a first term.

"For those that have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and you help so we can work together and unify our great country."

Trump’s win brings to an end eight years of Democratic Party rule (民主党统治)of the White House. Political experts have said the change could lead to the undoing（取消） of many of President Barack Obama’s policies(政策).

One of Trump’s first targets(目标) may be the Affordable Care Act(美国平价医疗法案), a health care law signed by President Obama in 2010. Trump criticized the measure repeatedly during his campaign. He promised supporters he would cancel it if elected.

It may be hard to believe, but the American Revolution(革命)—the war that freed the American states from British control—began over a cup of tea. Tea was not the only thing that caused the war, of course, but it played a very big part.

The British people’s love of tea is well-known. When the British won control over mush of North America in the early 1700s, they brought their tea- drinking habits with them. Tea quickly became the continents most popular drink. As tea could not be grown locally, just as in Britain, it was shipped into the country—mostly from India.

In the early 1700s, the Britain government made a special deal with the East India Company, as an English trading company. They agreed that no other company was allowed to bring tea to Britain or any country controlled by Britain, including America. It was a great deal for the East India Company, since it meant that the company could decide whatever price it wanted for its products. And it always decided on a high price!

In North America, the local people did not like having to pay such high prices. Instead od overpaying for tea from the British, they turned to Dutch traders, who secretly brought tea to the country that was just as good—and much less expensive. Although this broke the law, the American people didn’t care. They got the same cup of tea at a much lower price.

The East India Company, however, didn’t like this at all. By the 1760s, they were losing millions of pounds each year to Dutch traders—a huge amount of money in a time when￡60 a year was considered a good income. Instead of reducing their prices to compete with the Dutch, the company asked the British government for help and the government agreed.

In 1767, the British introduced new law that increased the prices of all goods which were brought into America. These laws helped make the East India Company even richer and forced local people to pay much more for everything. The American leaders asked the British government not to do so, but the British refused to listen. These unfair laws increased Americans’ anger about British rule and the rest, as they say, is history.

The US will have a new president this fall. Voters will decide between the Democratic candidate (候选人), Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump of the Republicans.

But the voting is not a must for each person in the US. So quite a lot of people choose not to vote (投票), especially the young generation. According to Fox News, one-in-five young voters between the ages of 18 and 35 said clearly that they wouldn’t vote for either of the two candidates. Just 12 percent of voters aged 35-54, and only nine percent of voters aged 55 and older said the same thing.

This is not only because young people don’t like Clinton or Trump, according to the Fortune magazine. The truth is that they are traditionally less likely to vote than their parents.
“Young people are not at an age in their life when they think politics (政治) or government has anything to do with them,” said Rodd Freitag, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, US. “But for the older age groups, they have a home, they pay taxes (税), they care about schools and the community .”

Many believe that the civic (公民的) education of an American youth is another reason why they don’t vote.

Students usually just do community services like cleaning the neighborhoods. This means they haven’t learned how to link real life problems to politics through voting, according to Christopher Beem, a politics professor at the Pennsylvania State University. He said the country needs to help young people learn how to take part in politics and get them to see that they can make a difference.

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The 11th G20 summit was held in Hangzhou from Sept. 4 to 5.，2016.

Guards of honor of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) stand atXiaoshan International AirportinHangzhou, the capital of eastChina's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 2, 2016.

A pianist performs at the evening gala for the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, September 4, 2016. Produced by a team led by famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou, the evening gala is staged with the majestic West Lake as its background（背景）. It's based on Zhang's "Impression of West Lake" show, an astonishing performance that takes place right on the surface of the water, combining music, dance, and light effects all against a natural backdrop. [Photo/Xinhua]

Fireworks go off at the evening gala. [Photo/Xinhua]

Dancers perform Butterly Lovers on West Lake on Sunday night. [Photo/Xinhua]

A singer performs at the evening gala. [Photo/Xinhua]

Do you know about London well? London is a very diverse place. There are over 300 languages spoken by London's school children alone,with many who do not use English as their first or main language at home. London has always been known to be culturally (在文化方面) very mixed (混合的).

  The first thing that we did when we came to London was to go to Harrods. Harrods is a huge department store where everything is very expensive. We went to the food court and saw a huge amount of different food from all over the world. I bought an American sort of lunch and when I tried it,I was very disappointed. Although the rest of my family ordered food that was not so American，they were also disappointed at their food.

  But Harrods is not only about the food. In fact,Harrods has one of the world biggest collections of clothes in one department store. The clothes were all very in fashion,as well as super expensive. It's one of those stores where if you don't have enough money to buy the clothes,you can look,but can't touch. Even though I couldn’t buy anything,I still enjoyed looking.

The United States will welcome a new president this year. It took a long time, but we now know which two candidates(候选人) will flight it out in the final race of the US president election(总统选举). Donald Trump. 70, received the Republican nomination(共和党提名) on May 26^th, and Hillary Clinton, 68, became the Democratic nominee(民主党候选人)on June 6th. The result will come out on November 8, and the new president will take office on January 20, 2017.

Justsix months ago, not many people thought Donald Trump would make it to today. He had no experience in government and had never even run for office before. He is a rich businessman and became famous for hosting a TV show. During the election he said if he was elected, He would stop Mexican people from moving to theUSand also call for banning Muslims from entering the US because of terrorism. However, his supporters thinkhe is a “plain-speaking” man and is “not afraid to offend” according to the Daily Mail.

The Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, has more experience in politics. She was the former Secretary of State, senator of New York and the First Lady. And now she is the first female candidate for a major US party. When she was the Secretary of State, she dealt with state affairs using her personal email account and phone, which means state secrets werenot safe.

The election is not over yet, but it will be a historic one either way. Over the past 50 years in American history, no one has been elected president without experience in government. And ifClintonis elected, she will be the first female president of the US.

  The government in China plans to end its one-child policy and let families have two   children instead.

   The plan was announced on Thursday after high–level political meetings in Beijing. A Chinese Communist Party statement gave a number of reasons for the change in policy. The statement said the change is meant to balance population development, stop a falling birth rate(出生率) and strengthen the country’s labor force(劳动力).

   China, with the largest population in the world, started the one–child policy in 1980. But the government allowed only a small number of couples to have two children. For example, some families in the countryside could have two children, if the first-born child is a girl.

In 2013, the Chinese government gave other couples a chance to have two children if one of them was an only child. Jiang Quanbao, a teacher and population expert, explained how Chinese families react to the newest policy. “Too many young people in the cities are no longer interested in having a second child,” he said. “People in the countryside are more interested. But some of them are already allowed to have two children.”

   At the end of 2014, China had a population of 1.37 billion people. A total of 800 million of them have jobs. But the labor market population will drop in 35 years. That is to say, the country will be in great need of labor by the year 2050. With the two-child policy, an increase in births can solve this problem.

   Boys and girls, what do you think of the two-child policy? Do you want to have a new-born brother or a sister?