D

"The Chinese Dream" is a hot topic of this year. Many Chinese young people are inspired by the Chinese Dream. Everyone has their own dreams. They give us courage and confidence to keep us going through difficulties. Here is some advice on how to realize our beautiful dreams.
Never giving up is the key to make our dreams come true. We may fail from time to time, but we can learn from failure, correct our mistakes and try again until we achieve our goals. Our life is like a long journey which is not all roses. It sometimes has wind and rain. We believe rainbows will appear after storms.
Cooperation is also necessary. Everyone likes a person who is good at cooperating with others. Besides, in our society most problems can't be solved by one person alone. Cooperation is becoming one of the most important ways for people living in the developing society.
At the same time, we should learn to examine our abilities because it helps us know our advantages and disadvantages as well as get a full control of ourselves. Then we may be confident enough to face challenges.
Follow the suggestions above, and our dreams are sure to come true.

C

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.

Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.

Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.

For the Americans, it is often considered friendlier to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!

Note-taking is a skill that can help you do well in all your schoolwork. It can make you (a)___

when you are studying. But unluckily, most students don’t know how to take notes.

If your teacher writes notes on the blackboard, that’s great. You can copy them or write down the most important facts of all in class. Different teachers do things differently. For example, some teachers may focus on lots of dates and facts in class, but they only write the important ones on the blackboard. Other teachers may not write anything down, but they may repeat them.

Don’t try to write down every word in class, or you might (b)___ some important points. Some students really learn better with the help of these notes.

Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher to repeat what you’re missed. If your teacher speaks too fast and you can’t follow what he is saying, you can ask him after class.

Comparing your notes with your classmates’ can be good for your learning. It can also help you and your classmates correct some mistakes.

Note-taking also needs organization. Keep notes for each subject in one place, so that you can find everything easily when a test comes.

Good note-taking takes time. If you decide to recopy your notes every evening, you’ll surely have less time to watch TV. But you’ll save time in the coming test.

A. confident     B. excited        C. frustrated         D. anxious

Different teachers do things differently. Some of them like to write important points on the blackboard; others may repeat them instead of____.

Volunteering is really great. It can help make a difference in the community and even the world. It can also be an opportunity(机会) to meet new people and learn new skills. If you’d like to give something to a cause besides money, consider lending your time and talents to organizations that are important to you.

Below are some suggestions to guide you on how to volunteer.

Tip1. Consider why you want to volunteer. Do you want to help the world or the community? Do you want to build your own skills or make new friends? Ask yourself these questions before volunteering. It can help you choose the right direction for your volunteer work.

Tip2. Look for volunteer work that suits your skills and interests. If the volunteer work is above your ability or doesn’t interest you, you will have no enthusiasm(激情) to do it well.

Tip3. Get some training. Some volunteer work calls for some special skills. You need to get some training in order to do a good job.

Tip4. Start with something small. If you already have a busy schedule, you can volunteer for an hour or two every week or perhaps one day every month. If you keep on doing that, you might be surprised how much you can accomplish.

Tip5. Try not to give up. You will face some difficulties in the volunteer work. At that time, you should not give up. Instead, you can seek help from other teammates.

Tip6. Have fun. You will accomplish more if you love what you do. Besides, your enthusiasm will influence others.

After reading these suggestions, why not sign up for some volunteer work in your school or in your community?

Dear Daughter,

   As we drive off from Columbia, I wanted to write to tell you all that is on my mind. First, I want to tell you how proud we are. Getting into Columbia is a real testament(证明) of what a great well-rounded student you are. You should be as proud of yourself as we are.

Your college years will be the most important of your life. It is in college that you will discover what learning is about. This will be the period when you go from teacher-taught to master-inspired, after which you must become a self-learner. So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn is of no practical use in real life, the learning skills you get will be something you will value forever.

Follow your passion(激情) in college. Take courses you think you will enjoy and don’t be bothered（烦忧）by what others think or say, but make up your own mind. Most importantly, make true friends and be happy. Don’t worry about their hobbies, grades, looks or even personalities.

     Start planning early what you’d like to do. Where would you like to live? What would you like to learn? I think your plan to study fashion is good and you should decide where you want to be, and get into the right courses. I will always be there for you, but the time has come for you to be in the driver’s seat—this is your life, and you need to be in control. Being in control feels great, and you’ll love it!

     So please treasure your college years—make the best use of your free time, become an independent（独立）thinker in control of your destiny, and learn through your successes and challenges.

May your years at Columbia be the happiest of your life, and may you grow into just what you dream to be.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Love,

                                                                                                                                                                                        Dad 

    In March 2014, Australia opened junior high education to Chinese students, allowing them to study in Australian schools from the seventh grade.

“When more Chinese students are going to study abroad at a younger age, the opening of Australian junior high schools offers Chinese students and their parents one more good choice,” Tian Litie, director of the Australian Department of Chivast Education International, said at the China International Education Exhibition Tour over the weekend.

Australia will see a rise in the number of Chinese junior and senior high school students studying in the country. Tian showed the reasons for it: lower admission (入学许可) requirements and low-cost education because of a favorable exchange rate (费率). According to Tian Litie, in public schools in Australia a student should pay A$13,000 to A$ 15,000 a year.

“Now the exchange rate of the Australian dollar to RMB is below five, which means the cost is lower than that of Chinese students studying at junior and senior high schools in many other hot places, such as Britain and the US,” said Tian.

Lin Lina from Beijing plans to send her daughter to a senior high school in Australia, was among them.

“My daughter is good at English and would like to study abroad early,” said Lin, whose daughter is now a ninth-grader in Beijing. “We came for more information after we learned that the environment and education in Australia are good.”

Eliza Chui, education officer for North Asia at the Australian Consulate-General in Shanghai, said that Australia is attractive not only because it provides an environment for learning English, but also because students are trained to have critical (批判性的) thinking and be independent(独立的).

D

    Do you know that some people don’t do their reading assignments(任务)?It’s shocking.but it’s true.Some students don’t even read short texts that they are assigned in class.There are many reasons for this.They may be unwilling to focus on reading.They may be uncocfident readers.Whatever the reason is,it has to stop today.Here's why.

    Reading stimulates(刺激)your mind.It is like a workout for your brain.When people get old,their muscles begin to weaken and their strength leaves them.Exercise can prevent this loss.The same thing happens to people's brains when they get older. Brain power and speed decline(下降)with age.Reading strengthens your brain and prevents these declines.

    Reading provides knowledge.Knowledge is power.Therefore,reading can make you a more powerful person.You can learn to do new things by reading. Do you want to make video games? Do you want to design clothing? Reading can teach you all this and more. But you have to get good at reading,and the only way is to practice.

    Reading expands your vocabulary. Read everything that you can at school,no matter whether you find it interesting or not.Even a “boring” text can teach you new words. Having a larger vocabulary will help you better express yourself.You will be able to speak,write and think more intelligently.What's boring about that?

    Reading can change the war that you understand the world.Do not just discount(忽视)a text because it is unfamiliar to you.Each time you read,you are introduced to new ideas and given broader views on things.You can learn how people live in faraway places.You can learn about cultures different from your own. Beading is good for your state of mind.It has a calming effect.It can lower your stress levels and help you relax.You can escape from your troubles for a moment when you read,and it's a positive escape.

    The benefits of reading far outweigh those of acting like a fool.So do yourself a favor：the next time you get a reading assignment.take as much as you can form it Squeeze(挤压)it for every drop of knowledge that it contains.Then move on to the next one.

（C）

  A smart diet, a healthy life

  No matter how old your kids are, you can take steps to improve a healthy diet and to encourage good eatinghabits.

  Tip One: Family Meals

  Family meals are nice for both parents and kids. Children like to guess what they are going to have and parents get the chance to introduce new foods to children. Parents can also use the mealtime as a chance to talk with their kids about their life.

  Tip Two: Healthy Snacks(零食)

  Kids, especially younger ones, will eat mostly what can get at home. That’s why it’s important to have enough healthy snacks, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, yogurt and whole-grain biscuits.

  Tip Three: Being a Good Example

  The best way for you to encourage healthy eating is to eat well yourself. Kids will follow the

lead of the adults they see every day. By eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding fast food and sweet drinks, you are sending the right message.

  Tip Four: No Shouts about Food

  Parents might find themselves shouting at children to get them to have healthy foods in front of them. This in fact can make children dislike what they are asked to eat. You need to work a bit on different cooking methods.

  Tip Five: Get Kids Included(参与)

  Most kids will enjoy making the decision about food. Talk to them about making choices and planning a healthy meal. It can help them to make good decisions on their own about the foods they want to eat.

The human brain weights about 1.4 kilograms, but it can hold much more information than most computers. However, there is another difference between humans and computers. Computers don’t forget information they are given, but humans often do. No one remembers everything, and luckily we don’t usually have to. But everyone can improve their memory(记忆力) if they want to. Here are some suggestions.

◆Try to use new informationimmediately. For example, if you meet someone who says ”Hi! I’m Carlos,” don’t just say ”Hello,” repeat the person’s name. Say “Hello, Carlos.”

◆Break a big number into smaller parts. For example, it’s hard to remember 109244153. But if you break it into three parts——109/244/153——it becomes easier.

◆Write out what you need to remember over and over again. This will help you keep it in mind longer,especially for remembering formulas(公式) or fact. 

◆Always review information. If you bring what you’ve learned back to your mind, they become easier to remember. For example, before you go to sleep, it’s a good idea to review the new things you learned that day.

◆Discuss with your friend. It is always easier to remember things through discussion. You can have a discussion aboutwhat’s right and what’s wrong, and it will lead to the right answer.

◆Never tell yourself that you have a bad memory. You can always do something to help improve your memory. And everyone’s memory gets better if they use it often enough.

All of the suggestions are helpful. If you follow them, you are certain to improve your memory.