As we all know, Chinese students are hard-working. But they’re   (1)  at the same time.

At school, they have to follow the strict school  (2)  . For example, they   (3)   have long hair or wear strange (奇怪的) clothes.

And at home, they’re always busy with their homework and they don’t have any free time to do what they like. Once they don’t do well in exams, their parents will lose   (4)   for them.

On weekends, their parents tell them to take part in different classes they don’t like. They always feel   (5)   and bored. They   (6)   interest in school things slowly. Some students can’t   (7)   it and leave home. Because their parents only care about children’s study and they never   (8)   what they want.

“Many students can do nothing  (9)   study. Some students even don’t know  (10)   to get on well with others and how to take care of others,”said an expert (专家).

   “This is a serious problem. It’s necessary for us to think it over and solve it well,”said another expert.

   Friendship is always the center in our life. Friends often influence（影响）our health and life. More and more people are turning towards their friends for  (1)  and sharing. We may have a very unclear understanding of what makes a friend,   (2)  we all want to have many good friends around us. There are certain steps that can  (3)  you friends or help you get close to those whom you want to make friends with.

   The first step to make friends with someone is to make him  (4)  you. If they don't like you in the beginning, it isn't  (5)  for them to become your friends. To let someone know that you're   (6)  him, a little smile and calling him by his name can  (7)  .To make the other person feel  (8)  ,you need to be a good  (9)  and encourage（鼓励）the other person to talk. Give your honest and real opinions（意见）but do not make fun of him or her.

   The second step is to fully understand each other. You need to  (10)  his or her opinions. So you also need to have a habit（习惯）of seeing things from the other person's point of view（观点）．

   The third and final step is to show your support and encouragement towards your friend.

As we all know, the environment around us is getting worse and worse. In some places we can’t see fish  (1)  in the river or trees on the hills. Some people even have no clean water to drink.

      Recently, a new life style called low carbon（低碳）life is spreading every corner of our country. The meanings of low carbon are 

  (2)  energy and no waste. It is such an important project that I can’t wait to express my ideas on how to promote it.

Firstly, we should    (3)  a no-car day every week in our school. Because cars not only cause serious air pollution but also waste energy.

  (4)  the no-car day, neither students  (5)  teachers are allowed to drive to school. At the same time, just walk or run. Use our legs and enjoy the fun.

       Secondly, we had better not use plastic bags  (6)  . No one can stand the“white pollution”，  (7)   it is wise to use cloth bags which can be used again and again.    (8)  ，one thing that we should keep in mind is that every big thing comes from the smalldetails. So, as students, we ought to turn   (9)   the lights the moment we leave, use  (10)   sides of the paper, and reuse our textbooks and so on.

        All in all, it weighs greatly for all of us to put the low carbon lifestyle into practice. Just set our mind to these：no-car days, no plastic bags, and no waste. Let’s do it now.

       What is the best way to study? This is a very important question. Some Chinese students   often    (1)  very hard    (2)  long hours. This is a    (3)  habit(习惯),but it is not a better way to study. A good student must    (4)  enough sleep, enough food and enough rest.          Every    (5)  you    (6)  to take a walk or play basketball or ping-pong or sing a song. When you    (7)  to your studies, you’ll find yourself   (8)  than before and you’ll learn more.

　　Perhaps we can    (9)  that learning English is like taking Chinese medicine. We mean that like Chinese medicine, the effects(效果)of your study    (10)  slowly but surely. Learn every day and effects will come just like Chinese medicine.

Doctors tell us that holidays are necessary. We should rest from   (1)  for one week or two weeks every year. If it is possible, they say, we should  (2)  our homes and go to another  (3)  of the country. We should go  (4)   for a holiday. Then, after the holiday, we  (5)   home and we’re fresh and ready for another  (6)  of work. This seems to be true for most adults（成年人）but not for   (7)  . Some people do not like leaving their homes to stay in strange  (8)   . For young children this is usually true. They do not like a sudden change in their  (9)   . They like their homes  (10)  of all.

Some people say they have a solution to the problems of car crowding and pollution. In many cities, hundreds of people   (1)  bikes to work every day. In the New York City, some bike riders have even founded a group: Bike for a Better City. They say if more people ride bikes to work, there would be  (2)  cars and less dirty air.

For several years this group has tried to gather help for bike riders. They want to have special roads  (3)  bikes only, because when bikes and cars use the same roads, there may be accidents. Bike for a Better City thinks if there were bike roads, more people would use bikes.

But no bike roads have been established(建立)   (4)  . Not everyone thinks it is a good  (5)  . Drivers don’t like it, and some shop owners don’t like it,  (6)  . And most people live  (7)  far from the city to travel by bike. Still,   (8)  has been done about it. On Saturdays and Sundays, the largest open park in New York is  (9)  to cars, and the roads may be used by bikes only, but the group still says this is not enough and goes on   (10)  to get bike roads. I think there will be more bike roads in the future.

 ●Our Needs

People are different, but they all have the same needs.Needs are things people must have to live. Our bodies need food and water. We also need air to breathe. We need a place to live to keep us safe. We need clothes to keep us warm. If we did not have these things, we could not survive.

Needs may be different for people who live in different areas. If you live where it is cold, you may need special clothes to keep you warm. If you live where it is hot, you may need more water.

People have found new ways to meet their needs. Farmers grow food that people eat. They used to plant seeds by hand. They used to pick plants by hand. Now they have machines that do this work.

●Our Wants

Wants are things people would like to have but do not need to live. Suppose* you hope to get a football for your birthday. A football is want. You can live without it.

Sometimes we must make choices between things we want. Suppose you want to go to a birthday party for your uncle. That day, a friend asks you to go to a movie. The movie is at the same time as the party.

If you choose to go to the party, then what would you give up? What would you give up if you went to the movie?

“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”

This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD（公元）53 wrote it.

We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?

Picture this. You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank（空白的）and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?

Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often make us feel stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.

One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s’ house. They had no washing machine, microwave（微波炉）, computer or mobile phones.

The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy（赶时髦的）, beer-drinking granny”, to one who cooked things.

What do people do with their old, out of date but still useful computers? Most people don’t know how to deal with them. Many old computers are put away. Many more are simply thrown away as rubbish.

Finally, some companies are thinking of ways to bring down the number of old computers. Sony has agreed to help recycle old Sony products(产品). Dell, Hewlett Packard and other companies now also take back some old computers of their own brands.

In some countries, laws have been passed, too. Computer companies have to pay for collecting and recycling their used products. And 70% of the computer waste must be recycled. The idea behind the laws is that computer companies themselves should pay for the cost. That will encourage them to make computers which are easier and cheaper to repair and upgrade(升级).

Yet many people are throwing away good computers, while others cannot afford them at all. Hundreds of organizations are working on this problem. They collect and repair old computers. Some also teach others how to repair computers. These repaired computers then go to schools, charities(慈善团体) or people who need them. Giving a used computer to one of these organizations can turn one person’s rubbish into someone else’s useful things and cut down waste, too.