【推荐1】British English and American English have many differences. The difference also exists in the letters of the alphabet (字母表). Or, more specifically (具体地), the last letter of the alphabet. Z is pronounced as “zed” in Britain while in America, it is pronounced as “zee”.    1    It’s what you’ll hear in every English-speaking country, except for the United States.

    2     Many of our modern letters come directly from the Greek alphabet, including a letter which looked just like our “z”. The Greeks called it “zeta”. “Zeta” gradually developed into the French “zede”, which in turn gave us “zed” as English was shaped by Romance languages like French.

“Zee” showed up on the scene in modern English. Dr. Adam Crowley, an associate professor of English in Husson University’s College of Science and Humanities, suggests that the popularity of “zee” grew because it rhymes (押韵) with so many other letters, like B, C, and P.    3     So, again, this makes sense.

After the Revolutionary War, Americans were trying to set up an identity separate from the British, and words and language played a big role in this.    4     He, sure enough, chose “zee” as the “official” American pronunciation.

And then, there’s The Alphabet Song. In the song, z is pronounced as “zee”.    5     Indeed, teachers in England and other countries sometimes have to re-teach children how to pronounce z after they’ve already learned “zee” from hearing the song.

【推荐2】American people like to say “Thank you” when others help them or say something kind to them. People of many countries do so, too. It is a very good habit.

You should say “Thank you” when someone passes you the salt on the table, when someone walking ahead of you keeps the door open for you, when someone says you have done your work well, or you have bought a nice thing, or your city is very beautiful. “Thank you” is used not only between friends, but also between parents and children, brothers and sisters.

“Excuse me” is another short sentence they use. When you hear someone say so behind you, you know that somebody wants to walk past you without touching you. It’s not polite to break others when they are talking. If you want to speak to one of them, say “Excuse me” first，and then begin talking. You should also do so when you begin to cough or make any noise before others.

Let’s learn to say “Thank you” and “Excuse me”.

【推荐3】Tragedy at the Circus

In yesterday’s circus(马戏团)show, a tiger suddenly attacked its trainer and had to be shot dead.As the circus packed up and left, circus officials said the show would go on, even without tigers.

However, the officials can’t simply turn a blind eye to the ethical problems left behind.Even before this tragedy (悲剧), animal rights activists protested against keeping wild animals in unnatural conditions and forcing them to suffer for the profit of circus organizers.

It is now time for us to take effective steps to make sure that circus animals are treated properly.

Circus Safe for Animals

Our circus recently suffered a most tragic event in its history.While we are thankful for the pity from the public, we are also astonished by the opinion expressed in “Tragedy at the Circus.”

First, our performing animals are not taken from the wild.As to the ethical problems, we always believe humans and animals can—and should —live together nicely.To us, the performing animals are representatives of their species(物种),and our circus is one of the only places left willing to support this special role of performing animals in the existence of the species.Those who argue that circus life is harmful to animals show little knowledge of these facts.Life in the “wild” is unsafe, but a continuous struggle for existence.To overlook these realities is the greatest fault against the animal kingdom.

This circus has proven that animals are stronger and smarter than we could imagine.Within the circus is a joyful atmosphere for both animals and humans: people are educated, and species saved.