Swimming is very popular in summer. People like it in summer because water makes them_________cool. But swimming in a_________place may not be safe. These years, many people_________while they were enjoying themselves in the water and_________of them were students. But some people are_________not careful. They often think they swim so well that nothing can happen to them in water._________is here again. If you go swimming in summer, don’t forget_________better swimmers have died in water. They died because they were not careful, not because they_________swim. So don’t swim when you are alone._________there is a “No swimming” sign, don’t get__________water, either. If you remember these, swimming will be safer.

What a Kid!

Tad is a very special boy. He is confined to a wheelchair. He was born with an illness that made him unable to walk. Some boys would be sad or angry about that, but not Tad. Instead, he looks for ways to make people happy. He called the Green Oaks School for the blind and asked if he could volunteer. They said, "Sure!" Tad went to the school and quickly made friends. Every day, he reads books to the children. He plays games with them. Sometimes he helps them do their schoolwork. The children at the school nicknamed him Lucky because they feel so lucky to have him as a friend. That makes Tad happy!

Zak’s grandfather, Stan, was very famous. Why? Because he had a very, very, very long white beard.

One day, Zak asked his grandfather, “When you sleep, do you put your beard over or under the quilt (被子)?” “I’m not sure. I never care about that, ” said his grandfather. “I’ll look tonight.”

Stan got into bed that night and pulled up the quilt. Then he remembered his grandson’s question. Aha! His beard was under the quilt. But wait. Did that feel right?

He lifted his beard from under the quilt and put it above it. This also didn’t feel right. So he put the beard under the quilt again. But he soon felt it would be better if it were out. The beard went in and out—first under the quilt, then over it, under, over, all night long.

Stan spent a sleepless night.In the morning, he was so tired and unhappy that he cut his long beard right off!

Stan’s wife was so happy. She advised Stan to cut that beard off many times, but he never did it. Now a simple question made him do that.

Top tips for home—learning

●Plan your day

Think about how you're going to spend each day.Get up at the same time each day(not too late!)and get showered and dressed as if you were going to go to school.Make a timetable to plan activities for the day—put 20—30 minutes of English learning into your timetable．

●Balance online and offline activity

For many teenagers more time at home will mean spending even more time than usual online.Be aware of how long you spend online each day and take regular screen breaks to stretch and take your eyes off the screen．

●Exercise and healthy eating

Try to take some exercise each day.Try to eat meals at regular times and ensure you eat fresh fruit and vegetables and drink plenty of water．

●Think of others and help when you can

This is a difficult time for you,but it's also going to be difficult for the other people in your home.We all need to be more patient than ever at this time.If you can,think about others who are less fortunate than you are and if there are ways you can help to support friends and neighbours,then do so．

●Learn something new

Set yourself a challenge to learn something new.This is the perfect chance to learn skills that take time.There are many video tutorials to help you.So improve your typing skills,learn to juggle,learn how to cook—whatever you want,but try to make the most of this extra time.

We wish our learners on LearnEnglish Teens all the very best.

Thanks for your letter. It was great to    51    you. You asked me to tell you    52    my favorite day of the week. Well, it's definitely Friday.

One    53    I like Fridays is because I have my favorite subjects at school: PE and chemistry. Chemistry's great because we do experiments in the science lab and our teacher, Mr. King, is so funny. In PE we    54    play basketball, which is my favorite sport. I'm good at it because I'm quite tall. Our team always    55    .

We also have French on Fridays, which is actually my least favorite subject, but after that we have ICT which is much    56    . At the moment I'm    57    a webpage for our basketball team. After school I hang out with my friends, then in the evening I play football at the sports center. On Friday nights we sometimes go to someone's house for a party    58    to watch a film. We can relax a bit on Friday evenings because there    59     no school on Saturday.

Tell    60    about your favorite day in your next letter. Write soon.

Love,

Danny

A different culture keeps my eyes and mind open. When I stayed in Russia as an exchange student, I learned about it.

One day, a Russian friend invited me to a famous restaurant in Moscow. I looked forward to trying local food. After arriving there, I found nothing on the table but several small plates, on which there were nuts, a few slices(片) of tomatoes, and several pieces of onions. Although the dishes were simple, we drank a lot and I felt the passion(热情) from the bottom of his heart. In China, when we invite friends or relatives, we always treat them to a big dinner. ①We prepare as much food as we can to show our friendliness.

What a different culture it is! Even though we try our best, it's very hard to get used to their customs.

Another Russian custom also impresses me deeply. As we know, it is very cold in winter there. When winter comes,②俄罗斯人喜欢游泳. They even take their kids outside together. Like their parents, Russian kids rub(擦) their bodies with snow before jumping into the water. Although the water is freezing cold, they all play happily in it.

What fun it is to know about a different culture!

96. 父母是我们最亲的人，但我们有时会在与父母沟通时遇到困难。请根据所给思维导图的提示，以"How to Communicate with Our Parents"为题用英语写一篇短文，谈谈与父母沟通的技巧和做法。

How to Communicate with Our Parents

Communication with parents is one of the first things we have done since we were born. As we grow older, we'll find it's not easy to communicate with our parents openly and effectively. So what should we do when communicating with them? Here are some of my ideas.