Holidays in China are often a great time for celebrations, especially weddings. When being _________ to a wedding, it is a tradition to give a red envelope(红包)—money in a red envelope.

In China, red means happy and _________. Therefore, red envelopes stand for best _________.

The _________ of giving red envelopes dates back to the Qing Dynasty. The elder would thread(穿成串)coins with red or colorful strings(线). They thought this could protect their children _________ sickness and death. Later, red envelopes replaced the red strings.

Now, red envelopes are more like a way to socialize(与……交往)with others. When you give a red envelope, just as _________ everyone else does, you feel a part of the circle.

_________ this tradition also has its downsides. Most young people, who have just started their careers, can’t _________ to give a lot of money. They feel stressed. Of course you can choose not to do so. But you may gradually find yourself out of some social activities.

Some people are calling for a _________ to the tradition. They argue that we don’t have to give __________ to show our good wishes. In the UK and the US, people usually just give pretty cards to the married couple. Close friends give gifts, but the gifts are usually household things that are not very expensive.

I am writing to complain about what one of your saleswomen has done. Last Sunday, I went to your store to look for a T-shirt. When I asked a saleswoman, Ms Wang, for help in finding my size, she told me that she was busy and said impolitely that if I couldn’t find one, it meant the store didn’t have it. I couldn’t stand it. Would you mind answering my questions?

●What is a saleswoman’s job?

●What quality should a saleswoman have?

●What do you think of Ms Wang’s behaviour?

●Do you care about a customer’s feeling? Why or why not?

I felt Ms. Wang was rude. I hope you deal with it seriously. I look forward to hearing from you soon and a more pleasant shopping experience at your store next time.

Best wishes

Cathy

Andy had his final exam last week. Here is his report card for English Basics.

Comments

Well done, Andy, on your hard work this term. You are always active in speaking activities, and this is great. I always enjoy reading your writing too, for you always have very good ideas. I can see from your marks that reading is not a problem for you.

Sometimes you still make small grammar mistakes, and I think you can improve your vocabulary. I advise you to review the language points we studied this term. There is language practice in your online workbook.

The area you need to work on the most is listening. You need more practice at home. Listen to English programs on the radio as much as possible. I can give you a list of things to listen to.

I’ve enjoyed working with you. Have a nice holiday and good luck for next term!

Teacher’s name: Erin Clark

William Shakespeare was a writer of plays and poems. Some of his most famous plays are Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth. He wrote thirty-seven plays in all. They are still popular today.

He was born in 1564 in England. At school he liked watching plays. He decided to be an actor when he finished school at the age of fourteen. In 1582, he married a farmer’s daughter. She was eight years older than he was. Their first child was a daughter. Later they had twins. In 1585, Shakespeare left his hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon. His wife and children stayed behind. No one knows why he left or what he did between 1585 and 1592.

At twenty-eight, he moved to London and joined a theatre company which opened the Globe Theatre in 1599. He became an actor, and he also wrote plays. He usually acted in his own plays. He made almost no money from his writing. But he made a lot of money from acting. With the money he bought a large house in his hometown.

At the age of forty-nine, Shakespeare retired and went to live in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died at the age of fifty-two in 1616. He left his money to his family. He left the genius (天才) to the world. You still see his plays in English and in many other languages. He is one of the most famous writers in the world.

You pick up your phone and look at it, and the screen unlocks right away. The phone knows who you are. It recognizes（识别）the shape of your face.

Welcome to the world of iPhone X! With the face recognition technology which is called Face ID, iPhone X is locked until you look at it and it recognizes you. Nothing has been more simple, natural and effortless.

Actually, your face isn’t the only part of your body you can use as a password（密码）. Many smartphones already accept fingerprint logins. Other systems check the shape of the ear, patterns in the eye, or the way a person walks. All of these are special enough to say who you are.

People like using body parts as the password because it’s easy and convenient. Besides, it’s also usually very safe. It’s hard to make another person's body parts, isn’t it? However, it is not impossible.

The face may be one of the easiest body parts to copy. Most teenagers put plenty of their own photos online. These could help some bad people easily hack into a system of their phone like Face ID.

There is one more thing that worries experts. It would be easy for someone else to hold your phone in front of your face to unlock it. For example, your brother may unlock your phone against your will and see something you don't want to show him.

Some people don’t worry about that. It’s just so cool to be able to unlock a phone with a quick look.

What do you think? Is facial recognition a good thing, or are you worried about its safety?