As the double reduction policy (双减政策) comes out, students will have ________ time to study and get less help from after-school training classes. They may have more time to enjoy after-school ________ . Some students can do sports. They may ________ football, ping-pong or do Chinese kungfu. Some students go to learn music. They sing, dance ________ play some instruments. Other students can draw or practice calligraphy (书法) and so on. Many people believe after-school activities are ________ and good for students.

Why should students do after-school activities? Here are some good ________ . First, doing an after-school activity is a good short break from ________ . After the break, students can listen more carefully in class or do their homework better. Next, students can make some friends ________ doing after-school activities. ________ , students can get some new skills from the activities. They are ________ for them to work with others or deal with (对待) themselves.

Many people love travelling to different countries, but if you plan to go abroad, you should know how to behave in different situations around the world.

Most travellers enjoy meeting new people, but sometimes you can be rude without saying anything. In Russia, you should never shake hands in a doorway, and if you’re travelling in Thailand, never touch people’s heads or point your feet at people. When the Japanese meet new people, they like giving business cards—you should read the card carefully, not just put it in your pocket.

In most countries in Europe, people expect a lot of eye contact (接触) when you talk to them, but in many Asian countries a lot of eye contact seems unfriendly. In South America people usually stand quite close to each other when they talk, but in countries like the USA, you need to give people more personal space. Also, it’s rude to interrupt Japanese people while they are talking to you. You must wait until they finish before you start speaking.

In restaurants in China you can leave a bit of food on your plate, and it’s OK to start smoking before other people finish eating, which you mustn’t do in the UK. Also avoid leaving empty bottles on the dinner table in Russia—that’s bad luck.

With so much to think about, it’s not surprising that many people prefer (更喜欢) going on holiday in their own countries—or you might just decide to stay at home!

Do you want to be cleverer and get more knowledge? Five ways can make you cleverer.

▲ Don’t Watch TV Too Much

    33     If you’re too tired, listen to some music. When you’re with your friends or family, leave the TV off and have a conversation. All of these things make your mind run better than television does.

▲     34    

Taking exercise always leads to greater learning. Use your body to clear your head and create (创造) more energy.

▲ Read Books

If you want to improve your thinking and writing ability, you should read books that make you concentrate.     35    

▲ Early to Bed, Early to Rise

You’ll be most refreshed if you go to bed early and don’t sleep more than 8 hours.     36     Waking up early makes you active all day.

▲ Take Time to Reflect (反省)

Spending time alone on reflecting gives you a chance to organize your thoughts. Afterwards, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s important and what isn’t.     37    

Bing Dwen Dwen, the cute mascot (吉祥物) of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, has been selling like hotcakes. Why is the ice-glazed panda so popular? What are the ideas behind its design?

Professor Cao Xue, who is in charge of the design team, told us the story. Cao Xue     53     (clear) remembers the exciting day of September 17th, 2019.

“That day our design was     54     (choose) as the mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. We were     55     excited that we jumped up with joy.” After     56     (discuss), the mascot got a new name — “Bing Dwen Dwen”.

Bing Dwen Dwen is a panda with its full-body “shell” (壳) made out of ice. Cao said     57     idea came from traditional Chinese snack “ice-sugar gourd”, also known     58     tanghulu.

In order to make the panda look more pleasant, Cao and his team members     59     (fly) to Sichuan Province to watch pandas. They found that the ratio (比例) of a baby panda’s head to body is different     60     that of an adult panda’s, making them     61     (cute) and more playful. So they improved the image based on the baby panda.

As for Bing Dwen Dwen’s popularity, Cao said he expected (预料) it to be popular,     62     did not expect it to become so popular. “Its ice shell is cold, but the image looks warm and lovely. I believe this kind of warmth can be something everybody feels,” said Cao.

What do you do when you come across a problem while doing your homework? Andy would take out his smartphone, open an app and search for the problem. Answers would soon appear (出现) on the screen. Nowadays, many students do homework with the help of the Internet like Andy. They search for information online, use apps or discuss through social networks like WeChat. “It’s convenient (方便的). You don’t have to wait or get a tutor (家庭教师) beside you.” Andy said, “You also learn by seeing how others work out problems.”

“It also improves our abilities.” said John, another student. He said it especially works for new types of homework. John’s Chinese teacher often asks students to give speeches on great writers. When it comes to John’s turn, he usually searches online, picks out certain stories and makes PowerPoint presentations. “I’ve become skilled at finding information online and using Microsoft Office.” John said. However, many students think this trend (趋势) also brings problems. Some students just copy the answers online without thinking. They become lazy.

A head teacher in Andy and John’s school, Mr. Li said that knowing how to use the Internet is important. The key is to have good self-control (控制). No matter how difficult the problem is, think about it independently first, or you won’t make progress (进步). If you don’t have confidence in your self-control, ask your parents for help.

假如你是苏华，想成为国际儿童福利院 (International Children’s Home) 的志愿者，请用英语给相关负责人写一封申请信，介绍自己的基本情况，词数90左右。

Sincerely,

Su Hua