No. 15 Middle School is a very good school. Here are five teachers students like best in the school. Let’s take a look at what they look like.

Sara is a maths teacher. She has short curly hair. She wears glasses. Her eyes are big, her nose is small and her mouth is small, too.

Peter teaches history. He has long curly hair and a round face. He doesn’t wear glasses. Peter is good to his students. His eyes are always full of love for his students.

Tom is an art teacher. He has a small nose, big eyes and a big mouth. His hair used to be (曾经) long and curly, but now his hair is short and straight. That makes him look good.

Cathy is a very beautiful English teacher. She is tall and she has long curly hair. She always talks to her students with a smile on her round face.

Betty is a thin woman teacher. She has short straight hair and she doesn’t wear glasses. She doesn’t look like a music teacher, but she is students’ favourite music teacher in the school.

The library is a great place to visit for helping with schoolwork. It opens up new worlds, makes you imagine, encourages reading and helps you in school and in life. But the library isn’t just about reading and learning. You can have fun in the library, too. Some libraries hold fun events for children, such as story telling, making things and book hunting. And when you go to your library, there is always someone there to help you find what you want. That someone is a librarian.

You can ask your librarian to help you find books about any subject that interests you. Libraries have books about everything from planes to zebras. If you like to read fiction (虚构小说), your librarian can suggest (建议) adventure books, fantasy books and many more. If you are having a hard time finding an answer to a question, ask your librarian to help you find the answer. Your librarian can help you locate (定位) information in magazines and newspapers, and on the computer.

Libraries are also great places to go if you want a quiet and relaxing place to read or study. They have areas with cozy chairs where you can curl up (蜷缩) and read a book. They also have tables and chairs where you can work on school reports. And most libraries have lots of bright reading areas, so you won′t hurt your eyes by closely looking at that tiny print.

Don’t forget to visit your library and make sure to thank your librarian for his/her help.

Are you a little shy when it comes to raising your hand in class? If so, that's totally normal. We've been there. With all attention on you, it can be so scary to speak up.

However, if you can break through your fear, we promise you can benefit （受益）a lot. According to   a government study, some students are falling behind because they're too shy to put their hands up when a teacher asks a question. So try to raise your hand!

To start with, you'll realize the power of being wrong. Nobody is right all the time. Your teacher will be happy to see your participation and won't punish you for being wrong. He or she will explain why you're wrong. You'll learn something new. Chances are, other students think the same thing as you, but don't speak up. Not only do you help yourself, but you help your shy classmates, too.

Besides, your teacher will know you're interested in learning. Participating in class shows that you are not falling asleep behind your textbook. This is beneficial to you and your teacher. Your teacher will appreciate your interaction (互动) during the lesson and will remember your enthusiasm（热情）The next time you're one point away from an A⁺.

What's more, you'll have fun discussing with your classmates. When you and other classmates are raising hands to answer questions, it makes the class more interesting and allows you to actively engage with the lesson. Your teacher doesn't have to stand in the front of the room talking nonstop for a long time. Class time will fly by and your mind won't be wandering to the clock every 5 minutes.

Most importantly, you'll know that you've actually learned the material. One of the best ways to prove that you actually know something is by talking about it. Speaking up in class shows that you are trying to understand or have understood what you've been taught.

Don't be shy or afraid to raise your hand in class. Nobody is judging you. Seriously. It'll finally pay off?

A Chinese Class in Chicago High School

Standing in front of the blackboard, Christina Xu starts the class as usual, which lasts 90 minutes. Sixteen students stand up, shout their greetings of "good morning" in Chinese, and start the class.

This is a usual Chinese class at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in downtown Chicago. The 16 students are divided (分成) into small groups, four in each group, to practice Chinese speaking and writing.

The four different tones (声调) are one of the most difficult parts in Chinese learning. To make it easier, Xu uses gestures, and asks the students to match gestures with the words she pronounces.

Walter Payton is one of the 41 public schools in Chicago that offer Chinese classes. About 60 certified full-time Chinese teachers like Xu are offering Chinese courses in four levels to about 11,000 elementary and middle school students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

"CPS offers 12 foreign languages for students to choose," said Jane Lu, CPS Chinese world language coordinator and director of the Confucius Institute in Chicago. "In 2018, Chinese replaced French to become the second most chosen foreign language." Lu thinks it is because of the rapid development and rising of China on the world's stage.

Sixteen-year-old Steven Norinsky is a junior at Walter Payton. He has been learning Chinese since elementary school. He plans to learn it throughout high school. "I choose Chinese because I think it is the most important language to learn," Norinsky explained.

49. 假如你是李华，你的英国笔友Grace想要了解你的校园生活，请用英语给Grace写一封回信，介绍你的学习科目、最喜欢的校园活动及原因。

提示词语：maths, history, sports meeting, English Day, exciting

提示问题：What subjects do you have at school?

·What’s your favourite school activity and why?

I’m glad to introduce my school life to you.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

50. 假如你是李华，你的英语笔友Peter想了解你在学校的学习和生活情况，你通常在学校做些什么，以及你在学校学习、生活的感受。请用英语给他回复一封电子邮件。

提示词语：library, science, hall, interesting, favourite, play, join, club, enjoy

提示问题：

·What kind of school is it? (Big or small? How many students? How many buildings?…)

·What do you usually do at school?

·How do you feel?

How is everything going? I’m writing to tell you about my new school.

Anything new at your school?

Yours,

Li Hua