I joined a band (乐队) as a drummer in my middle school. I thought it would be fun playing the drums and meeting new friends. At first it was easy, but a month later, it got difficult. I was the only one who couldn’t keep pace (节奏) with the other players.

Our teacher, Angie, singled me out to keep practicing while everyone else got to relax. I felt ashamed as my teammates watched me fail so many times. Finally I got so tired of practicing that I didn’t care about doing it right.

“Are you giving up on me, Steve?” Angie asked.

“Yes, I am,” I shouted. Angie sent me inside the music room where I cried out. Then she came in and said, “Don’t be sad. I believe you can make it!” She told me never to give up. She left me alone and I realized Angie was right—by giving up, I was also giving up on the team and myself.

With her comfort, I decided to go on practicing. However, I still couldn’t play well. Knowing my difficulties, my teammates gave me a hand. They spent about three more hours practicing with me every week. Thanks to their support and help, I began to keep pace with them. Later, we performed wonderfully in an important show.

In the whole process, I was taught that although we each had our own job to do in a show, it would take all of us working together to make the show great. I felt accepted and made great progress. I love everyone in the band. I can’t imagine what my school life would be like without them.

If you are studying at a university in the US, there is no need to decide your major in the first year, but it’s a good idea to spend time early on working out what subjects you are interested in.

To do this, you can take some tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test (MBTI职业性格测试) and the Enneagram Personality Test(九型人格测试). These tests can help tell you what things you might be good at. They can help you work out what subjects you’re interested in and tell you what jobs may suit you best.

Further, you should choose a major you are passionate about and interested in. After all, people are most likely to be successful if they are doing something they love. Your passion and interests are important, and they will bring you pleasure and happiness.

Lastly, you should learn about the different undergraduate majors available: Math, computer science, information technology, economics, journalism and business management—they are all very different majors. You should have an understanding of what kind of jobs people with different degrees can get after graduation. You can look at the websites of famous universities to find out more.

Choosing subjects you are interested in is quite important. As time goes by, your interests might change while you are at university. In the US, you can always change majors as long as you have the passion and ability to do so. If you have any doubts or questions about your academic path, you can seek help from your school’s counselors(顾问) and academic advisors.

Tom Taelman is a 40-year-old man from Belgium. Now he runs a chocolate workshop(工作坊) in Chengdu, Sichuan.

“Belgian chocolate is well-known all over the world. I hope more Chinese people can get to know Belgian chocolate and Belgium,” said Taelman. Taelman learned the skills of chocolate making during his childhood when his family owned a chocolate factory in his home country.

Taelman first set foot in Chengdu in 2013 during a business trip to China. Two years later, he got married to his wife Chen Li, a woman from Sichuan. One year after their marriage, the couple created a Belgian chocolate brand named Choclito.

Under the influence of his wife, Taelman became interested in traditional Chinese culture and came up with the idea of integrating Chinese elements (融合中国元素) with his chocolate making.

Taelman created chocolates in the shape of Ѕісhuаn-ѕtуlе mаhjоng (麻将), раndаѕ, thе 12 Chinese zodiac signs (生肖 ), mooncakes and so on. “These wonderful and creative products are popular among my customers,” Taelman said with a smile on his face.

According to Taelman, many of his Belgian friends, after learning about China’s fast development and friendly living environment, have planned to visit China.

“China has a long history and a rich culture,” said Taelman, adding that he hoped more foreigners could come to enjoy the beauty of this country.

Plastic brings us convenience, and pollution as well.     36     It’s in our food and drinks, in the clothes we wear and even in the air we breathe.

Some very tiny pieces of plastic are called microplastics ( 微塑料). The largest microplastics can be directly seen.     37     What should we do then?

    38     Any time plastic boxes are heated, microplastics can get into your food. If you can’t avoid using plastic boxes, try not to heat food in them.

Use a glass or metal cup instead of a plastic one. Researchers have found that bottled water has more microplastics than tap water.     39     So if you like drinking coffee, hot milk or other hot drinks, remember to use a glass or metal cup.

Since plastic is everywhere, researchers suggest that we should be careful with possible microplastics in life. They may be from baby toys, pens, and even phones we use every day.     40    

Long ago and far away, there lived an old man and woman. One day, while the woman ________ clothes in the river, she saw a great big orange on the water moving slowly towards her. Excitedly, she caught the orange and decided to take it home to eat.

When the woman began to open the orange, suddenly, out jumped a little lovely boy! The man and woman didn’t know ________. But they felt very happy and named the boy Bobonaro, or Orange Boy. As time went by, the boy became very strong and brave.

Life was wonderful until some robbers (盗贼) moved onto a nearby island. The robbers were always stealing ________ things from the people. Bobonaro wanted to drive all of them away.

So he put some of his mother’s delicious food into a box and left home with it for the island. Along the way, he met a dog, a monkey and a bird. Bobonaro gave each of them some food and helped them a lot. So they became good friends. When he told them about his problem, each of the three friends said, “I will help you get the robbers away.”

________ the help of his three friends, Bobonaro drove the robbers away successfully. He and his friends returned home with the valuable things that ________ by the robbers. All the people in the town were so happy to see their things back that they cheered and called him a hero.

You might live in an apartment building without a front yard. In the US, families that live in the suburbs (郊区), or in small villages and towns, usually have their own ________. It might seem like just a boring patch of grass at first. ________ many people use decorations to make their yards livelier.

Yard decoration trends have ________ over time. People started putting plastic pink flamingos(火烈鸟) in their yards in the 1950s and 1960s. It’s said that these flamingos ________ people of faraway beaches and other fun places. They’re not really ________ anymore, but for a long time, they were a big part of suburban American life. You can still see them in some yards, ________ in warmer places.

There’s also the garden gnome(土地神). In some stories, gnomes are said to have a magical connection to nature, so they are often connected with forests and gardens. Some people think these gnomes can watch over their gardens and ________ them grow. Of course, this is not true. My mother has a few garden gnomes _______ that she’s had since I was a small child.

Speaking of my ________—one of her favorite yard decorations is wind chimes (风铃). I used to buy her a new wind chime for different holidays—birthdays, Christmas and Mother’s Day. And each time, she would ________ the new chime in our yard. Over the years, we built an orchestra(交响乐团) of chimes in her yard. They’re still making music to this day.

76. 传统文化是国家和民族的灵魂，是社会进步的动力和源泉。作为新时代的少年，我们肩负弘扬传统文化，传承中华美德的重任。

学校组织“中华传统文化节”庆祝活动，现向同学们征求意见。假如你是李华，请给学校专栏负责人王老师写一封信，围绕如何传承传统文化，谈谈你的看法。

I am Li Hua from Class 6, Grade 9. I am very interested in the Chinese Traditional Culture Festival.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua