Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.

In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on December 31st—January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal (正式的) clothes, and they may drink champagne (香槟) at midnight. During the first minutes of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the next year. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by waking up early to watch the sun rise. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.

Many cultures also do special things to keep away bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador(厄瓜多尔), families make a big toy from old clothes. The toy is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers (鞭炮). At midnight, these toys are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh (重新). Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.

People in other countries also hope to bring good luck in the new year. One popular Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year’s Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the year. In France, people eat pancakes (烙饼) for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas (豌豆) for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year, you have to eat 365 of them!

Rules or laws are good ways to control some bad behavior. It is common that someone plays music on his or her mobile phone loudly when you are taking public transportation. Sometimes the peaceful environment will be broken when others make noises with their mobile phones. It brings terrible experiences and feelings. So a rule has been made to stop such impolite actions.

When you are in public places, it is easy to be influenced by others who play or talk on their mobile phones loudly. The sound of someone’s mobile phone can break up the quietness in the library where almost everyone is busy studying or reading books. While sitting in a restaurant, the person who is watching videos loudly may influence your mood of having dinner. With mobile phones widely used, the daily environment has also been changed.

With the rules made, the public environment will be improved. Some people who break the rules will be punished. Firstly, workers in public places will advise them not to do those things. If they do not make a change or stop their bad behaviors, the police will come and take them away.

Public places are an environment where everyone can enjoy relaxing feelings. In my opinion, keeping quiet in public is a necessary rule for everybody. No matter where you are, try to consider others’ needs instead of only yours.

One day, a man was walking by the corner of a street. He saw that a boy     31     (hold) a bird cage (笼子) and selling the birds inside. The man stopped and looked very sadly at the birds in front of him. The birds     32     (keep) in the cage, giving a high cry and trying to fly away.

After     33     (stand) for a moment, he said to the boy, “How much does your bird cost? I want...”

“One fifty cents, sir.” the boy answered quickly.

“I am afraid that you are mistaken. Now, I     34     (not ask) how much it is.” The man said, “I would like all of them. I mean I     35     (buy) them all.”

Hearing this, the boy happily     36     (count) the number of the birds in the cage.

“Five dollars.”

“Here you are!” The man passed the money. The boy counted excitedly. Suddenly, he was surprised     37     (find) the cage was empty!

“Oh, my god, the birds ________ already     38     (fly) away. Why did you do that, sir? You don’t even get a bird!” The boy asked the man.

“My boy, let me tell you why I did this.” The man said, “I     39     (not have) rights (权利) to keep them. Every life should be free and they are our friends. So we     40     (let) them free.”

Maddie is a middle school student. She loves music very much. One day, Maddie and her classmates wanted to take music class, but they didn’t have instruments. They couldn’t buy instruments because they couldn’t a    41     them. It was a big problem and needed to find a good w    42     to solve it.

Accepting the idea from their teacher, they decided to give a concert to make some money for the instruments. B    43     how did they make instruments for the concert? Aha! F    44    , they came up with an idea after a long discussion. They were able to use things from their homes.

They started to collect newspapers, used boxes, bottles and some kinds of instruments that could produce sound. They used buckets (桶) a    45     drums.

They were now trying with these s    46     instruments. Guided (带领) by Maddie, they were shaking them to a beat (节拍). Then they began to play some pieces of music and practiced them for many t    47    .

It was the concert night! To their great s    48    , lots of people came to buy the tickets and watched their performance. Maddie and her classmates tried their best and did a good job. People were cheering for them and their parents were t    49     photos.                

Now they own their favorite instruments! They are able to play different kinds of music with them. They are so happy and proud of t    50    . Of course they still keep their special instruments.

Sometimes we may forget something easily. Don’t worry. If you want to have a good memory, please follow me. Here is some advice on how to improve your memory.

My first advice is that if you want to remember something well, you have to review it regularly. After you learned the material, you need to review it right away, then two days later, then a week later, then two weeks later, and then a month later. (3)After a month, you will find that you can remember the material easily.

My second advice is to mark the important parts of your book. This will help you in two ways. It will help you concentrate on (专注于) the most important parts. It is always easier to remember only the key points. Besides, this will make your review easier. When you open your book, the colored parts will show you the most important parts at once. In this way, you needn’t read every word again.

Another piece of advice is to review at a proper time. One good time for memorizing information is in the evening. Review what you have learned before going to bed. It will be kept in your mind deeply. The other good time is in the morning because you have just rested and your brain is fresh and clear. (4)So it’s easy to memorize the important information in the morning.

Remember all the advice above, and your memory will be better and better.