Have you ever washed your parents’ hands? Are they as soft and _______ as they were before?

A young man went for a job _______ in a big company (公司). The boss found that the young man’s college grades were excellent. Then he asked the young man who _______ for education. The young man told the boss that his parents did and they _______ as laundry (洗衣店) workers.

The boss noticed _______ the young man’s hands are smooth and perfect. He asked, “Have you ever helped your parents wash _______? ”

“No. My parents always make me _______. Besides, they wash clothes _______ than I do.”

The boss asked the young man to go back home and wash his parents’ _______. When he got home, he told his parents that he wanted to wash their hands. His parents felt _______ but happy. Then the young man began to wash their hands slowly.

He was in tears (泪水) _______. He _______ his parents’ hands were so rough (粗糙的) and pale because of washing a lot of clothes in the cold water. There were also many injuries (伤口) in their hands. _______ washing their parents’ hands, the young man quietly washed the rest of the clothes.

The next morning, the young man went to the _______ again. The boss noticed the young man’s pale hands. He said to the young man, “Welcome to _______ us! ”

Many studies about language learning ask the question: what makes a good language learner? There are some things that good language learners do and some things they don’t do. Here are some of the most useful suggestions from studies.

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. People often get things wrong. Good language learners notice their mistakes and learn from them.

Do group activities. People use language to communicate with other people. A good language learner always looks for opportunities to talk with other students. The more you talk with other students, the better you will be.

Make notes during every class. Notes help you to remember new language. Look at your notes when you do your homework.

Use a dictionary. Good language learners often use dictionaries to check the meaning of words they don’t know. They also make their own vocabulary lists.

Think in the language you’re learning outside the classroom. When you’re shopping or walking down the street, remember useful words and phrases. Sometimes, when you’re at home, say new words to practise your pronunciation.

Do extra practice. Test and improve your reading and listening skills with self-study material. You can find a lot of this online.

Enjoy the process. Good language learners have fun with the language. Watch a TV series or film, listen to songs, play video games or read a book. It’s never too late to become a good language learner.

I went home one Saturday afternoon in the autumn of 1993 to get some work done in the garden. While sweeping leaves on the ground, my five-year-old son Nick came over and asked me to write something on a piece of paper to make a sign for him.

“What for?” I asked.

“I’m going to sell some of my stones,” he answered.

Nick was fascinated with stones and had collected many stones from all over.

“I’m too busy to do that for you. Go and ask your mum for help,” I said.

A short time later, Nick returned with a sign, reading, “Stones, One Dollar Each.” He took the sign, a small chair and 4 of his best stones and walked to the road in front of our garden. There he put the stones in a line and sat down on the chair.

After half an hour, nobody passed by. I walked to him and asked him to go back, but he didn’t.

Another half hour later, a small car came down the road. I watched as Nick stood up, holding his sign up. A woman rolled down a window and read the sign. I couldn’t hear their talk, but I saw the woman turn to the driver and the man reach for his pocket.

I sat in the yard, as Nick ran to me. Waving the dollar, he shouted, “I told you I could sell one stone for a dollar— if you believe in yourself, you can do anything.”

FOMO

Everybody knows how important it is for students to get a good night’s sleep every night. Most experts agree that the optimum (最佳的) number of hours is eight. However, I was young once and I know that most of you get much less sleep than that—and in some cases it will influence your schoolwork.

I read an interesting article in a teachers’ magazine recently. They did a study of 848 students in Wales. Worryingly, the results showed that teenagers are facing a new problem. They may go to bed and get up at proper times but a growing number are waking up in the middle of the night, just because of a new phenomenon (现象): FOMO—fear of missing out!

Afraid of missing a comment (评论) or chances to take part in a chat (聊天), teenagers are waking at all times of the night, going online and getting involved. All this when they should be sound asleep.

Experts are worried about this growing trend (趋势) and the report shows some worrying numbers that I’d like to share with you:

23% of 12 to 15-year-olds wake up nearly every night to use social media (社交媒体). Another 15% wake up at night once a week for the same reason.

One in three students are often tired and unable to perform well during the daytime. Students who use social media during the night are more probable to experience more stress.

So, I’d like to ask you to be responsible when it comes to social media. Be brave! Turn off your phones at night. The world won’t end and your social media will be waiting to greet you in the morning! I give you my word that you won’t miss anything important.

61. 你校英文报正在征稿，主题是“My Favorite Traditional Chinese Festival”， 请根据以下征稿启事，写一篇短文投稿。

My Favourite Traditional Chinese Festival