“Your hair looks great!” “I love your new mobile phone!” “You really did a good job!” These are some popular English compliments you might hear. In the UK and many other western countries, complimenting someone is a useful way to help break the ice and start a nice conversation. It is normal to compliment people for their clothes, hair or taste in general. The most common compliments are on someone’s appearance (You look beautiful!), possessions (财产) (What a fantastic car!), performance (That was a really interesting speech!), skills (You speak French really well!).

If an English speaker compliments you, there are different ways to reply. Some people may say “Thank you”. They may also return the compliment (You look great, too!) or play it down (This shirt? It’s really quite old.).

No matter how they reply to the compliments, don’t be afraid to compliment someone in English. You’ll probably make their day!

Every year on April 22, Earth Day is celebrated (庆祝) all over the world. It is a time to work towards keeping our earth clean. People plan projects to clean up the land, air and water.

U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson first thought of the idea for Earth Day in 1962 when he saw polluted rivers and cities covered with smoke. Senator Nelson needed to get support from Americans to clean up the earth. Finally, on April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans celebrated the first Earth Day! Now many countries around the world celebrate it, and so can you. How can you celebrate Earth Day? Here are a few ideas:

●Join a clean-up project-Clean up your street or a favorite beach.

●Save energy-Turn off the lights when you leave a room, and use public transportation.

● Use less water.

●Reduce (减少) / Reuse/ Recycle-Practice the three Rs: First, reduce how much you use. Then reuse or recycle what you can.

You can make a difference on Earth Day and every day!

It was Mother’s Day. Nancy was 800 miles away from her parents, so she was a little    43    . In the morning she phoned her mother to wish her a happy Mother’s Day, and her mother told her about the beautiful flowers in the garden. Later that day,     44    she told her husband about the flowers, he said, “I know where we can find all that you want. Get our children Peter and Lily, and come on.” So they went, driving down the country roads. There on a    45    , they saw a lot of beautiful purple flowers. Nancy ran     46    to enjoy the flowers. Carefully, she picked a few here and a few there. And on their way home there was a big smile    47    her face. When they were passing a nursing home, she saw an old granny sitting in a chair. The granny had    48    children with her. They stopped the car and Nancy walked to the old woman, put the flowers in her hands, and smiled at her. The old granny    49    her again and again. She smiled happily, too.

When Nancy    50    to her car, her children asked her, “Who is that old granny? Why did you give our flowers to her?” “I don’t know her,” Nancy said, “But it’s Mother’s Day, and she is alone. But I have both of you, and I still have my mother. Just think how much those flowers meant to her.”

My family loves television. My earliest memories are of watching TV with my family. I think we had five or six television sets at home-the bedrooms, the kitchen, everywhere! At least one television was on all of the time.

When I went to university, I lived in a dormitory in my first year. Of course I had a TV, so I continued watching my favorite programs. But several weeks later, I realized I had a problem. My courses were hard-much harder than high school, and there was a lot of homework. Also, I felt stressed in my new environment. I started watching more TV to help me have less pressure. Guess what? Soon I was spending more time watching TV than I was on homework. So I didn’t have a lot of friends. At the end of my first year, my grades weren’t very good, and I was really disappointed in myself. At home that summer, I watched television with my family a lot. At first I thought it was great. But then I noticed something. We talked all the time, but always about TV. Something was missing. Television brought us together, but in a way it also kept us away.

When I got back to university, I made a decision to do better. I walked into my dormitory, and started to turn the TV on. But then an idea jumped into my head: Stop watching TV! Suddenly it became extremely clear: my old friend television was really my enemy (敌人)! It had kept me from getting good grades, and from making friends. I had to stop watching TV. So I did. I gave away my television, and I’ve never looked back. I started doing better in school, made more friends, started having more energy. I don’t know if I’ll continue to have a TV-free life. But if I do watch television again, it won’t be like before. I’m sure that television will never again be a major part of my life.

    56     is always ready to tutor you in reading, math and science. Pat Ridley is a good teacher for people who want to learn English    57    . Apple Tree Company is at     58    , New York. The manager’s voice mailbox is    59    . If you need some cooking service, you can call Judy at     60    .