Thanks to the ancient Silk Road, the lands of Italy and China have been connected for more than 2,000 years. Tourists from China and every corner of the world come to visit Italy every year. Here are four famous cities of Italy.

Rome is the birth place of science, culture and of course, art in Europe. It is the perfect combination(结合) of the modern and the classical. When one walks around the city, one can see many museums. Of course, Rome is also considered as the fashion center of the world now. The Rome Coliseum is today considered one wonder of the modern world.

Pisa is a small city. It is famous for the leaning tower of Pisa. If you think that Pisa has only one leaning tower, you may just be wrong. This city has three leaning towers. Home of the famous scientist Galileo, Pisa is also known for its universities because the city is home of some of the most important universities in Europe.

Florence is one of the most important provinces around Italy. Shopping here, you’ll find David, the most famous statue(雕塑) of Michelangelo. If you are planning to spend just a couple of days in Florence, you likely will not want to lose the opportunity to see and enjoy Arnolfo Tower. It will be open on Sunday and Monday from 9 a.m to 6 p. m. (closed in case of rain).

Venice is a city over a hundred islands. You can visit most interesting places of the city by walks or by the famous gondolas(威尼斯小划船). Art exhibitions, film festivals, musicals and famous carnival(狂欢节) make Venice a place that can be visited any time of the year.

Hold your head up high

I was 15 months old, a happy carefree kid, until the day I fell. It was a bad fall. I landed on a piece of glass that cut my eye badly. From then on, so my injured sightless, cloudy gray eye lived on with me.

Sometimes people asked me embarrassing questions. When kids played games, I was always the “monster”. I grew up imagining that everyone looked down on me.

Yet mom would say to me, “Hold your head up high and face the world.” I began to rely on that saying. As a child, I thought mom meant, “Be careful or you will fall down or bump into something because you are not looking.”

As a teenager, I usually looked down to hide my shame. But I found that when I held my head up high, people liked me.

In high school I even became the class president, but on the inside I still felt like a monster.

All I really wanted was to look like everyone else. When things got really bad, I would cry to my mom and she would look at me with loving eyes and say, “Hold your head up high and face the world. Let them see the beauty that is inside instead of your appearance.”

My mom’s love was the spark that gave me confidence. I had faced hardships, and learned not only to appreciate myself but to have deep compassion (同情) for others.

“Hold your head up high” has been heard many times in my home. I say it to my children. The gift my mom gave me lives on.

What subject do you worry about the most at school? Many students worry about math. Some students can’t sleep well the day before a math exam. Others may feel very nervous during the exam itself. But there might be a way to make the subject less stressful.

“For people who are worried about math, posture(姿势) makes a big difference,” Erik Peper from San Francisco State University told the Daily Mail. That’s right-sitting up straight can help you do better on math exams.

Scientists tested 125 college students. They asked them to do a simple math exam while sitting in a slumped-over(趴到的) posture, or sitting up straight. After the test, 56 percent of students said the exam was easier to do if they were sitting up straight.

Slumping over is a defensive(戒备的) posture. It can bring about bad memories in the body and brain. This can stop you from thinking clearly, Peter said.

Students who were not nervous about taking the math exam did not necessarily benefit from better posture. But they did find that doing math while slumped over was more difficult, Science Daily reported.

Good posture isn’t just helpful for taking math exams. Sportspeople, musicians and public speakers can all benefit from better posture. When you feel stressed out, you can also try to sit up straight or stand tall. It can help you feel more certain and focus better.

Assertiveness(坚定，自信) is the ability to confidently express your opinions, feelings, attitudes, and rights, in a way that doesn’t infringe(侵犯) the rights of others.

Many of us are taught that it is not nice to consider our own needs above those of others. If someone says or does something that we don’t like, we should just be quiet and try to stay away from that person in the future.

Why is assertiveness important?

If you don’t know how to be assertive, you might experience:

Depression—Anger, a sense of being helpless, hopeless, or of having no control over your life.

Resentment—anger at others for taking advantage of you.

●Frustration—Why did allow that to happen?

Most people find it easier to be assertive in some situations than in others. This makes perfect sense. It’s a lot easier to hold your ground with a stranger than with someone you love. But the more important the relationship is to you, the more important it is to be assertive. Assertive behavior leads to increased respect from others!

But before you decide to act assertively, you have to decide if you can live with the results. Although assertive behavior usually results in a positive response, some people might react differently.

How to be effectively(有效地) assertive:

Use “I” statements. Keep the focus on the problem you’re having. “I’d like to be able to tell my stories without interruption.” instead of “You’re always interrupting my stories!”

Use facts, not opinions. “Did you know that shirt has a hole?” instead of “You’re not going out looking like THAT, are you?”

Express ownership of your thoughts, feelings and opinions. “I get angry when he breaks his promises.” instead of “He makes me angry.”

Make clear and direct requirements. Don’t invite the person to say no. “Will you please…?” instead of “Would you mind..?” or “Why don’t you ...?”

Keep repeating your point. Use a low level and pleasant voice. Don’t try to explain yourself.

Laura is only ten years old. She always does something meaningful on h    56     own.

Laura     57     (参加) a winter camp at the age of eight. During her stay in the camp, she went to v    58     some kids in poor areas. She felt     59     that the kids there didn’t have new clothes to wear and toys to play with. After she returned home, she kept     60     (思考) what to do to help those kids.

    61     morning Laura saw some elder kids selling lemon juice by the street. They wanted to raise     62     to help their friends. Then she     63     (想出) an idea.     64     (在……的帮助下) her mother, her first lemonade stand was     65     (建立). In week, it made $52.     66     it was only a little money, she helped 12 kids with it. She     67     ['hæpili] jumped into the air when she saw smile on their faces.

After that, her mother helped her start a program c    68     Laura’s Lemonade for Love. Up till now, she has already raised more than $17,000. She always s    69     the money on clothes, toys and books     70     the poor kids.

In some sense, the inner satisfaction is from giving not receiving. Helping others is as warm as sunshine.

71. 假定你是李华，你的家乡包头在创建文明城市，请你给你的好友Alan写一封电子邮件，介绍自己在创城活动中的日常行为和感受，并邀请他来包头游玩。邮件内容包括：

How is it going? My hometown Baotou makes its effort to be a civilized city. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’m looking forward to your reply.

Yours,

Li Hua