【推荐2】If you want to watch and know something about birds, you must find a good place near the bird’s nest.

Birds sit on eggs and take care of their babies from April to June. Because the baby birds are too young to leave the nest, parents often go out to look for food and come back in several minutes. So it is good to watch birds. When we watch birds, we’d better hide ourselves in a close place to the nest, and it’s better to use binoculars.

But how to make a bird’s nest? A good bird’s nest must be very fine, strong, thick and comfortable. If you want to make one, please follow these：

a)Each nest must have six boards(木板). Don’t make the boards too slippery(滑的), because birds need to hold or stand on them.

b)Dig a small hole in the front of the nest as a “door”. The “door” is big enough so birds can fly in or out easily.

c)Do remember that the rainwater can’t go into the nest.

d)One piece of the board should be easy to open.

e)Don’t forget to colour the nest.

【推荐1】Everybody knows that words can carry messages. People communicate with words. Books, magazines, TVs, radios and films all help us to communicate with others. They all help us to know what is gong on in the world and what other people are thinking about.

Do you think you can communicate without words? A smile on your face shows that you are happy or friendly. Tears in your eyes tell others that you are sad. When you put your hand in class, the teacher knows you want to say something or ask a question. You shake your head, and people know you are saying “No”. You nod and people know you are saying “Yes”.

Other things can also carry messages. For example, a sign at the bus stop helps you to know which bus to take. A sign on the wall of your school helps you to find the library.

Signs on doors tell you where to go in or out. Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of signs around you and that you receive messages from them all the time?

People can communicate in many ways without words. For example, an artist can use his drawings to tell about beautiful mountains, seas and many other things.

【推荐2】We will have a spring picnic on Sunday, 16th May, 2010. We'll have most of the games in the morning because it is too hot in the afternoon.

This time, we'll have the picnic party at Bond Park in Cary. We have got ready for over 500 different kinds of seats for the party. We will hold the games near the lake. Please take good care of your children.

We will have as many programs as possible for everyone. This time, you will enjoy the food from 35 restaurants. But only kids can eat pizza. We will set up a new website on 1st May. You can join us online. Please fill in the table and bring it to the party. See you then!

【推荐3】The small talk is a good way to kill time and make friends. But do you know what to say to start a small talk with foreign people?

In Britain, the best topic is the weather. Because the British weather changes quite often. It's a safe topic. So you can start a small talk simply by saying "It's a lovely day today, isn't it?" Besides the weather, it's good to talk about gardens. For example, you could say, "Those roses look really beautiful, don't they?" In addition（此外）, British people love their pets very much. So it's also nice to start with "What a lovely dog! What is its name?"

In America, people like to talk about sports, such as American football. They also talk about clothes by saying "It's a nice shirt! Where did you get it?" And the weather is a safe topic there, too.

Of course, there are also a lot of topics to avoid（避免）during small talks in western countries. For example, don't ask people "How old are you?", especially（特别）women. And never ask "How much money do you make?" It makes people unhappy and it's also impolite.

【推荐1】We provide summer English courses and you will enjoy learning about American culture and improve your English. The courses last for 4 weeks. They start at the beginning of July and August. Our teachers are very experienced. They teach English classes for 4 hours a day. You can choose between small groups of 2 or 3, or larger groups of up to 15. We provide weekly tests to see the progress you’re making with your language skills. We also provide books and other materials.

As well as learning English, we want you to experience life in the USA. You live with an American family and take part in American life. You have meals with them and do some activities with them, too. This is the most interesting part of the course. Many families create friendships with the students. Of course, if you prefer, we can arrange hotel accommodation.

Of course, you can do many things in Los Angeles. Everyday we have activities after class. You can choose to take trips to the Central Park. It is called the back garden of New York. There are many lakes, forests, zoos and so on. You can also go to various shopping centers, sports centers, movies and concerts.

Well, if you’re interested, please fill in our application form where you will also find our list of prices. The course must be paid for one month before it begins.

【推荐2】A gift card is a card that is issued(发行) by a store. These cards are big money makers for stores. One reason is that when gift-card holders go to the store, they often see other things to buy, and they spend more money than the gift card is worth. Unused cards are another reason. Stores make millions of dollars because large numbers of people never use their cards. They either lose them, forget about them, or decide that it's not worth the effort.

Gift cards are becoming very popular in many countries around the world. In the US, they are one of the most popular kinds of gifts. Why? People love the convenience—gift cards are easy to buy and easy to use, either in the store or online. The recipient can choose his or her own gift, and the giver does not have to worry about finding just the right thing.

Receiving a gift card, however,is not the same as receiving a gift. A real gift is a better reminder of the person who gave it. The message of a real gift is more likely to be,"I spend some time trying to find the right gift for you because I care about you."Often a gift card does not send the same message as a real gift. It may seem to say,"I was in a hurry. I didn't have time to think about what you would really like."

In today's world, gift cards are certainly convenient. However, they can make us forget the real purpose of giving gifts, which is to build a closer connection between the gift-giver and the gift-recipient.

【推荐3】Animals, including insects, do not have a language like ours. They do not talk to each other in words and sentences. But if we watch them, we can see that they do have ways of communicating with each other.

Can you see the rabbit's tail which is moving up and down? When rabbits see this white tail moving up and down, they run too. They know that there is danger. The rabbit has told them something without making a sound. It has done this by using its body language.

Many other animals use this kind of language. When a cobra is angry, it raises its hood and makes itself look fierce. This warns other animals. When a bee has found some food, it goes back to its home. It cannot tell the other bees where the food is by speaking to them, but it does a little dance in the air. This tells the bees where the food is.

Some animals say things by making sounds.   A dog barks, for example, when a stranger comes near. A cat purrs when pleased. Some birds make several different sounds, each with its own meaning. Sometimes we human beings speak in the same way. We make sounds like “Oh” or “Ah!” when we are frightened or pleased or when we drop something on our toes.

But we have something that no animals have—a large number of words that have the meanings of things, actions, feelings or ideas. We are able to give each other all kinds of different information in words and sentences, which no other animals can do. No other animals   have so wonderful a language as we have.