As an exchange student, I studied in France for two years. The first time I took a class in the chemistry lab, I was surprised to find that students were fully “armed”. Everyone was wearing goggles (护目镜) and gloves. Safety comes first for science lab class.

My chemistry teacher Mrs. Louise usually gave us the instruction paper the night before the lab class and let us read it. During the class, she first went over the steps and then put us into groups of two to do the experiments (实验). What was special was that for every lab class, Mrs. Louise changed everyone’s lab partner to make them work with different classmates.

The class was often filled with laughter and screams (尖叫). We once tried to burn the chemicals and watch the colors of the flames (火焰). Different chemicals produced different colors of flames, including bright orange and dark green. Many students in my class were surprised. “Wow! That’s so beautiful!” they screamed. Then they excitedly took pictures, posted them online and sent them to their friends. Mrs. Louise didn’t get angry with us at all for our “noises”. She herself even took photos with us.

After finishing an experiment, we had to write a lab report. If we had a big mistake in the experiment, we need to analyze (分析) why it happened and what we should do to avoid it next time. The lab reports were very important. They made up around 25% of our term grade.

English is always changing. The English that people used 500 years ago is very different from the English we use now. Even in the last fifty years, English has changed. New words are entering our language all the time. The words internet, email and mobile phone are only twenty years old. The word website is even younger. We only started using it fifteen years ago. But what causes languages to change? And is language change a positive or a negative thing?

There are many reasons that languages change. One reason is that technology changes. We use new words for new types of technology. Thirty years ago, we only used the word mouse in English to describe an animal. Today, the word mouse also means the object you use to control a computer. Another important reason for language change is communication between different countries and cultures. For instance, English uses words like sugar from Arabic, shampoo from Hindi and yoghurt from Turkish. Languages also change because young people create their own way of talking that is different from their parents. Teenagers often use new slang—informal words and phrases—to talk to their friends. Some slang gets forgotten, but other slang words become part of normal, everyday language. Words like bus and rock music started as slang, but now they are in the dictionary and everyone uses them.

But is language change a good thing or a bad thing? Some people think that we should stop languages from changing. They think that they need to protect their language or it will die or become worse. In France, there is an organization called L’Academie Francaise that decides what is correct and what is incorrect in French. They look at the new words that people are using and decide whether they are good French or not. There are also organizations like this in other countries, such as Indonesia and Spain. However, other people believe that language change is a natural thing and shouldn’t be stopped. They think that it is normal that languages change over time. They think that languages need to change to stay modern and interesting.

【推荐3】In the US and many other countries. Tipping(给小费) is a way of saying thank-you to someone for his good service. Who do you tip? And how much? Below are some tips(提示) for travelers in the US.

1Taxi drivers: $2 to $3; you give more if he helps you with your bags.

2 Porters(搬运工): A standard tip(标准的小费) for porters is $1 each bag; more if your suitcases are very heavy.

3Hotel bellboy(青年侍者): Again, $1 for each bag. Tip him when he shows you to your room.

4 Doorman(看门人): A $1 tip for calling a taxi. However, you may tip more for special service, such as shielding(挡住) you with an umbrella in the rain. You don’t have to give the doorman anything just for opening the door or greeting you.

5 Hotel maid(女佣): If you stay for more than one night, $1 each night is standard.

6 Waiters and waitresses: 15-20% of your pre-tax(税前的) bill. In restaurants and bars in the US and Canada, 15% is the standard tip.

7 Tour guides(导游): If a tip is not included in your bill, tip $1 for half-day tour, $2 for a one-day tour, and anywhere from $5 to $10 for a week-long tour.

Now, it’s sad to say that people have to give tips, even though the service is not good at all. So if you go to the US, remember to carry a lot of change(零钱) for tips.

【推荐2】Li Wen is a l5-year-old boy. He works hard and does well in school. It is hard to believe that he used to have difficulties in school. When his parents moved to the city to work, they could not be at home to look after him. So he became less interested in studying and was absent from classes. Then his parents made a decision to send him to a boarding school. He found life there difficult. One day he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school. His teacher advised his parents to talk with their son in person. This conversation changed his life. He realized that his parents would always love him, and they would take pride in everything good that he did. Now he is much happier and more outgoing than he used to be.

【推荐3】I was in a line waiting to pay. In the line there were two people before me. A little boy was buying some rather strange clothes. He chatted with anyone who was interested in the clothes and soon we learnt that he was going to a kindergarten party. He had done a great job of putting together interesting clothes.

I noticed that the little boy was paying mostly with change. It seemed that he had robbed his pig bank to do this shopping. However, the cashier（收银员）told him he was short after counting all the money. The boy thought for a moment and said, “Please keep the shirt and I will come back with more money.”

It was clear that he had already used all the money he had and he was $8:00 short. The lady in front of me said, “Well, I could pay half of that.” I told the boy that I could pay the other half. We dug into our handbags. However, both of us only had ten-dollar bills and we needed the cashier to get the change for us. Other shoppers began digging into their pockets to find some change. It was amazing and touching as all these strangers seemed to react with the same mind. All wanted to be of help. Within minutes, the cashier said, “I have too much money.” The cashier didn’t need our ten-dollar bills. Then the lady in front of-me, who had been the first to offer help, said, “Wait! I didn’t even get a chance to give anything!”

I smiled at her and said, “You did your share, because it was your idea and you started all this.” The little boy smiled and thanked us. We wished him the best and he left. I was left with a good feeling. I had seen the love and goodness of others all around me. The woman in front of me smiled and said, “It sure feels good to give, doesn’t it?” I smiled back and said, “Yes!”