【推荐1】In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by small talk. Small talk means the little things we talk about at the start of a conversation.

In English-speaking countries, people often make small talk about the weather: “Nice, isn’t it?” “Terrible weather, isn’t it?” But there is something special about small talk. It must be about something which both people have the same opinion about. The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something. This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable. People usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk. The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place. At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching: “Great game, isn’t it?” At bus stops, people may comment about the transport system: “The bus service is terrible, isn’t it?”

Greetings and small talk are an important part of conversation in any language. The way people greet each other and the things they talk about, however, may be different from one language to another. This shows that there is much more to learn when we learn a language than just the vocabulary and the grammar of the language. We also have to learn the social behavior of the people who speak it.

【推荐2】We learn English every day, but still many of us find it hard to speak English well. Today, let me tell you about two boys. They come from Cambodia. The elder（年龄较大的）boy is fourteen years old. Do you know how many languages（语言）he can speak? Fifteen. The younger（较年轻的）boy is his brother. He’s eleven years old, and he can speak eleven languages.

Now you must want to know how they can speak so many languages. Well, they learn from tourists to Cambodia. They do this because they want to sell things to them.

Of all the languages, these two boys love Chinese best. The elder boy says, “One day. I want to go to Beijing to study.”

【推荐1】Everyone knows to be confident is very important now. Here are some ways for you on how to become confident.

Look Confident    Maybe this is the easiest to do. When you’re wearing comfortable clothes and look good in them, then half of your job is done. Starting your day by looking at yourself in the mirror (镜子) and feeling happy help a lot in becoming confident.

Talk Confidently If you are always soft-spoken, then people will think of you as some soft person, without power (力量). You need to have a correct speed, so that your speech is clear and full of confidence. Talking too fast may make it seems that you are nervous.

Stand Confidently A good manner (举止) helps a lot. If you look around, this is really common, as you will see other successful people walking and standing in a confident manner.

Feel Confident     People keep on wondering how to be confident, but they don’t think that it is much about one’s mental state (精神状态). Remember whenever you are going to make an important conversation (谈话), always keep in a good mental state and the conversation will be successful.

【推荐2】 Many people have the wrong idea about pigs. Pigs are actually very clean animals. On farms, they live in dirty places. So, they become very dirty. In the wild, pigs keep very clean.

They are also really smart. They may be smarter than dogs. So, pigs can learn things from people.

Pigs are very friendly animals. Some people raise them as pets. Of course, people raise the small kind, not the big kind. Small pigs are very cute. And they don’t break things in the house. Big pigs usually live outside on farms, not in people’s houses.

【推荐3】There are 24 boys and 21 girls in Miss Wang’s class. The following table shows how they go to school. Look at it and answer the questions.

Number of students who go to school in different ways

	Ways of going to school
	On foot	By subway	By bike	By bus	By car
Boys	3	7	5	3	6
Girls	0	7	1	4	9