【推荐1】Last weekend, we raised money for Sunny House Old People’s Home. We all had a great time there. Here are what we did last weekend.

On Saturday, some volunteers went to Sunny House Old People’s Home in the morning. Fiona and Tom played chess with some of the old people. In the afternoon, David, John and Alice made tea for everyone. Sam played the piano and Sally washed the ladies’ hair. In the evening, we had a concert for the old people. It made them very happy. Grace played the violin and Nick sang songs. Some of the old people sang along with them.

On Sunday, we held a fair(展销会) on the school playground. In the morning, we prepared(准备) food, drinks, and some old books for the fair. Nancy and Ann helped one another to buy fruit for their stall(摊位). Leo and Philip helped one another to collect old books for their stall. Amy and Tom helped each other to make fruit salad and fruit juice. In the afternoon, Nancy sold fruit salad and Ann sold fruit juice. Leo and Philip sold the old books.

Many students and their families came to the fair and donated money. We have raised a lot of money for Sunny House Old People’s Home.

Have you heard of TED? TED represents Technology, Entertainment and Design. TED is a set of meetings, held in different cities around the world every year. With different speakers—also from different parts of the world—all the speeches are uploaded (上传) to their websites, for everyone to see.

TED meetings invite speakers to give speeches on different kinds of topics. The speakers usually have success in their fields and talk about new ideas and recent development that are important to their work. The speakers are also well known. There are many talks on environment, international development and aid work. There are a number of talks about education as well. As there are many kinds of topics, all speakers have a strict time limit—each speech must last less than 18 minutes.

Nowadays, www.ted.org, the organization’s website, is where the many interesting talks become reachable to everybody who has an Internet connection. Every weekday, a new video is uploaded from a TED event, allowing people from around the world to listen to the talks for free. At only 18 minutes, even if the video is no that interesting, you know you are not going to waste too much time.

Most TED talks are in English but there are talks in other languages, too. Besides, most of the English-language talks also have the choice of subtitles (字幕) in different languages and, as a result, the website is great for practicing English and learning new vocabulary, especially in a topic that you find interesting and enjoyable. With so many choices of subjects, the videos are often much more exciting.

An     1     to TED

Charity is big business: in 2020 about 410 billion yuan was raised for charity in China. But every year there is more suffering in the news. Sometimes it feels like people ask us for money everywhere we go. With so many charities, how can they get enough money?

Charity is not a modern idea. Over the years people have found new and interesting ways to get the money they need. In 3500 BC King Hammurabai of Babylon encouraged（鼓励）his people to share their wealth with their poorest neighbours. For thousands of years, the world’s main religions（宗教）have encouraged people to do the same. In the1970s more and more people had televisions, so charities made films of suffering（受苦）children and brought the world problems straight into people’s homes. The 1980s was a time of big business, so charities became more business-like: they made money by making and selling everything from Christmas cards to summer holidays!

In the 1990s, famous people like Claudia Schiffer and Michael Jordan made millions of dollars for big international companies like Citroen and Nike. So charities started using famous people too. During the 1990s Sting planned music events for the Rainforest Foundation. With help from other singers, he earned more than $10 million to help protect the lives of people living in rainforests.

Today, charities are using the “personal touch” to earn money. People give more when they can see their money working in the area they live in, and when they have a personal relationship（关系）with the charity.

Some people never give to charities. They say that their money cannot mend these world-wide problems. This is true, but most people know that a little help is better than none. Look more closely at charity work and you will see that each person can do something to make our world better.

【推荐3】As we all know, the "rice bowl" culture of China has influenced some Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam since we started to use chopsticks while eating food.

Chopsticks are usually two long thin pieces of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. The most important thing is that chopsticks are a great invention in China.

Five thousand years ago people usually cooked their food in large pots, using twigs（小树枝）to remove it. As the population grew, people began cutting food into small pieces. Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs by people. And twigs were gradually changed into chopsticks.

Some people think that the famous scholar Confucius living from about 551 BC to 479 BC pushed the development of chopsticks. Confucius believed that using chopsticks instead of knives would remind people to stay away from killing and violence at table.

We enjoy our delicious food with our family members or friends while feeling the peaceful and people-loving world by using chopsticks at table anytime.

【推荐1】Good exercise — jogging

Every day, in all kinds of weather, thousands of men and women jog. Jogging means running slowly. Do you know why jogging has become so popular? Most people began jogging because it is very good exercise for all people, young or old, strong or weak, and heavy or thin. Jogging makes the heart stronger and helps people lose weight. It can also help them feel better about themselves.

Tips for you to jog.

Should you jog, too? If you want to jog, be sure to ask your doctor whether you can jog or not. Jogging may be too much exercise for you if you are not strong enough.

Does jogging cost much? No, it costs almost nothing. But it is very important to have a good pair of shoes for your feet and legs.

How fast should you go? Jog with a friend and talk to each other while you are running. If it is difficult for you to talk, you should run a little more slowly because you’re running too fast.

How far should you jog? Remember not to go too far or too soon. You should walk, not run, the first few times. Then do some short jogs for some time. After that, do some longer jogs. Maybe in a few years, you can run over forty kilometers as thousands of people do.

【推荐2】If you’re having a hard time getting on with your new teacher, going to class can be a bad time. But you really want to get good grades, what should you do? Here is some advice for you.

Talk to your teacher. A short discussion can clear up the clouds between two persons. Always be kind and show admiration (钦佩). Express (表达) yourself and show the ideas from your heart.

Ask your teacher how you can do well in class. Teachers have years of education and experience in his teaching subject. Learning more about this fact helps make a good relationship between you and your teacher. Discuss the best ways to succeed (成功) in class, and this shows your teacher that you care about the class.

Learn to understand his teaching method (方法). Sometimes, you don’t like your teacher because you don’t know the way of his teaching. If you’re used to a very relaxing class, learning to develop in a strict environment is difficult. In fact, it is possible to give yourself time to accept this new way of teaching.

Take part in activities with your teacher. Studies show that teachers would like you if they feel you have something in common. Joining a club or taking part in other activities with your teacher brings better understanding between you. And it makes you get on better with him in class more easily.

【推荐3】Water is important in our life, but sometimes water can be dangerous for kids. So we must pay (A) ________ to the kids’ safety in water. Water safety begins at home or in the pool. Here are some tips for you.

Be careful of the hot water. Hot water is dangerous, especially for kids under five. These kids have thinner skin than older kids and adults, so it’s easier for (B) them to be hurt.

Watch out for danger in the bathroom. The bathroom is full of danger for young kids. Never leave a young child alone in the bathroom. Remember to put away electrical appliances to avoid the risk.

(C)________. Swimming in the water may make you feel great. But it’s not a perfect sport because of the risk of injury (伤害). For example, many types of swimming need repeated arm movements. Over time, the movements can cause shoulder and neck injuries. So it’s dangerous when they stay in the water alone. So the kids are not supposed to swim (D) ________ their parents’ company (陪伴).

Everyone should realize the importance of water safety. To keep the kids safe, we need to learn more about what we should do. After all, (E) ________.