【推荐1】Have you ever made your friends angry or unhappy because of your words? Do you have ________ asking people to reply to your requests (请求)? If so, maybe your English isn’t polite. Now let’s ________ how to speak in a right way!

Could you give me five minutes? VS Go away!

You’re really busy with studies, ________ your classmate needs your help. Though you’re too busy to do anything else, you shouldn’t just say “Go away!” You can keep everyone happy ________ saying “Could you give me five minutes?”

Excuse me. VS Move out of the way.

________ someone to “move out of the way” is not polite. Saying “excuse me” will help you get the ________ you want and there won’t be any trouble.

I’m afraid I can’t. VS No.

It can often be ________ to refuse an invitation from a friend. People will think it is not polite to ________ say “No”. The next time you have to refuse an invitation, you’d better say, “I’m afraid I can’t.”

Would you mind...? VS Stop it!

A boy is talking on the phone loudly in the ________. Would you like him to stop? It’s not a good idea to shout “Stop talking on your phone in the cinema!” You’d better say, “Would you mind not using ________ phone in the cinema, please?”

【推荐2】An old man lived in a village. He was one of the most impolite people _________ the world. The whole village was tired of him, because he was always in bad mood（情绪）. When people tried to cheer him up, they would _________ impolitely.

The _________ he lived, the more bad-tempered（易怒的）he became. People stayed away from him because his bad mood was contagious（传染性的）. It was even unusual and impolite to feel happy around him. By behaving like this, he made the rest of the village feel unhappy as well.

_________ one day—the day he turned 80 years old, an unbelievable thing happened. The villagers said among themselves, “_________ old man is happy today. He hasn’t complained（抱怨）about anything. He is smiling, and his face looks _________.”

The whole village went to see the old man. One of the _________ asked the old man, “What happened to you?”

“Nothing special has happened, in fact,” the man said. “For 80 years I’ve been looking for happiness, but it was no use. And then I decided _________ without happiness and just enjoy life. That’s _________ now.”

It is important to realize that your mood can influence the moods of those around you. Everyone has bad days sometimes. If someone __________ to cheer you up, don’t be impolite to them. Just try to accept their help.

【推荐1】Thanks to technology, it’s so easy to communicate with your friends. You could decide to __________ an ice-cream party, and in seconds get in touch with everyone you know. You __________ connect with friends using a computer.

If you have a mobile phone, you can use its texting technology to type out a ___________ _________ you could use a telephone to call your friends and ask __________ to come over. But suppose the power went out and you couldn’t __________ a computer or a mobile phone. Without modern technology, __________ could you send the information about your ice-cream party to your friends?

You could make an invitation to ___________ everyone to your home. You might draw a __________ picture to show what you were trying to say. A picture is a great way to communicate __________ even kids who can’t read can understand it. But if you _________ words to your card, your message will be easier to understand.

If you don’t have stamps to mail your invitations, you could tell your friends about your party __________ flashlight. By turning the flashlight on and __________ in certain patterns, you can send really difficult messages in code（密码）.

But the best way to __________ your friends about your ice-cream party is face-to-face.

___________ method you use to communicate, be sure you tell your friends that it’s time for a delicious ice-cream party!

【推荐2】Sometimes, kids don’t think their parents are fair to them. When you want to dress in a modern way, your mum doesn’t allow you to wear a _________. When you are _________, they ask if you’re speaking to a boy or a girl. Sometimes it seems that you are not as _________ to your parents as you used to be. How can you change such a situation?

Closing the Gap by the American author Jay McGraw gives advice on how to have a better _________ with your parents.

Both parents and children have needs. They need to feel they are _________ and loved. You tell your parents your needs, and _________ what their needs are. To get your parents to know what you’re doing and what you want to do, you could talk about your school life now and your dreams for the _________. It helps your parents know more about you. Maybe you can think of a way to make all of you happy,

The book gives ways _________ teens understand their parents. When you think “my parents don’t want me to have any fun”, it usually means your parents want you to be safe. The book gives you lots of ideas, such as making time to talk, _________ a diary and showing your parents you are growing up. If you follow these steps, you will be able to make your __________ a happier place.

【推荐3】You either have it, or you don’t—a sense of direction, that is. But why is it that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map, while others can _______ themselves in the next street?

Scientists say we’re all born with a sense of direction, but it is not _______ understood how it works. One theory is that people with a good sense of direction have simply worked harder at _______ it. Research being _______ out at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don’t use it, we lose it.

“Children as young as seven have the ability to find their way around.” says Jim Marttand, Research Director of the project. “However, if they are not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere by car, they never develop the skills.” Jim Martland also emphasizes that young people should be taught certain _______ to improve their sense of direction. He makes the following suggestions:

If you are using a map, _______ it so it relates to the way you are facing.

If you leave your bike in a strange place, put it near something like a big stone or a tree. Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike. When you return, go back along the same route.

Simplify the way of finding your direction by using lines such as streets in a town, streams, or walls in the countryside to _______ you. _______ your steps so that you know how far you have gone and note any landmarks such as tower blocks or hills which can help to find out where you are. Now you need never get lost again!