【推荐2】For many kids, summer vacation is the time to play. They can finally leave books and lessons behind after a term of busy school life.

    1     She hated to waste time on meaningless things. Since Penelope not only liked reading, but also wished to share her love for reading with other kids, she came up with a plan to run her own library in the neighborhood.

Penelope’s parents completely agreed with her.     2     Penelope brought all her books to her new library. After everything was ready, Penelope started opening the garage door for a few hours from Monday to Friday.

And it wasn`t long before children began lining up (排队) outside the garage.     3     Weeks later, Penelope found most children liked to communicate with others after reading something interesting.     4     It became really popular among the readers. More and more children joined the club. They thanked Penelope for her meaningful action.     5     Penelope’s story shows us even after we get out of school, we should continue reading and learning. The garage library is really a fantastic way to develop life-long learners.

【推荐3】What do you usually do in your free time? What are your favorite activities? Last week, I put these questions on my blog.     1    

A message from Zhang Li, China.

Hello! My name is Zhang Li and I am a student in Grade 7. In China, we students are busy with the schoolwork.     2     However, on these free days, we usually have much homework to do. For me, after I finish my homework at home, I often go swimming with my friends. It is a good way to relax. That’s also my favorite activity because it can help me keep healthy.

    3    

Hi, I’m Erie Brown, In America, we have many free time activities. For example, we go camping every Friday. We take a lot of food and drink with us. We sing, dance and play games together.     4     All of us have great fun that day.

A message from Pin Anong, Thailand

Hi, my name is Pin Anong. In Thailand, our summer vacation begins in late February to early March and ends in mid-May.     5     How come? My mother is an actress and my father is a policeman. They are busy all the time. That’s why I always stay at home. I love books and I read every day. My favorite writer is Liu Cixin and I hope I can be a person like him when I grow up.

【推荐1】Dad, mom and children all have their special holidays. But, do our grandparents have a special holiday? Yes, they do! The Double Ninth Festival(重阳节) is a special day for older people in China. This holiday is on the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar. On this holiday, younger people usually show love and respect to older people.

Chinese people express their respect in many ways. When an older person enters a room, everyone stands. People are introduced from the oldest to the youngest. When we present a book to an older person, two hands are used. Young people always offer their seats to older people on a crowded subway or a bus.

Respecting older people is a tradition in China. That’s because the Chinese know that older people have knowledge and experience that young people can learn. Chinese people are proud of being old.

However, in Western countries, older people seldom think they are old. They are called “seniors” instead of “old people”. They would rather do everything themselves. Even after retirement, they take on hobbies, part-time jobs and new activities to keep their body working well.

Westerners respect their older people, too. Usually, seniors take trains and buses for free. They are given discounts(折扣) in stores and restaurants.

But Western seniors don’t often live with their children—they live alone. For holidays, the family usually gather at the grandparents’ home, and a great smile and a warm hug for their parents are enough for grown children to show their respect.

【推荐2】Do you have any foreign friends? Do you know their characteristics (特征)?

The Germans are very quiet and they always keep calm. They don’t like to speak more words. They look very serious. The Germans are very hard-working. They like tidiness, especially the women, who always keep their home clean.

In some ways, the Englishmen look the same as the Germans. They are very quiet and never talk too much with the strangers. They are really polite, so we often hear they say “Thank you” or “Sorry”. The gentlemen are also the Englishmen.

The French’s holidays are very long. They like traveling and usually spend their long time staying in other countries. The Frenchmen are more outgoing than the Germans. It is very easy to make friends with them.

Compared (比较) to the Frenchmen, the Americans are more outgoing. And they are even opener than all of the Europeans. They don’t like to depend on others. So it is very common that the students do part-time jobs in their free time. And in Americans’ eyes, success is an important part in their life.   

Wood-block printing, dyeing and making thread-binding notebooks, students from different universities in Egypt (埃及) took part in a cultural exchange activity to experience China’s traditional crafts (工艺). The activity called “China in Classic Books” was held on Sept. 14 between the young people of Egypt and China’s Shandong Province through video link.

Adham Ehab, a student in the Chinese department at Cairo University, made the thread-binding notebooks in the same way that it’s traditionally made in Shandong. “Such activities make us know more about the Chinese culture and love the Chinese language more.” the Egyptian student said.

Jiao Xinyue, a Chinese teacher at Cairo University who also teaches at the Confucius Institute of Cairo University, said that the increasing Chinese economic power and the growing cooperation between China and Egypt provide more opportunities for students to learn Chinese. “The number of students in the Chinese language at Cairo University is on the ________ every year.” she added.

ECU vice-president Rasha El-Kholy said that, “The event aims at connecting the Egyptian and the Chinese culture through learning about some traditional Chinese ways of printing and handicrafts.Connecting ancient civilizations can push us forward towards a future of innovation, research and development.” he added.

Gianna Xu, the head of the Chinese Bridge Club in Cairo, said “the cultural exchange between the youths of the two countries will deepen the friendship among future generations, hoping that such cultural activities will nourish (滋养) the tree of friendship and cooperation between China and Egypt.”

A．

B．

C．

D．

【推荐2】In ancient (古代) China, people’s names had three parts (部分): their family name, given name and courtesy name (字).

Take Li Bai, a famous Tang Dynasty poet (唐代诗人), as an example. His family name was Li, his given name was Bai, and his courtesy name was Taibai.

People used their given name when they were among family members. But in social (社交的) life, they called each other by their courtesy names to show respect (尊重).

Men would get their courtesy name when they turned 20. It was a symbol of adulthood (成年). Women would get their courtesy name after getting married (结婚).

One’s courtesy name often had something to do with one’s given name. For example, Mencius’ name was Meng Ke. His courtesy name was Ziyu. Both Ke and Ziyu mean “carriage (马车)”. Zhuge Liang’s given name was Liang, which means “bright”. His courtesy name was Kongming, and it means “very bright”.

ChatGPT, a smart AI chatbot (聊天机器人) tool, has swept the education world in the past months. According to a US survey of 1,000 students, about 90% of them have used ChatGPT to help with a homework task.

Developed by US company — OpenAI, ChatGPT is a powerful tool. You can ask it to write stories and e-mails, create recipes (食谱), translate languages and answer all kinds of questions.

Some schools in the US, Australia and France have banned the use of ChatGPT. For example, New York City public schools stopped students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the school’s networks, CNN reported.

The move comes out of worries that the tool could make it easier for students to cheat on schoolwork. Some also worry that ChatGPT could be used to spread incorrect information.

“Critical-thinking (批判性思维) and problem-solving skills are necessary for academic (学术的) and lifelong success, but ChatGPT does not build them,” said Jenna Lyle, the deputy press secretary of the New York City Department of Education.

Apart from bans, teachers are making changes to their classes to prevent the use of ChatGPT. Some college teachers in the US try to include more speaking exams and handwritten papers instead of typed ones, The New York Times reported.

Paul is my friend. He is from London, England. He speaks good English. He is now in Shanghai with his parents, because they work in Shanghai. Paul can speak a little Chinese!

There are five people in his family, his parents, his two sisters and he. His sisters aren't in China. They are in England now. He likes singing and dancing very much. He also likes to play basketball and tennis very much. He thinks they are fun. I think he is a nice boy.

   Yours,

Sam

【推荐2】The American newspaper has been around for about three hundred years. In 1721, the printer James Franklin, Benjamin's older brother, started the New England Courant, and that was what we might recognize(承认) today as a real newspaper. He filled his paper with stories of adventure, articles on art, on famous people, and on all sorts of political subjects.

Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin's Courant, few believe that newspapers in their present printed form will remain alive for long. Newspaper companies are losing advertisers (广告商), readers, market value and in some cases, their sense of purpose at a speed that would not have been imaginable just several years ago. The chief editor(主编) of the times said recently, "At places where they gather, editors ask one another, 'How are you?', as if they have just come out of the hospital or a lost law case." An article about the newspaper appeared on the website of the Guardian, under the headline "NOT DEAD YET."

Perhaps not, but the rise of the Internet, which has made the daily newspaper look slow and out of step with the world, has brought about a real sense of death. Some American newspapers have lost 42% of their market value in the past three years. The New York Times Company has seen its stock (股票) drop by 54% since the end of 2004, with much of the loss coming in the past year. A manager at Deutsche Bank suggested that stock-holders sell off their Times stock. The Washington Post Comply has prevented the trouble only by changing part of its business to education; its testing and test-preparation service now brings in at least half the company's income(收益).

【推荐3】Most American families like to have a vacation in summer. Summer is a good season（季节）for vacation. It is often hot in July and August.

Children do not go to school in those two months. Some people like to stay at home, read books, or watch TV. Many families take their lunch to eat at a place with many trees or a nice lake. Some people have enough time and money to travel to other countries like France, Japan and Australia. They usually fly to these countries. Many families travel by car or train to see interesting places in their own countries. Their favorite cities are New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Not everyone likes to go to busy cities. Some families travel to mountains or beautiful valleys.