【推荐1】It's a hot time for Chinese language learning across the world, not only because of China's higher position(地位) in the world but also because of the increasing economic(经济的) and cultural connections between China and other countries.

For example, the United Arab Emirates(UAE) (阿拉伯联合酋长国) plans to open Chinese language courses in 200 public primary and middle schools, so experienced Chinese teachers are needed.

Other Chinese courses opened across the world show the increasing need for Chinese- speaking talent. Mandarin(普通话) became an elective(选修的) foreign language in Russia's college entrance exam. Following English, German, French, and Spanish, Mandarin has become the fifth elective test subject for the exam.

Spain has more than 40, 000 people learning Chinese. Last year about 8, 000 people took the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) exam. The number of people who took the test was the biggest, according to Xinhua News Agency.

In the US, leaning Chinese has been thriving for many years and is now a popular choice for American children, especially those who were born in good families. The children begin to learn Chinese at an early age because their parents believe that learning Chinese will help them build successful international careers(事业).

【推荐2】Young people can have problems with their minds. Some students become worried because they have to study very hard. Others have trouble getting on well with people like their parents and classmates.

Liu Wei, a junior 2 student from Hefei, could not understand his teacher and was doing badly in his lessons. He became so worried about it that he started to cut his finger with a knife.

Another student, 14-year-old Yang Fang from Guangzhou, was afraid of exams. She got very worried when she looked at the exam paper. She couldn’t think of anything to write.

A recent report from Jiefang Daily says about 18% of Shanghai teenagers have mental(心理的) problems. Their troubles include(包括) being worried and very unhappy. And they have problems in learning and getting on with people. Many students who have problems won’t ask others for advice(劝告) or help. Some think they will look stupid(愚蠢的) if they go to see a doctor. Others don’t want to talk about their secrets.

Liang Yuezhu, an expert (专家) on teenagers from Beijing Anding Hospital has the following advice for teenagers:

●Talk to your parents or teachers often.

●Take part in group activities and play sports.

●Go to see a doctor if you feel unhappy or unwell.

【推荐3】When you were at school, the last thing you probably wanted to do was spend your weekends going to work. There was homework to do, sport to play and fun to be had. But our parents probably advise us to find a job to make some pocket money and get some life experience. When I was a teenager I had a paper round: delivering newspapers to people's homes. I then turned to a Saturday job in a supermarket: putting the things on the shelves in order and working at the checkout.

Today in the UK you are allowed to work from the age of 13, and many children take up part-time jobs. It's a taste of independence. Teenagers agree that it teaches valuable lessons about working with adults and about managing your money. So, that's no bad thing!

Some research has shown that not taking on a Saturday or holiday job could be detrimental to a person later. A 2015 study by the UK Commission on Employment and Skills found that employer's（雇主） organizations criticized young adults because they were ill-prepared for full time work. And they were proved not having taken part-time work at school age. However, a recent report has shown that the number of school children in the UK with a part-time job has fallen by 20% in the past five years.

So, does this mean that British teenagers are now more afraid of hard work? Probably not. Some experts feel that young people think going out to work will influence their performance at school, and they are under more pressure now to study hard and get good exam results---and a good job in the long term. However, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told BBC News that "Proper part-time work is a good way to help young people learn skills that they will need in their working lives." It's all about getting the right balance between doing part-time work and having enough time to study and rest.

Many young people actually want to work because it gives them a sense of freedom. One 13-year-old girl called Rachel, who has a Saturday job in a shop, told the BBC that "I enjoy my job because I'm making money and it helps my confidence speaking to people and socializing with people I work with." That seems like something worth getting up for on a Saturday morning. Did you do a part-time job when you were at school?

【推荐1】Lily always rides her bike to school. It’s four miles to school and it takes her about fifteen minutes. Lily likes riding to school. She says it’s good for her health.

Bob often goes to school by bus. He likes talking with his friends on the bus. It’s about ten minutes’ journey（旅程） to school by bus.

Mary’s home is next to the school. She always walks to school. It’s about ten minutes’ walk. Mary says she likes taking walks after meal.

【推荐2】My grandfather is eighty years old. He always complains (抱怨) about how fast things have changed, and he often says that life used to be better.

“Families aren’t what they used to be. A lot of families have broken up. If the husband and wife have problems with their marriage, they will no longer stay together. And mothers used to stay at home and take care of their children, but now everyone is busy working. No one has time to look after their children at home.

And the cars! No one walks any more. More and more people drive. We used to walk five miles to school on school days, even in winter. But now students don’t. And at school, children don’t have to think anymore. In Maths class, for example, we used to add, subtract, multiply and divide by using our heads. But now kids don’t use their heads any more. Instead, they use calculators.

Most families have computers now. In the past we didn’t have computers. We didn’t even have lights. My mother used to spend all day cooking in the kitchen. But now we don’t often eat home-cooked food.

And people talk less to each other than before. They are too busy to talk, too busy to eat, too busy to think …”

Life used to be simple, but now it isn’t simple any more.

【推荐1】A young man goes to the city and buys himself a pair of socks. When he comes back home, he goes to his room and tries them on. He finds they are in different colors. He goes into the kitchen. His mother and his sister are cooking dinner. He says to them, “The new socks are in different colors. One is blue but the other is green. I should make them in the same color. Would you like to do this for me?” His mother and sister are busy and they don’t say anything. When his mother finishes cooking, she goes to her son’s room then takes the green sock and makes the green sock in blue. She comes back without saying a word to her son. After supper, his sister goes to her brother’s room then takes the blue sock and makes it in green without saying anything.

【推荐2】On March 3, 1887, the lives of two amazing women were changed forever when Anne Sullivan, a poor university graduate, arrived at the home of the wealthy Keller family to teach their six-year-old daughter Helen. It was a difficult job as Helen was unable to see, hear or speak because of illness.

Anne had been suggested to the Keller’s by her university professor，a close friend of Mr. Keller. Before she arrived, Anne expected her new pupil to be a quiet, weak child. But Helen was nothing like that. When Anne first walked through the Kellers’ door, the energetic Helen nearly knocked her over in her hurry to feel Anne’s face, clothing and bag.

Helen was used to visitors bringing her sweets, and angrily tried to force open Anne’s case to take her candy. But Anne calmed her down by allowing Helen to play with her watch. So began one of the most successful student-teacher relationships in history.

Anne Sullivan was only twenty years old when she began teaching Helen. She had to not only teach the child all the usual school subjects, but also control Helen’s sometimes wild behaviour.

Her well-meaning parents allowed Helen to do as she liked at home. Realizing that such an environment was unsuitable for learning, Anne requested that she and Helen live in a small house nearby.

As soon as Helen began learning, it became clear she was especially intelligent. She quickly learned to read and write, and by the age of ten she could also speak.

In 1900, Helen started studying at Radcliffe University, and graduated first in her class in 1904. She was the very first blind and deaf person to get a university degree. How did she do it? Anne Sullivan read all of Helen’s books and then signed the information into her hand. Anne remained at Helen’s side until her death in 1936. Helen became a world-famous writer, and fought for disabled people’s rights until her death on June 1,1968.

【推荐2】A middle school organized a “No TV Week” program. All the teachers, parents and students worked together for this program and most of them found it to be a very good one. The headmaster said, “The idea was not to stop watching TV completely but for the students just to find how much time they watch TV and try to use the time for other things.” What did the students say about this “No TV Week”? One boy said, “I can’t believe I haven’t watched TV for a week, but it’s been fun doing it.” A girl student said, “I’m going to give up all TV programs except for Animal World and other language-teaching programs. I’m really pleased that I have more time to do things like walking and thinking. I enjoy this ‘No TV Week’ very much...” But not all the students thought it was good. Here one student Tom said something different, “I don’t like ‘NO TV Week’ because I like watching TV. I have lots of favorite programs and I don’t want to miss them. But we have to do it.”

【推荐3】One day a big red hen is playing with her chicken in the garden. After some time, she wants to eat something, and she takes her chickens to look for food.

When they eat well, she finds a grain of wheat (麦子). So she asks her chicken to plant it in the back of the garden. But no one wants to do it. The big red hen has to do it.

After a few months, they get a lot of wheat. She says to her chickens, “Who will take   the wheat to the shop and get some flour ?” But they don’t want to do it.

So she takes the wheat to the shop and bring the flour home. After she gets home, she says, “Who makes some bread with the flour?”. They all say they are too busy and don’t want to do it.

When she makes the bread, she says to her chickens, “Who wants to eat the bread?”

“I will,” they say. “No, you can’t. You don’t want to do anything before I make the bread. You must know 'No pain; no gain.( 不劳无获)'” She doesn’t give any bread to her chickens and she eats the bread.