2 . Whenever I’m invited to somebody’s house for the first time, I’ll take a close look at their bookshelves. What they keep on their shelves, in my eyes, is a reflection(反映) of their personal tastes and interests. The books on a bookshelf tell the story of a life.

My own shelves are a kind of roadmap through my life, telling a chronological tale. First up come my favorite childhood reads, like Water ship Down and His Dark Materials. The collection then moves on to teenage things I read in school — Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Handmaid’s Tale and A Clockwork Orange. Finally, we come out of full-time education and enter the real world, and this part is a reflection of my professional(职业的) life, from the first exciting days of work experience to the present.

If you pointed to any book on my shelves, I could name the year I got it, where I was working, and probably where I was living at the time.

▲ It is an easy way to get to know about his hopes, dreams and interests. And a big part of that story is how we arrange(排列) our books, and get on with them. It’s such a personal thing, different from each other. Some want to be with their books in every room, others have them on shelves, behind glass or simply lining their floors. Each home has a story to tell through the way they live with their books.

It’s often said that what we read says something about who we are. The way we fill our bookshelves might also send a message about ourselves. From the pile of books on your bedside table to your well-organized shelves, whether we notice it or not, our book collections are telling a story before a single page has been turned.

4 . Hobbies have many benefits （好处）.They can make us enjoy our lives. They let us connect（联系）with others and learn new skills. They give us interesting topics to discuss with friends. Now let’s take a look at some of the most popular hobbies in the world.

Reading

People enjoy reading all over the world because reading is cheap. It opens doors to new and exciting world.

Traveling

Most people travel to see the world and relax their lives. From the planning to the trip itself, traveling gives us something to look forward to. Also, the memories last a lifetime.

Collecting

We feel comfortable when we have the things we love around us. This is why collecting is such a popular hobby. From stamps to dolls, there are so many things to collect.

Music

Music brings people together. From pop music to country music, everyone is sure to find their favorite kind of music.

Video games

Video games are not bad, but people lose them! Online games let players take part in a game at the same time. This helps improve their social skills as well as problem solving skills.

5 . This is a photo of Linda’s family. The woman in a red dress is her mother. Her name is Mary. She is a teacher in Beijing International School. The man next to Linda’s mother is her father. He is a doctor in a hospital. He is in a black coat. The boy in brown is Tom. He is Linda’s brother. He is 12. He is in Grade 7 in Beijing International School. Who’s the boy in a cap? It’s Jim. He looks like his father. He and his brother are in the same school but in different grades. Jim is in Grade 8. The man in white is Linda’s uncle. The young woman in yellow is Linda’s aunt. They are office workers. Oh, who are the old man and old woman on the sofa? They are Linda’s grandparents. They have a very happy family. They live in Beijing now.

6 . The Koala

Appearance:

The koala with thick hair looks cute but it has very sharp teeth and claws (爪子) .The male (雄性的) koala is larger than the female one.

Size and weight

70-90cm; 5-14kg.

Food:

The koala eats eucalyptus leaves (桉树叶). Each koala eats about 500 grams of leaves per day.

Habit:

The koala sleeps for up to 16-18 hours. It prefers to move around in the evening.

Baby fact:

A healthy female koala can have one child each year. A baby koala is very small when it is born—only a quarter of an inch. It has no hair and it can’t see either. It lives in its mother’s pouch (育儿袋) for half a year. During this time, it only drinks its mother’s milk.

Danger:

The number of koalas in Australia is getting smaller every year, mainly because of people. People cut down a lot of trees, so many koalas have no places to live in and they don’t have enough leaves to eat. There are fewer than 100,000 koalas in the world. Some scientists say if people don’t protect them, we won’t have any koalas within 30 years.

7 . Different people have different dreams. These dreams are important to people’s life and can make people work harder. Some children wish to be writers some day. They want to write stories or books for people to read. That’s good! It’s good to write something for people to read! But they should know that they need to be good readers first before they are really good writers. They should read a lot of books, instead of watching TV and spending a lot of time playing games when they are free.

There is more fun in reading, you should always look for more books to read. Before you decide to be a good writer, you’d better say to yourself, “I must read more! And there are so many books waiting for you.”

8 . An American friend has invited you to visit his family. You’ve never been to an American's home before, what should you do? The answer is: When you’re the guest, you should just make yourself at home. That’s American hospitality (好客).

American hospitality begins at home—especially about food. Most Americans agree that good home cooking beats restaurant food. When you are invited for a meal, you might ask, “Can I bring anything?” The host will answer, “No,   just yourself.” For most informal dinners, you can wear any comfortable clothes you like. Arrive on time, or call to tell your hosts if you can’t. During the dinner talk, guests often praise (表扬) the hostess (女主人) for the wonderful meal. Of course, the biggest praise is to eat lots of food!

When you’ve had enough, you might offer to clean the table or wash the dishes. But since you’re the guest, your hosts may not let you. Instead, they may invite everyone to move to the living room for dessert with tea or coffee. There the hosts and the guests may continue to have a talk. After about an hour’s talk, it’s time for you to leave.

If you come to an American’s home, you’d better let the hosts know ahead of time unless you’re very close friends, especially when you want to stay for a few days. Here’s a good rule for guests: Short stays are best. Even relatives, for example, their aunts, uncles or cousins, don’t usually stay for several weeks every time. While you’re staying with an American family, try to keep your living area clean and tidy. Your host family will thank you for your consideration. And they may even invite you back!

Most Americans think they are hospitable people, and they are proud of making guests happy.

9 . In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day. Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a homecoming game. This can be the most important thing of the year except the graduation ceremony (毕业典礼日). Students plan Homecoming Day for many weeks in advance (预先).

Several days before Homecoming students start to decorate the school. There are songs to wish luck to the team and many other signs to welcome all the graduates (毕业生). Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after their graduation.

The members of school clubs build booths (摊位) and sell lemonade, apples and sandwiches. Some clubs help to welcome the visitors.

During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago. Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school.

Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over, the band comes onto the field and plays school songs. Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears. All the students vote   a most popular student as Homecoming Queen or King. It is a great honor (荣誉) to be chosen.

Homecoming is a happy day, but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game. Even if the team loses, the students still enjoy Homecoming Day. Some stay at the school to dance, and others go to a party. For everyone it is a day worth remembering.

10 . Using iPads to Make Learning Fun

Paper, pencil, whiteboard, textbook are the tools you need if you want to go to school. But recently, you can add another one to the list: an iPad.

Because the popular Apple tablet is not only useful for searching the Internet and watching videos, but it is also being used to make learning fun.

Scientists now know that we learn better when we are enjoying ourselves, so recently software developers have made iPad applications (应用程序) that look like video games, but have strong educational content. One of the best examples of this new form of teaching application is Futaba, a game in which up to four children try to recognize a spinning (旋转的) object, and then identify what it is. The game can be used to teach English, math, foreign languages, or just about anything, and students love it. Teachers can even make their own questions. The important thing is that children enjoy the game, and don’t even realize how much they are learning!

So the next time you have to choose between making your child study or letting them play a game, just remember—they could do both at the same time!