2 . Different countries have different customs and cultures. Every culture around the world has different customs and ways of communicating. When you learn a language, you learn more than words.

In China, people are used to saying “sorry” to show that they regret doing something wrong. But it’s very proud for American people to have polite manners towards one another in public. They often use the word “sorry”—even when they don’t really mean it! Usually, if they want to ask a stranger for the time, they will start by saying “Sorry to trouble you.” If they’re five minutes late for the appointment, they will greet the person by saying “Sorry, I’m late!” It’s quite different in China. They use the word “sorry” in so many different situations that the meaning of the word has changed a little over time. The two main dictionary definitions (定义) of “sorry” are: 1) feeling sad for someone else because of their problems or bad luck; 2) feeling regret because you’ve done something wrong.

So what does “sorry” really mean? And why do western people use it so much? Well, in western culture, saying “sorry” is a way to be polite. It’s also a very clever way to get what they want. If you want to borrow something from others, you’d better say “sorry” to them about something. Or it’s hard for you to get what you want. So maybe saying “sorry” is not only just being polite, but also a good method to get what you want!

3 . What will our life be like in 50 years? No one knows the answer exactly (确切地), but we are sure that it will be very different from the life today. My brother Jim Green makes some predictions. Here are some of his ideas.

First, people will have less work to do, and robots will do most work. People will use robots to make cars, do the housework, look after sick people and teach students. People will spend most of their time playing sports and traveling. So people will become stronger and healthier, and they will live to be about 200 years old.

Second, cars will become very small and computers will control (控制) their speed. So there will be fewer accidents on the road. Planes will be very popular and most people would like to take them to travel.

Third, people will be able to live in the sea, on the moon or on Mars. The earth won’t be crowded or noisy. So there will be more space for people to plant trees. There will be less pollution, and the air will become much fresher.

Finally, water shortage will become one of the most serious problems. If people don’t save water now, there will be water wars in 50 years.

4 . Do you know the movie I, Robot? It tells us a story about the future. The year is 2035 and robots are just as common as mobile phones. People depend on their robots to do lots of things, for example, babysitting, cooking, doing chores and taking their dogs for a walk. Robots have to obey (听从) human’s orders, because their designers make them do so. A police officer called Spooner hates robots. He doesn’t think humans can get on well with their robots at all! But the scientist Susan has different opinions. Susan works on robots’ mind and she thinks one day robots will become more powerful (强大的) than humans and help humans to make progress (进步).

When Spooner and Susan work together, they find that something is wrong with the world’s robots. A few robots have their own thoughts and they’re trying to get out of humans’ control (控制)! Of course these robots’ dream doesn’t come true. Humans work hard to control their robots again and they succeed at last.

5 . 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.

6 . 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.

7 . 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.

9 . “What’s the biggest mistake we make in life?” The Buddha(佛祖) answered, “The biggest mistake is that you think you have time.”

We spend 28.3 years of our life sleeping but 30% of you have trouble sleeping well.

We spend 10.5 years of our life working but over 50% of us want to leave our jobs.

We spend 9 years on TV and social media.

We spend 6 years doing chores.

We spend 4 years eating and drinking.

We spend 3.5 years on education.

We spend 2.5 years grooming(打扮).

We spend 2.5 years shopping.

We spend 1.5 years on child care.

We spend 1.3 years commuting(上下班往返).

This is about how we spend our lifetime. A study shows that the average(平均) person lives 78 years. And that leaves us with about 9 years. How will we spend that time?

Time is free. You can’t own it but you can use it. You can’t keep it but you can spend it. And once you lose time, you can never get it back. Time is more valuable(有价值的) than money. You can get more money, but you can never get more time.

Please value(珍视) your time, and do something meaningful with it.