Think about someone who loves and supports you most. For many, parents might come to mind. Our parents play a big role in our lives without doubt. Many parents start making changes to their own lives even before their children are born. They might change their jobs, save money, or buy clothes and toys for their coming children. After a child is born, parents might sacrifice (牺牲) both time and hobbies. Instead, they go to their children’s soccer games or piano performances. Over half of the parents said that they made sacrifices to give their children the best, according to The Guardian.

Parents might even put themselves in poor situations to help their children get the best education. Wu Qian, a mother from Guangdong, China, sent her son to one of the best schools in her city when he was 7. Since Wu Qian was working at the school, her son could get a tuition discount (学费折扣). Wu Qian could also spend more time with her son. With the story, it’s important to show thanks to your parents and family members. When we meet trouble in life, try to turn to your parents and face the difficulties together and you will see the bright side for the future.

《游子吟》中的“谁言寸草心，报得三春晖”广为人知。父母不仅是我们最亲近的人，也是我们人生道路上第一导师。目前，青少年普遍缺少与父母沟通，似乎在成长道路上与他们渐行渐远。为了鼓励同学们主动与父母沟通，积极构建良好亲子关系，学校将举行主题为“Shall we talk?”的演讲活动，请你根据以下思维导图， 完成演讲稿的写作。

Shall we talk?

My dear classmates, it’s my great honor to make a speech about talking with our parents.

That’s all. Thank you!

School life isn’t always happy and colorful. There are also “dark” corners there. Bullying (霸凌) is one of them.

Xi Zi, 15, from Guangdong, had been bullied in school far around 10 years. Some made fun of her clothes and her weight. Her roommates called her a thief. Her classmates spread rumors (谣言) about her and then no one wanted to play with her. These experiences made her quiet and self-doubting. But actually it was not her fault. In 2023, Xi Zi was diagnosed (诊断) with Asperger’s syndrome (阿斯伯格综合征). This condition gives people difficulties in social communication. Children with this condition are more likely to be left out.

Xi Zi hoped that speaking out about her experiences would help bullied children to be seen and heard. “I hope they know that in the face of bullying, we have the ability to fight back,” said Xi Zi.

According to UNICEF (联合国儿童基金会), over a third of students aged 13 to 15 worldwide have experienced bullying. Among them, those who are left out are more likely to be bullied. This includes students with disabilities. To solve this problem, we need all-round education, On the one hand, special children need more attention. On the other hand, parents, teachers and schools should all shoulder the responsibility of preventing bullying in schools.

拥有一个和谐安全的校园，是每个中学生梦寐以求的，也是每个家长和老师所希望的。潮阳实验学校公众号网站“How to be a civilized (文明的) middle school student?”专栏开展征文活动，假设你是李华，请你给该专栏投稿。内容包括：

Having a harmonious and safe campus is what every middle school student dreams of, and what every parent and teacher hopes for. But how to be a civilized middle school student?

When you walk on the street, you might hear some people speaking Chinese aloud. After walking into a store, you might see Chinese products everywhere. But you’re not in China—you’re in a city in Britain. In fact, you might see similar things in many other cities, too.

Chinese food has been enjoyed in Western countries for a long time. To meet local people’s tastes, Chinese restaurants have made some changes to the dishes. “One example is the meat,” said Yin Hang, a Chinese student who is studying in Australia. “We like to eat meat with the bones in, but people here don’t. So the local Chinese restaurants provide big pieces of meat without bones.”

Some Chinese brands are also becoming more popular. It is reported that in many cities in Europe, many stores sell TCL televisions, Haier fridges and Lenovo computers.

In the past, most Western people thought Chinese products were cheap and in bad quality. But now, things have changed greatly. More people trust Chinese brands. “Made in China” becomes cool. “They are beautiful and offer something special that American phones don’t have.” an article on CNN once said about Chinese smartphones.

As we know, Chinese government has been trying its best to improve its national brands of all kinds to meet the needs of modern life.

Nowadays, the products that are printed with the words “Made in China” can be seen everywhere.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Ming

People say that family is the first school of life, and parents are a child’s first teachers. On Oct 23, the Law on Family Education Promotion (《家庭教育促进法》) was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. It was carried out on January 1st, 2022.

The law says that parents should be responsible ( 负 责 的 ) for family education. For example, the law (法律) stops parents from placing too much pressure on their children. Parents should carefully plan the time for their children to study, rest, play and exercise, and make sure they   don’t spend too much time on the Internet.

Also, it says that society should provide guidance (指导), support and services for family education. In fact, more than 50 percent of parents said they do not know how to educate their children, according to a survey by All-China Women’s Federation. The law encourages schools to make family education guidance and practice activities. Local governments are asked to help schools and families to better communicate with each other.

The law also gives special mention to children of migrant workers (外出务工人员) in rural areas. They may be alone when their parents have left to work in cities. It asks local governments to help the parents get jobs locally so that they can be responsible for their children’s education.

家是温暖的港湾，是心灵的归宿，家更是人生的第一所学校，在父母爱护和教育下，我们长大成人。但在我们与父母的相处中，难免会有观念不合或者发生矛盾的时候。请你根据以下思维导图内容提示并进行适当补充，写一篇英语短文分享你在与父母相处中遇到的一个 问题、烦恼或矛盾，谈谈你对亲子如何和谐相处的看法。

How to get along well with our parents

How to get along well with our parents is a lesson that we as teenagers must learn. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous buildings in Australia. This summer holiday, I got the chance to visit it and found out what made this building so great.

As our guide told us, the Sydney Opera House was built with a kind of self-cleaning material. This kind of material is very rare (稀有的) even today.

First, we visited the Drama Hall. We learned about the designer of the Sydney Opera House—Jorn Utzon. He was the winner of an international design competition. However, he designed the Opera House according to his own tastes, which caused several problems. The project was completed 10 years late. The cost of building was over budget (预算). Utzon didn’t get to see the house after it was built.

Then, we visited the Joan Sutherland Theater which is the second largest theater. The theater was refurbished (翻新) in 2017 with new high-tech equipment (设备). Finally, we arrived at the largest theater—the Concert Hall. It has hosted many kinds of performances, from classical to rock music. A few years ago, a sports event was even held there.

Before we finished the tour, the guide told us the rest of Utzon’s story. In 1966, Utzon had an argument with the government and refused to give in. He had to leave the country. It was a hard time in his life. But many years later, people understood him and saw the building as the most popular work.

From this tour, I learned that the Opera House is not only a famous building but a holder of history and culture.

Important life skills for teens

Though scoring good grades is important, teens should also develop other necessary life skills.

“I wish I had straight hair.” “I’d like to be taller.” Sometimes, we may want to look a bit more like someone else. However, the pictures we see on TV and social media can give us improper ideas about how our bodies “should” look. The truth is that everybody is different—and that’s a good thing. Accepting and feeling good about our bodies is really important for our self-confidence (自信).

If you feel positively (积极地) about your body, you are more likely to take care of it well. Research has even shown that you are more likely to take part in activities and perform well in school. However, feeling worried about your body could make you step back, do less well at school and even feel down. The cost of trying to achieve the “perfect” look is high. If you are spending a lot of time on it, you will have less time to spend with friends and to make important memories.

It’s important to remember that everybody is different. To develop a positive body image (形象), you should try to talk positively about your own body and other people’s bodies. Try not to pay too much attention to your look. Instead, think about what your body does for you. And you also should treat your body well by eating different kinds of food, doing sports and getting plenty of sleep. Remember that you are more than how you look.

每个人都是独一无二的，都会发出自身特有的光芒。请你根据以下思维导图内容提示，以“What I Like About Myself”为题，用英语写一篇短文。

Everyone is special, and so am I. What I like about myself is

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When you meet problems, whom will you ask for help? Here is the result of a survey (调查) among 3, 000 middle school students. It says that students turn to different people for help in the face of difficulties.

The result shows that 36% of the students ask their parents for help. They think parents have more experience. But parents sometimes ask questions directly. This makes them uncomfortable. Some students turn to their classmates or friends for help. Because they have more common topics and can understand each other well. Some try to solve the problem by themselves. While some students think it’s free to talk to Dr. Know about the problems. They choose to write to the newspaper and ask for help. The others just do nothing.

Here are some tips on asking for help.

Share your problems. You should explain politely, quickly and clearly when you need help.

Watch and listen to your helper. You need to write down the advice on how to solve your problem.

Remember, the better you’re able to remember how to solve your problem, the less likely you need to ask for help again.

Unhappiness won’t stay for a long time, so don’t think problems will catch you all the time. Instead, try to ask somebody to help with the problems and you will see the bright side.

假设你是李华，你的好朋友Tim因为玩游戏的问题与父母发生了争吵，他现在很难过。请你根据以下要点及要求，给他写一封信提供一些建议。

I know you argued with your parents. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please be happy and everything will be better.

Yours,

Li Hua