1 . We found him a few weeks ago, walking along the road in the countryside. He was jumping on cars, and we _______ maybe his family was camping somewhere nearby, _______ we passed him by. A few hours later, on our _______ trip, he was still in the same place, _______, trying to get people to _______ for him. When he _______ us, he lay down in the middle of the road, so we were unable to _______ him.

We stopped the car and looked around for a few minutes, trying to find his owner. But we _________. Then we took a(n) _______ look at the dog. He had no collar (项圈) and he was really ________. We decided he was abandoned.

My husband said, “________ he doesn’t bite me when I try to pick him up to put him in the car, then we have a ________ dog.” The dog ________ joined us with no fight at all. He kept sticking his head between the two front seats and ________ us for picking him up.

The dog must have been ________ on the road for some time. He was so thin. So, we ________ him a lot over the next two weeks and he gained over twenty pounds. We took him to the doctor for ________, who said the dog appears to be in good health. The vet ________ the dog is about two or three years of age, from the condition of his teeth.

We do ________ this dog. He has been mistreated and yet, he still is very sweet. He had no manners, but he is a ________ learner. He no longer tries to get on the bed, but he does like sitting in chairs. Since then, he has become a member of our family.

3 . How do young children learn to have good values? How can parents teach their children about the importance of kindness and patience? At a time when more and more parents worry about the violent images their children see on TV, some are turning to fairy tales.

It is believed that fairy tales have a great influence on children because they describe the two sides of good and evil very clearly. When children hear the stories, they learn to care about others’ feelings. In each tale, they can see that there are many different kinds of people in the world and that we all have a choice about what kind of person we want to be. We can choose to do good actions, rather than bad ones, in our lives.

What kind of values can children learn from fairy tales? In The Princess and the Pea, a poorly dressed girl, who insists she is a princess, is given a difficult test by the Queen. When she passes the test, we learn that her dream comes true because she stays true to herself. In The Little Mermaid, the mermaid, who lives under the sea, wishes to be with the humans on land. Through her experiences, we learn about the importance of living with and accepting other cultures. In Pinocchio, a wooden puppet turns into a boy when he finally learns how to tell the truth.

Teaching values is the reason most often given for encouraging children to read stories. These fairy tales can teach children lessons about human relationships that are accepted around the world for many centuries. This might be the reason why they have been around for so long and will not disappear any time soon.

5 . Arriving at London Gatwick

Distance from central London: 28 miles/45km

For travel information call: +44(0)870 000 24 68

How to get to the city centre

By train

The Gatwick Express goes from Gatwick Airport to London Victoria train and underground station in central London.

Trains go every 15 minutes and the journey to central London takes half an hour.

First Class tickets cost ￡25(single), ￡48(return).

Express Class costs ￡17(single), ￡29(return).

Southern Trains services run four times an hour to Victoria with a journey time of around 35 minutes.

By taxi

There are taxis outside the airport day and night. The journey to central London takes 55-70 minutes. A London taxi takes up to 5 people.

The average cost from the airport to central London is ￡75-￡100.

By car

Gatwick Airport is 28 miles (45km) south of London. There are 4 car parks next to the airport and there are car rental offices open from 8:00 to 18:00. The journey to London takes 60-75 minutes.

All cars pay a special ￡8 charge to go into central London.

By bus

National Express and EasyBus have services to central London. EasyBus services go every 20 minutes. The journey takes one hour and costs ￡2.

There is one National Express bus an hour. The journey takes 90 minutes and costs ￡7.60.

6 . When a person lies, one of two things will likely happen. One, his lie will be found out, his reputation will be ruined, and he will be weakened by stress. Or two, his lie will not be found out and he’ll have the need to lie again in order to protect his first lie. Worried that his lies will be exposed, he will again be weakened by stress.

Have you ever been in that position? At some time most of us have. It was embarrassing when I got caught. And it was painful when I worried about getting caught. As I looked back at each situation I realized that I had lied to make myself look better to another person. What I should have been doing was making myself look better to me. I knew that in order to do that I had to change.

So I decided to stop lying and tell the truth. In time, I noticed that other people were friendlier. Family and close friends seemed more comfortable around me. And my wife began to trust me more. Those were all good things. But the best thing was how much more I liked myself. I was not filled with stress so I slept better. Since I decided to stop lying, my life has been easier.

How about you? Would honesty help improve your life? Would it improve your relationships as it has mine? Now imagine making the tough decision to be honest from now on. Yes, you might slip. But consider what being honest will do for you. If it works for you as it has for me, in time you’ll be aware of how differently people respond to you. They will be friendlier and more trusting. The best part, however, is how much better you feel about yourself. You understand that you are stronger, more courageous, and more confident.

7 . Learning a foreign language can be a difficult task for most people. The degree of difficulty, however, differs from one person to another. Like studying any other subject, we have to spend much effort and time. Besides, an individual’s learning ability can be determined by the following factors.

My husband says I am a quick learner, but I easily forget new information, especially dates and figures. But my husband spends more time learning a new subject but seldom forgets what he has learned. Some people can learn new information fast, while others have to work a little bit harder at it. Others retain new knowledge longer, like my husband, while others easily forget what they just learned. How fast and well you learn new things are determined by your genes and your environment. My mother is a fast learner, while my husband has slow learning parents. The way we learn also differs. I like to write down what I’ve just learned. I also find that drawing diagrams and relationships work better for me. Compared with my husband, I hate memorizing data. I remember things better when I can visually picture them in my mind.

Foreign language resources are not so common here in our area. I’ve seen a few dictionaries in some bookstores but haven’t seen any CD or DVD about it. I don’t even think the stores here sell electronic dictionaries! I have to go to a big city just to buy one. However, you may easily get all of these materials. Make a list of all the resources you have access to in your neighborhood. In this way, when you attend a language school, you’ll know just where to find dictionaries to help you in your course.

In my opinion, this is the most important factor in learning a foreign language: your drive to learn. Different people are driven by different motivations. I want to learn a new language because I find it challenging. Others may need to learn it because of having a new job or working in foreign countries. The point is to determine whether you truly need or just want to learn a foreign language.

8 . Whale Camp at Marine Science Institute

Camp Type: Overnight, Family, International

Age of Campers: 10-18

Year Established: 1984

No other marine (海洋的) science program enables you to closely observe and study whales, dolphins, and seals in their own natural habitat. Board our 60-foot sailboat for unmatched observations of marine life. Help collect data to document whales’ distribution patterns and behaviors. Gain hands-on experience using our marine science equipment. Explore the powerful and endangered processes of life in the sea.

Some summer programs teach you about marine science and oceanography (海洋学) with lots of time in a classroom, lab or museum. We take you directly to the source for the best observation and experience. This is why the Whale Camp is the place where inspiration, exploration and discovery abound (很多). This is why there’s only one Whale Camp.

We are located on beautiful Grand Manan Island which was recently named the third best small island in the world to visit by the travel experts. The location is ideally situated in the Bay of Fundy where the highest tides in the world create one of the world’s richest and most diverse marine ecosystems.

In our years of experience, we’ve observed numerous whales on over 98% of our research trips. Whale Camp offers more research trips per session than any other summer camp program. The diversity of bird life at sea and on land is extraordinary. Only the Whale Camp takes you to the highly restricted Machias Seal Island to be surrounded by many rare creatures. Each day at Whale Camp is a life-changing experience. With our seas and planet in danger, we believe it’s more important than ever for us to learn how to protect the systems of life that sustain (维持) us.

9 . Travelling alone can be a little frightening. However, this time is _______. Last week I had a holiday from work, but all my friends were occupied and none of them had the same_______ as mine. Such as it was, I still booked a train ride to Toronto and _______ a bed in a hotel for one week.

One week by myself! Would I be lonely? Would I be _______? Quite the opposite! In fact, there are many _______ that come from travelling alone. Firstly, I was able to do whatever I wanted. I enjoyed spending hours in museums that might have seemed _______ to some of my friends. I walked all around the _______, which some people may have found too exhausting. Instead of _______ someone else to remember _______ or to suggest activities to do, I discovered my independence and ________ map-reading skills that I didn’t know I had. I could   ________ and go to sleep when I wanted. Being in the safe environment of a hotel with like-minded __________ also gives a great opportunity to meet new people from all over the world, which can help conquer ________

I found that there were also some disadvantages of travelling alone ________ the benefits. I missed having someone to talk to and to ________ ideas with. Experiences are often more enjoyable if they are ________, and part of the fun of travelling is the ________ that you have with your friends or families afterwards. ________, eating in a restaurant or cooking in the hotel alone is less fun.

I am very ________ of myself for travelling alone and I had a fantastic time in Toronto. I would rather be by myself than with someone who is lazy and ________ to deal with in the future!

10 . When Rudyard Kipling created the character of Mowgli, an orphaned boy who was adopted and raised by wolves in the forests of India, he would have never guessed that one day there would be a child that would actually live a similar life.

Born in Windhoek, Namibia in 1990, to Sylvie Robert and Alain Degre, both wildlife photographers, Tippi was exposed to the wild residents of the African jungles since the day she was born. Her parents traveled a lot through the country in search of exotic (异国的) animals and the three often ended up sleeping in a tent in the middle of the jungles.

However, unlike Mowgli, Tippi’s parents were always around to protect her and the only wild animals that she interacted with were the orphaned wildlife that had been raised by humans in national parks. Having said that, these animals were still wild and little Tippi did have a few close encounters like when an ape tried to steal her milk bottle or when a Meerakat thought her nose looked good enough to eat and took a couple of nips (捏; 掐). The most serious one that her mom can recall is when Cindy, a baboon, became a little jealous of Tippi’s thick hair and decided to pull out a handful. But overall, the young girl, who many locals believed had a special connection with animals, led a rather magical life.

While her magical life ended when she turned ten and her parents decided to move back to Paris, her memories were shown in a book called Tippi, My Book of Africa, which not surprisingly has become a huge hit among animal fans. We wonder if the now 23-year-old girl who is studying cinema in Paris, will some day decide to follow her parents’ example and take her kids back to experience what she did.