2 . Have you felt annoyed when a cellphone rings during the class? Something must be done to stop this. Now in New York City, USA, a rule is carried out in schools. Students can’ t even bring cellphones to school. Is it a good thing or not?

Anxious parents say that cellphones are an important tool in holding New York city’s families together.

“I worry about it,” said Elizabeth Lorris Ritter, a mother of a middle school kid. It’s necessary in our everyday life. We have a washing machine. We have running water, and We have cellphones.”

Many American parents think cellphones connect them to their children on buses, getting out from subways, walking through unknown places.

“I have her call me when she gets out of school,” said Lindsay Walt, a schoolgirl’s mother. “No one in New York is going to let their child go to school without a cellphone”

What about the cellphone owners, the students? Most of the students said cellphones were essential and the cellphone was like all extra (额外的) hand or foot for them.

“I feel so empty,” said May Chom, “There is also no way to listen to music on the way to school without my phone. It will be a really, really boring trip.”

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Grain Buds is the     1     (eight) solar term of a year. It means that the seeds from grain are becoming full but are not ripe. The 24 solar terms     2     (create) thousands of years ago to guide agricultural production. But the solar term culture is still useful today to guide people’s lives through special foods,     3     (culture) ceremonies, gardening and even healthy living tips that correspond     4     each solar term. During the Grain Buds period, the summer harvest is about to begin. A saying about rain during this time mentions, “A heavy rainfall makes the river full". Because of the great increase in rainfall, rivers are full of water, which makes fish and shrimp big and fat. This is a good time     5     (eat) fish and shrimp. It is also     6     harvest season for fishermen. A Chinese farmer proverb says, “Mulberries become black during the Grain Buds period”. Thus it is a good season to eat mulberries. This time is a good period for the quick     7     (grow) of flowers. It is also a season     8     plant diseases and pests are at an all-time high. High temperatures and humidity are common during the Grain Buds period. The increase in temperature over this season may also give rise to nettle rash, sweat spots and other skin     9     (disease) . It is also important to exercise to keep healthy during the hot summer days. Walking,     10     (jog) and practicing Tai Chi are popular.

4 . How to Make Quick Decisions for Your Life

We make decisions every day. Some can be very important while others are not serious in the long run.     1     Indecision often weighs us down, but there are some useful tips for making quick decisions more easily.

    2     Sometimes the key to making a quick decision comes down to planning ahead of time for just such an occasion. We all know we’re going to come to an important decision-making point sooner or later, so having a plan already in hand can put our mind at ease when that time comes.

Overcome fear. Often, one thing that keeps us from making decisions is fear. It may seem difficult to overcome the fear of making the wrong choice.     3     The vast majority of wrong decisions can be corrected, while delaying decisions can often lead to more problems.

Write down all the advantages and disadvantages of your decision. Even if you don’t have all the information, writing down all the pros and cons (利弊) is a good starting point for figuring out what to do. In cases where there simply isn’t enough time to write things down, make a mental list in your mind. Thinking of the pros and cons can help you organize your thoughts.    4    

Determine criteria. Remember that every decision you make should come with a certain list of criteria.     5     But once you know the requirements you’re looking for, making a decision will become easier. Look for the choice that satisfies the list you’ve made, and once that choice is found, you should move ahead with it.

5 . It was the men’s skating finals of the Winter Olympics when I was 16. Someday I’d be in the Olympics. In fact, it was my dream.

That night I lay on our living room floor _________ watching the battle between the Brians: American Brian Boitano _________ Brian Orser in Canada. Both of them had been world champions. Both of them deserved to win. Naturally I was _________ Brian Boitano, a northern Californian like me. We had _________ on the same ice. I held my breath in amazement. Boitano _________ successfully. The gold medal! I jumped in the _________ when his score went up.

But what happened next is what I’ll never forget. Brian Boitano sat in front of the camera with his coach, _________ by a group of journalists. He was talking about his career and his medal, talking to the whole world. A terrible _________ feeling went through me. I could never be in the Olympics, I thought. I could not talk in public like that. Just the idea of a press conference _________ me.

I loved skating party because I didn’t have to talk. I could __________ myself with my jumps and dances better. I didn’t have to stand up and give a speech like some teachers expected. I could feel the blood __________ to my face if I thought a teacher was going to call me. I __________ at my shoes. I was sure I’d make a(n)__________ of myself.

The next day I was at the rink (溜冰场) as usual. I was practicing a combination of jumps that had once seemed __________. I worked very hard the next few years, on the ice and especially off. After journalists talked to me and although my heart __________ every time I spoke to them, I got to know them. They became __________ faces. And they got to know me. So when my big __________ came four years after Brian’s, I was ready.

Sometimes I think my biggest accomplishment was not winning the gold __________ talking to the press afterwards. When you do the thing you fear most, you put an end to fear.

Fear can stop you dead in your tracks. Fear can __________ a dream. What are you afraid of? What scares you more than anything else? This year, walk __________ up to it and conquer it, step by step.

With our city’s first subway comes into use, great changes have been taken place recently. Many people preferred to take the subway instead of driving cars, because it’s fastly and eco-friendly. Under the help of the subway network, traffic jams and road accidents have declined sharply, making that convenient for people to travel. In the meantime, we can enjoy clean airs and see a blue sky. Living in the present city, I can feel the strong sense of happiness. Beside, what makes us excited is it has connected the city with the town nearby. I wish our city would be better and better.