Some people like talking with others,     1     some people are shy. If you fall into the second group, it can be hard     2     friends. But you can change the situation.

    3     are you interested in? If you like basketball, you     4     talk with some of your classmates who like basketball.    5     easiest way to start talking to people is to find something you have     6     common. When you are standing beside a     7     of your classmates, join in their discussion if you know something about the subject they     8    .But if you don’t, you shouldn’t be     9     to say so. Once you start talking to one person, it will get easier to talk to     10    .

3 . Amy was a 3rd-grade student. Ever since she started school, someone teased (讥笑) her about her speech or her limping (跛行) every single day. Amy was _______ it and the teasing made her feel all alone.

One morning _______ she rounded the corner across the hall, she knocked into a 5th-grade tall boy.“_______ it, fool!” The boy shouted, and _______ the way Amy limped.

Back home at the dinner table that evening, Amy was _______. Her mom knew that things were not going well at _______. That’s why she was eager to have some exciting news to _______ with her daughter.

“There’s a _______ competition run by a local newspaper,” Amy’s mom announced. “Write a letter to the editor, my dear; you might win a prize.”

Amy smiled and started _______ about what she wanted most by now. An idea came to her. Out came pencil and paper, and Amy went to ________ her letter.

My name is Amy. I am nine years old. I have a ________ at school. Can you help me? Kids laugh at me ________ the way I walk and run and talk. I have cerebral palsy (脑瘫). I just want one ________ that no one laughs at me or makes fun of me.

Love, Amy

A week later, a picture of Amy and her ________ made the front page of the local newspaper. The story spread quickly. Amy ________ did get her wish of a day without teasing at her school.

Amy was not teased any longer.

4 . Lifestyle Changes to Make You Healthier and Happier

All people want to stay healthy and happy, but most of our focus is on sick-care, not healthcare.    1    

Food for health

Everyone knows we should eat certain amount of fruit and vegetables a day,     2     Make the effort to eat just a little more a day and go for different colors to ensure a variety of nutrients (养分).

Do exercise

    3     Another study finds walking an hour or more a day will add 1.4 years for men and 1.2 for women. If you can’t afford so much time, just remember: Anything is better than nothing.

    4    

Getting less than five hours’ sleep a night doubles the risk of death from heart disease, according to a study, and other studies have shown that it speeds up ageing. And it plays a big part in our mental health, too.

Friends for life

    5     Besides, they reduce blood pressure and other health risks. So pick up the telephone or chat online to see if there is a game you can share with a friend or family member.

5 . We use our middle names when filling out official papers, and when we write our initials (姓名的首字母) on something. But except that, we don’t use them every day. So why do we even have middle names in the first place?

Some people might answer, “It’s so my mom has three names to shout at me, so I know I’m in trouble.”

But there is history behind it, and it dates back to ancient Rome. At that time, people had three names, a personal name, a family name, and another name which showed what branch of family you were from. The more names you had, the more respected you were by others.

This tradition of names spread over to Western cultures in the 1700s.Aristocrats (贵族) would give their children long names to show their high place in society. Spanish and some other cultures would give their children names from their parents’ previous generations to be able to keep track of the child’s family tree.

But the way we use middle names today started in the Middle Ages when Europeans named their children with the given name first, baptismal (洗礼的) name second, and family name third. The tradition was spread to America as people started to go overseas.

Today, some people don’t even have middle names, some prefer to be called by their middle name, and some never even use theirs. But, just feel lucky that we don’t need to keep track of our family tree like some aristocrats used to and end up with 38 names.

6 . Can you imagine that there are a huge number of tiny waste pieces in the Arctic (北冰洋的) sea ice? Because of the waste pieces,30,000 kinds of animals are in danger. It’s true that one person’s acts alone can’t help the planet. But each one of us can find ways to make our contributions.

In the home, we could try not to waste foods. Use a digital meal planner to get a right amount of food so that everything we buy and cook gets eaten. Learn how to store foods to keep them fresh longer. Be sure to use proper ways to keep our home warm. For example, we can replace old windows with energy-saving ones.

At the store, we could green our habits. Buy reusable plates, but not single-use ones. Buy home tissue (纸巾) not made of materials which may lead to destruction (破坏) of forests. Buy glass cups instead of paper ones.

In the community, we could help keep its plants healthy. Take part in tree-planting projects or grass-cutting activities to help plants grow well.

Our actions alone can’t save the planet, but the above ways and habits can help.

7 . We were on our way! In Wyoming we would have a new home. It was 1980 and my husband Gary and I were driving to Wyoming with our kids. After driving all day, we were hungry. So we stopped at a restaurant to have dinner.

After the dinner, we were on our way again. Suddenly our vehicle hit ice on a bridge. As soon as the car started to slide, Gary touched the brakes (刹车) but failed to control the car. We were thrown from side to side against the guardrails (护栏).It took some time before we slid to a stop, but unfortunately our car was totally destroyed.

Only minutes later, a car stopped by and the driver asked how he might help. With his help, my husband was able to have our car taken to Rapid City. Then he drove us to a hotel in the city. He made sure we were safe before he said goodnight and left. The next morning, the driver returned and drove us to find our car so that we could take back our valuables. He lost at least half a day of work, all for a family he had never met and would never see again.

With no car, our family finally arrived in Gillette, where we had no friends. Though we were a little lonely, we all felt lucky and thankful to the amazing stranger whose service made such a difference to our family.

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