2 . How to Stop Spam Calls for Good

If you made a list of the little things that bothered you the most, phone call scams would no doubt be at the top. Telemarketers, or more often, automated robot-callers, have tricks for interrupting you at the worst possible moment.     1    

Fact is that robot-callers are never going to stop trying to reach you. Their schemes bring in hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars annually. And unfortunately, older people are more likely to fall prey to these scams.     2    

Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry

Your first move: Join the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry. You can get on the list by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register.     3     To date, the agency has taken 51 legal actions against companies and telemarketers, recovering $112 million.

Use spam-filtering apps and tech

    4     A spam-filtering app can give you a second layer of protection and is a good add-on to your overall smartphone security. The app’s makers maintain a large database of user-reported robocalls. When one of those numbers dials you, the app blocks the phone from ringing and informs you the call is spam. Genius!

    5    

You probably know that a caller who insists you owe money to the IRS or says you’ll be arrested if you don’t settle a debt is a scammer. But your 10-year-old kid and your older parents and grandparents may be tricked. And remember: Knowing how to stop spam calls is just one step toward avoiding scams; don’t forget to explain how to stop spam texts to your loved ones, too.

3 . Different countries celebrate Christmas in different ways. We asked some of our friends to explain what happens in their countries. This is what they told us:

France

In France, Christmas is always called Noël. Everyone has a Christmas tree, sometimes decorated in the old way with red ribbons and real white wax candles. Fir trees in the garden are often decorated too with lights on all night.

Father Christmas is called Père Noël. The Christmas meal is an important family gathering with good meat and the best wine. Few people send Christmas cards. More people send New Year cards to wish everyone good luck and joy for the New Year. These days Christmas lunch is a starter of foie gras (a strong tasting pate made from goose liver) followed by lunch of seafood — usually including lobsters and oysters.

New Zealand

Christmas starts for us with gifts under the tree, to be opened on Christmas morning. Then it’s onto a Christmas lunch either at home or at one’s parents place. Turkey or chicken with all the trimmings (佐料) is eaten. Then comes tea time. It is a BBQ for friends and family to get together, and have a few beers or wines with the meal!

Russia

In the days of the Soviet Union, Christmas was not celebrated very much. New Year was the important time — when “Father Frost” brought presents to children. With the fall of Communism, Christmas can be openly celebrated either on December 25th; or more often on January 7th. This unusual date is because the Russian Orthodox church uses the old “Julian” calendar for religious celebration days. Special Christmas food includes cakes, pies and “meat dumplings”.

Sweden

The most important day is Christmas Eve. A special Christmas meal is eaten on Christmas Eve — ham (pork), herring fish, and brown beans — and this is the time when families give presents to each other. Many people attend a church meeting early on Christmas Day.

Six hours and 32 minutes after three astronauts took off from a base in the Gobi Desert on a clear sunny morning,     1     (they) spacecraft, Shenzhou 12, joined with the station.

With that, the Chinese station,     2     (call) Tiangong or Heavenly Palace, became one of two places in orbit with residents. The completion of Tiangong will be yet another milestone for an ambitious space program     3     recent missions have included bringing samples back from the moon and     4     (land) a robotic rover（火星车） on Mars. Since the station remains     5     construction, the three astronauts’ main task is essentially to move in, begin installing     6     (equip) like cameras and start testing various functions, including life support and waste management.

China     7     (previous) launched two, short-lived model space stations, also called Tiangong, in 2011 and 2016. This one     8     (intend) to stay in space for a much longer time, serving for the next decade as a laboratory in orbit. Officials said the station would allow Chinese astronauts and scientists on the ground to carry out complex operations     9     do experiments in the weightless space environment. Over the past few years, China     10    (invite) international partners in at least nine experiments.

7 . The bell rang. Jada sighed, slowly moved from the lockers where she had been leaning, and headed down the hall to her chemistry class. Honors Chemistry! Jada couldn't believe that her mom was making her take the class because Jada's counselor had said that she had real talent in science.

Jada had to admit that she liked science and that last year's class was a breeze, but come on, Honors Chemistry? She wouldn't know anyone in the class, and they probably wouldn't know anyone like her.

The good thing about being late is that it shortened the period a bit. The bad thing is that it made her seem like she was making a grand entrance. To make matters worse, the only two seats left in class were at the lab table at the very front of the room.

Jada held her breath and walked in. Everyone's eyes were on her. She just knew it. They were staring at her coal black hair（freshly dyed）, her black lipstick, her black fingernail polish, and her thrift-store black leather jacket. All she saw were polo shirts and khaki pants.

This can't get any worse, Jada thought. But at least she didn't get shouted at by the teacher. He was too busy talking to a new kid. A HUGE new kid, maybe 6'4". He had to weigh at least 250 pounds. A football player, probably. She hated football players. They thought they were so great. That group of jocks that hung out by the cafeteria always made fun of her.

The new kid made his way over to her table with his head down. He had to squeeze into the seat, and his legs wouldn't fit under the lab table. He shot Jada a glance and turned red.

Mr. Martin, the teacher, began class with this announcement: "Okay, everyone. I know most of you know each other from last year's Honors Physical Science class." Jada sighed loudly. "But just take a minute and introduce yourself to the person sitting at your table. You'll be partners. You'll be working closely together all year."

Jada rolled her eyes and stared straight ahead. Then she heard a surprisingly soft voice from next to her. "Hi, I'm Robert. I'm new here."…