2 . Can you imagine a world without music? Studies show that public schools across the country are cutting back on music classes to save money. Even worse, some schools have never had music classes to begin with. But without them, students' academic growth and spiritual health could suffer. In fact, music classes are necessary for all students in schools.

Recent studies Brown University have shown that students who received music education classes were better in math and reading skills than those without music classes. Another study by The College Board found that students taking music and art classes got higher points. Students' academic success seems to depend on their taking part in music education.

Music programs in public schools also help to add to a student's sense of pride and self-confidence. Teens today have too many learning tasks. Besides, they have family problems, self-confidence problems, relationship troubles, and choices about smoke and alcohol. All of these can stop academic success, but music education can help. A study by The Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse found that students who took part in school music programs were less likely to turn to smoke. Music programs encourage students to work together to produce an excellent performance.

Music crosses language, class and culture. Music allows students from different countries to connect. For example, at a school talent show, a new Japanese student played a piano duet with an American classmate. Two students from different cultures worked as a team with self-confidence and common purpose through music.

The gift of music is priceless. We need to be sure to have necessary music classes for all students. The world is losing its music, and putting music into schools is the first step to get it back.

3 . You may be wondering what benefits students gain from cooperative learning. The answer is many! Other than giving students the opportunity to learn from each other, cooperative learning, of course, teaches a number of social and emotional skills.     1    

In order for a cooperative learning group to succeed, individuals within the group need to show leadership abilities.     2     Natural leaders become quickly obvious in small groups, but most students don’t naturally want to lead. Assign(分配) leadership roles of different importance to every member of a group to help all individuals practice leading.

    3    All members of a cooperative learning group have to learn to speak productively with one another to stay on track. By teaching students to share confidently, listen carefully, and speak clearly, they learn to value the input of their teammates and the quality of their work improves greatly.

There are many decisions to be made in a cooperative environment. Encourage students to think as a team to make joint decisions by first having them come up with a team name.       5     Make sure that each student has their own responsibilities in cooperative learning groups. Much like leadership skills, decision-making skills cannot be developed if students are not regularly practicing them.

5 . The moon had gone behind a cloud and there weren't many stars in the sky. As I took a glance (一瞥) at my neighbour's house, I saw a flame (火焰) in his_________. I thought he was having a midnight fast food so I went back to my _________.

Soon, there was a burning smell in the air and I guessed something was wrong. _________, I jumped out of bed and went downstairs to _________. I saw fire coming out of my neighbour's kitchen. Right away, I _________ "Fire! Fire!" But there was no one nearby to hear my shouts for help.

I _________ into my house, called the fire department and went back to my neighbour's house. I rang the doorbell, hit on the door and called out my neighbour's name but there was no _________. I managed to _________ the house and rescued a cat and a rabbit.

I tried to throw water through the kitchen window _________ it was no use; the fire was too strong. __________, a fire engine arrived and soon the firemen put out the fire. They arrived just in time as the fire was going to __________ to the other rooms in the house.

When my neighbour came back, he was__________ because his kitchen was burnt down, but he thanked me for calling the fire department and for saving his __________. He wanted to give me some money in return but I did not accept it.

Weeks later, my neighbour repaired and restored his kitchen. He __________ me to see his new kitchen and there he gave me a medal that he had __________ ordered from a factory. It made me feel very happy.

8 . Becoming famous is the dream of many, and Tian is getting closer to that dream.

Tian, 30, is a white - collar worker in Beijing. On short video application Douyin, Tian has more than 2, 000 fans, So far, she has received more than 50, 000 likes on the Dubsmash - like app. On her page on Douyin, Tian shares everything, from her son's daily activities, to her pet dogs, to little skits (段子) made up by her and her husband. “Making funny videos, and combining them with music is really interesting, ” Tian said. “Of course, I make the videos for fun because it is quite relaxing.”

China's short video market has seen great growth, according to a report. The report said that China's short video market was valued at 5. 73 billion yuan ($ 900 million) in 2017, an increase of 184 percent. The industry value is expected to go up to the 30 billion mark in 2020. Companies like Tencent, Sohu and Iqiyi have all started providing short video content.

“Short videos are popular because they are an addition to traditional audio and video content on the internet, ” said Sun Jiashan with the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

Fans say that the short videos help them “chill out” from a stressed - out lifestyle. “My favorite videos are all about pets, ” said Zhou Na, a nurse in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province. “After a whole day's work, watching the 15 - second videos makes me laugh, which reduces my pressure.”

10 . Alida Monaco doesn't spend her summers doing the usual teenage work ,like working at the mall. Instead ,she's studying.

It used to be that a summer job was considered a teenage thing. Today ,Monaco ,who has never had a summer job ,is part of growing trend(趋势) teenagers concentrating on their studies ,even during the summer. That's down from 72% of Americans aged 16 to 19 who worked in July of 1978 ,according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fierce competition (竞争) older workers to the workforce and weak economic（经济的）growth are all adding to the decrease of teenagers in the workforce. But as schoolwork grows increasingly heavy and homework eats up more time ,current data suggests the biggest reason why some teens won't be working this summer is that they simply don't have time.

For college-bond teens ,some   teachers   even advise students no t to waste time on a summer job. " Some of my students only have about six weeks off in the summer ,"said Shannon Reed ,a lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh and a former high school English teacher. " I could never advise that they got jobs during that short break. They should rest. "

Young people who don't work may miss out on valuable skills that they'll need later in life. Early work experiences teach reliability ,financial intelligence ,self-control and help people learn to deal with adult situations. But Monaco ,who plans to attend Harvard ,isn't fazed by her lack of work experience. " May be I have missed out on a couple of life skills , she said. " But I don't think it will harm in any way. "