— Swimming.

— Yes, I can.

—— By bike.

— I _____ to the Beijing Expo Park.

— He _____ in the garden.

— Sure. Next month.

Valuable Gifts

    When my mother told my father she was pregnant (怀孕), the first thing he did was to buy a TV. It was 1957 and TVs were new technology. He thought that with a baby, they would go out less and he would need to find entertainment at home.

    That was the first 1 he gave me.

    But when I think of other gifts my father has given me, the first would be a love of  2. He is always found reading in our study. He has been totally deaf in one ear since he was two, so we rarely listened to music. In my childhood, storybooks were king, not songs.

    The second is  3all. He treats everyone the same—CEO or cleaner, child or adult. Even when I was little, the conversation around the dinner table was noisy but adult-level. He always said my age didn't matter. If I voiced an opinion, I had to argue the case and give evidence (证据).

    The greatest gift to me, however, was that he took interest in my  4and never my looks. Most successful women had fathers who 5their intelligence. My father said that my mother was the most intelligent person he had ever met. He still says that.

    They met at a dance in the early 50s when she was a teacher. Wanting to show off, he told her she reminded him of Jane Austen's Emma, then misquoted (错误地引用) the book. My mother  6 corrected him and he was in love from that moment.

    Over the years, my father taught me never to stand  7and never to accept the way things are; I should find for change. I will continue to follow his  8.

The Paper Boy

    Before I could turn 10, I had lost my parents. To support myself and my education, I began to deliver newspapers.

    I would get up every morning at 5 am and walk five kilometers from Hydery to the newspaper office in Bazar. By 6 am, I would collect 50 copies of newspaper which must have weighed over five kilos. After delivering them, I would rush home, another three kilometers away, cook my breakfast, eat quickly and go to school.

    One morning, I found a boy of my age at my doorstep. He introduced himself as Jimmy and said his parents wanted to see me. I guessed they wished to subscribe to (订阅) the newspaper, so I followed him to his place nearby.

    Jimmy's mother opened the door. She served me a large plate of snacks and fruit salad. It was a rich breakfast  one that brought back memories of the happy time with my parents. As I was about to leave, Jimmy's father, Mr. Kader, appeared with a new bicycle.

    "This is for you!" He said, patting my shoulder.

    "But I have no money!" I replied.

    "Who is asking you to pay for this, my son?" He continued.

    It took me a few seconds to sense the warm moment. I didn't even realize my tears were rolling down my face. Jimmy's mother held me closely. It was like home, as if my mother were there.

    I bowed, thankfully, and left. This time, I didn't have to walk—I had the bicycle!

    The bicycle saved my life for many years thereafter and taught me a lifelong lesson: Help should always be need-based.

Painful for Your Ears

    Do you often listen to music at loud volumes? You should know that this habit is bad for your hearing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

    The human ear has three different parts. The outer ear is the part you can see. The middle ear and inner ear are inside your head. That doesn't mean those parts can't be hurt. They can be harmed by loud noises. Over one billion young people are at risk of hearing loss due to listening to loud noise for long periods of time, said WHO. Listening to music or watching a TV show at loud volumes can harm your hearing.

    Sounds are measured in decibels (dB分贝). A whisper is 30 dB. A friend talking is about 60 dB. The sound of a busy road is about 85 dB and the sound of a rock concert can be about 100 dB. The United Nations has standards for safe listening. It is not safe to listen to sounds that are louder than 85 dB for eight hours or 100 dB for 15 minutes.

    Loud noise is harmful to the inner ear. Most of us are born with about 16,000 hair cells (听毛细胞) in our inner ears. These cells detect (探测) sounds. However, listening to loud noise for a long time can make these cells work too hard and cause some of them to die. This is what causes hearing loss.

    Some people might think that their music isn't all that loud. But this can depend on where you are. For example, if you are in a noisy place like the subway, you might turn up your music too loud without realizing it. Later, when you listen to it the same volume in a quiet place, you might feel uncomfortable.

    What can be done to protect your hearing? Use noise-canceling (降噪) headphones. These headphones get rid of background noise. You don't need to turn up the volume as much. Keep your device volume at 50 to 60 percent. Limit daily use of headphones. Listen to sound on your mobile devices for a maximum of one hour per day.

    The less loud noise you hear, the better!

    Many students think about how to best spend their time while studying. But what we can do before study can be important too—especially if you want to improve your memory of what you have learned.

    Exercise

    Before you study, doing cardiovascular exercise (有氧运动) may help you better remember what you learn. High-intensity exercise (高强运动) may be especially helpful. In a 2018 study, published in the journal Physiology and Behavior, researchers found that a group of young people who did 15 minutes of high-intensity training remembered more words.

    Some studies suggest the importance of different kinds of exercise. It seems that both long, slow cardiovascular exercise and high-intensity exercise have different effects on memory. Researchers have suggested combining the two to get the best effects for your memory.

    Location

    Location is also important for improving your learning. While it is good to have a desk or a special study area, some research suggests that changing where you study could help you remember more of what you study.

    Our memories sometimes depend on things in our environment. For example, a book might remind you of something interesting or strange you learned while reading it.

    "Environmental Context and Human Memory," a famous study on memory, dealt with the question of memory and our surroundings. Researchers Smith, Glenberg and Bjork found that environmental context played a big part in how well people remembered words. The researchers noted that subjects who learned from a list remembered an average of 15.9 words, while subjects who learned in two different contexts remembered an average of 24.4 words.

    Be sure to plan your location before you start to study.

    Pre-study test

    Students often study with a test in mind. They think the test is the final step to show how much they have learned. But taking a pre-study test is also important.

    In 2018, researchers found that students who took a test before learning new material did much better after studying the material. The research was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

    So, try to take a pre-study test.

    We have explored three things you can do before study to improve your learning. In the future, we will explore things you can do during and after your study sessions to improve your learning.

    Halloween is usually celebrated on October 31 or in the weekends before and after this date amongst family, friends and, sometimes, co-workers. In the UK, Halloween traditions are very popular. Here are some of the most common ones.

    Pumpkin lanterns

    These are pumpkins with the insides taken out and eyes, a mouth and a nose cut into one side. A candle is placed inside the empty pumpkin. The light creates a "scary face" effect. People make pumpkin lanterns to decorate their homes and gardens on Halloween.

    But do people actually eat their pumpkins? Yes, they do! Pumpkin soup and pumpkin curry are very popular meals at this time of year.

    Dressing up

    People of all ages dress up on Halloween. The most popular costume (化装服) ideas include witches, vampires, ghosts, skeletons, zombies and monsters. You can buy a costume from a shop or make your own at home. It's easy to make a ghost costume from an old white sheet (床单) or wear black clothes to look like a witch.

    Trick-or-treating

    The custom of "trick-or-treat" appeared in the 1950s. It came from the US and is the most popular among kids. Children dress up in fancy costumes and visit the houses in their neighborhood asking for a "trick or treat". Their neighbors give them sweets or money as a treat. If there is no treat, the children play a trick on the neighbor. Some people think that playing tricks is rude (粗鲁的), but luckily, there is almost always a treat. People often have a bowl of small presents or sweets to offer to anyone who knocks on your door.

    Whether you decide to go to a Halloween party or go trick-or-treating, we hope you've got some ideas for celebrating Halloween.

在成长的路上，我们难免会遇到各种问题或困难, 比如生活中的、学习中的、与父母同学交往中的……。有没有哪一次的经历让你印象深刻。某英文网站正在开展以"走出困境"为主题的征文活动。假如你是李华，请你用英语写一篇短文投稿，主要内容包括：你遇到了什么问题，你是如何解决这个问题的以及你的感受。

提示词语：problem  talk to, help, practice, learn

提示问题：

What was your problem?

How did you solve it?

How did you feel?