— German. I was born in Berlin and have lived here ever since.

— ________. Most of them are from poor families in the rural areas.

— I ________it already.

— Really? When ________it?

— Last Friday, with Jason.

One day, a famous speaker gave a speech to a crowd of people. He held up a 1 bill and asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands were 2. Then he said, "I am going to give this $20 bill to one of you, but first let me do this." He dropped it on the ground, and started to step on it. He picked it up. He then asked the audience, "3 still wants it?" Still the hands went up in the air.

"My friends," he continued, "you have all 4a good lesson. No matter 5I did to the money, you still wanted it, because the bill did not lose its 6. It is still worth $20.

Many times in our 7, we are dropped, crumpled, and stepped on, because we sometimes 8wrong decisions. When that happens, we feel depressed and think we are9. The worth of our life comes not in what we do or whom we kno w, but in who we are!

Don't forget. The worth of a thing does not depend on its outside looks, but on its inner part.' This is the10of life."

    Peter loved to buy used articles. Almost a month ago, he bought a popular word game that used little pieces of wood with different letters on them. As he was pay ing for it, the salesgirl said, "Uh, look, the game box hasn't even been opened yet. That might be worth some money."

    Peter examined the box, and, sure enough, it was completely covered in factory-sealed plastic. And he saw a date of 1979 on the back of the box. "You should put that up for auction (拍卖) on the Internet, and see what happens," the salesgirl said. "Yes, you're right. People like something rare," Peter agreed. "I can't imagine there being many unopened boxes of this game around 40 years later." "Don't forget to tell me if you sell it," the salesgirl smiled. "No problem," Peter said.

    After he got home, Peter went online to several auction websites looking for his game. But he couldn't find it. Then he typed in the name of the word game and hit Search. The search result was 543 websites containing information about the changes of the game. Over the years, the game had been produced using letters in different sizes and game boards in different colors. He also found some lists of game fans looking for various versions of the game. Peter emailed some of them, telling them what he had.

    Two weeks later, Peter went back to the shop. "Hello. Do you still remember the unopened word game?" The salesgirl looked at him for a second, then recognized him and said, "Oh, hi! " "I've got something for you," Peter said. "I sold the game and made $1,000. Thank you for your suggestion." He handed her three $100 bills. "Wow! " the salesgirl cried out. "Thank you, I never expected it."

    Have you ever heard someone use the phrase "once in a blue moon"? People use this expression to describe something that they do not do very often. For example, someone might say that he tries to avoid eating sweets because they are unhealthy, but will eat chocolate "once in a blue moon". Or someone who does not usually like to go to the beach might say "I visit the shore once in a blue moon." While many people use this phrase, not everyone knows the meaning behind it.

    The first thing to know is that the moon itself is never really blue. This is just an expression. In fact, the phrase "blue moon" has something to do with the shape of the moon, not the color.

    As the moon travels around the earth, it appears to change shape. We associate certain names with certain shapes of the moon. For example, when we can see a small part of the moon, it is called a crescent moon. A crescent is a shape that looks like the tip of a fingernail. When we cannot see the moon at all, it is called a new moon. When we can see the whole moon, it is called a full moon. Usually, there is only one full moon every month. Sometimes, however, there will be two full moons in one month. When this happens, the second full moon is called a "blue moon".

    Over the next 20 years, there will only be 15 blue moons. As you can see, a blue moon is a very rare event. This fact has led people to use the expression "once in a blue moon" to describe other very rare events in their lives.

Friends and Buddies

    This program is planned for teenagers who have special needs with the goal of meeting within a community with other peers. The purpose of the program is that it will lead to a better understanding of friendship. This program is held 2 Fridays per month .

    Ages12-18, numbers of members are limited.

    Contact: Gloria Bass.

Club Saturday Swim

    This program is available to anyone aged 5 -14  who is challenged by mental, physical or emotional trouble. The program will be held each Saturday afternoon, 12: 00 p.m. -12: 30 p.m. or 12:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

    Fees: $136/ $260

Sibshops (Age s 10-13)

    Sibshops is a program for siblings (兄弟姊妹) of children with challenges. It includes group activities and talk treatment ways with the focus on improving sibling relationships and whole family happiness.

   Location: Hope Church, Wilton CT.

    Wednesday: 4: 00 p.m.-5: 00 p.m.

   Fees: $50/ $65

Banana Splits

    Banana Splits is an educational support group for children in family trouble. Children aged 9-13 will have the opportunity to meet other children whose parents have separated or divorced. They will learn to recognize feelings, think of healthy coping skills and have a place to share their struggles through verbal, physical, and artistic experience.

    Location: Hope Church, Wilton CT.

    Tuesday: 4: 30 p. m.-5: 30 p.m.

    Fees: $50/ $65

    Students decide to take a job while being in university because of two reasons: on the one hand, they need money; on the other hand, they want to experience something new and they want to see what working means. It is a good opportunity to know about the society and realize the importance of co-working with others.

    But is it good to take a job while you are a university student? There are both advantages and disadvantages if we were to answer this question. If we were to think about the advantages, we could mention the ones I have just discussed. Having a job from an early age helps us gain experience, which will be very useful to our later life. We may become financially independent and don't need to ask our parents for money each time we want to go downtown with our friends, or spend the holiday at the seaside or in the mountains.

    However, students who take a job might have problems in spending enough time on their study. If they work during the day, they may have to be absent from their classes, and if they work at night they will feel tired the next day. They may choose to stay at home, resting. What's worse, some students may even get bored with study.

    Well, this fact happens every now and then, but there are case s when well-prepared students take a part-time job but at the same time they make time for study, too. And they have good results. Their case is a good example to follow among the students who decide to work while being in university. Anyway, we need to keep in mind that study is the most important job for a student .

    Increased use of the Internet and mobile phones are undermining pupils' ability to study independently and promoting poor grammar, Cranfield School of Management found almost 6 in 10 school children were copying information directly from websites for homework tasks without properly reading it. More than a quarter thought it was an acceptable practice, even though they know it was considered plagiarism(剽窃).

    The study, based on a sample of around 260 pupils, suggested that modern technology was having a destructive effect on young people. Although school policies forbid mobile phone usage, students use the phones frequently, with the majority making calls from the toilets. The mobile phone continues to be a main channel of social communication during the school day.

    The report showed that so-called "text-speak" was increasingly found in pupils' school work. 3 in 10 students admit using text message shortcuts, such as "ruok" in essays and classroom tasks. A study found almost half of teachers failed to understand some pupils' writing because it was so full of confusing spellings. Phrases such as "innit" and "Gr8" were regularly found in school work.

    The Cranfield study found that the mobile use was so common that many pupils chose to ignore school rules on phones. More than a third said they would use their mobile phones in class, while nearly three quarters said they would not even make an excuse to leave class to answer a phone call.

⑴       products made from milk.

⑵       casual/ loose trousers.

⑶       a very tall modern city building.

⑷       a large sculpture of a person or an animal, made of stone or metal.

⑸       objects such as rings and necklaces that people wear as decoration.

⑹       of or between two or more countries.

⑺       to put a dead body in the ground, a tomb or the sea.

⑻       good at thinking of new, original, and clever ideas.

⑼       often changing in one's feelings; annoyed or unhappy.

⑽       the place where a trial is held.

       without the Internet?

After the car accident, all his friends       .

      broad, I would rather stay in China.

      a vacation, because my pet cat was sick.

       in this debate.

There was a sudden rain storm in the morning. The students       .

Simon was so tired that he suddenly        and ran away.

—All dorms are similar in size. My room is no bigger than yours. (Re write the underlined sentence.)

My room        yours.

       over the year.

Sometimes they will even       .

⑴Now we are coming to the Lincoln Memorial.

       , because Abraham Lincoln was such a great man.

⑵It has no hair, and it can't see.

      .

⑶…but people cannot bear the cold and snowy weather there .

      .

⑷Now we are going down Fifth Avenue.

      .

⑸      .

They are also bad for your teeth.

    A couple of weeks ago, my friend offered        (sell) some of our things for us. I thought it was a good opportunity to clean my 7-year-old son's room and deal        some toys that were no longer        (suit) for him to play with. We agreed that all the money we got from selling the toys would be his money.

    The night before the sale, we loaded up the truck with toys and a little bike that was too small him. This little bike had at least two previous        (own). It wasn't in the best shape and was       (certain) not new, but the tires were still good.

    We put a price of $10 on it, but it didn't sell. After the sale was over, my friend put it on       sidewalk, with a sign "FREE BIKE". Soon after, a boy came and asked        the bike was really free. My friend said yes and gave it to the boy.

    Later that evening when I told my son how much money he had made at the sale, he was very       (excite). He asked about a few of his things,        (wonder) how they had been sold. When he asked about the bike, I told him about the little boy and that made him smile. He was much        (happy) than when I told him how much he had made. We were glad that someone else would make good use of the little bike.