David was a middle school student. His father, Mr. Hill, was a rich farmer and he had a very big 1. They lived in a small village 2fifteen years. Later on Mr. Hill opened a shop in our town and 3a house here last month. Then his family moved to the new house and David began to 4in our class. But at first he had 5friends at school. He was always alone. His neighbor Cathy was a 6girl. She had many friends. When she found the boy7talked with others, she decided to 8him. She talked a lot with him and sometimes played with him. So very soon 9became good friends.

One afternoon, Cathy said to David, "It'll be my 10birthday tomorrow. I'll have a birthday 11. Will you please come?" "Certainly, I'm glad to," the boy said 12. David got home and thought about 13he could give to Cathy. He was sorry that he 14 to ask the girl what she liked. At that moment Mrs. Hill came and asked, "What's the matter, dear?" "What would you like 15it was your sixteenth birthday, Mummy?" "Nothing," the woman said, "I just wish I were sixteen."

Han Lei and his classmates came back from New Zealand yesterday. He wrote about his trip on his blog (博客).

What a wonderful trip! I wish to visit New Zealand again!

What I like most about my best friend

Lily Chen, Canada

    Kay is the most confident girl that I have ever met. She is really kind. It may surprise some people to find out Kay and I are best friends, because we are quite different. I'm not confident and I am very shy, but I think this is why we are such good friends.

Alan Cordoba, Mexico

    My best friend is Fanny. I can always depend on her. We always take care of each other. The first week we met, I got sick with flu and she came to my house to take care of me every day. She is also very intelligent and interesting. Sometimes she gets angry easily. She shouts at me for always being late.

Isabel Famosa, Cuba

    My best friend is Anna Hernandez. She is honest, kind and sensitive. We were born in the same city in Cuba. We spent a lot of time together until we were 12. Then, I moved to America with my family and thought that I would never see Anna again. When I went to college in New York, Anna had a room in the same building. She now lives near me in New Jersey and we see each other all the time.

Studying too much?

Most people work or study from Monday to Friday. The weekend is usually a time of rest. But today's Chinese teenagers can hardly rest during the weekends.

According to a survey, 24% of the Grade 8 students in Beijing have classes at the weekend. Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours' sleep each night because of study.

And this doesn't happen only in Beijing. Ji Chunying is a Grade 9 student in Guangzhou. The 14-year-old girl has to get up at 6:45am on Saturday. Then she has classes all the day. On Sunday, she goes to extra(额外)classes for math and physics. But Ji doesn't complain. She says her classmates all work very hard．

Finding time to have fun

Zhao Ming, 13, is from Zhanjiang, Guangdong. Zhao's weekend is less busy. But he still spends Saturday in school. On Sunday, after finishing homework, he plays basketball. "I feel happy because I still have time to do the things I like," he said. Some students are much luckier. Ding Yi, a Grade 8 student from Laiwu, Shandong, is one of them. During the weekend, Ding usually gets up at 8:00am. Then she spends some time doing homework. After that she is free to go shopping or watch TV. "My teacher says I don't need to push myself too much. Learning well at school is enough," Ding said. "I feel pretty lucky."

What do you call a school with no tests, no grades, no classes, and no teachers? Students of the Net School and their parents think it to be the best school in the world.

The school is in Rhode Island, USA. Dennis Littky opened it in 1996. The school takes poor kids who are failing (失败) at schools. Nearly everybody has already given up these students and their parents want to try anything. The Net School gives Littky a great place to try out his new ideas.

"The word that most kids use when they talk about high school is /boring'," says Littky. "But no one would say the Net School was boring." Advisors(指导老师) work with small groups of students for four years. Students spend almost half of their school time learning real-life skills(技能), such as working for business, spending time with government people. Instead of tests, the students give shows about their work outside school.

In fact, students work harder here than in other schools. All the students from the Net School graduate and can choose to go to a good university (大学).

Laughing with a friend is the best, but sometimes it's crying that brings you closer       (在一起) . Don't be afraid to be with your friends. You are supposed to       (分享) your true feelings—you may learn that your friends feel the       (相同的) way. As a       (结果) , friends will understand each other       (更好的) .My best friend Nelly is a quiet girl. She works hard but has many problems in subjects. Last week, she said she       (尽力) her best to read English but got the worst. She felt       (像) almost everyone was laughing at her. She cried alone on the playground. I knew I must do something about it to stand up for her. I found a        (有创造力的) way to help her. I drew her something special with some words: Believe in       (你自己) . At       (至少) I am always here.

Small thoughtful gifts, such as picking a flower for a friend who is sick, just might cheer your friends up.

Tom and Mike were good friends. Sometimes they were kind to each other,        sometimes they were not. But some of their      (classmate) said they were like brothers.  One day they went out for      walk together. At noon they were very       (hunger) and they went into a restaurant        (have) lunch. The waiter came up to them and asked, "What can I do        you?" "Please bring us two apples first." said Tom. When the waiter put two apples on the table，Mike took the       (big) one at once. Tom       (get) angry," You are impolite(没礼貌). Why don't you take the smaller one?" Tom said. "But I am right." said Mike with a smile, "If I let you take first,        one will you choose?" "Of course I'll take the smaller one." said Tom. "Yes." Mike said," If you take the smaller one, the bigger one will be       (I). Don't you think so?" "Oh, …" Tom couldn't answer.

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4）参考词汇：lifestyle.

Hello, everyone. My best friend is Zhang Liang.