Mary: Hi，Mike． Are you going to the barbecue tonight?

Mike: Maybe．

Mary: Why maybe? Aren't you ？

Mike: I don't know． All those people，I won't  know anyone．

Mary: But that's the idea． You go to these things meet new people．

Mike: But I don't think a barbecue the best way．

Mary: Why not?

Mike: Because it's just hard to meet friends．

Mary: Well，I love(meet) people in a big group because there're more possibilities．

Mike: But don't you think it's hard to get to know people? Besides，it's (noise)． You can't always have great conversation．

Mary: Then how do you like to meet people?

Mike: I think small groups are the best way to meet people． I meet the most interesting people inclass． I see how they think talk everyday． If I like someone，then we might get together later on．

Mary: You are serious a guy． I met my best friend in a sports club． We came to know we have a lot common． If you ask me，big parties are the best way to meet people．

Mike: Well，maybe． Um．．． I should take my(chance) at the barbecue． I'll see you tonight，Mary．

          Vincent van Gogh, for whom color was the chief symbol of expression, was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland on March 30, 1853．

The son of a pastor(牧师), brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional and lacked self-confidence． Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had had two unsuitable and unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium), where he was dismissed for overzealousness（过分热心的）．

          He remained in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty． The works of his early Dutch period are somber-toned, sharply lit, genre paintings of which the most famous is "The Potato Eaters" (1885)． In that year van Gogh went to Antwerp where he discovered the works of Rubens and purchased many Japanese prints．

          In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo, the manager of Goupil's gallery． In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon, inevitably met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin, and began to lighten his very dark palette and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists． His nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and night-long discussions combined with painting all day undermined his health． He decided to go south to Arles where he hoped his friends would join him and help found a school of art． Gauguin did join him but with disastrous results． Near the end of 1888, an incident led Gauguin to ultimately leave Arles． Van Gogh pursued him with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his own ear lobe off． Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment．

参考词汇：

    小品：witty skits．

    变魔术：play magic tricks．

Class 18 Celebrated the New Year

       On the afternoon of 31st, December, the party to celebrate the New Year was held in the classroom of ……

……

By Robert, School Newspaper．

    Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.

    One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent (租住). With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one's own.

    Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one's free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of sharing the secret of Nature.

    Some people, however, take no interest in country things：for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight's (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.