It was a Sunday morning. My parents went to attend the marriage celebration of one of my relatives in the next village. I did not go with them because I wanted to prepare for my tests at home. But I 1to attend the celebration at 1:00 p. m. by my parents.

At about 11:00 in the morning my uncle came. My parents were absent. I had to treat him myself. I went to the kitchen and searched for the biscuits. But I couldn't find them. I also tried2a cup of tea for him. But3no milk. I went to my neighbor's house and borrowed some milk. But by mistake I added salt4sugar. When I offered the cup of tea5my uncle, he gladly accepted it. Then I realized my mistake when he asked for sugar for the tea. I6find the sugar, so again l rushed to my neighbor's house for it.

After the tea, my uncle left. It was time for me to go and 7the celebration. However, 8 I went to get my bike, I found that it had a flat tire. I thought of borrowing the neighbor's bike, but I felt embarrassed to request him for the third time,9__ I decided to go there on foot. However, by the time I got there, the celebration10over. I told my parents everything and they pitied me for my bad day.

My family moved to America last year from a small town in north China.

I had a part- time job waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One day, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife said she was amazed at could bring their food so quickly. I told her I always respected elderly. Then I found the wife's face turned red. My manager heard my (word) He took me aside and told me that Americans were sensitive (敏感的) and hated the description of "old". I then walked back to the table and (polite) said sorry to the wife. After they learned about the reason, they understood that the problem (cause)by cultural differences, so they laughed.

In the USA, people think "growing old" is a problem. Here many people try to keep (them)way from growing old by exercising, like jogging or swimming. When I told the couple I respected the elderly, they got angry because this (make) them feel they failed to stay young. They didn't want (hear) that. "If I understood the culture of America better, I would not make them angry. "I said to myself.

Recently, I change) the way I treat the elderly I still respect them, but now in a different, less direct way.

Sometimes you get so angry you feel like you are going to burst! It may seem like your anger will be the boss of you. What can you do (control) your anger and how to make yourself and others keep (health) and safer? Here are some (suggest) to help you.

Take a deep breath until your heart slows down again.

Count from 1 to 10 (slow) in your mind before you open your mouth. Then count another 10. Think about what to do or say before making a choice.

Walk away from the place that makes you angry. Go somewhere else until you have thought about what you can do.

Use your words to tell your feelings. Avoid (hurt) anyone with your hands or feet. Say what you feel a low voice.

Sometimes you need to do something to let those angry feelings out. For example, doing some housework that you like (be) a very good idea. Your anger can (reduce) and you can feel better when housework has been done. In this way, you will make anger become something useful.

"Huh! Rice again?"

These days, many people are so picky(挑剔的) about food. When they feel fed up with eating rice, they just1lots of it.

Well, if they had lived 75 years ago, they would never have done so. At that time, starving(挨饿) to death was2in China. Yuan Longping, then a teenager, felt heartbroken about this. He thought, "What if I could grow enough rice? In that way, nobody would ever die of3!"This dream became a little4in Yuan's heart. After he finished high school, he decided to study agriculture.

China is large, but the land that can be used to grow rice is quite limited. That's why it was difficult to grow5rice for everybody.

In 1960,as an agricultural researcher, Yuan came up with the idea for hybrid rice (杂交水稻).After years of hard work, in 1973, he developed the world's first high-yield (高产的) hybrid rice. It was a(n)6piece of news.

With this rice, an extra 70 million people could be fed each year! The seed in Yuan's heart finally sprouted (发芽)!

Yuan's rice has since been grown worldwide. Yuan,7, always wanted his rice to be more, and more, productive. Even in his 90s, the "Father of Hybrid Rice" was still busy doing8.

Yuan died several months ago, but his invention will continue to9people around the world.

The next time you see rice, think about Yuan and his hard work. Ask yourself: Is it okay to be a10eater?

Many people believe that light bulbs were invented by Thomas Edison. Is that true? Edison was born in 1847 in Milan, Ohio, USA. In school, Edison was often absent-minded, and his teacher did not think that he was very smart. In 1854 his family moved to Port Huron, Michigan, where young Edison sold candy and newspapers on trains from Port Huron to Detroit. These early sales experiences led Edison to discover his talents as a businessman and eventually(最后) to found fourteen companies, including General Electric', which still exists today.

Edison started his career as an inventor in Newark, New Jersey. In 1878 Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Company. During his first public demonstration(展示）of his incandescent light(白炽灯) bulb on December 31,1879, he said, "We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles." Light bulbs were not the only things Edison worked on. He also built the first industrial research laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. There, Edison and his assistant, William J. Hammer, worked on the telephone, phonograph(留声机), electric railway, and electric lighting.

However, Edison did not invent many of the things he is said to have invented; he only improved them so that they could be sold to the public. He did not invent the electric light bulb, either. He did, however, start the first company that made and sold electric light bulbs. The only major invention that he actually did invent was the phonograph. It was his invention of the phonograph in 1877 that made him famous, and he became known as The Wizard of Menio Park(门洛帕克的奇才), New Jersey.

Tell the grown-ups to back off-you can be trusted to do your homework without their help. An international study found children aged 7 to 10 were better at homework if left alone. The study's author, Assoc Prof (副教授).Jaana Viljaranta, said parents helping every step of the way risked making their children lose interest in schoolwork.

"One possible explanation is that when the mother gives her child an opportunity to do homework autonomously (独立地), the mother also sends out a message that she believes in the child's skills and abilities," Assoc Prof Viljaranta said. "This in turn makes the child believe in him- or herself, and in his or her skills and abilities."

The academic(学业的) performance of 365 grade 2 and 4 students was compared with the amount of help they got from their mother and teacher as part of the study, which also involved Finland's University of Jyvaskyla. Success may also depend on kids，teachers and parents all talking about what needs to be done and what will work best for the kids.

Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) president Dennis Yarrington said teachers and families needed to agree on how much help parents give and make sure kids know what the teacher expects. "Parents should encourage kids to seek further information from the teacher if they need it,"Mr Yarrington said.

"Homework should not cause tension(紧张) between family members, ，which causes a negative attitude towards further learning."

"When there is no homework to do, the best homework is to play, read or go for a walk with their parents."

I am struggling with laziness these days. Every time I am reminded that I should exercise more, l find many different excuses, such as bad weather or having too much homework.

When I am in class, I get distracted(分心) by the thought that my friend Jim will get better grades than me. This prevents me from learning well.

I am going to have a lot of exams soon. This makes me feel very nervous. I always worry about whether I will be able to get into a good high school.

I think performing on stage is the only way I can become more popular at school. But I get so nervous every time I get on stage. My nervousness destroys my hope.

This term we got a new English teacher. I have some difficulty in understanding his lessons. I don't want to give up on this subject because it is really important.

During the Jin Dynasty (265-420), there was a child named Che Yin. He was smart and loved to read. He grew up in a poor family and couldn't afford(买得起)lamp oil to study at night.

One night, he saw fireflies(萤火虫) outside his house and came up with an idea. He caught some fireflies in a cloth bag and hung the bag up as a lamp. It is said that he spent all of his summer nights reading like this.

Another child named Sun Kang also loved reading. One night during winter, Sun used up all of his lamp oil and couldn't study at night. When he woke up at midnight, he saw the snow reflecting(反射) the moonlight outside his house. "Oh, I can use the reflected light to read!" he thought. He took out his books and read, even though he was freezing cold.

Both of these kids later became successful government officials. People were touched by their hardworking spirit and turned their stories into the Chinese idiom nangying yingxue(囊萤映雪） .

In 2012, President Xi Jinping told these stories at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee(中央党校).He talked about nangying yingxue, xuanliang cigu(悬梁刺股) and zaobitouguang(凿壁偷光).All of these stories encourage people to study hard in spite of difficulties. Xi hopes that government officials will keep this hardworking spirit in mind.

All of us can learn a lot from these stories. Although they don't take place in modern times, they are just like the dim(微弱的) light of fireflies - they light up the road to knowledge.

It is natural for young people to worship(崇拜) cool and good-looking young "idols." We spend a lot of time caring about them -- even more time than we spend on our studies or work. We often wonder: What makes them so popular?

Well, guess what? Many of your idols are only made to "look" cool. If you could see into their private lives, you would find these stars aren't so bright. Their beauty is only skin-deep(肤浅的).

When I was a teenager, I had worshiped pop idols, too.

They were ordinary-looking people who played the guitar while sitting on a stool(凳子).They wore no flashy clothes, and they had no screaming fans.

They didn't need to be flashy because their songs were great and meaningful. They told the truth: Most of all, they taught me that it was okay if I was not popular and cool all of the time. I still listen to them today.

Idols can serve as important role models in our lives, so it's very important to choose the right ones. We should celebrate people who teach us important values that can help to guide us on the road ahead.

The next time you see some pretty, popular "stars," ask yourself:

My Family Rules