Sam was very nervous. It was his first day in new _______, and lunch was only thirty minutes away. For most students, lunch is the _______ part of the school day. It is time when you talk with your friends, get to know what interesting things everyone is doing, and, of course, _______. Sam, however, didn’t know anyone or anything, like where to sit or with whom to sit at lunch.

Sam’s _______ was in the army. so his family moved a lot. He had really liked his old school and _______ leaving his two best friends. They still talked to each other through phone calls and emails, _______ he couldn’t see them every day. He wondered if their _______ would continue. He didn’t want to lose them, but he knew it would be _______ for them to stay close.

“I know this is hard on you,” his mother said as he got ready for school this morning, “and I’m really _______ you have to keep changing schools.” Sam could see regret in her eyes, but he didn’t want her to feel that way. ________ had always been ready to defend(保卫) not only the family but also the country. Sam loved her so much. He gave her a smile and told her not to __________. He had wanted to mean it, but there was still always worry in him when they moved.

The ________ time came quickly. As Sam was walking to the dining room, a voice behind him said. “Excuse me.” Sam ________ and saw five friendly faces.

“Would you like to join us?” asked one of them.

This ________ invitation was exactly what he needed. Sam nodded yes ________ and joined them. He was sure about his future school life now.

Basketball, running and swimming are popular events(项目）at the Olympics. But there are also some events that are not as popular. Some are even very strange. Let's see if you have any knowledge about the following events.

Every night, just after the sun goes down. Ruth Medjber talks with her neighbours in Dublin, Ireland, and takes a picture of them at their windows.

These photos, in some way, show people's lives during the global pandemic (大流行病).

"I started out taking photos of just friends and family. In this way, I could connect with them during this special time when people have to stay at home," the photographer explained. "I live alone, so I was missing the days when we were free to communicate with friends. Every evening, on my way to seeing friends, I had a sense of purpose."

Now she's making new friends.

The photo project has taken off online, and she has opened it up to volunteers. But they must be the people who live within 5 kilometers of her home—the Irish government doesn't allow people to go farther out than that.

"I pick a street each night and try to take photos of volunteers," Ruth said. "I usually take about four photos before it is completely dark, but two if I'm talking a lot—which I love to do."

She said more and more neighbours are joining in her photo project and it has now got a name, Low at Home.

"I think people like knowing that they're not alone even if they have to stay at home, and they really try to pick out those who are similar to themselves in the photos," she said. "It's also a different view(视角) of the pandemic: the more human view. Instead of showing what the pandemic has taken from us, it shows that it has given us more chances to be with family and friends and spend time together."

"I think we'd love most to find something nice, even in the most serious situation as it is now," Ruth said.

My dear boys and girls, good morning. Today I'm going to talk to you, about my understanding of learning history.

Many of you may think it is a terrible thing to study history. You may often wonder why we students should study something that has nothing to do with our own lives. If you think that way, I should say you are far from the truth.

In fact, if we study history, we can learn quite a lot about personal stories and events (事件)of people just like us. The people who came before us helped build and develop the country we are living in. Their ideas often solved many of our problems and troubles. Studying the past helps us to understand what our ancestors'(祖先)lives were like. And it also helps us to see how their experiences have shaped our own life.

To be honest, ▲ . Some of what we study in history helps us understand the mistakes of the past. And these mistakes will help people not to do the same wrong things. People often learn from the past to have a better future.

Whether we like the subject of history or not, we must understand the importance of the events and the people who came before us. Our ancestors' decisions have influenced our own life. Similarly, the decisions of our own generation(一代人）will finally influence those who come after us. In this only way, the world is truly connected.

History is not just a study of the past. History is the study of people, places, and events that can influence the future.

Now do you still think studying history is a sad thing? Or do you have any doubt about learning history? If you have any question, just feel free to ask.

Very often, when we see young people sitting there, looking at the screen of a mobile phone and smiling, we may think nothing is wrong. But when we come to the question "how much time do they actually spend on media(传播媒介）daily?", the answer is surprising: young people spend about nine hours every day using media, and this only includes media used for enjoyment.

Today's young people seem to have become crazy multitaskers. They often use media when doing other activities. Some watch TV when doing homework, some text(发短信), and some others listen to music. But what do young people think of this? A research showed that two thirds of them believed watching TV or texting had no influence on their schoolwork. Half of them thought using social media made no difference. However, researches have given a different answer: "media multitaskers" did worse in tests.

Scientists did a research among more than 400 students. It shows that those who text a lot have more trouble sleeping and do worse in their study. In another research, students who didn't text during a lesson took down a lot more notes than those who were texting. A similar research also found that students who texted when doing schoolwork had lower overall(总体的）grades.

According to a research, if a kid uses social media a lot, especially at night, he or she will sleep worse and feel more nervous and depressed(消沉的). On the one hand, young people stay up late to check messages and information. They may also be woken up by messages they receive. On the other hand, even the light from a screen could influence their sleep. Some other researches also show that children who use media at night go to bed later, get fewer hours of sleep each week, and become sleepy more easily during the daytime.

   Singapore is a city of different cultures. Waking through the streets of Singapore, you can
36． (听到)different languages spoken, such as English, Chinese and Malay. People from different cultures live and work peacefully with each other and
37． (分享）their traditions.

In Singapore, cultural differences are shown in building, styles, shops and in many other ways. Take food as an
38．(例子), each culture has its own place to sell their traditional food, but there are also the
39． (著名的) Hawkers Markets. Different foods are sold here in these
40． (繁华的) markets. And there very popular with Singapore citizens and
41． (游客)from around the world. The food is good and very
42．(便宜).

Singapore is also an interesting city. Large number of people, ideas, etc, are mixed together
43．(在……下面) the same sky. English is used for business,
44． (虽然）the official language here is Malay. Now, however, there is a strong Chinese business community and also a growing Indian business community. Singapore welcomes talented people from around the world and
45．(希望）they will live there all their lives.

   Last week, he
46．(come) to visit us in Canada. But he was very disappointed when he found nobody here could play chess with
47． (he).

One day, when I came back from school, I found my grandpa was sitting
48．(quiet) in a chair, doing nothing. I knew he was lonely. Why not teach him to play online chess on my computer? I thought.

"Grandpa, someone is waiting
49． you to play chess." I went to him and said.

"Really?" he said, his eyes opening wide. "Who? And where?

I took him to
50． computer in my room and said, "Right here." Then I taught him how to use the Internet and how
51． (play) chess online. At first, he was slow. Having tried several times, he became better and began to play chess with people from around the world.

"
52． interesting it is! This is simply fantastic!" he cried excitedly.

Now he is quite good at playing chess online and has made a lot of
53． (friend) on the Internet at the same time. My grandfather is much
54． (happy)than before.

Grandpa will go back home soon. I believe the time when we played online chess together was so great
55． both of us will never forget.

   Good readers often use a flowchart（流程图）or webs(网状图）to have better picture of what they read (see the drawing on the right).

A flowchart is used to put events in a certain order. Webs show a main idea and supporting details(细节).       

Now try to be a good reader and finish the following TWO tasks.

假如你是李明，某英语网站正在举办以“感恩父母”为主题的征文活动。请根据表格中的内容，写一篇题为“A Letter to My Parents”的短文，用于投稿。

A Letter to My Parents

Love from

Li Ming