Pressure is a serious problem in today’s world. Some ________ are under too much pressure. They can’t ________ well with their classmates, while others may worry about their exams.

I’m always under pressure, ________. My parents want me to be the top student in class, so they send me to all kinds of after-school classes at weekends. Last Monday evening, I had a talk with my mother. I told her I was not lazy. I really felt tired, I needed time to ________. My mother agreed with meat last. So I think a conversation with parents is ________ to solve the problem.

   Not knowing that its owner died of COVID-19 in February, 2020, a dog in Wuhan has been ________ at the hospital for over three months. Hospital staff took care of it ________ the period, and now an animal protection association is helping it get adopted (领养).

Wu Cuifen, who runs a supermarket in the building of the hospital, told reporters that the dog’s ________ was suffering (遭受) from COVID-19.

She tried to send the dog away from the ________, but there was no use doing that. Wu Cuifen decided to ________ the dog, and she named it Xiaobao. “Every morning when I opened up, Xiaobao would be there waiting for me. He saw me leave at the ________ of each day.”

Ms. Wu said Xiaobao ________ to leave the hospital. Even when they on purpose dropped him off somewhere far away, he would make his way back to Taikang Hospital and ________ wait for his owner to ________.

“Although Xiaobao can’t ________, we understand that he is surely still looking for his owner,” she told reporters.

   It is reported that the cost of living has been rising around the world in recent years. In the study, 214 cities worldwide were surveyed. So, which cities are the most expensive to live in?

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo is one of the most expensive places to live in. There are also two other Japanese cities that have made the top 10 list this year: Osaka and Nagoya. Now, Tokyo is about one third more expensive than Karachi, which is the least expensive city among the 214 cities.

Monthly rent, luxury 2-bedroom apartment: US$ 4,848

Cup of coffee: USS 8.29    Fast food meal: USS 8.29

Singapore

Singapore, like other cities in Asia, has seen a big inflow of foreigners, which has mainly pushed up the price of housing and other living costs. Singapore’s average monthly rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is much lower than that in the above three Japanese cities.

Monthly rent, luxury 2-bedroom apartment: US$ 3,588

Cup of coffee: US$ 5.18    Fast food meal: US$ 5.66

Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong, next to Singapore, is the only Chinese city to make the top 10 list. The average monthly rent for a 2-bedroom apartment jumped by around US$ 1,300. With a limited housing supply, the average house prices have risen sharply by over 93 percent between 2010 and 2014.

Monthly rent, luxury 2-bedroom apartment: US$ 7,092

Cup of coffee: US$ 6.83    Fast food meal: US$ 3.54

   Some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was short and he became angry when the child tried to make a box. However, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.”

The man was happy, but he became angry again when he found out the box was empty. He shouted at her, “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there should be something inside?” The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, “Oh. Daddy, it’s not empty. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy.” The father was moved. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged (恳求) for her forgiveness.

One day, an accident took the life of the child. The father still kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, we have been given a gold box filled with unconditional love and kisses…from our children, family members and friends. There are simply no other things, anyone could hold, more precious than this.

   Before the discovery of DNA information in the 1980s, fingerprints (指纹) were the easiest way to solve serious crimes. It’s believed that each one of us has our own fingerprint. But did you know that our fingerprints could show a lot about us?

According to The Conversation, fingerprints can show lifestyle and environment, eating habits, possible medical problems and even the job of a person.

So how can we work all this out from just a simple fingerprint?

Well, a fingerprint is formed when a finger touches a surface. Most fingerprints can’t be seen to the eye and require a chemical development process in order to make them shown. Stuck between the raised lines of a fingerprint are things that can tell a story about who we are. Things like sweat, blood and food show a lot of information about us.

Besides, its use could be much wider. For example, it may be helpful in the future to doctors treating their patients. A fingerprint check may also tell a doctor whether a patient is properly having a medicine. In the treatment of some of the most serious illnesses, having proper medicine is important.

In the future, fingerprint science can be used by the police and help doctors keep us in the best possible health.

   Have you ever counted the number of digits (位) in your mobile phone number?
31． You may sometimes find it hard to remember your number. That’s because China has the longest mobile phone numbers in the world. Why is that?

32． Each has a different meaning. The first three digits tell you which mobile phone service provider you are using. The fourth to the seventh digits tell you where the number is registered. And the last four digits are random.

The main reason for using 11 digits is that we have the largest population in the world.
33． But as mobile phone users grew, there were not enough numbers for us to use. So we began to use 11 digits starting from 1999. Eleven digits can be used to create tens of billions of mobile phone numbers.
34．

Besides China, Britain and Japan also use 11-digit mobile phone numbers. But their numbers always start with 0.
35． Countries like the United States, Australia and India use phone numbers with 10 digits. Canada’s mobile phone numbers are perhaps the shortest in the world. They use seven digits.

All primary and secondary school students in China will be banned (禁止) from
46． (bring) mobile phones to school, the Ministry of Education
47． (announce) in early February.

No mobile phones will be allowed in classrooms, the notice said. Schools should not ask students
48． (do) homework on the phones and they should set up teacher hot lines and public phones for communication between parents
49． students, it added.

The new action
50． is taken to protect students’ eyesight makes sure they focus on study. It can also stop them from becoming lost in the Internet and online games.

Zhang Ting, the mother of a fourth grader in Beijing, said she
51． (strong) supported the ban. “For primary school students, the knowledge found in books
52． (be) enough. Nowadays, information is being carried on the Internet, but the content remains
53． same,” Zhang said. “Information online is not
54． (good) than knowledge learned from books.”

The wrong use of mobile phones can bring a lot of health
55． (problem). It’s already common practice worldwide to limit students’ use of mobile phones in primary and secondary schools.

A Chinese saying goes that “Firewood, rice, cooking oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are the seven necessities to begin a day.” Without doubt, tea is welcomed all over the world. According to the UN, tea is more than just a hot drink. It’s a big part of many cultures around the world.

You possibly know that people in China use top-grade tea to show respect when receiving important guests. Meanwhile, the British tradition of afternoon tea is an important part of that country’s identity. Making Malaysia’s pulled tea has become a sort of art form. As an expression of Moroccan hospitality (好客) and tradition, mint tea-a mix of green tea, spearmint leaves and sugar-is served during gatherings.

Apart from its cultural meaning, tea is also a medicine, used from ancient times to modern days. Li Shizhen, who was a Chinese Ming Dynasty herbalist, once said, “Tea is cold and lowers the fire.” The health benefits of tea are still being discovered today: preventing heart disease, obesity and cancer have all been linked to drinking green tea, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information in the US.

你校English Corner将以“绿色生活，从我做起”为主题，组织全校英语征文比赛。请你以Going Green Starts with Small Things为题，用英语写一篇征文参赛。

Going Green Starts with Small Things

Everyone can make small changes in lifestyle and make a difference to reduce pollution and waste.