A boy thought that he was the most unhappy person in the world. In his opinion, he was
5．, because almost everything bad always happened to him. So he wanted to find the secret to happiness. He walked a long way and finally came to a
6． palace. There, he met the king.

After learning why the boy had come, the king suggested that he should look around the palace and come back in two hours. “At the same time, I want you
7． this spoon with milk,” said the king. “As you walk around my palace, carry this spoon without spilling (溢出) the milk.” The boy
8． his eyes fixed on the spoon and began to walk around the golden palace.

After two hours, he came back to the king. “Well,” asked the king, “did you see the wonderful
9． in my dining hall? Did you see the
10． flowers in the garden?” The boy felt sorry because he saw nothing. He only paid attention to the milk.

“Then go back and see the beauty of
11． world,” said the king. This time the boy saw all of the
12． of art on the walls. He saw the great gardens and mountains all around. When he came back, he described everything he saw.

“But where is the milk?” asked the king. Looking
13． at the spoon he held, the boy saw the milk was
14．. “Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,” said the king. “The secret to happiness is to see all the beauty of the world and also keep an eye on the spoon.”

September is the time for students to go back to school! For Chinese students, most schools start on the same day. We will share summer stories with the same classmates _________ the first-year students. But in US schools, students get ready for classes a little _________.

First of all, US schools don’t all start on the same day. Classes begin any time between August and September. Every _________ decides when to begin their classes. If summers are too _________, then school will usually start a little later.

Every year we usually see the same teachers and classmates, but US students have some big changes. In US high schools, teachers divide _________ into different levels or focuses. Students can choose their favorite teachers and courses according to their abilities and _________. This means that every year US students will _________ different classrooms for each class. They will meet _________ classmates and teachers in each one. Also, students will go to school a few days early to get their _________ so that they can know the classes every day.

For first year students, the first day of school also means they finally get their own lockers (储物箱). Primary school students in the US have to share closets (储物柜) with their __________. But once students make it to junior high they finally get one.

Recently, I have trouble with my study.

At school I can’t listen to teachers carefully because I always feel tired and sleepy. I don’t spend time with friends after class either because I think it’s a waste of time. I even miss writing some answers in the test.

At home I can’t get my homework done every night. My parents don’t let me stay up. So I have to get up early the next morning to finish it. Lately, I even get a bad headache.

How can I solve these problems?

When you have trouble listening to teachers carefully in class, you can ask your teacher or deskmate to remind you often. Then spending time talking about many different things with friends can make you happy. It’s not a waste of time. As for homework, when it’s hard to get finished, one thing you can try is setting goals for yourself. Ask your parents to help you. You must take a break, especially if you don’t feel well. You might be surprised but a short break can help you get more done! Lastly, if you don’t worry and have enough sleep, your headache will leave you.

Smashed cucumber (拍黄瓜) salad is one of the most   popular cold dishes in China. You can find the green dish anywhere from restaurants to homes.
76．

According to The New York Times, smashed cucumber salad is “everywhere” in New York. Some restaurants have even added the dish to their menus.
77． But American cooks are trying yogurt, honey, lemon and other common western ingredients.

Why is this dish becoming so popular?
78． Smashed cucumbers can hold onto tastes more than cucumbers which are cut into fixed shape and size. “Just changing the way you break down an ingredient...changes the way it feels and tastes. It’s cool.” said Danny Bowien, a cook at a New York restaurant.

79． The cook smashes fresh cucumbers with the flat side of a knife.
80． Then other ingredients can be added. Also, it takes only five minutes to make the salad. Cook Julia Goldberg said it’s really “satisfying”.

The success of smashed cucumber salad abroad shows that we should try to fit into local conditions when spreading Chinese culture across the world, said The Beijing News.

Humans have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. They collect information for the brain. For example, the eyes collect information on pictures and the ears collect information on sounds. Sometimes a person loses a sense. Their other senses become better. For example, a blind person has much better senses of hearing and touch.

Sight

The eyes can only see with light. Light carries the picture of something into the eyes so humans can see it. But do you know that the picture is upside down? The brain has to turn the picture the right way up again.

Hearing

Sounds travel through the air like waves (波). Human ears are like cups. They catch sound waves for the brain and the brain translates them as different sounds.

Smell

Humans smell with their noses. Most people can recognize about 10,000 kinds of smell. This is amazing! Humans each have five million receptor cells (感受细胞) in their noses. Noses are not only for smelling. They also clean and warm the air that people breathe in. How does the nose prevent the dirty air from getting into the body? Well, it sneezes(打喷嚏)!

Touch

There are receptor cells for the sense of touch all over the body. This is different from the other senses. Touch receptor cells are in the lowest part of the skin. They help the body to have all kinds of feelings like pain, cold and heat. Some parts of the body (like the finger) are more sensitive(敏感的) than other parts of the body (like the back) because they have more touch receptor cells.

Taste

People can taste food because they have about 10,000 taste buds(味蕾) on their tongues. Old taste buds die and new ones come out every two weeks. But when people get older, this happens less often. That’s why old people often complain their food is tasteless. Scientists also find that smokers have fewer taste buds. Do you want food to taste good? Well, don’t smoke!

For hundreds of years, people knew the basic tastes were sour, sweet, salty and bitter(苦). In 2002, a fifth taste, umami (delicious taste) joined the list. Now, a study from Purdue University in the US found that fat could actually be the sixth basic taste.

To be considered a basic one, a taste needs to be able to activate certain receptor cells in the mouths. A study has shown that humans have fat receptors in the mouths. Not long after that, a scientist made a study to test a second question: can people taste the difference between fat and other tastes?

Richard Mattes gave the testers six different kinds of things. Each kind had a taste: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami or the newcomer—fat. Mattes asked the people to pick out tastes by their differences. This was to test whether or not fat would be picked out from the group. Most of the testers could clearly find out the different taste of fat.

Then how does fat taste? “It’s terrible.” Mattes said. “However, the taste can be pleasant in a small amount, just as we enjoy the bitterness of chocolate.”