Unit1

Learningaforeignlanguageisusuallytough,butknowingthebasicgreetingsisapoliteandsimplethingtodo.Itshowsthatyouhaveaninterestintheculture.Eachcountrieshasitsowncustomsandwaysofsayinghello.Forexample,Britishpeoplelikemegreeteachotherbytalkingabouttheweather,whileinChinatheywillsay你吃了嗎？Themostmonformofgreetingsinmanycountrieswhenyouareintroducedtoanewfriendisahandshake.ButshakinghandsisrareinJapan.TheJapanesegreeteachotherwithashortbowandnotreturningsomeone’sbowisconsideredveryrude.Thedegreeofthebowisdirectlyrelatedtothedifferenceinstatusbetweenthetwoindividuals.Greetingsbetweenfriendsarejustanodofthehead,whilealow-rankingworkershouldgreetasuperiorwithalonganddeepbow.

Also,agreatfirstimpressioncanbeimportant,andoncemadeit’sverydifficulttochange.Tomakeagoodimpression,youneedtoactasifyouaremeetingagoodfriend.Thisisaprettygoodstartingpointfordevelopingagoodrelationship.

Indailylife,wealsoneedtobecarefulaboutfirstmeetings.Forexample,someonemayphoneyoutoaskforyourpersonalinformation.Youneedtobecautious,becausetheymayaskyouforthisinordertostealyouremailaddress,yourmoney,yourcredit,oryouridentity.

So,itisimportanttolearntheproperwaytogreetpeopleandmakeagoodfirstimpression.Itisequallyimportanttobecarefulingivingstrangersyourpersonalinformation.

Unit2

Mymotherismybestfriend,andIcantalktoheraboutanything.Shehelpsmethrougheverything,andwedon’thaveanysecrets.WheneverIfeellonely,mymotheristheonlypersonIcantalkto.

MymotherhasbeenmybestfriendforaslongasIcanremember,andIpreferherpanyoveranyoneelse.Sheiskind,intelligent,funnyandagoodlistener.IcansaywithoutbiasthatI’venevermetanotherpersonmoreworthbeingfriendswith.

Sure,I’vehadfriends,butIjustlikedmymommorethanthem.Ididn’tfeeltheneedtogoshoppingwithmyfriendsandI’vekeptcontactwithhardlyanyonefromthoseyearsofmylife.Tothisday,Itendtorelatebettertopeopledecadesolderthanme.Ihavegivenmymothersomuchaccesstomethatitisdifficulttobemyself.MyfriendstoldmethatI’mlivinginahousewithoutwalls–emotionalwalls.

At25,Iamonlynowlearninghowtomakeandmaintainfriendshipsoutsideofmyfamilycircle.Feelingthatmymomdoesn’tunderstandmylifehasencouragedmetodevelopanewcircleoffriendsthathasnothingtodowithher.It’shelpedmetokeepsomethingsprivatefromher.Istartedsettingboundaries.Forexample,mymotherdoesn’tknowwhatmusicI‘mlisteningto.Istillfeeltheurgetotellher,butnowthere’savoiceinthebackofmyheadthatremindsmesomethingsneedtobemineandonlymine.Bynatureofbeingagreatbestfriendandparent,mymomunderstandsandacceptsthis.

Ihopeit‘saplimenttomymotherthatherroleinmylifehasalwaysbeentoofortingandtooloving—somuchsothatIhadtostartkeepingadistancefromher.

Unit3

Peopleindifferentcountriescookvariouskindsoffood.Thehistorical,geographicalandclimatefeaturesofwheretheyliveandtheirwaysoflifeinfluencetheircuisines.PeopleinSouthKorealovetohavepickles.InThailand,mostpeopleenjoyspicyfood,asThaicurriescanbereallyhot.TheJapaneseprefertohaverawfoodandseafood,fortheyliveinasmallisland.InItaly,mostpeoplehavepizzaandpastawitheverymeal.Therearemanyspecialtypizzarestaurantsalloverthecountry.TheBritishlovefishandchips.ThetraditionalfoodsintheUnitedStatesarehotdogs,cokesandotherfastfoods.Americanstylefastfoodchainsarecurrentlyontheincreaseallovertheworld.MostpeopleinEuropeorBritainhaveasimplebutnutritiousbreakfastsuchaswhole-mealbread,juice,milkandbacon.SomeAmericanshaveasandwichandcoffeeforlunchonweekdays.ChipsarealsocalledFrenchfriesorfriesforshort.

Similarly,foodisthebestwaytoexploreChineseculture.Chinesetraditionalfoodismostlymadeofgrain.BalancednutritionisimportantinChinesefood.Westernpeoplevaluetimeverymuch,sosometimestheyeatfastfoodtosavetimeaswellaskeepenoughenergy.

ThisisquitedifferentfromtheChineseattitudestowardsfood,astheyofteneattogethertomunicatewithfriendsandfamily.UnliketheWest,whereeveryonehastheirownplateoffood,inChinathedishesareplacedonthetableandeverybodyshares.Theytendtocookmorethanenough,especiallywhentheytreatourguestsathome,astheywilldotheirbesttoshowtheirwarmth.

Wearewhatweeat,andwechoosefoodtosuitourwaysoflife.

Unit4

ItseemstruethateverykidinschoolislearningEnglish.WhydoyouwanttolearnEnglish?LearningEnglishisveryuseful.SomepeoplewanttoknowEnglishwelltogainmoreknowledge.Wecanreadbooks,listentomusic,watchmoviesandsurftheinternet.Forexample,songsintheiroriginalformtendtobebetterwhenyoucantrulyunderstandthemand55%ofallwrittencontentontheinternetisinEnglish.Wheneveryouhaveaproblem,youcan‘Googleit’tofindawaytosolvetheproblem.OthersliketolearnEnglishformorepracticalreasons,suchastakingaschoolexam,gettingajoborworkinginalargeinternationalpany.Forinstance,FrenchandChinesebusinesspartnersmaymunicateinEnglish.IfyoucanspeakEnglishwithconfidenceandgetyourmessageacrossclearly,itisacriticaladvantagethatcanhelpyouadvancefurtherinyourcareer.

Learningalanguagecanbesomuchfun.Somepeoplelearntheminordertomeetnewpeoplefromaroundtheworld.It’salsofuntolearnaboutotherculturesandtheirtraditions.Maybeyouliketheculture,thecountryandevenhaveadesiretoevenliveorvisitthere.Aswellasbeingusefulandfun,learningalanguagehelpsimproveyourmemory,anddecision-makingskills.

AsarequiredcourseofschoolsatdifferentlevelsinChina,andasanitemtobetestedatdifferentstagesofone’slearningandworkinglife,Englishiswithusthewholewaythroughourlives.Students’performanceinlearningEnglishandintakingEnglishtestsisofvitalperformanceimportancetoachievementsatschoolandtotheiropportunitiesforfurtherlearning.Infact,Englishisaninfluentialfactorthataffectsthequalityoflife.

Englishisagloballanguage.Wesimplyhavemanymoreoptions,andthoseoptionscanhelpyouinlife.Likeitornot,itisherewithus,helpingusleadaricherandhappierlifethroughadifferentperspective.

Unit5

Therecanbetoughtimes.Theweatherisgettingworse,thetrafficisalwaysovercrowdedandthetestscanbereallydifficult.Thesemaymakeyousad.Sometimesyouareinabadmoodandsometimesyoufeelhappy.Youmayfeelbetterwhenit’sasunnydayoryoufindawayoutofaproblem.Thatishappiness.

So,howdowefindthepathofhappiness?Thisseemstobethemilliondollarquestion.Therearetonsofbooksonthesubject.Themoreyouread,themoreconfusedyouare.Evaluatingwhatmakesushappymighttakemoretimeandenergyandactuallymakeusunhappy.

Wemaylookatourselvesanddecidewhatwelikeanddon'tlikeandsetaboutmakingchanges.Itdoesn'thavetobebigchanges.Lookinthemirrorandbeglad.Ifyoudon'tlikewhatyousee,changeit.Makethesolutionthatsimple!

Youmaybesaying“Sure,thatsoundseasy”,Itisalwayseasiertotalkaboutproblemsthantotaketheobviousactionstofixthem.Butforthemostpart,thingsareasdifficultoraseasyaswedeterminethemtobe.Sometimeswejustmakethingsharderthannecessary.

Beingunhappytakesnocourageoreffort.Trueachievementliesinstrugglingtobehappy.Aswegrowandprogresswewillrealizewhowereallyareandwhatmakesushappyandwhatweareresponsiblefor.SteveJobssaid“Goodtimes,hardtimes,butneverbadtimes”.

Unit6

Thereareagreatmanyhobbiestochoosefrom.Somepeopleenjoyreadingandwriting,whileotherschoosetospendtheirtimeonswimmingandcycling.Ihavemanyhobbies,butreadingandjoggingaremyfavorite.WhenIhavefreetime,Ioftenreadsomefamousbooks.ThroughreadingIcanopenmymindaswellasmyheart.ThroughreadingIbeemoreandmoreknowledgeable.Ioftenjogontheschoolplaygroundsintheearlymorning.Joggingnotonlyhelpsmebuildmybody,butalsocultivatesmyperseverance.

Myfatherisamanwithwideinterests.Hisfavoritepastimeisplayingweiqi,chess.Heoftenplayschesswithhisfriendsinthepark,sometimesonthesideoftheroad.Recently,myfathertaughtmehowtoplayGo.GoisapuzzlegamethatoriginatedinChina.Itisbothakindofpetitionandaleisuregameindailylife.

Mymotherisafoodloverandcrazyaboutcooking.Withoutmucheffort,shecanmakeverydeliciousmealsofdifferentstyles.Ontheweekendsorholidays,myparentsandIwillgotothesupermarkettobuysomeingredientsandseasoningstocookwhatwelike.MyfatherandIwillhelpwashvegetables.Sometimesmymotherteachesmesomecookingskills.Iliketoenjoyfinefoodwithmyparentsinoursparetime.

Everyyearmyfamilywillgotravellingonceortwiceandweareveryfondoffamilytravelling.Foronethingitisexcitingtovisitdifferentplacesandgettoknowthecustomsofthelocalpeople.Andforanothertravellingisoneofthebestwaystolearn.

Unit7

Learningaboutyourfeelingsisawaytodevelopyouremotionalintelligenceaswellasanopportunitytolearnmoreaboutyou.Itissometimestoughtoshareyourfeelingswithothers.Ifyoudonottellanyonethatyou'refeelingsad,frustrated,worriedorupsetthenit'sjustyouandthesebadfeelings.Ifyoukeepfeelingslockedupinside,itcanmakeyoufeelsick!

Beforesharingwithanyonefigureoutwhatfeelingsyouhavebymakingalistofyourfeelingsinyourhead.Writeitoutonapieceofpaperordrawingpictures.Thiscanhelpyoufindwhatisreallybotheringyou.

Yourparentsandclosefriendswanttoknowifyouhaveproblemsbecausetheyloveyou.Theycan'tknowtherealyouunlessyouletthemintoyourworldbyopeningup.Ifyoudon'twanttotalkwiththemfindatrustedcounselorwhocanhelpyoutalkaboutyourproblemsorconcerns.Talkingaboutyourfeelingscanbethefirststeptowardsgettingit.

Onceyouknowwhoyoucantalkwithpickatimeandaplacetotalk.Ifyoufeelshyaboutsharingyourfeelings,youdon'thavetoshareeveryfeeling.Similarly,youdon'thavetosolveeveryproblem.Afteryoutalkwithyourfriendoracounselor,youwillalmostalwaysfeelbetter.Youarenotallalonewithyourproblemsandworries.Itdoesn'tmeanyourproblemsandworrieswillmagicallydisappear,butatleastsomeoneelseknowswhat'sbotheringyouandyoucanhelpfindsolutions.

Ifsharingwithothersmakesyoufeelunfortable,itisnormal.Themoreyoupracticesharingyourfeelings,themorenaturalitwillfeel.Youcanalsochoosetolistentoyourfriends'feelings.Thismaybechallengingasyouneedtogiveyourundividedattention.Itdoesnotworkwellifyoureadtextmessageswhilelisteningtoyourfriend.Turnoffthetechnologyandmaintaineyecontactwithyourfriendandlistentounderstandhisorherfeelings.

Therewardsofopeningupareprofound.Sharingyourinnermostfeelingsandbeingacceptedisabasichumanneedandcanbeincrediblyhealing.

Unit8

Healthisthemostimportantthingintheworld.Healthmakesitpossibleforustolive,love,andlaugh.Itincludestwoaspects:first,physicalhealthandsecondly,mentalhealth.

Tokeep