Happy New Years!

　　Today is March 17^th．About two and a half months ago, I said“Happy New Year!”to many of my friends．About fifty days ago, I said the same thing to some other friends．In about four days, I’ll say the same wishes to yet another group of friends．I’ll do the same thing in July and also in September．“How can that be?”you might ask(if you ‘re from Western Europe or the Americas)．“Everyone knows that New Year’s Day is in Januare!”

　　In fact, the date of New Year’s Day depends on the calendar(日歷)－and I have friends who use one or more of five different calendars to keep track of at least part of their lives：

　　●January 1^st：New Year’s Day on the Western/international calendar

　　●In January or February(in 2006, January 29 th)：New Year’s Day on the Chinese calendar(China, Korea, and a few other places)

　　●March 21^st：New Year’s Day on the traditional Persian(波斯)calendar

　　●Mid-July(usually the 16 th)：New Year’s Day on the Isamic(穆斯林)calendar

　　●September：New Year’s Day on most Eastern Orthodox Church(東正教)calendars(Central and Eastern Europe)and, usually, on the Jewish calendar

　　And these are just the New Year’s Days that I know about!As a matter of fact, there are probably even more!

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完形填空

　　When learning new vocabulary, don't just memorize(記住)a list of words．Instead, try to 　　1　　 five sentences using each new word．Then use the new word as often as you can 　　2　　 day you learn it．This 　　3　　 you will remember new words much longer．

　　Practising sounds, you know, is 　　4　　－the“th”sound for example．Choose words that begin 　　5　　“th”and repeat them over and over again　　6　　 you are comfortable with them．Let's try! This, that, those, them, think, thought, thin, think…

　　Read, read, read－in English, of course!Reading is one of the best ways to increase your vo-cabulary 　　7　　 improve your grammar in a natural way．Be 　　8　　 to choose topics or books you are in-terested in．

　　When someone is talking in English, 　　9　　 the main point．If you hear a word you don't under-stand, ignore(忽略)it and go on listening．If you stop and think about the word, you will 　　10　　 everything else the person is saying．

　　Always remember－Practice makes perfect．

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閱讀哩解

　　Have you ever been to some big cities in the world?The information below will be helpful to you．

　　Budapest

　　For many centuries, Budapest was two cities, with Buda on the west side of the river Danube and pest on the east side．Budapest became one city in 1872, and it has been the capital city of Hungary for about eighty years．

　　The population of Budapest is about three million, and the city is a very popular place for tourists．Visitors like to take boat rides along the Danube．Budapest is also known for its exciting nightlife．The best time to visit is summer since Budapest is very cold in winter．

　　Los Angeles

　　Los Angeles was founded in 1781．With 3.5 million people it is now the biggest city in California and the second largest city in the United States．It is famous for its modern high-ways, its movie stars, and its smog．When the city is really smoggy, you can’t see the near-by mountains．The weather is usually dry and warm．Visitors like to go to the film studios and to drive along Hollywood Street．There are many good beaches near the city, and Los Angeles is also close to Disneyland．

　　Taipei

　　Since the founding of Taipei of Taipei in the 18th century, the city has grown to a population of 2.3 million．Taipei is an exciting city, but the weather is(潮濕)and not always pleasant．

　　It’s also a very busy city, and the streets are always full of people．There is an excel-lent museum that many people visit．Taipei is quite an expensive city, but not more expensive than some neighboring cities such as Hong Kong and TOKYO．So more and more travelers．Go to Taipei to shop．

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閱讀理解。

　　Emma and Hannah are 13-year-old school girls from Minnesota, USA．They are good at making new thing s and both of them are also good at sales．They are selling charms(小裝飾物)made out of bottle caps．

　　The girls came up with the idea last summer when they saw charms were popular with kids．

　　They talked with their parents about the idea．Since then they have sold enough charms to buy a bike for Hannah．

　　The girls collect bottle caps and then clean them．They find some interesting pictures on the Internet or on paper, and then glue them onto the inside of the caps．There are different kinds of pictures, “Peace signs are popular with girls, and single-letter charms are popular with boys whose names start with those letters, ”Emma and Hannah said．

　　Now, charms can be found everywhere at Dakota Hills Middle School in Eagan．“Students put charms on purses, backpacks , and their lunchboxes, ”said Emma．Emma and Hannah also have a shop on the Internet．They hope they can sell their charms to more kids．They’re thinking about selling their charms at the Eagan Market Festival next summer．

　　Their business is not only for getting money．At their Valentine’s sale, 20％of the income(收入)went to charity．

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