Five Things to Do Before You Are 18

Are you bored with your daily routine? Here are some things you should try before you are 18, because after that it’s too late.

Write your family tree

When you are young, get to know all the older people in your family and find out as much as you can about when they were young. Draw a family tree and make notes about each person so that you won’t forget.

Learn to swim

Seriously, this is so important that it could save your life. If you can’t swim well, you won’t be able to do water sports like waterskiing, surfing and diving. Even taking a boat trip will be dangerous for you. Make sure you do it.

Try at least one kind of team sport

Being a good team player is an important skill in life. You can’t just think of yourself, but have to work well with other people. Other advantages of team sports like basketball, football and baseball are that they keep you fit and healthy, and they are also great fun. Teams usually have a good social life too---you’ll go to lots of parties and make many friends.

Collect something

One of the best hobbies for under-18s is collecting things. You could collect rare Chinese stamps, or you could collect things that make you remember what you have done, like cinema tickets for films you have seen or emails from friends. The best way to collect is to have a special album to put your collection in and to write what each thing means to you. That way you won’t forget.

Camp out in the garden

If you don’t have your own garden, find a friend who has one! You will need: two or three friends, a small tent, sleeping bags and warm blankets. Take a lot of food and drink with you into the tent and play games until it gets dark. When it gets dark, tell ghost stories, and at midnight, eat all your sweets. You will need a torch or else you won’t be able to see all your sweets, and it might get too scary.

1．Draw a family tree and________ about each person so that you won’t forget.

A．know the name                                            B．write down some notes

C．find the birthday                                           D．a(chǎn)sk the older for help

2．What’s the most important reason for learning to swim? 

   A．You might feel well.                                      B．It could make you healthy.

   C．You might easily do lots of things.                  D．It could save your life.   

3．The writer tells us that one of the best hobbies is to________.

   A．collect something                                         B．do some water sports

   C．camp out in the garden                                  D．send emails to your friends

4．What’s the passage mainly about?

   A．Hobbies to share.                                          B．Skills to have.

C．Things to do.                                               D．Sports to play.

If you are just starting to collect stamps, here is some advice for you to follow.

At the beginning, collect as many stamps as you can. The ones which you decide not to keep can be traded with other people. Never throw stamps away.

Don’t keep the envelope, unless it is unusual（與眾不同）. However, do keep the envelope if it is the first date when that particular stamp is used. Some people are very interested in these “first day covers”.

Sooner or later you will decide that you want to collect a certain kind of stamps. It may be stamps from a particular country, or stamps of a particular kind, like stamps with a bird design on them, for example. This will make your collecting much more interesting. You can then look for new ones to add to your collection.

Do join group. There is a lot to learn about stamps and others can help you. Also it is great fun. You will soon learn which stamps other people are collecting and they will start to trade stamps with you, too.

Go to stamp sales and buy whatever you can afford. You can often pick up packs of used stamps very cheaply.

Old stamps that have not been used are usually more expensive than used stamps. Perhaps at the beginning you may only afford used stamps.

Sooner or later, you will find something unusual. It may even be valuable（有價(jià)值的，貴重的）. Finally, remember that stamp collecting is fun. It can be exciting to get stamps which you do not have yet. Also, many stamps have unusual and beautiful designs, so enjoy them!

1. What’s the first advice for you when you begin to collect stamp?

A. Throw away the ones you don’t need.

B. Only collect the stamps you need to keep.

C. Collect as many stamps as you can.

D. Only collect the stamps you want to trade with other people.

2. What should you do with the envelope?

A. Keep the envelope if it is unusual.

B. Throw away the envelope after you take off the stamp.

C. Keep the envelope every time.

D. Throw away the envelope before you take off the stamp.

3. What kind of stamps are usually more expensive?

A. Old ones.                      B. New ones.

C. Old ones that have not been used.   D. Old ones that have been used.

4. Which one is not the reason to join a group?

A. To enjoy great fun.

B. To learn something about stamps from other members.

C. To trade stamps with other members.

D. To learn how to make stamps from others.