What (be) English for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and (learn) lists of words—the (long) the lists, the better. That's wrong. Many students know hundreds of grammar rules,  they can't speak correctly or (fluent). They are afraid of making mistakes. English is the working language. It is widely (speak) and used in the world. Businessmen and tourists often come to China without being able to speak Chinese. Chinese businessmen, taxi drivers and students talk with them using English. English is also the language of global culture. You can listen to English songs  the radio  use English to communicate with people around the world through the Item. With so many people (communicate) in English every day,  will become more and more important to have a good knowledge of English.

Alexis and Zoe were sitting at the kitchen table doing their homework. They had a hard time focusing on their homework because the radio station was playing music from their favourite band, the Shape Shifters.

"I can't believe the Shifters are going to be playing here and we can't go!" Alexis said.

"I know," Zoe replied. "Tickets are sold out in five minutes and even if we can get some, they are so expensive!"

"It's totally unfair," said Alexis. "They should give the tickets to their biggest fans first!"

"You mean us, right?" Zoe said.

"Obviously," said Alexis. "Everyone knows we're their number one fans."

Zoe turned the radio up a bit louder. Their fevourite song was on, and the girls had an impromptu (即兴的) dance party right there in the kitchen. As it ended, they sat on their chairs again. The radio host started talking about the concert.

"I have exciting news to share with all of you. We will give away two tickets to Saturday's sold-out show and will look for the third caller who can correctly answer this question: who is the oldest member of the Shape Shifters?" the host said.

Alexis and Zoe looked at each other. They couldn't believe how easy the question was.

"It's Georgie!" said Alexis.

"No, it's Natasha," answered Zoe.

"Everyone knows Georgie is 29. He's much older than the rest of the band," said Alexis.

"I know he's the oldest person, but the question is who's the oldest member of the band. Natasha started the band when she was just 15. The others joined the group after her," Zoe explained.

Alexis thought for a while and later agreed with Zoe. And they decided to call the radio station to answer that question. They stood together and held their breath.

"Hello, girls, you are lucky caller Number 3!" The girls screamed excitedly. "Nobody seems to know the answer to our question. Do you?" the host continued. Zoe said, "We know the answer!" "I hope so. If you get it right, you'll have a chance to Saturday's sold-out show!"

Paragraph 1：

"Okay, I am ready to answer that question," Zoe said breathlessly.

Paragraph 2：

"Congratulations, girls! You've won two tickets to this concert!" the host shouted.

    Many of us think, wrongly, that the moon doesn't change. For example, the Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ruoxu once wrote that "Generations have come and passed away; From year to year the moons took alike, old and new."

    However, a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience shows that the moon is in fact slowly shrinking over time. For the study, a group of US scientists examined and analyzed thousands of photographs taken by the NASA orbiter Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (月球勘测轨道飞行器照相机) . They found that there were lots of faults (断层) on the surface of the moon. These faults were formed by recent movement on the moon.

    According to NASA, the moon is made up of pieces of rocks with a hot core (核) .The moon continued to expand as it was born. But in this process, it released energy and cooled down. Then it began to shrink, in a way comparable to the shrinking of a grape into a raisin (葡萄干) . Over the past several hundred million years, it has become 46 meters "skinnier". But due to its hard and rocky crust (外壳) . the moon's surface continues to push up, "Some of these quakes can be fairly strong around five on the Richter scale (里氏震级) ," said Thomas Watters, a senior scientist at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in the US.

    But does that mean the moon is a dangerous place that human shouldn't try to explore and live on in the future? Maybe not, reported the Telegraph, "This isn't anything to worry about. The moon may be shrinking, but not by much. It's not going anywhere," Watters comforted us.

    The new discovery proves that the idea that the moon is a dead, boring place is wrong. "We have been to the moon and we've done some great science, but there is still a lot we don't know. The moon is shrinking ­ we didn't really realize that until recently. It's a much more active and interesting place than we thought and we should explore that," NASA scientist Nathan Williams said.

    Have you ever heard of the phrase “we just can't communicate”? Most people communicate with the ability to read or write well. This might not be the case as you will soon find out.

    How many times have you been to the doctor's office and listened to an educated professional explain something to you that is just unintelligible. These people keep asking you, “Do you understand?” and sometimes out of embarrassment because you don't want to look like stupid, you tell them. “Yes, I do understand.” This isn't a good way to communicate, either.

    How do we communicate in a positive way to get our points across? Ask the persons you are communicating with if they understand what you just said. In another case, if someone is talking to you, use the statement, “Just to make sure that I understand what you just said” and then repeat back your understanding of their conversation. Sometimes just asking a few simple questions and clarifying your understanding can bring great benefits to any communication.

    In some countries like Japan, you might find them reading your body language more than the words you are communicating with. Sometimes just by the way someone stands or reacts to something you said, you can get a valuable insight to what the other person means in this conversation. Don't forget, however, this could also lead to a misunderstanding. Again if you think someone is communicating with their body language, try not to assume that you know exactly what message they are trying to get across. Always ask them if they understand what you are talking about.

    A person is responsible for what he says and to make sure that the other person completely understands the point he is trying to get across. Why not start using some of the simple skills in this article to help with your communication skill? You will start to see the benefits within a short period of time.

    My Year Abroad

    This month in Travelers Corner there are three teenagers' experiences in year-abroad programmes.

    Mariko Okada - Tokyo

    My year abroad in the United States was a fantastic experience. I'm not a shy person, and I was very comfortable speaking to everyone. So I got lots of speaking practice. I also learned lots of interesting things about American culture. When I got home, my friends all said that I had improved so much! I hope to go back again in the future.

    Carla Fonseca - Rio de Janeiro

    I spent last year studying English in London. I'm from a small town, and London is a very big city. Sometimes I felt it was too big. There were so many people to talk to, but I always felt bad about my English. I missed my family, and I really missed my two cats. My roommate was always using our telephone, so I hardly had the chance for a nice long talk with my parents. I think it was a good experience for me, but I'm glad to be home!

    Alvin Chen - Hong Kong

    Studying in New Zealand was an interesting experience for me, but it was also lots of hard work! I had English classes six hours a day, five days a week—with lots of homework. I also kept a diary of my experience. I like to write, and I wrote two or three pages in my diary every day. On Saturdays, my home stay family took me to lots of interesting places and showed me so many wonderful things about the culture. I'm really glad I went!

    I am a girl, but I was born to be a rebel（叛逆者）. I like games that can be 1 . Some of the sports I like, even boys won't play!

Wrestling（摔跤）is 2  seen as a sport for men, but I 3 to see if I could do it.

    Every Saturday morning, I got out of bed early to go and watch my brother  4 . From morning to night, I would sit watching the5  have all the fun. Since then, wrestling has been part of my 6.

    For three years, I 7  all the boys and became the best player in the team. My 8 memory of wrestling is when a boy walked off  9  because he'd lost to a girl.

    My last 10  was at this year's Girls' State Wrestling Championships.

    I was so  11 . I was sure I would win. My heart was beating hard when the match started. I could see 12  but my competitor. When the final whistle blew, I had  13 by four points. The cameras and 14 all turned to me: I was the new wrestling champion. I felt so15 . But after a few minutes of enjoying being a champion,16began to run through my knee.

    Because I hurt my knee, my 17 of being a national champion ended. Even so, I still18 to wrestle next year when I go to college. I have 19that you can do anything you want if you put your 20 into it.

    An old farmer lived on a farm with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early to read his holy. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

    One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read holy（圣书） just like you but I don't understand it, What good does reading the holy do?"

    The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water." The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out (漏出) before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the same took place. He told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water with a basket.

    The old man said, "You're just not trying hard enough," So the boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!", "So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

    The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been changed from a dirty old coal basket into a clean one inside and outside.

    "You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Krishna in our lives."

Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne is a hot­spot travel destination, and it's easy to see why with its beautiful beaches and busy city life.

Why it's a great choice: Australia as a whole is considered a safe destination for international travel, and because of that, many solo travelers go there. As an English­speaking country, you won't be faced with any language barriers. Melbourne is easy to get around because you can walk or bike practically anywhere!

Thailand

Thailand is great for solo travelers—perhaps because it is one of the Buddhist mindsets, which promote equality among the sexes.

Why it's a great choice: Thailand is known for its friendly atmosphere, and as a travel hot­spot, there are plenty of chances to meet other like­minded travelers. Well known for being very cheap, especially in the north. A good choice if you want to get away on a budget. Thailand has a lot to offer, from the party­central Bangkok to beautiful beaches and tropical (热带) jungle.

Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong is a great place to relax for solo travelers as it is full of "Zen moments," such as beautiful gardens and Tai Chi classes.

Why it's a great choice: Hong Kong is regarded as one of the safest cities in the world. If you're not well­traveled, or perhaps a bit tired of things like language barriers, Hong Kong is a great place to start, as it mixes both Eastern and Western at the same time.

Bali, Indonesia

Bali is a spiritual place with yoga, spas, healthy food and beaches. The combination of friendly people and splendidly visual culture has made Bali Indonesia number one tourist attraction.

Why it's so great: You won't be the only solo traveler in Bali. Everyone is known for being extremely friendly and you're sure to meet some amazing characters along the way. As a Hindu island, Bali is the perfect place for a relaxing and spiritual retreat (静修). The Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud is fantastic—if you like monkeys, anyway.

The Pecan Thief

    When I was six years old, I was visiting my grandfather's farm in Kansas. Grandpa had sent me into the1to gather pecans for us to enjoy later.

    Pecan picking was really2work and my little basket was only half full. I wasn't about to3Grandpa down. Just then something caught my4. A large brown squirrel was a few feet away. I watched as he picked up a pecan, hurried to a tree and5in a large hole in the trunk. A moment later the squirrel6out and climbed down to the ground to pick up another nut. Once again, he took the pecan back to his hiding place.

    Not so7anymore, I thought. I dashed over to the tree and looked into the hole. It was8   with pecans! Golden pecans were right there for taking. This was my9Handful by handful, I scooped all of those pecans into my basket. Now it was full! I was so10of myself. I couldn't wait to show Grandpa all the pecans.11, I ran back and shouted, "Look at all the pecans!" He looked into the basket and said, "Well, well, how did you find so many?" I told him how I'd12the squirrel and taken the pecans from his hiding place.

    Grandpa congratulated me on how smart I'd been in observing the squirrel and his habits. Then he did something that13me. He handed the basket back to me and put his arm gently14my shoulders.

    "That squirrel worked very hard to gather his winter15of food," he said. "Now that all of his pecans are gone, don't you think that little squirrel will16the cold winter?"

    "I didn't think about that," I said.

    "I know," Grandpa said. "But a good man should never take17of someone else's hard work."

    Suddenly I felt a bit18. The image of the starving squirrel wouldn't19my mind. There was only one thing I could do. I carried the basket back to the tree and poured all the nuts into the hole.

    I didn't eat any pecans that night, but I had something much more filling—the20of knowing I had done just the right thing.