Step 2：reading a thank-you letter

Home alone

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　　For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house．Some deal with the situation by watching TV．Some may hide．But all of them have something in common．They spend part of each day alone．They are called latchkey children．They’re children who look after themselves while their parents work．And their bad condition has become a subject of concern．

　　Lynette Long was once the headmistress of an elementary school．She said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry．A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys fastened．I was constantly telling them to put them inside their shirts．There were so many keys．It never came to my mind what they meant．” Slowly, she learned they were house keys．

　　She and her husband began talking to the children who had them．They learned of the impact(影响)working couples and single parents were having on their children．Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone．One in each three latchkey children The Longs talked to reported being scared．Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety．

　　The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding．It might be in a shower stall, under a bed, or in a closet．The second is TV．They’ll often play it at high volume．The Longs learned it’s hard to get statistics(情况)on latchkey children．Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone．

Project Starting a new school club

Former student returns from China

School life in the UK

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STUDY ABROAD

　　Many language learners think that the best way to learn a language is to spend time in a country where the language is spoken．In the past studying abroad was a distant dream for more people．Nowadays, however, it has become easier to find both opportunities and means．Many schools offer exchange programmes at various academic levels at a reasonable cost．There are programmes for junior and senior middle schools as well as colleges．Some programmes offer a “homestay” service, and visiting students will live with a host family．This is perhaps the best option for younger students, since it means that the student does not have to worry about meals and housing．Living with a host family is also a wonderful way to learn about the culture in that country．Most exchange students say that they feel as if they were truly part of their host families and that they will always stay in touch．

　　A year in a foreign country is not just about learning a language．It is true that exchange students usually become fluent in the new language, but most of them would probably tell you that they also learn many other things that are even more important．Being an exchange student helps you make friends with people from different backgrounds and understand another culture．One year is not enough to learn all about a country or a culture, of course, but it is enough to broaden your horizons and improve your understanding of the world．What is perhaps the most valuable is what you learn about yourself and your own culture．When you are at home, you seldom stop to think what kind of person you are and what your culture is really like．As an exchange student, you have to learn to depend on yourself and you will often be asked to explain your country and culture to others．It may seem strange, but many returning exchange students say that their years abroad made them understand their own country and culture for the first time．

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　　There are two basic ways to see growth：one as a product, the other as a process．

　　People have generally viewed personal growth as an external(外在的)result or a product that can easily be identified and measured．The worker who gets a rise, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language－all these examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts．

　　By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way．The process is not the road itself, but the attitudes, feelings people have, and their caution or courage, as they meet with new experiences and unexpected difficulties．In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept．

　　In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a will to take risks, to face the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first．How we see our ability to grow? Do we see ourselves as quick and curious?If so, we tend to take more chances and be more open to unfamiliar experiences．Do we think we’re shy and indecisive? Then our sense of fear can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and not to take a step until we know the ground is safe．Do we think we’re slow to adapt to change or that we’re not smart enough to deal with a new challenge? Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all．

　　The feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow．If we protect ourselves too much then we stop growing．We become trapped inside a shell of our own making．

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　　No other country in the world has more daily newspapers than the USA．There are almost 2000 of them, as compared with 180 in Japan, 164 in Argentina and 111 in Britain．The quality of some American papers is extremely high and their views are quoted(引用)all over the world．Famous dailies like the ?Washington Post? or the ?New York Times? have a powerful influence all over the country．And each American city has its own daily newspaper．The best of these offer detailed reports of national and international news, but many seem to limit themselves to state or city news．

　　Like the press in most other countries, American newspapers range from the “sensational(耸人听闻的)”, which mainly report on crime, sex and rumour(谣言), to the serious things, which focus on news and the analysis(分析)of world events．But with few exceptions, American newspapers try to entertain as well as give information, for they have to compete with television．

　　Just as American newspapers give way to all tastes, they also try to serve readers with all political views．A few newspapers support middle-of-the-road Americans who don’t go to extremes．Many of these papers print columns by well-known journalists of different political and social views in order to offer a balanced picture．

　　As in other democratic(民主的)countries American newspapers can be either responsible or irresponsible, but it is generally accepted that the American press serves its country well and that it has more than once bravely uncovered political scandals(丑闻)or crimes, for instance, the Watergate Affair．The newspapers drew the attention of the public to the fears of the Vietnam War．

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　　Orville and Wilbur Wright built the first airplane in 1903．These two brothers knew that their invention was going to change the way people travel across long distance, but they probably did not know how fast the air travel industry was going to grow．

　　Since the Wright brothers’ first airplane took off, air travel has grown into one of the most common ways to get from one place to another today．More people travel by air in the United States than in any other country in the world．More than 400 million people take a trip by plane every year in the United States．There are many different domestic(国内的)airlines there．These airlines occasionally(不时地)offer low prices for their tickets, so air travel in the United States can be very cheap when one of the airlines has a special sale．

　　The oldest airline in the world is KLM．This is the national airline of the Netherlands．KLM has been operating since 1919．Most countries have at least one airline which serves most of the people who fly in that country．

　　The largest airline in history was the national airline of Russia, Aeroflot．The government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(USSR)was in charge of the airline from 1923 to 1990．This airline had 600 000 employees, and 20 000 of these employees were men and women who flew the planes．The number of aircraft operated by Aeroflot was divided among various private airlines which operated in the USSR, so today Aeroflot is no longer run as a state-controlled airline．