The hottest cities in the world

    The locations below are the hottest and also travel destinations on the planet.

    Bangkok

    According to the data, Bangkok is the hottest city on the planet﹣not because of any particularly impressive high temperatures, but because it is consistently hot all the year round. The city has an average annual temperature of 29℃, coupled with high dampness and an average of 128rainy days per year; while the highest temperature on record is 40℃.

    Timbuktu, Mali

    Located on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, the African city of Timbuktu is similar to everything remote. It's also one of the hottest cities in the world, with a hot, dry climate offering record highs of 49℃. Throughout April, May and June, average maximum temperatures are beyond 40℃. Modern﹣day Timbuktu is slowly being swallowed by the desert and is certainly a shadow of the trade center that it once was.

    Ahvaz, Iran

    Built on the bank of the Karun River, Ahvaz is an industrial city with average highs of around 46℃ during July, its warmest month. The city's record high is 54℃, making it one of the world's hottest cities during the summer. Frequent sand and dust storms and an absence of rain from July to September mix with its sky﹣high temperatures.

    Kuwait City

    The wealthy capital of Kuwait is another competitor for the title of the world's hottest summertime city with average highs of over 45℃ from June to August. Nightfall brings little respite（缓解）, with after﹣dark low temperatures often over 30℃ during the summer months. Kuwait City's record high is 52℃, while it rains on an average of just 19 days per year.

    The other day I was shopping at the local Chinese grocery store. There was a line at the fish counter, but only one staff person was there to take care of the customers. Some customers ordered quite an amount of fish for that staff person to work on. At last I was the second in line; all I wanted was a couple of crabs and should get out of there in no time.

    Noticing it was very busy at the fish counter, another staff person came over to help. I was ready to be served,  but the staff person went to the end of the line and began to help a couple of ladies with snails （蜗牛）.The customer in front of me, being served, turned around and looked at me sympathetically, and the customer behind me called to the staff person, "You should start her, "pointing at me. He was, well, ignored.

    If someone asked me, "What is the most important rule to follow in America？"I would reply without hesitation, "Wait your turn at all times." Wherever you go here in this country, you will find people waiting in a line quietly to get anything: whether in the supermarkets, department stores, bus stops, or gas stations, it's just a matter of waiting your turn. In a larger sense, "wait your turn" is more than just a guideline﹣it is a very basic norm （准则）that reflects the fundamental value of the western cultures. But in some situations your turn does not always come based on when you get there and how long you have waited in line, just like my case at the store. Even though this did not often happen, it did make me feel upset.

    One of the most important things in the world is friendship. In order to have friends, you have to be a friend. But how can you be a good friend at school？

Listen﹣Listen when they are talking. Don't say anything unless they ask you a question. Sometimes it's not necessary for you to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings.

    Help them﹣If your friend is ever in need of something, be there to help them. You should try to put them first, but make sure you don't do everything they want you to do. Try to take an extra pencil or pen with you to classes in case they forget one. Have a little extra money in your pocket in case they forget something they need.

    Be there for them﹣Be there for your friends to help make them feel better in hard times. Marilyn Monroe, a famous U.S. actor, once said, "I often make mistakes. Sometimes I am out of control, but if you can't stay with me at my worst, you are sure not to deserve to be with me at my best." Always remember this! If you don't want to stay with your friends when they're in hard times, then you don't deserve to be with them when they're having a good time!

    Make plans﹣Try to make plans with your friends. Go shopping, go for ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on. Take time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy. By planning things together, you both can have a good time. And you'll remember these things when you're all old!

    Even plant can run a fever, especially when they're under attack by insects or disease. But unlike human, plants can have their temperature taken from 3,000 feet away straight up. A decade ago, adopting the infrared（红外线） scanning technology developed for military purposes and other satellites, physicist Stephen Paley came up with a quick way to take the temperature of crops to determine which ones are under stress. The goal was to let farmers precisely（精确的） target pesticide（杀虫剂） spraying rather than rain poison on a whole field, which always includes plants that don't have pest problems.

    Even better, Paley's Remote Scanning Services Company could detect crop problems before they became visible to the eye. Fixed on a plane flown at 3,000 feet at night, an infrared scanner measured the heat sent out by crops. The data were transformed into a color﹣coded map showing where plants were running "fevers". Farmers could then spot﹣spray, using 50 to 70 percent less pesticide that they otherwise would.

    The bad news is that Paley's company closed down in 1984, after only three years. Farmers resisted the new technology and long﹣term supporters were hard to find. But with the renewed concern about pesticides on produce and refinements（改进） in infrared scanning, Paley hopes to get back into operation. Agriculture experts have no doubt that the technology works. "This technique can be used on 75 percent of agricultural land in the United States," says George Oerther of Texas A&M, who recently retired from the Department of Agriculture, thinks remote infrared crop scanning could be adopted by the end of the decade. But only if Paley finds the financial support which he failed to obtain 10years ago.

How to stay focused in class

    Being relaxed during class is a bad habit, and it is also bad to your grade. Focusing in class not only proves to teachers that you are a capable student but also shows that you have the ability to control yourself, which will be very important.

           No matter how much you want to sit with your friends during the class, try your best to avoid them. Talking with friends around you is not going to give you the focus in class. This will get you into trouble.

    Look at teacher and make eye contact. Your teacher is not just standing up there talking.       Show the teacher that he or she has your full attention by looking them in the eye. This person should have your full attention at all times during class.

Take notes. By taking notes, you'll be able to "get into" the lesson. Write down key points as your teacher speaks. And listen to the key phrases such as "This is important" "This is the main idea" "This will be the test" etc.      

    Get involved in class discussions. This is a wonderful way to become a more focused, successful student. When a teacher asks a question, offer to answer it.       This shows the teacher that you are listening carefully during the class.

    Ask a question.       This really shows your teacher that you want to be better, and can recognize the things you are having difficulty with. Chances are that someone else in the class has the same question （and was too afraid to ask!）. They'll be relieved, and so will you.

A. Avoid sitting with friends.

B. This can help you listen more attentively.

C. If he or she ask for an opinion, share your own.

D. Talking with friends makes you lose interest in class.

E. He or she is trying to give you an acceptable education.

F. The more quickly you answer, the more attention you pay.

G. If you don't understand something, never be afraid to ask.

    When I was a boy there were no smart phones or computers. Still, I never felt bored. The fields,1and woodlands around my home were the perfect playground. I can remember once hiking to nearby2and walking slowly around it. At the back of it I was amazed to find an old dirt road that I had never seen before. It was full of muddy tyre tracks and deep woods bordered it on both sides, but 3it still seemed like a fine adventure.

    I 4on and on for what seemed like hours. I was sure my guardian angel（守护天使）was5in my ears to turn around and 6back home but I was 7and even a bit stupid, so I walked on. There was still neither a car nor a house 8. My legs were getting tired. I noticed that the sun was starting to go down and I grew 9. I didn't want to end up 10on this road in the dark of night, and I was worried that it would be dark 11I could make my way back to the lake again.

    I continued to walk on with the fear growing inside of me. My heart was 12faster and my legs were aching more seriously than before. When I 13one last corner and saw a house that I 14, I jumped up and down and laughed out loud. I knew the way home! It was still over a mile away, but my 15felt like feathers. I 16into the house with a big smile just in time for dinner. Then I ended my adventure with a good night's sleep.

    I remembered this recently when I saw a 17, saying, "All roads lead home". This is true. I also remembered a sage（圣人）compared life to a journey. Are we going to make this life a terrible 18or are we going to make the life a joyful one？  It19 our own choice.

    All roads no matter how they twist and turn, can 20us home in our hearts. May you always walk your path with love! May you always help your fellow travelers along the way!

    Should naps(小睡) actually       (take) during the day? Well, we certainly know from      (evident) in the sleep center and that of many other scientists that naps can give you benefits for both your brain       your body. But naps can actually be       double-edged sword because while we're awake during the day, we're building up sleepiness or sleep pressure. So when you try to fall asleep at night, you'll fall asleep quickly and then you'll stay asleep. And when we sleep, we actually release that sleepiness so that we wake up the next morning feeling      (refresh).

    So if you take a nap during the day, especially if you take it too late in the afternoon, you will actually release some of that sleepiness and it will make it much      (hard) to fall asleep and stay asleep soundly throughout the night. So the advice would be if you don't struggle with your sleep and you can nap      (regular), then naps are just fine.

    But if you do find it difficult       (fall)asleep or stay asleep at night, then you should avoid naps and try to build up that healthy sleepiness in the evening.

    The ideal nap depends on       you want from that nap. Different stages of sleep actually give you different types of brain and body       (benefit).

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词.

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉.

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词.

注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分.

    I went to the seaside to spending my summer holiday with my family. We stayed there for about two week. The weather was much hotter than in my hometown, but I got used to it or felt at home. Every morning, I got up early than my parents and went for breakfast ahead of the time. Then I went to have a chat with my new friend, John, whom I happen to come across during my holiday. John was a native and quite warm﹣heartedly and he was familiar to the seaside. Soon we became very good friends. After we parted, we have kept write to each other.

1）国家重视农村发展；

2）农村的显著变化（如住房、公路、教育等）；

3）邀请Jerry有机会来参观；

注意：1）词数100左右.

2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯.

Dear Jerry,

    I'm glad to hear from you last week.

Yours,

Li Hua