Did you know that a new weblog is being created each second? Many of these bloggers are teenagers. While their parents wrote in a diary to express their emotions, or shared their interests by spending time with friends, teens are now using blogs instead. In fact, in the US, one in every five school-aged teens has a blog. Most of these are just chatter, some are funny or clever, but a few have become Internet success.

For example, Chloe Spencer’s blog ‘Neopets Fanatic’ gets around 300,000 hits per month. When Chloe was 15, she started the blog out of her strong liking for Neopets, a kind of pet website. One reason her blog has so many visitors is because she gives instructions and tips for the popular pet site.

Then there is Tavi Gevinson’s blog ‘Style Rookie’. It is said to get 1.5 million hits per month. Tavi, who started her blog when she was just 12, puts up her photos of her own clothes online as well as designers’ collections. Tavi’s blog has caught on because she knows a lot about style for someone so young, and she is not afraid to try out unusual clothes or see things in a different way.

Blogs like these are interesting, but they only become really popular after better-known websites link to them or they get noticed by the media(传媒). For example, Tavi’s blog became an overnight(一夜之间) success after being written about in The New York Times. Popular blogs can even earn money, usually from advertisements that companies pay to put up on the bloggers’ sites.

So for some, blogging is just a recreation(消遣), but for others, it can become a source of income and even a full-time job!

1. Teens nowadays ________ than their parents did.

A. have more ways of communication?????????????

B. share their feelings more

C. write in diaries more often ?????????????

D. make more friends

2. In line 4, the underlined word ‘chatter’ means talk about ________ topics.

A. funny????????????? B. clever????????????? C. serious????????????? D. unimportant

3.Chloe Spencer and Tavi Gevinson are both ________.

A. pet lovers????????????? ????????????? B. teenage bloggers

C. interested in fashion????????????? ????????????? D. keen on taking photos

4. From the passage we know that Chloe Spencer is a person who ________.

A. visits many websites????????????? ????????????? B. loves pets

C. is easy to get angry????????????? ????????????? D. rarely gives opinions

5. According to paragraph 4, Tavi Gevinson’s blog ________.

A. is not well-known yet????????????? ?????????????

B. is written every night

C. became popular very quickly?????????????

D. got a lot of money from advertising?

6.The best title for the passage might be ________.

A. How to be good teen bloggers?????????????

B. How teen bloggers attract the media

C. Keeping diaries or writing blogs?????????????

D. Teen bloggers mean business

There are hundreds of funny and strange expressions in the English language. A lot of them include country names or nationalities. Take these examples:
The Dutch（丹麦人）are the target of most English expressions about nationalities. Why are there so many jokes about the Dutch in English? And what do these expressions mean? In the 17th and early 18th centuries, there were three wars between the British and the Dutch, and Dutch became a bad word. So double Dutch means something that has no meaning or is impossible to understand. A Dutch uncle is someone who gives much stronger advice than they need to. There are later expressions, which are funnier and kinder, like to go Dutch, which is nowadays a popular expression. It means to pay for your part of a bill. This often happens when a group of friends have a meal together, and each person pays for the food they ate. I’m a Dutchman is another commonly used expression. This means not being able to believe something.
An expression with a similar meaning to double Dutch is it’s all Greek to me, which means I don’t understand. The expression was made famous in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar although the expression is actually hundreds of years older.
If you take French leave, you are not present or leave somewhere without permission. For example, you could take French leave from a classroom or the place where you work. This expression is from the 18th century when French people left parties without saying goodbye to the host or hostess.
There are Chinese whispers, which mean confused（令人困惑的）messages. This describes the fact that a message can often change as it is passed from person to person. This expression comes from the First World War when foreigners were often confused by Chinese language.
Many people find English expressions confusing, but now that you know about some of them, you can easily have fun finding out many more funny English expressions.
【小题1】Are there many jokes about the Dutch in English?
【小题2】When did Dutch become a bad word?
【小题3】What does “French leave” mean?
【小题4】Which three expressions mentioned above have similar meanings?
【小题5】What do the funny and strange expressions in the passage have in common?

There are hundreds of funny and strange expressions in the English language. A lot of them include country names or nationalities. Take these examples:

The Dutch（丹麦人）are the target of most English expressions about nationalities. Why are there so many jokes about the Dutch in English? And what do these expressions mean? In the 17th and early 18th centuries, there were three wars between the British and the Dutch, and Dutch became a bad word. So double Dutch means something that has no meaning or is impossible to understand. A Dutch uncle is someone who gives much stronger advice than they need to. There are later expressions, which are funnier and kinder, like to go Dutch, which is nowadays a popular expression. It means to pay for your part of a bill. This often happens when a group of friends have a meal together, and each person pays for the food they ate. I’m a Dutchman is another commonly used expression. This means not being able to believe something.

An expression with a similar meaning to double Dutch is it’s all Greek to me, which means I don’t understand. The expression was made famous in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar although the expression is actually hundreds of years older.

If you take French leave, you are not present or leave somewhere without permission. For example, you could take French leave from a classroom or the place where you work. This expression is from the 18th century when French people left parties without saying goodbye to the host or hostess.

There are Chinese whispers, which mean confused（令人困惑的）messages. This describes the fact that a message can often change as it is passed from person to person. This expression comes from the First World War when foreigners were often confused by Chinese language.

Many people find English expressions confusing, but now that you know about some of them, you can easily have fun finding out many more funny English expressions.

1.Are there many jokes about the Dutch in English?

2.When did Dutch become a bad word?

3.What does “French leave” mean?

4.Which three expressions mentioned above have similar meanings?

5.What do the funny and strange expressions in the passage have in common?

阅读下面短文，并借助连环图和上下文补充所缺信息。每个空只能填写一个形式正确、与短文意思相符的英语单词。

Xiaohong is a primary school student. On （1）               , she has to do all kinds of extra work. On Saturday morning, she has to practice the （2）              . In the afternoon, her parents want her to practice （3）              . On Sunday morning, she has a（n） （4）

               lesson. On Sunday afternoon, she has to learn （5）              . Does this girl really have so many （6）               ?

       Nowadays, parents in China have too much hope for their （7）              . They hope that their children are able to （8）               some special skills so that they can have a better life in the future. In my （9）              , few of the children are really interested in these lessons. Children are children. They must have some free time to enjoy their childhood. As an English proverb（谚语） goes, “All work and no （10）             makes Jack a dull boy.”