It was a few days before Christmas many years ago and it looked like it would be a hard one for my family. I lost my job so we didn't have much _______ . My wife and I had saved to buy our young children  some toys , _______ an unexpected car repair took most  of our cash. We decided then that we could only _______ to get one small gift for each of our children.

We arrived at the store and walked past people loading gifts into their cars. I _______ them a bit,because it sure didn't feel like Christmas to me. We hurried into the store past the Salvation Army bell ringer with our heads _______ . I had always enjoyed putting something in his _______ before but wasn't _______ if I could afford this time. We _______ all through the store hoping to find one thing each of our small children would like. _______ , we were able to get them each something sweet. We headed for the ________ ，bought the toys, and were amazed that we even had a few dollars ________ . As we walked out of the store, I stopped and ________ those dollars into the bell ringer's kettle. I didn't have a coin left but that didn't matter. ________ , it felt like Christmas.

I think the wonderful actress, Dale Evans ________ it best when she said,“Christmas is love ________ . Every time we love, every time we ________ ，it's Christmas. ” It doesn't ________ have to be a gift of money either. When we give our time, it's Christmas. When we share our ________ ,it's Christmas. When we give others our ________ and compassion , it's Christmas. When we do ________ at any time to help another, it's Christmas.

In recent years,American teens 【小题1】（earn） less than stellar（优秀的）scores on the national exam. A new analysis from the Center for American Progress argues for one simple step 【小题2】（help）raise these scores:Start school later in the day.

【小题3】（delay）start time by an hour across the country could improve students math scores up to eight 【小题4】（point）, the analysis says. That's almost one grade level of learning. The idea is that giving sleep-lacking teens more time to sleep 【小题5】 they hit the books will help them learn better.

In the previous study conducted in 2012 , middle school students 【小题6】 switched schedules to start school an hour later saw their test scores increase. And among them the low-performing students saw the 【小题7】（big）increase.

The Center for American Progress considered what would happen if those results 【小题8】（repeat） around the country.

“What we found is the impact 【小题9】 student achievement would be quite large,” Ulrich Boster, a senior fellow at the center, told The Huffington Post. “Starting school later could 【小题10】（significant）improve students' outcomes. ”

What is American Sign Language?

American Sign Language （ASL）is a complete, complex language that employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body. 【小题1】 It is also one of several communication options used by people who are  deaf or hard of hearing.

Is sign language the same in other countries?

No one form of sign language is universal. 【小题2】 For example, British Sign Language（BSL）is a different language from ASL, and Americans who know ASL may not understand BSL.

【小题3】

The exact beginnings of ASL are not clear, but some suggest that it arose more than 200 years ago from the intermixing of local sign languages and French Sign Language （LSF）. Today's ASL includes some parts of LSF plus the original local sign languages , which over the years have combined and changed into a rich,complex, and mature language. Modern ASL and modern LSF are distinct languages. 【小题4】

How does ASL compare with spoken language?

【小题5】 But for people who are deaf （particularly those who are profoundly deaf）, the sounds of speech are often not heard, and only some speech sounds can be seen on the lips. Sign languages are based on the idea that vision is the most useful tool a deaf person has to communicate and receive information.

My name is Ann. I've been in China in a few years. With the help of Li Hua, a good friend of mine, I've been used to live in China. Li Hua, like other girls, are beautiful and lively. We became friends after we meet each other a few years ago. Although her English isn't easy to understand, but we enjoy chatting and we usually talk a lot about our favorite books. We're all surprised that Chinese culture and American culture are so differently. Now we are planning nice party for next Sunday. There, I will introduce Li Hua to my friends, one of who has been to China several time.