Once upon a time, there were two neighbors living next to each other. One of them was a teacher and the other was an engineer. ________ of them grew plants in their gardens.

The teacher gave his plants a little water and didn’t always pay much attention to them, while the engineer gave a lot of water to his plants and ________ them very well.

One day, a storm started suddenly. The next morning, the engineer was ________ to see that his plants were uprooted (连根拔起). However, the teacher’s plants were growing very well. The engineer went to the teacher and asked, “We both grew the same plants together, I ________ looked after my plants better than you did to ________. Still, my plants were uprooted, but yours were not. ________ is that possible?”

The teacher said, “You gave your plants enough ________ and water. Because of that, your plants don’t need to work to find water. While I gave them just adequate (适当的) water and let their roots ________ for more. And their roots went deeper and deeper, which made them ________.”

The children are like plants. If everything is given to them, they will not understand the hard work. Sometimes it’s best to guide them instead of ________ them everything.

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms(节气). Rain Water starts on February 18th this year. It shows the increase in rainfall (降雨) and the rise in temperature. With its arrival, trees and grass turn green again, birds move from south to north. Here are three things you may not know about Rain Water.

No. 1 Water as valuable as oil

As an old Chinese saying goes, “The rainfall in spring is as valuable as oil.” In northern China, it seldom rains and it is usually dry in spring. So Rain Water is considered as a key period for the farming when the day gets warmer and the rainfall increases.

No. 2 Return of cold spell (倒春寒)

More care is needed to deal with a returning cold period in the late spring. The fast increase of wet air can cause lower temperature and wet weather. People are advised to keep warm and not to take off the thick coats too early.

No. 3 Nutritious (有营养的) porridge

The wet and cold weather is harmful to people’s stomach. According to the Chinese medical practice, a bowl of nutritious porridge is the best choice for the body. People often eat porridge with a special kind of Chinese medicine. It can help to keep off the cold weather.

You have lots of things you’d like to do. But sometimes it’s hard to get to the finishing line—just like your goal. How can you break your bad habits and develop good ones?     40     Here are a few problems and solutions we get from kids.

●I can’t get away from screens.

To change a habit, you’d better change where you spend your time. If you usually spend time lying on the sofa and watching TV when you’re bored, go somewhere else instead.     41     Or ask if you can help cook in the kitchen.

●I can’t start such a huge goal.

Start with “showing up.” Then take one small step or do one tiny task, followed one after another. For example, how do I practice the piano? First sit at it.     42     Starting with a super-simple step often helps. Why? It’s easy, quick, and gets you in action. Then keep taking steps.

●     43    

Take a look at the choices about how you spend time. Do those choices show what’s important to you? Can you spare 10 minutes a day to work on a goal? Let’s suppose you want to be a singer. Which is more important, practicing singing or playing games?     44