My father is a big fan of tea. When he is in a good mood, he has a tea ceremony. “Lingling, how about enjoying a cup of tea with me?” This was my father’s invitation. I always refused, thinking it was too boring. But one day, I accepted, and I’m glad I did that.

That day, as usual, he made the tea silently. Sitting by his side, I kept silent, too. Through his peaceful moves, I sensed something special in the way the steam rose from the teapot and cups. After my father poured the boiling water into the teapot, the tea leaves opened slowly and smoothly. Then the water turned green little by little, as if someone was drawing a beautiful Chinese painting.

I took a cup and tasted it. It was a bit bitter at first but when I tasted it, the tea left a wonderful aftertaste. I even noticed a sweetness.

I suddenly realized that life is just like a cup of tea. The world around us is like the boiling water and the people are like the leaves. The leaves can give off their delicate fragrance (微妙的香味) only through hot water. Similarly, we must also go through hardships in life before we can fully present our talents. Maybe we must face bitterness in the beginning, but we can choose the fight for the sweetness ahead.

Would you pick up a book in your free time? Many teenagers in western countries would say “no”. Reading for pleasure is a hot topic in countries such as the USA and the UK. It means you read a book out of interest, not because teachers or parents tell you to do so.

About a third of 13-year-olds in the USA say that they read for pleasure fewer than twice a year, according to studies by the USA organization Common Sense Media. At the same time, in the UK, more than 60 percent of 18-to-30-year-olds prefer watching television or DVDs to reading, according to a survey from the charity Booktrust.

Computer games, online videos and social networking (社交网络) are pushing books off the shelf. Educational experts believe it’s a worrying fact.

“A reading child is, quite simply, a successful child,” said British children's writer Alan Gibbons, who used to be a school teacher. “When you read often with full interest, you lay foundations (打好基础) that last for life.”

It’s never too late to start reading. So try turning off the TV and jump into the wonderful world of a book!

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Most people recognize the cactus (仙人掌) plant by its sharp points. But there are other things that make the cactus plant different from other plants.

Scientists think that long ago the cactus looked much like any other plant. But, over the years they moved into hot, dry deserts. When cactuses started to grow in dry areas, they slowly began to change. Like all desert plants, cactuses had to live for long periods of time without water. Soon, their stems (茎) started to grow thicker to store water. After a good rain, cactuses are made of 90% water!

As time went by, there were other changes to the cactus plant. These changes helped the plant to live even better in dry places. The stems became thicker and thicker. Soon, chlorophyll (叶绿素) appeared in the stem.

Chlorophyll is very important to plants. People can usually find chlorophyll in a plant’s leaves. Chlorophyll gives leaves their green color. But chlorophyll has another important purpose. It creates the plant’s food. The plant’s energy to stay alive comes from chlorophyll.

After chlorophyll moved to the cactus stem, the cactus had to face a problem that the big leaves evaporated (蒸发) too much water in hot and dry areas. That made it in danger of death! Then the cactus tried to grow smaller leaves. The leaves have been changing till they become needles (刺). Now, without big leaves, chlorophyll in the stem draws sunlight and makes nourishment directly.

Some desert plants send down long roots to get water from deep inside the ground. But cactuses have a different root system. Their roots do not go deep down into the ground. Instead, they grow in all directions. The roots get water from a very large area. Even a small cactus plant may send its roots a distance of 9 to 12 meters from the area where it grows. There are scientists who study the roots of the desert cactuses. They say something surprising: if we looked at the ground under a desert where cactuses grow, it would look like a thick forest of roots!

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