Many teenagers believe their parents are the only ones who should deal with chores around the house, and they seldom help. Jessica, a mother of three, faced this ________. Her three teenage daughters spent lots of time on schoolwork, part-time jobs, and other activities. They always seemed too busy to do even the simplest chores around the house. So Jessica went on strike (罢工).

It all ________ on a typically busy Friday. Jessica was rushing around all over the town for the whole day. That evening, ________ she was taking a break for the first time, she looked around the house and realized that the kids had made a mess. Then Jessica decided to ________ doing the chores. And she stayed on strike for six days.

________, the children didn’t even notice what was happening until Day 3 of the strike. By then, dishes had piled up (摞起) in the kitchen, dirty plates were on the dining table, and there was a smell around the house. Her daughters were unhappy, but ________ did anything. It wasn’t until Day 5 that the girls started to ________ the house. While the girls were doing the chores, Jessica sat on the sofa drinking coffee that her ________ had made for her.

The kids said they were ________ to see how much their mom had been doing for them. “No one is too busy to do simple chores,” one kid said. “Everyone should play a part in keeping their house clean.” As for Jessica, she was ________ that she had done something correct.

Once upon a time, there was a village. People there did not like to share. One day, a traveler came to the village. He was very tired and hungry. He stopped at a house and knocked at the door.

A woman opened the door. “I’m a tired and hungry traveler,” he said. “May I have something to eat?” The woman shook her head. “We don’t have enough food to give away.” Then she closed the door.

The traveler picked up a stone from the ground and knocked at the door again.

“Perhaps you would like to have some of my stone soup!” said the traveler.

“Stone soup?” the woman was surprised.

“Yes. Just lend me a pot of hot water, please,”the traveler smiled. Though she didn’t want to, the woman still gave him a pot of hot water. The traveler placed the stone in it. “It’s good,” he said. “But if you had just a little salt and butter, the soup would taste better!”

A little angry but curious, the woman got him some salt and butter. At that time, some neighbors started to gather（聚集）around the traveler.

“It’s almost done,” the traveler said. “But it would be even nicer if there were some carrots and potatoes.”

“I have potatoes,” volunteered an elderly lady.

“I think I have carrots,” cried a young man.

Minutes later, the vegetables were added in. Soon, the air was filled with the smell of the soup. “Is it ready now?” the first woman asked. “Yes, but I remember that adding in some broth（肉汤）to the stone soup will make it taste better,” he replied. “I have broth,” yelled（大喊）a neighbor who was watching from a window.

Having all things in the pot, the traveler tasted a spoon of the soup. “Perfect!” he cried. Then, he served a bowl of stone soup to everyone. “It’s delicious!” the villagers all cried out happily.

If you have been a book lover since your childhood, you may have heard of the Newbery Medal. It goes to the best children’s books each year. But you may not know the person behind the prize. His name is John Newbery.

John Newbery was born in England in 1713. Back then, there weren’t many books for children. People didn’t think stories were important. However, Newbery believed kids should have books of their own. He thought young people should learn about the world from books and enjoy reading too.

As a child, Newbery was a huge book lover. Since he didn’t want to be a farmer, he became a publisher（出版人）when he grew up. He began this work in the town of Reading in England. Then he moved to London in 1743. Newbery published his first children’s book A Little Pretty Pocket-Book in 1744 and it became a huge success.

Soon, Newbery began publishing more children’s books. Some were about science and others were nursery rhymes（童谣）. In 1765, Newbery published The history of Little Goody Two-Shoes, a novel for kids. It made the saying “goody two-shoes” popular, which is used to describe a person who is overly well-behaved in a way that is forced and artificial（假装的）.

As a publisher, Newbery helped publish about 500 books for readers of all ages. That included more than 100 books for kids. This is why people call him “The Father of Children’s Literature”. And for more than 100 years, children’s book writers have been honored with the Newbery Medal for their great work.

Kids now can learn a valuable lesson from Newbery’s life. “He followed his passion（热情）,” said Michelle Markel, a children’s book writer. “He just loved books, and he thought everybody should have the chance to read them.”

Li Lirong opened the iShenzhen app, chose two bottles of milk and pressed OK on the screen. A few minutes later, she picked up the milk, which was free, from a nearby dispenser（自动售货机）. The cleaner in Shenzhen has been enjoying free products for several months. “It’s really heart-warming,” Li said. “Although it is a small act by the government, it shows great love.”

Shenzhen’s Futian District has launched a “Futian food bank” program. It encourages companies（公司）dealing with the food business to give away products that are about to expire（到期）. People can choose the products on the iShenzhen app and collect them from certain dispensers. The service is now open to people with low pay, such as cleaners and gardening workers, and people with special needs, such as childless elderly people.

“In order to prevent food waste in Futian, we set up the food bank program,” said Tang Yuhong, an officer of Futian District. “We also hope to give real help to people in need.” Tang hopes more companies and people can take part in the program.

Freshippo, a shopping platform（平台）, is one of the companies taking part in the program. And it has given away thousands of products so far. “Freshippo wants to play a leading role in the fight against food waste and help people in need. We will do more in the future.” said Shang Jun, one director of the company. Other shopping platforms such as Meituan and Dingdong Maicai are also taking part in the program.

Futian District plans to increase the number of dispensers and provide more help for people in need.

For many kids, a backpack is important, but what happens to it when it can no longer be used?

Usually, used clothes, shoes and bags go to landfill（废物填埋地）, but what happens to them there depends much on what they are made of. There are some natural materials which will break down in just a few months or even a few weeks, while other man-made materials can take up to 200 year!     31    

To solve the problem, the Institution of Engineering and Technology(IET) in London has come up with a backpack which is completely biodegradable（可生物降解的）.     32    

The idea came out after the IET carried out a study among some 5 to 13-year-old and asked the children to think about what clothes they’d be wearing in the future     33     And 86% believed that being sustainable（可持续的）is more important than looking cool.

The IET worked with a fashion（时尚）brand HYPE. And a business called Biophilica to create the biodegradable school backpack.     34     It invited children to design（设计）their own backpacks for the future. The winner will have a chance to have his or her design made into a real backpack.

    35     Hopefully, more and more environmentally friendly designs will come out in the future.