School gardens have appeared across the country. Teachers use the gardens to give lessons in science, maths and more.

Studies show that kids who work in outdoor gardens get higher scores on science tests. Teachers hope that by learning where their food comes from, kids will make healthier food choices at meal times.

Students at No.11 Middle School plant seeds in spring. They grow pumpkins (南瓜), peppers (辣椒) and broccoli (西蓝花). The students look after the garden until summer. They get in the vegetables in fall.

Li Yan likes that job best. “It’s like a hunt,” she said. “You have to look at all the vegetables to find the ones that are ready to be picked.”

The school gives away the crops to a food bank. “Giving back to the community (社区) is an important lesson,” says the school leader. Li Yan likes the idea that her hard work helps others. “Everyone can make a difference,” she says.

There were many plants in a forest. When spring came, a pine tree saw a red rose nearby and said, “What a beautiful flower! I wish I were that lovely.”

The rose proudly said, “It seems that I am the most beautiful flower in this forest.” Then the rose looked at a cactus(仙人掌) and said, “Look at that ugly plant full of thorns(刺)!”

“What a proud flower!” thought the tree.

As the days passed, the red rose often looked at the cactus and said bad words about it, like “This plant is useless. How sorry I am to be his neighbor!”

The cactus never got angry and even tried to advise the rose, saying, “Any form of life couldn’t be created without a purpose.”

Spring passed, and the weather became very hot. As there was no rain, the red rose began to wilt(枯萎).

One day the rose saw birds put their beaks (喙) into the cactus and then fly away. The red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds were getting water from the cactus.

“The cactus has water?” asked the rose.

“Yes, you can also drink some from it. The birds can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help.”

The red rose felt too ashamed to ask for water from the cactus. But finally it did ask for help. The cactus kindly agreed.

The rose learned a lesson that never judged (评价) anyone by their appearance again.

Linda and Laura were very excited because it would be their mother’s birthday next Monday. Their mother loved     36     and she knew a lot about them. On Thursday, the two girls pretended (假装) that they were going out to buy eggs and bread with their father.     37     they went to the plant store where their mother often went. With their father’s help, they     38     a plant with beautiful flowers. They were sure their mother would like     39    .

When they got home, the two girls’ mother was busy in the kitchen, so they     40     carried the plant to their room. They wondered where they could put it because they wanted to give their mother a surprise on Monday. They looked around the room carefully. Finally, the two young girls had a(n)     41    . They put the plant in a big box and     42     it to the top of the bookcase. After it was done, they were very happy.

However, no one     43     of watering the plant over the next few days. They just treated the plant     44     any other gift. When their mother’s birthday came, they opened the box and found a dead plant with dry flowers, but it still     45     their mother happy.

Do you long to have garden-fresh vegetables on your plate every night? Read on for information on how to take care of a garden.

Never let the soil in your garden dry out. If it doesn’t rain for a few days and the soil feels dry, water your garden. Be sure the water gets all the way down to the roots (the parts that grow down into the soil) of the plants, but don’t water too much. You could drown(淹死) your plants!

You may see some plants in your garden that you didn’t put there. These are weeds. Pull them out when the ground is soft and wet. Be sure you pull out the roots, or the weeds(野草) will grow back. 

Tall plants such as tomatoes need sticks to hold them up. Without sticks, they’ll fall over. When your tomato plants get to be about two feet tall, it’s time to tie them to a stake(桩). Push a long stick into the ground next to each plant. Tie the plant to the stick with a string. As each plant grows taller, you’ll have to tie it up again.

If you’ve planted seeds, you can expect too many plants to come out. You have to clear some away so that the plants left will have room to grow. This is called thinning. If you’ve planted lettuce(生菜) seeds, wait until the baby plants are about 1.5 inches tall. Then pull some of the plants out so that you can leave about 8 inches between plants.

Now that you’ve done all the work to make a vegetable garden, it’s time to enjoy what you’ve finished. Pick a red, ripe and juicy tomato. Eat it while it’s still warm from the sun. If you have more vegetables from your garden than your family can eat, give them to friends and neighbors. It’s fun to have the joy you get from your garden together with others.