It was break time at the village school. After the bell ________, the children ran out into the sunshine playing with fun and laughter.

All ________ poor Davy. He came out last and very slowly, but he was not laughing. He was thinking of the bad words that ________ classmates said about his old clothes. Poor Davy had no father, and his mother had to work ________ to keep him at school.

That night, he went home by the path that went across the fields. He still felt ________. Just then his teacher came along. She saw who it was, and stopped, saying kindly, “What is the ________, Davy?”

He did not speak, but tears began ________. Then he told her all his trouble.

When his story ended, she said, “I have ________ plan, Davy, I think it will help you. How would you like to be a little flower ________?”

“And make money?” said Davy. “That would be exciting. But where shall I get my flowers?”

“Right in the fields,” said his teacher. “Pick and bring them all to my house, and I will help you arrange them.”

So, day after day, Davy ________ beautiful flowers in the fields. He soon made enough money to buy new clothes.

Did people eat takeout in ancient times?

In fact, there was takeout as far back as the Song Dynasty (960—1279). According to history books, Emperor Xiaozong (1127—1194) liked to order takeout late at night. His servants then went around the city to pick up the dishes and bring them back to the palace.

Common people also ordered takeout. Restaurants would get their workers to go on the streets and shout out loud which dishes could be ordered that day. People could then order the dishes they wanted directly. Later, delivery (递送) workers would bring food to the customers’ homes. In the famous Song Dynasty painting Along the River During the Qingming Day, a takeout worker can be seen doing a delivery with food in hand.

People at that time even had special boxes for takeout dishes. They were not like normal boxes. They were wooden boxes with several layers (层), People also used warming plates between two different layers. Hot water could be put between them to keep the dishes warm and delicious.

Have your parents ever helped you with schoolwork or other projects? Do you think they are giving you too much help?

Du Peng, 18, from Hebei Province, has a story to share. He said that while in middle school, his mother often encouraged him to go to English speaking competitions. To help her son win, Du’s mother once asked an English teacher to write the speech for his son. “Although I got good results at the contest, I didn’t feel proud,” Du said.

Du is not the only one. Nearly 90 percent of Chinese parents said that they have helped their kids too much in school, according to a survey of 1,504 parents done by China Youth Daily. At the same time, 70 percent of parents agreed that doing too much for their children could lead to their children losing independence.

Children also want to do things by themselves. “Doing things ourselves gives us a strong sense of achievement,” said Liu Jiawei, 13. “We will leave our parents one day. So it’s better to develop skills and live independently as early as possible.”

Some, however, think parents have good reasons to help. Jiang Qi, 12, from Beijing, said that his parents would sometimes help him by making PPTs. “Our teachers have high expectations for us,” Jiang said. “If my parents didn’t help me while other students still got help from their parents, I would not do as well as others.”

ChatGPT, a smart AI tool, has swept the education world in the past months. According to a US survey of more than 1,000 students, over 89 percent of them have used ChatGPT to help with their homework.

Developed by US company OpenAI, ChatGPT is a powerful tool. You can ask it to write stories and emails, create a food menu, translate languages, and answer all kinds of questions.

Some schools in the US, Australia and France have banned（禁止）the use of ChatGPT. In the US, for example, New York City public schools banned students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the networks and devices（设备）, CNN reported. Why? ChatGPT makes it easier for students to cheat on their homework. Some also worry that ChatGPT could be used to spread information that is not true.

Apart from bans, teachers are making changes to their classes to cut off the use of ChatGPT. Some college teachers in the US try to include more speaking exams and handwritten papers instead of homework done on computer, The New York Times reported.

However, not all educators say “no” to ChatGPT. Some Canadian universities are making rules on its use, for both students and teachers. They have no plans to completely ban the tool so far.

    41     But some people surprised us by testing these limits (极限). Here are some examples.

How long can you hold your breath underwater?

Practicing holding your breath underwater is dangerous sometimes. With a little training, a person can hold his or her breath for two to three minutes. Aleix Segura Vendrell is a swimmer from Spain.     42     This was once the world record for breath-holding. On 27 March 2021, Budimir Sobat broke the record with an unbelievable time of 24 minutes 37.36 seconds.

How much can a human lift?

Usually, a healthy person can lift 50 to 60 kilograms. This is the safe amount to lift.     43     Andy Bolton is a British weightlifter. He lifted 457.5 kilograms from the floor to his thigh(大腿). That’s the most that any human can lift, according to New Scientist.

    44    

When people don’t get enough sleep, they get angry easily.     45     According to HuffPost, Randy Gardner from the United States holds the record for the longest time spent awake. He didn’t sleep for 264 hours. That’s about 11 days.