Rick was a young boy who was angry at everything around him. To calm Rick down, his mom came home with a canvas (画布) and ________. “Whenever you feel bad about something, paint it instead of getting ________.”

Though not that happy, Rick gave it a ________. After creating many paintings, he took his artwork to his mom.

“Tell me, Rick. What are these paintings about?”

“The first is about how some kids show off their new clothes. The next is about my teacher who always tells me about ________ I’m doing things wrong. And the last painting is about how one of my schoolmates said I should change my attitude (态度). They all make me so angry.”

Rick’s mom took Rick ________ her side and told him, “Don’t you see, Rick? You’re getting so angry but you never try to understand why.” Then she explained carefully, “All the people you were angry at did ________ wrong. The kids were showing off their good clothes but never laughed at you for being ________. Your teacher scolded (责备) you but that was because you ________ trouble in class. And your schoolmate was only trying to help you ________ your mistakes.”

“Next time you get angry, take a deep breath and walk away for a couple of seconds. And when you come back, talk to the person you’re angry at. You might calm down in this way.”

Rick took his mom’s advice and became ________ angry. He even started to feel happy around other children.

CAN YOU COOK?

This teenager can—and his mum’s very happy with him.

Tom is like any other teenager. He goes to school, does his homework, meets his friends and enjoys doing sports.

But between 5: 30 and 6: 30 from Monday to Friday, Tom does something different. He cooks dinner for all the family: mum, dad, younger brother Joe and older sister Emma.

“I think it’s important for teenagers to learn how to cook. Maths and English are important, of course, but they need other skills too to help them in today’s world. First I taught Tom how to cook easy meals like pizza or egg and chips. Then he started using recipes in my cookery books. Yesterday he made vegetable soup. It was very good!” Tom’s mum said.

“I love cooking and I think I’m really good at it. None of my friends can cook. I don’t know why. It isn’t difficult and it’s great fun!” Tom said.

In the past, Tom didn’t help out at home and his mum wasn’t very happy with him. Today, things are different and she is very happy.

This summer, the temperatures were very high in Europe. Firefighters fought against hundreds of wildfires in many European countries. And hundreds of people died because of the heat wave.

However, according to a survey, only about 20% of homes in Europe have air conditioners (空调), compared to 90% in the US. Why is that?

First, usually it isn’t very hot in Europe in summer because of its location. Europe is located farther north than the US, making the weather cooler. The average July high in London is 24℃, which is 10 degrees cooler than the average July high in New York.

Second, there are many old houses in Europe. More than half of the houses in Europe were built in the last century. The weather then was not as hot as it is nowadays. Naturally, air conditioners were unnecessary. What’s more, those old houses’ structure and material make it harder and more expensive to install (安装) air conditioners. Installing an air conditioner could cost more than the air conditioner itself.

As for other reasons, they can be very personal. Some people think air conditioners make them sick, so they don’t accept air conditioners. Some think using air conditioners produces much greenhouse gas. It is bad for the environment and makes the weather even hotter!

______ With higher and higher temperatures, more and more Europeans are considering installing air conditioners these days.

Gever Tulley is a computer scientist from California. In 2005, he started a summer programme for children called Tinkering School. The idea was that children can learn important skills for life by building things together. Gever Tulley and his team help the children to think big and create plans for new things they want to build. Children have made fantastic things since the school started. They have built a rollercoaster. They have made a rope bridge from plastic shopping bags. They have made tree houses, wooden motorbikes and boats.

At Tinkering School, children get all kinds of materials like wood, metal, plastic, nails and ropes. They get lots of real tools too, such as knives, hammers, screwdrivers and power drills. Some children have cut themselves when using a knife, or hurt their fingers when using a hammer. Tinkering School has been around for many years now, but nobody has ever had a serious injury in all those years. This is because there are strict health and safety rules they must follow. The children always learn how to use the tools safely and they must wear the right clothing and protection at all times.

Gever Tulley’s ideas have worked very well. A lot of children have gone to his summer schools over the years. In 2011, Gever Tulley decided to create a “real” school, called Brightworks, in San Francisco. The school is very small—it only has 20 students aged 6 to 13. Brightworks is based on the same principles (理念) as Tinkering School.

Since it started, Brightworks has been written about a lot. Most of those articles have been very positive. They have praised (表扬) the quality of the school. They have found the children are more active than at many other schools. But there have also been critical (批评的) voices. Some people have said that children are not learning enough at Brightworks. They feel that students and teachers are just “playing around” all the time.

The students at Brightworks seem to love their school. We spoke to 12-year-old Tina Cooper. She has been a student at the school since last October. “Since I started here, I’ve never sat in a ‘normal’ class with a teacher.” she told us. “But it’s been a very exciting experience. I’ve worked hard at my new school for eight months now, and there hasn’t been one single moment when I found it boring. Before, I was bored quite often.”