We are collecting more news for our school English newspaper. Would you like to be reporters for it? Welcome! Here are two pieces from the news page.

The best runner

We had a sports day at school yesterday. Last year’s best runner, Li Yu, only won the second prize in the 800-meter race. Instead, Yang Liu from Class Two came first by two seconds. Next year the race is going to be more interesting! Who will be the best runner? I wonder.

Good-bye, Mr. White!

Our English teacher, Mr. White, has finished his two years’ teaching at our school and will leave next month. Mr. White is an excellent teacher and he’s always friendly to us. We’ll never forget his lively and interesting teaching. We are lucky to be his students. We thank him for all his hard work and wish him a good journey home. We will miss you, Mr. White!

What makes you fall asleep? The main reason is your body clock, a time-keeper inside your body. But how to control and use your body clock? Scientists advised people to have a shower before bed. Jumping into the shower around an hour before bed could mean you sleep better.

A warm shower helps you relax, and then after it warms you up, your body temperature drops. This encourages you to fall asleep more quickly and sleep more soundly.

A study said that a water temperature of 40℃ to 42.4℃ produces the best-quality (最优质的) sleep. After people lie down, most of them take about 20 minutes to fall asleep. However, if you have a shower one to two hours before going to bed, you will fall asleep 10 minutes earlier.

Your body temperature drops naturally before you sleep, then drops further during the night. It rises again as you wake up. It is thought that taking a warm shower will speed up the drop in temperature before bed, as it brings blood to the surface of the body, and then the heat is given off.

Daydreaming can get in the way of your grades.     34     By interacting (互动) in class and taking better care of yourself, you can cut down the daydreaming and improve your performance in class.

Interact in class

Sitting in the front and center of the classroom will encourage you to give your attention to teachers. It’s also easier for teachers to notice you.     35     When you have something meaningful to share, put your hand up.

Prepare your body

Brain foods that are full of nutrients (营养物) will give you long lasting energy.     36     Being thirsty will draw your focus away. Just like you would run a marathon (马拉松), you need to prepare your body as much as possible.

Get enough rest

    37     The most common reason why we daydream is that we are often tired and we can’t pay attention to what we are learning. A sleep habit helps a lot.     38     Then your body will know when it’s time to shut off and restart for the next day.

Do you believe a rose plant says “I want some water” or a tree shouts “My arms hurt”? Maybe you will say this could only happen in some children’s stories.

In fact, plants are not always silent. A recent study has found plants shout when they are in need of water or having their stems (茎干) cut. “Even in a quiet field, there are some sounds that carry information. However, the sound is too low for people to hear,” said Lilach Hadany, a professor from Tel Aviv University.

The researchers used microphones (麦克风) to record some tomato plants and found that stressed plants send out more sounds than unstressed plants. “When tomatoes are not stressed at all, they are very quiet,” Professor Hadany said. They also invented a machine to tell the differences between thirsty plants and cut plants. The result shows that when the causes of stress change, they shout differently. After the team recorded many kinds of other plants, they found that many plants like corn, wheat and grape plants send out sounds when they are under stress, too. “There is a possibility that a lot of communication is happening,” Professor Hadany said. “Because other plants can probably hear the call of the stressed plants.”

Sound recordings of plants could bring humans lots of advantages, especially in farming. For example, people will make sure whether corn is getting enough water or where water is needed most without much difficulty.

“Dong” (侗族) is one of China’s 55 ethnic minorities (少数民族), with a population of less than three million, mainly living     54     South China. The ethnic group is well     55     (know) for its traditional embroidery (刺绣).

Qin Naishiqing is a Dong embroidery master. At the age of 91, she is still good at     56     (cut) paper into different shapes, which she says is the spirit of the handmade art. “You should be talented in embroidery to become good at paper cutting. When you get a piece of     57     (paper), you should think about the shapes in your mind without drawing     58     (they),” Qin said.

Teaching embroidery is a family tradition, and Qin’s two daughters-in-law     59     (usual) join her in teaching the young. Dong people usually embroider animals and plants on clothes. Dragons and flowers     60     (be) common in folk art. Spider flowers are very important and meaningful in Dong people’s embroidery. They are regarded as     61     symbol of good wishes.

Every Dong girl is encouraged     62     (learn) the skill at an early age, around ten years old.     63     she gets married, she will receive a whole set of clothes made by her mother. There are now     64     (thousand) of women in the country taking up embroidery an art form that has remained unchanged over the years. Qin hopes she can help make sure the tradition continues.

Hanfu (汉服) has become popular again in China. More and more young people love it, and they usually wear Hanfu proudly and     65    . The style has also attracted (吸引) many     66    . Tom, a young man from England, is one of them.

Tom teaches English in a school in Xi’an. In the city, people in Hanfu are often     67     in the streets. After seeing that many times, Tom started to have a     68     interest in it and really wanted to have a try. “My first try was the Tang style. I can’t forget the     69     time I put it on,” said the young man. “It made     70     very special, and it is still my favorite one today.” Every time he puts on Hanfu, he has a feeling of travelling     71     to ancient times.

Hanfu is like a     72     for Tom. It leads to a room of colorful Chinese culture. In the past, he only knew China has a long     73    . And now Hanfu helps him to know more about Chinese culture.

Tom is making short videos about Hanfu. “I can’t wait to     74     Chinese culture to the world,” said Tom. “I hope more people will learn about Hanfu and China     75     my videos.”

76. 为响应我市全面创建国家卫生城市的号召，你校开展了以“绿色城市，健康生活”为主题的英语征文活动。请你以“The Green City, the Healthy Life”为题，简要描述并适当发表自己的观点。

The Green City, the Healthy Life

Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious.