【推荐1】Jimmy is a lovely boy. He’s ten years old. He studies at a primary school, but his home is a little far from school. Jimmy’s mother goes to work by car, so she always takes Jimmy to school in the morning and brings him back when he finishes school in the afternoon.

“Mum, a lot of my friends have bikes, and they ride to school every day. They are so cool,” Jimmy said to his mother one day.

“Well, Jimmy. I know you would like to have a bike of your own, too. So I will buy you a nice bike soon,” Jimmy’s mother said.

The next day Jimmy’s mother stopped her car at a traffic light. “Jimmy,” she said, “I’m going to buy you a bike next month, but first I’m going to ask you some questions. If you can answer my questions correctly (正确地), I will buy a very nice bike for you. Now, look at the traffic light. Do you know the meanings?”

“Oh, yes, I do,” Jimmy answered happily. “The red light means ‘Stop’ and the green light means ‘Go’.”

“That’s right. How about the yellow light?”

“The yellow light means ‘Go very quickly’.”

When you are in Hong Kong, you must be very careful in the streets because the traffic drives on the left. It is different from that in other areas of China. If you are first time to come to Hong Kong, you must look to the right side and then the left before you cross the street.

If the traffic lights are green, the traffic can go, but people on foot mustn’t cross. They can go across the street when the traffic lights are red.

When people go to or come from work in the morning and evening, the streets are very busy. Traffic is the most dangerous then, especially for the children.

When you go by bus in Hong Kong, you have to be careful, too. You must always remember the traffic moves on the left. So you must be careful. Have a look first, or you will go the wrong way.

In Hong Kong, there are many big buses with two floor, and you can sit on the second floor.

From there you can see the view of the whole city well. It’s very interesting.

When you drive, there are some things you must do and some things you mustn’t do. For example, when you come to a traffic light, a red light means you must stop. A green light means you can go if it is safe.

There are also lots of traffic signs you must understand. For example, when there is a stop sign, you must stop, and then you must look carefully. You mustn’t continue to drive, because it is not safe. When you see a no-entry (禁止进入) sign, you mustn’t turn into that road.

If you see a keep-left sign, you must drive to the left of it, not to the right. A speed limit (限速) sign, for example, 70 kph, means you mustn’t go faster than 70 kph, but you can go more slowly. Safe driving.

We live in a world with many kinds of people. We want to get along well with others. We also want to be liked by others. The following ways will make others like you.

Smile to others as often as possible

This is a simple way to make a good first impression (印象). Your smile is a sign of kindness. When someone feels stress from his or her teachers or parents, your smile is like the sun breaking through the clouds.

Become really interested in others

Do this and you’ll be welcome anywhere. The show of interest must be true. It brings good results not only to the person showing the interest, but also to the person receiving the attention.

Become a good listener and talker

When people are sad or angry, they want to express how they feel, you need to listen silently first until they get calm (镇静的). Then, ask questions that they like to answer. Next, encourage them to talk about themselves and their achievements. It is a good way to help them out.

【推荐2】Humans have been using cotton to make fabric(纤维) for clothing for more than 7,000 years. The ancient Egyptians produced it. So did the Incas of Peru and the ancient Persians.

Today, it remains the most commonly used natural material in the entire world. You might not be aware of it, but in your everyday life, you come in contact with cotton everywhere. When you wake up in the morning you slept on bed sheets made of cotton. You take a shower and when you dry yourself, you probably use a towel made of cotton. You put on your clothes, which probably have at least some cotton in them.

Cotton has many advantages that make it an excellent clothing material. On hot days, cotton clothing feels cool. It absorbs (吸收) body sweat and draws it away from the skin, keeping you cool and comfortable.

Cotton fabric is made from the cotton plant, a small plant that’s easy to grow. The seeds of the cotton plant are surrounded by fluffy (绒毛般的) white fibers for protection. These fibers are collected and made into cloth, which can then be made into many products.

The cotton seeds are not wasted, either. They are put in a machine that presses the oil out of them. This oil is a valuable product for cooking and is used in many kinds of food. The mush (碎屑) that’s left is used to feed animals, such as pigs and cows.

Nothing is wasted. That’s why cotton is such an amazing plant. Even more importantly, cotton is a natural product. It doesn’t require a lot of energy to produce, and it can be renewed every year simply by planting a new crop.

Yang Ling, 25, is a lover of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). She took part in a three-month training course on acupuncture and tuina (针灸推拿) in the winter of 2023 at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

Yang’s life has been different since the training. She changed her life habits after learning the Five Elements theory. For example, she avoided sweating (流汗) too much during exercise in winter and would slow down because of the cold winter, according to TCM. To her, learning these skills and theories was not becoming a TCM doctor but about accepting a new lifestyle.

She is not an unusual example of young people loving TCM. A survey by China Youth Daily showed that 93.3 percent of the 1,000 young people had tried different TCM treatments.

“I have seen a rising number of young people come to me for neck and back pains, which are usually related to the elderly,” said Ma Huifang, a TCM doctor at Guoyitang, a TCM hospital affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

“Between Western medicine and TCM, young people often choose TCM because of its effectiveness (有效性),” according to Ma.

Some people question why TCM treats the same illnesses with different therapies. “This is actually an advantage of TCM instead of a shortcoming, as it can be a more effective treatment for different patients,” Ma explained.

Younger age groups are welcoming TCM, and, at the same time, TCM is also benefiting young people. As Yang noted, “It helps young people understand Chinese medicine and learn the value of Chinese culture.”