【推荐1】Western China is a large and beautiful region. It includes one major city, Chongqing, six provinces, and five autonomous regions (自治区). The six provinces are Sichuan, Shanxi, Gansu, Yunnan, Qinghai, and Guizhou. The five autonomous regions are Tibet, Ningxia Hui, Xinjiang Uygur, Guangxi Zhuang, and Inner Mongolia. Among all these provinces and autonomous regions, Xinjiang is the largest region and Ningxia is the smallest region.

Western China has an area of 5,400,000 square kilometers. This is about 56% of the total area of the country. However, there are many mountains, highlands, and deserts, and there are fewer rivers and lakes than in the East. Only around 22% of the population (人口) of China lives in the West, so there are far more people living in the East than living there.

Western China has a lot of natural resources. It is rich in oil and gas and it has many different kinds of minerals (矿). Tourists like to visit the area. There are many famous museums, ancient palaces, tombs (坟墓), and caves (洞), such as the Dazu museum, Shanxi History Museum, the Potala Palace, the Dunhuang Caves, and many other beautiful places such as Yunnan Dali and Sichuan Jiuzhaigou Valley.

【推荐3】If you want to visit China, there are three places where you shouldn't miss. They are Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Hong Kong is called the Oriental Pearl (东方之珠）. And it's also a shopping paradise（天堂）.If you have a chance to go there, you should visit Ocean Park and Victoria Peak.

When you hear the name of Macao, you may think that it's a gambling（赌博）house. People call Macao the Gambling City. In Macao, you can also visit Mazu Temple and the Ruins of St. Paul.

As you know, Taiwan is the Treasure Island of China. The scenery there is very beautiful. If you go there, you should not miss the Sun-Moon Lake and Mount Ali. You can also enjoy many kinds of delicious fruits there.

Lots of young people have never experienced home-life. Meals are cooked and clothes are washed as if by magic! We know that many children can’t wash or cook. They don’t clean the floor, make the bed or slice (切) the meat. Yes, they have homework but often no housework. But how are you ever going to learn the practical skills you will need in later life if everything is done for you? A change is coming. In China, schools are now thinking about teaching life skills as a subject.

We all need to prepare for real life, especially the housework. My parents have these practical life skills, but they forget to teach me. When I was at university, I had to learn to shop, prepare my food and cook meals. I wish my parents or my teachers had taught me all of them before! Now, I feel very confident in running a home. I especially enjoy cooking for my wife and my children.

Some people might say you can order food or book services online. In fact, good life skills will make you a better student, a better workmate and a better family member in your life. Making a meal needs good planning, skillful cooking, control of temperature and a good nose! It makes you smarter.

All this needs to start early. If you don’t have life skills, your education will be incomplete. One day, you will wonder why you have no clean socks, and why some of your best friends can cook a delicious meal but you cannot!

【推荐2】What will the home of the future look like? A team of architects (建筑师) in Hong Kong say that city homes will be tiny, as populations continue to grow and space becomes more expensive.

They have designed “spaceflats” that are just 30 square meters in size. These flats have three small rooms: a living room, a bathroom and a bedroom, as well as a balcony (阳台), but everything is carefully planned to make good use of the limited space.

The living room is the main room of the flat. It can be used as an office, a kitchen even a second bedroom. There is a sofa that can be changed into a bed. The dining table can be changed into a computer desk. And, if not needed, both the sofa-bed and the table can be folded away and stored into a small space in the wall. There is a flat-screen TV, which can also serve as a computer monitor. In one of the room, a small cooker, a microwave oven and a miniature (微型) refrigerator are hidden out of sight.

The other rooms are small but practical. The bathroom contains a toilet and a shower. The double bed in the bedroom can also be a sofa, if necessary. The balcony has enough room for two people to sit and enjoy the view from the block of flats. All the rooms have high ceiling to provide as much storage space as possible, while the flat has large windows to let in plenty of sunlight.

“Spaceflats” are now being tested in a building in Hong Kong. “It’s wonderful,” said one resident (居民) . “The flat is so well designed that you feel that there is plenty of space.”

We all need physical exercise. Exercise uses up food we eat and keeps the body energetic. If you exercise several times a week, you will stay happy and healthy.

Some Western countries, such as the United States, have problems with exercise. In the US, many people do not have enough exercise because it is hard for them. People have to work from morning to late afternoon, so they don’t have time to take exercise. They work in office buildings, sitting in chairs all day long in front of computers. It is impossible for them to get much exercise in this way.

Some Westerners can get exercise walking from their homes to work. However, most people cannot do this. It is too far from their homes to their offices. They have no choice but to drive to work. In fact, some have to drive one or two hours to their offices. This is not good in two ways. First, these people don’t have a chance to exercise because they are sitting in their cars for two to four hours each day. Second, driving is challenging especially in rush hours and needs too much attention. It makes a person very tired. So, when these people arrive home at night, they don’t want to take exercise after work.

Today, many people in the West are overweight, which causes health problems for them. Doctors say exercise can help people both lose weight and improve their health. So many people are trying to get more exercise. But it takes time to change, and when people don’t see a difference right away, they will lose patience and stop exercising.