①Dragons exist in both the Eastern and Western world. Some people say that there used to be real dragons, but most agree that they were imaginary creatures*.

②Chinese dragons, which appeared eight thousand years ago, are usually considered to be kind. People say that they bring strength, peace, good luck, and health. In ancient China, the dragon was a symbol of the Chinese emperors. Some Chinese people believe that dragons live under water most of the time. Unlike European dragons, they do not have wings and fly using magic. The Chinese dragon, sometimes called the Eastern dragon, looks like a long snake with four claws. Its appearance has kept changing with time and it’s hard to find a creature in real life that looks exactly the same as the dragon. In the Chinese zodiac, people born in the “Year of the Dragon” are said to be lucky, brave, healthy, energetic and excitable. The Dragon person can make great achievements in life if he or she knows how to make the best use of his or her huge energy, intelligence and talent.

③In Europe, dragons are usually seen as terrible and unkind winged creatures which are different from those in China. Western dragons tend to have many heads, fire-breathing, and are known to eat humans. Many European stories have brave knights*fighting terrible dragons. Some European dragons are also described as strong and smart creatures. Any knight who killed a dragon was able to get not only its treasure but also its wisdom.

④Although there are differences between Chinese dragons and Western ones, the dragon is undoubtedly a beloved existence in many tales across the world.

【推荐1】What will humans look like in the future? It sounds like a cool question, but the answer may not be that fun. Here are some predictions.

【推荐2】To save time, many Americans buy ready-made food. On holidays, families enjoy delicious meals. For example, on Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November, family members get together for a turkey dinner with pumpkin pie (饼).

The United States is famous for its fast food, such as hamburgers, sandwiches, pizzas, salad bars, and many kinds of ice cream. People can find fast food chains (连锁店), such as McDonald’s and KFC, in most of the big cities in the world.

These years, many people worry about their health. Eating too much meat will make them overweight. There are a lot of food additives (添加剂). Some of them may be very bad for the body.

What do you think of “double reduction”(双减)? Our readers from Teens have different ideas. Here are four of them.

★Shen Yuzhe, 13, Beijing

The “double reduction” really helps me. Our homework is less（更少）than before. I can finish it at school. I’m also happy to find that there are fewer(更少) exams.

★Zhang Hangming, 13, Tianjin

The best thing about the “double reduction” is that we have lots of time to do after-school activities like dancing, reading, volleyball and cooking. I can also learn a lot of things.

★Yu Zhiyue, 14, Jiangsu

With the “double reduction”, I have really got less homework to do. But I need to take an online class on the computer at home after I come back from school. I often feel tired. But I can still have happy weekends.

★Cui Ruqi, 12, Liaoning

I get lots of time to read books and play sports. The art subjects are very important now. So I need to learn music well. And I have enough time to relax.

【推荐1】Do you like to know how other people see the world? Listed below are three of the best books for children.

Oliver and Patch	Oliver is a lost little boy. He doesn’t know anybody and is afraid in a big city. One day he meets Patch, a little dog who is also lost. The two become best friends. They help each other. Together they have an adventure in the city. However, Oliver knows that Patch’s owner must be very worried and missing Patch. What should Oliver do?
A Dance Like Starlight	This is a young girl’s story about how she wants to become a ballerina. She will do anything to make her dreams come true. She lives in a poor place, and it is very difficult. The young girl fights through a hard life, but she never gives up. This story comes from the true life of the first African-American ballerina, Janet Collins.
Absolutely Almost	Alfie is not very smart and he is not sporty, either. He is not very tall, and he is not good at art. Because of this, he feels like he will not be good at anything. Now he meets Calista, his new babysitter. Calista helps Alfie see all of the good things he can do. Alfie learns to be proud of being himself. This story is full of feeling and laughter.

【推荐2】Do you know turkey? People in England and the USA enjoy eating it on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas. It tastes so delicious. Let me tell you how to cook it. Then you can have a try in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

a big turkey, some pepper, some salt, melted butter or oil(油),some onion, some beer and honey.

Cooking steps(步骤):

Firstly, clean it. Wash the turkey with water and make it clean enough.

Secondly, season(给……调味) it. Put some salt and pepper all over it and onion and beer in it.

Thirdly, steam it. Put it into a pot and stain it for at least 30 minutes.

Lastly, enjoy it. Take it out of the pot. Be careful not to hurt yourself because it is too hot. Then put some butter or oil on the turkey. If you enjoy a sweet taste, you can put some honey on it. Then put some fruit around it on the plate.

【推荐3】

【推荐1】The best way to pass exams is to work hard every day.You may not pass an exam if you work hard only a few days before the exam.

If you are getting ready for an English exam，try to revise the words first. You can read the words more and practice more. If you are getting ready for a maths test，do more exercises.

Before you start the exam，read the questions carefully. Try to understand the exact meaning of each question before you pick up your pen to write. When you finish your exam，read your answers once more，correct the mistakes (错误) if there are any and make sure that you don’t miss anything out.

【推荐2】Where can a 15-year-old girl get pocket money from? From her parents, right? But the American girl Asia Newson doesn't. She makes lots of money by doing business.

Asia Newson is the CEO of a company（公司）, Super Business Girl. The company sells homemade candles. Asia's father is good at making candles. She learned the skills from him and started her own company two years ago.

Asia is busy every day. She gets up at 5 a. m. because she has lots of work to do.

Asia makes lots of money. With the money, she often buys clothes and food for the poor children. And sometimes she teaches high school students to make money by themselves. She thinks it will be helpful to them.

The girl also has great plans for the future. "First I'm going to study in a college. And then I want to be the mayor(市长) of Detroit, but I'm still going to expand(扩大) my business now," Asia says to others with a big smile on her face.

【推荐3】If you go to a fast food restaurant, you will probably see a lot of teenagers. Today, many teenagers are overweight, and some of them are because of their bad eating habits. Most teenagers love food with a lot of fat, oil, salt and sugar. People often call this kind of food “junk food”.

But bad eating habits go beyond fast food. We find many teenagers eat unhealthily. Some don’t have breakfast before they go to school. During the day, some don’t have a proper meal for lunch. In a recent survey at one school, scientists found that over two thirds of the students didn’t follow a healthy diet. They didn’t like vegetables, and many of them didn’t follow a healthy diet. They didn’t like vegetables, and many of them didn’t like fruit. They preferred to eat food with a lot of salt, sugar, or fat.

Parents today also worry about their children’s diet. Some doctors give the following advice:

◆Teenagers shouldn’t eat too much junk food.

◆Teenagers shouldn’t eat food with too much salt. Salt can cause high blood pressure in the future.

◆Teenagers should eat food with less fat, oil, and sugar.

◆Teenagers need to eat some fruit and vegetables every day. Fruit and vegetables are rich in vitamins and have little fat.

◆Teenagers need to drink more milk. Milk will help their bones grow.

◆Teenagers need to eat breakfast every day. This is good for their body and mind.