【推荐2】Do you know cold is not a serious illness, but it spreads (传输) very fast? Colds are caused by viruses (病毒). A sneeze (喷嚏) or a cough may take viruses from one person to another. Cold viruses can also be spread by objects, such as telephones or cups. When you have a cold, you will have a headache, a sore throat, a fever and so on. Here are some tips to stop colds from spreading.

【推荐1】Many scientists find that colors can change people’s feelings. It’s very interesting. Some colors can make people feel relaxed, and some colors can make people feel nervous.

Now, this kind of knowledge is being used in many places. For example, school walls are always painted green because green makes students feel relaxed. It is also good for the students’ eyes. Some books are also green or light blue for the same reason. Restaurant owners not only have to know how to make food, but also have to know how to make money. Here are some things they’ve learned from scientific studies. The colour red makes people hungry. Many fast food restaurants have red furniture or walls. Soft colors like pink and light blue make people feel relaxed, so they spend more time eating. Loud music may be nice at first, but it soon makes people want to leave. Hard seats also make customers want to eat quickly and leave.

Many restaurants, especially fast food restaurants, use this knowledge to make customers eat faster.

What do we know about the sea? We know that it looks very beautiful when the sun is shining over it.     1     What other things do we know about it?

The first thing to remember is that the sea is very big.     2     The sea covers three quarters of the land. Some parts of the sea are very shallow (浅的). But some places are very deep. There is one place near Japan. It is nearly eleven kilometers deep.     3     If we put the mountain into the sea at that place, there would be two kilometers of water above it!

The sea is salty (咸的).     4     It is very salty. It is so salty that swimmers cannot sink (下沉)! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea.

The sea can be very cold.     5     When you go down into it, the sea becomes colder and colder. But you cannot go very deep. Some people who want to go very deep use a very strong ship! They go down to the deepest part of the sea in it.

【推荐3】When snack food businessmen started selling fat-free products back in the 1980s, they really achieved success. People were interested in avoiding fat because it caused heart problems and made them fat. So the nonfat foods were a dieter’s dream! However, as it turned out, not many people became slim (苗条) and healthy from going on fat-free diets. In fact, not eating fat seemed to cause more health problems instead.

There are many naturally fat-free foods. Fruits and vegetables are on the top of the list. They’re usually low in calories (卡路里) and are filled with beneficial vitamins (有益的维生素).

The problem with fat-free packaged food is that fat makes food taste good. With all the fat taken away, it tastes like paper. So, the producers have to add into all kinds of things to keep the taste—like sugar, salt and artificial flavors (人造香精). Therefore, processed fat-free foods can actually end up with more calories than the full-fat foods. Fruit can be high in calories and sugar, too, but you’re getting other nutrients (营养物) along with it. Processed fat-free foods don’t have a lot of other things.

We know now that all fat is not evil. Fat helps control your nervous system and encourages bone health. Fat free salad can actually make you lose your ability to process all the good nutrients in it.

When you buy a fat-free product in the store, take a second to check the nutrient information on the package. If it contains sugar, salt or artificial favors—or has more calories than the full-fat version—put it back on the shelf. Most of the time, you’d be better eating the full-fat version, which tastes better and will satisfy you sooner—as long as you don’t eat the whole box!

【推荐2】Have you ever pay attention to the Air Quality Index（空气质量指标）or AQI reported in the newspaper？The AQI helps us understand what the air quality around us means to our health. The AQI uses colors，numbers and words to tell us about the air. Let's see what these colors and numbers mean.

【推荐3】If you have ever been swimming in the ocean, you may have noticed that sea water is easier to float in than pool water. Here's why.

You'll need：

Two bowls     Food coloring   Spoon       Salt        Two eggs

1: Fill bowls half way with water.

2:Add 10 tablespoons of salt to one bowl, mix until it dissolves (溶解), and then add several drops of color.

3:Carefully, put an egg into each bowl of water and watch what happens.

What happens?

The egg in the plain water sinks.               The egg in the salt water floats.

(If the salt water egg does not float well, mix more salt into the bowl )

The water and salt particles（粒子）in the salt water bowl are closer together it than plain water particles are. They push harder against the egg than the plain water particles do and the egg floats.

Many kids help their parents with chores, such as doing the dishes, cleaning the living room and making their beds. And some kids get money or other rewards (奖赏) such as more computer time by doing chores.

But some people do not think that kids should get rewards by doing chores. Susie Walton, an expert, believes that by rewarding kids, parents are sending a message that work isn’t important unless you can get something. “Running any kind of family is team work.” Walton says, “A home is a living place for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities (责任) in the house.”

Other people believe that getting money or other rewards makes kids do chores happily and it also teaches them real world lessons about what we need to do to make money. There are also some apps now. With the Chore-Monster app, kids can get points and online gifts by doing chores. Kids can change them into real life rewards either online or in the real world. “We hope kids can do more chores so they can get more rewards,” one man says.

What do you think of it? Should kids get rewards for doing chores? Or should kids help do chores without getting anything?

Write a 200-word reply and send it to us. The last day for reply is April 10th. If you want to read more ideas about this topic, you can click https://chinaso.com.

【推荐2】It is difficult for the parents of every family to teach their children to be responsible (有责任 的) for housework.

Shatian School in Shanghai is making its students do housework for their parents. The third graders (三年级学生) must learn how to cook and clean, sixth graders do the laundry (洗衣服) and seventh and eighth graders cook balanced meals with 15 yuan.

Many parents think it’s a good way for children to try housework but they don’t know how to do it at home. With the following ideas, you really can get your children to help at home.

If you want to make your children think that they can do everything quite right, please don’t always scold (批评) them but give them lots of praise at home. Talk more about what they did right, not about what they didn’t do. If your child finishes some difficult work, give him or her a Sunday trip or a ball game with Dad as a reward.