【推荐1】People associate colors with different objects, feelings and holidays. Red, for example, is the color of fire, heat, blood and life. People say red is an exciting and active color. They associate red with a strong feeling like anger. Red is used for signs of danger, such as STOP signs and fire engines. The holiday which is associated with red is Valentine’s Day. On February 14, Americans send red hearts to people they love.

Orange is the bright, warm color of leaves in autumn. People say orange is a lively, energetic color. They associate orange with happiness. The holidays which are associated with orange are Halloween in October and Thanksgiving Day in November. On October 31, many Americans put large orange pumpkins in their windows for Halloween.

Yellow is the color of sunlight. People say it is a cheerful and lively color. They associate yellow, too, with happiness. Because it is bright, it is used for signs of caution.

Green is the color of grass in spring. People say it is a refreshing feeling of guilt, fear and envy. Many people wear green on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.

Blue is the color of the sky, water and ice. Police and navy uniforms are blue. When people are sad, they say, “I feel blue.” They associate blue with feelings like unhappiness and fear.

Violet, or purple, is the deep, soft color of darkness and shadows(阴暗). People consider violet a dignified color. They associate it with loneliness. On Easter Sunday, people decorate baskets with purple ribbons(丝带).

White is the color of snow. People describe white as a pure, clean color. They associate white with a bright, clean feeling. Doctors, dentists and nurses frequently wear white uniforms. On the other hand, black is the color of night. People wear black clothes as serious ceremonies(仪式) such as funerals(葬礼) and graduations.

【推荐2】A leaf fell into the water and changed the taste of it. And tea was born.

China is known as the home of tea. Since ancient times, tea has become part of Chinese culture, leaving its smell in poems and customs. Many tea lovers enjoy tea not just for its taste, but also for the beauty of tea ceremonies（仪式）.

Picking tea leaves is an important spring activity along the Yangtze River in South China. The earliest batch（批）of tea is often ready to be picked before Qingming in early April, when the temperature begins to rise and rainfall increases. This kind of tea is called Mingqian tea.

Zhejiang province is regarded as a main producer of tea. White Tea and West Lake Longjing Tea in Hangzhou are famous both at home and abroad. In spring, the hillsides in those places are full of tea workers working on their land. In the high seasons, many tourists travel to see the beautiful sight of tea farms, while enjoying a freshly prepared cup of tea.

Thousands of years ago, by the hands of the Chinese people, a leaf was made into a delicious drink. It has traveled a long way and continues to play a role in our life, even today.

【推荐3】After an 18-month-long journey, a group of wild Asian elephants are getting close to their home. Before that, they have been travelling around southwest China’s Yunnan province.

At about 8 p. m. Sunday, August 8th, 2021, those elephants crossed the Yuanjiang River. They used the road bridge, because the water level is too high during the rainy season. It took them three minutes to cross the river. To guide them, people did a lot of work. And now they’re much closer to their home. The elephants left Xishuangbanna, a nature reserve（保护区）, near the city of Pu’er in March of 2020.

They walked more than 500 km north and even reached the outside of Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province in early June, before turming back to the south. Along the way, two of the elephants returned home and some of the younger elephants have grown up a lot during their journey. These elephants became a hot topic（话题）online after they left their home. They are one of China’s highly protected animals. To keep them safe, the local government has done a lot of work. Luckily, no animals or humans have been hurt in the journey.

【推荐1】Activities on weekdays(Average hours a week)

One school in Yulin surveyed 500 students in Grade 9 about how their life have changed since they were in Grade 9. There is no doubt that they spend so much time on their schoolwork that they sleep less than they did in Grade 7. Most of the students sleep less than 8 hours because they have to stay up late to finish the homework and get up at 6:00 in the morning. One good thing is that students in grade 9 exercise more because schools of PE in the Senior High School Entrance Exam are 50 points, so the schools also pay attention to the time of exercising. The survey showed the students also had no time to relax themselves after school, such as watching TV, chatting on the phone and so on. Some students said even though they were watching TV while having lunch, their parents only allowed them to watch news. They think it can help the kids get good grades in some subject tests.

Some students said they sometimes didn’t pay attention to the teachers in class, but now they are more active.

【推荐3】For years, American parents are trying to get children to drink fewer sugary( 含糖的)drinkssuch as Coca Cola and Pepsi because sugary drinks make many people get fat. And being fat canbring many health problems later in life. Children are drinking fewer sugary drinks these days. They turn to sports drinks. There are many ads(广告)for sports drinks on TV and they show sports stars or movie stars having the drink.

These ads make the drinks look heathy. In fact, they are not. Sports drinks have lots of sugar, too.

Scientists at Harvard University did a survey(调查)in 2017 to find out how many sports drinks high School students had. They surveyed 22, 000 students and found those students were drinking sports drinks more than they did before. Almost one third of the students drank one to three sports drinks each week. And more than one tenth had four to six drinks. Students in sports teams would have sports drinks each day and they maybe had one or more. The same was true of those students who watched TV for over two hours every day.

"Although water is the best choice for kids, sometimes having a sports drink is fine. If someone is on a long bike ride or in an all-day race, he can have one," said Tomas Hardy, a health expert(专家). “But if kids play sports or have soccer practice for only 20 minutes, they just need water or a little fruit juice.”

【推荐1】A small unsupervised (无人管理的) flower shop run (经营) by a college student (大学生) in Beijing is open. People can buy flowers and pay for them on their smart phones through WeChat or Alipay.

Wang runs the unsupervised flower shop. He loves reading books in his free time. He says he runs the shop because he doesn’t need to spend much time on it. “People may go to flower shops at any time,” he said. “If I run a common flower shop, I can’t read when they come.”

“Most young people like shopping in a free environment (环境) ,” Wang said. “And they don’t want to be disturbed (被打扰) when shopping.” But what can people do if they have questions about the kinds and names of the flowers? They can find answers through smart phone apps.

Some people asked Wang if he worried someone would take away flowers without paying. Wang said he thought about the problem at first. Though he doesn’t sell flowers in the shop himself, he goes to the shop at times. “My flower shop is small. It doesn’t cost much money, and it won’t be a big problem if there is a thief (小偷) ,” he said. And Wang also thinks most people are good.

Wang’s shop is special and popular now. Use your head, and you will find a way to be successful.

【推荐3】Do you know the flea market (跳蚤市场)? It’s a street market where people sell second-hand things. These can be anything from clothes and shoes to chairs (椅子) and beds.

We don’t know ________. It is said that (据说) these second-hand things attract (吸引) fleas. So people call the market “flea market”.

There are many great flea markets in the world. Do you know Old Spitalfieds Market in London? It has been open (已经开放) for over 350 years. We can buy all the things at very good prices there. It attracts about 70 000 visitors (游客) one week.

You need to have a good eye when you go to a flea market. Because some things are really nice, but others are not. And it is good if you know what you want to buy before you go, or you may go home with many old things and you don’t need them at all.