A problem is only a problem until there is a solution. We find solutions by thinking creatively.     1     In other words, we think outside the box. Sometimes, thinking outside the box solves not just one, but two problems.

Amsterdam is one of the most crowded cities in Europe. As a result, housing is very expensive, especially for students.     2     However, finding this type (类型) of apartments was almost impossible until recently.

While the colleges in Amsterdam were trying to solve the housing problem, thousands of shipping containers (集装箱) were lying quietly in ports (港口).     3     Yet they can’t recycle all of them because there are so many.

Back in Amsterdam, a company came up with an amazing idea. Why not reuse these shipping containers as student apartments?     4     They are all the same size and fit together perfectly. The steel is strong. Moreover, these containers are so widely available that they are quite cheap to buy. For all these reasons, they can be used to build apartments quickly and cheaply. Building began in 2005, hundreds of Amsterdam students had new homes.

When students first heard about this idea, they thought the container apartments would be small, noisy.     5     Each container apartment has a kitchen, a bedroom with a study area, and a bathroom. The apartments are warm and quiet. They even have a high-speed Internet connection. Living in a shipping container has become popular. Today 3, 000 Amsterdam students live in the container village.

Helping others is a great thing to do. You can learn new things and have a good time. You can help people, animals or the environment. It can make you feel good, too! How can you help?

Charities are organizations that help others, like UNICEF or the World Wildlife Fund. You can help charities by giving your time, giving money or giving your things. You can also help people or places you know.

Volunteering

Volunteering is when you give your time to help others. Some ways of volunteering are:

•visiting old people to talk to them or help them.

•cleaning up a park.

Fund-raising

Fund-raising is when you collect money to help others. Some ways of fundraising are:

•making food or drinks to sell.

•family and friends give you money if you finish a long walk.

Donating

Donating is when you give your things to help others. Some ways of donating are:

•giving your old toys or clothes to a charity that helps sick children.

•giving your old books to a library.

Fun facts

September 5th is the International Day of Charity.

The world record for volunteering is 107 months!

【推荐3】A healthy lifestyle is important to our lives.    1    . So how we live has a direct effect on our health.

Remain active

This is the most important part of a healthy lifestyle. Remain physically active. Walk, run, play, swim, climb and jump, which keep you physically fit.     2    . If your job requires long hours of sitting, take breaks often, get up often and stretch. Clean house, do gardening, go cycling and so on. There are plenty of simple active ways to lead a healthy lifestyle. Do not let laziness impair your body and mind.

Keep clean

Keep your surroundings clean.     3    . Unclean and untidy places can not only trouble you but also can make you sick. It stands for unhealthy mindset. Cleanliness also mean getting rid of unnecessary things that we keep storing at our home, office or mind.

Eat healthy food

What you eat has a direct link to your body and mind.     4    . Our physical and psychological constitutions (心理的组成成分) depend on our food we eat. If you like eating junk food, you are risking damaging your health. Prefer well cooked food that includes most of the healthy nutrients (养分).

Live naturally

This is probably the easiest way to live a healthy lifestyle. Be among nature as much as you can.     5     . Avoid usage of materials that are harmful to the environment. This includes plastics, chemicals and other man-made equipment. A natural lifestyle is a healthy lifestyle. Protect our nature and nature will protect us.

President Xi sent a message on September 29, 2019 to the Chinese women's volleyball team, after they won the World Cup. The Chinese team has successfully defended (卫冕) its World Cup crown with 11 straight victories, winning great honors for the country and the Chinese people, said Xi. The players didn't fear any competitors and fought hard with both style and skills, showing great teamwork and a hardworking spirit.

Back in 1976, Yuan Weimin served as the coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team. Under his guidance, in 1979, China won the Asian women's volleyball championship. During the 1980s, the Chinese team achieved five straight championships in the world, especially in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. That was the first time in Chinese history. At that time, China was having a hard period in its own development. The achievements those Chinese volleyball players had made and their spirit were quite an encouragement for Chinese people to work hard and get out of the darkness.

Chen Zhonghe was the chief coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team at the beginning of the 21st century. August 28th 2004 was an unforgettable day for all the Chinese volleyball fans and even almost all the Chinese. When the whole world thought that China was going to be defeated (击败) as Russia took the big lead first, Chinese athletes kept good mental states and in the end unbelievably won the Olympic gold medal. The Chinese team impressed the Chinese and the world with that match, inside of which was the strong spirit of the team.

In 2013, Lang Ping, worked as the chief coach again after 10 years. In the next 3 years, China step by step got back to the world women's volleyball stage. In the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, the Chinese team gained back its Olympic gold medal again after 12 years. "Never give up, especially in adversity (逆境). I think that's what the spirit of Chinese women's volleyball means," Lang said in Rio 2016.

Over the past forty years, our Chinese women's volleyball players have overcome difficulties. And the spirit they showed has been considered as "the fighting spirit of Chinese women's volleyball team and praised by the whole country.

【推荐2】We can’t live with good moods (心情) all the time.     1     When you feel bad, how can you deal with (处理) such feelings? Here is my advice.

Showing your feelings is very important.     2     If you keep bad feelings inside all the time, you may get sick easily. But if you talk with others about them, you’ll feel better than before.

Though your problems will not disappear (消失) at once, they won’t be bad for your health. At least, someone else knows and understands what’s wrong with you.     3    

You should always remember that your parents love you very much.     4     So don’t be afraid to tell your parents about your problems.

If you don’t want to talk with them, what should you do? Who can you turn to?     5     Maybe that person can help you solve your problems and make you feel better.

【推荐1】As space science develops, man has learned more and more about space. Space is not only amazing but also dangerous. While working in space, space men are facing danger as well as success.

Scientists have found out that the radiation (辐射) is the greatest danger to spacemen in space. When spacemen are working in space, they are in danger of the radiation from the sun and other stars, which is bad for their health. The harm (伤害) of the radiation won’t be found until their children even grandchildren are born. Some special medicine may work a little but no really effective (有效的) medicine has been found so far.

Space rubbish is also thought to be a great danger to spacemen. It’s reported that there were 9,000 man-made things flying in space. About 30% of these are satellites, 10% are spaceships, and the rest are space rubbish. An explosion (爆炸) in space in 1999 made a cloud of 300,000 fragments, each at least 4mm in size. A small piece of these even knocked a spaceship window and caused some damage (损坏).

Scientists are watching and reporting any possible danger all the time. They are working to deal with space rubbish. Although space is really dangerous, it interests many people on the earth. In the near future, it may become possible for people to spend a few days in a space hotel. We may even choose to leave the earth and live in space in a few years. So we should do something to help improve the space environment.

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【推荐3】Different weather makes people feel different. It influences health, intelligence (智力) and feelings.

In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States.People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month.In the Northeast and the Middle West, it is very hot at some times and very cold at other times.People in these states (州) have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.

The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a 1983 report by scientists, IQ (智商) of a group students was very high when a very strong wind came，but after the strong wind, their IQ was 10% lower.The wind can help people have more intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand，can make it lower.Students in many schools of the United States often get worse on exams in the hot months of the year (July and August).

Weather also has a strong influence on people's feelings.Winter may be a bad time for thin people.They usually feel cold during these months.They might feel unhappy during cold weather.But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer.At about 18℃，people became stronger.

Low air pressure (气压) may make people forgetful (健忘). People leave more bags on buses and in shops on low­pressure days.People feel best at a temperature of about 18℃.

Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful, or unhappy today? It may be the weather's problem.