【推荐1】Let’s clean up the ocean together!

We all know it’s important to have dreams. However, to make the dreams come true is not an easy thing. A young Dutch (荷兰的) man Boyan enjoys working hard to make his dreams come true.

When Boyan was 16, he went diving (潜水) in Greece. He was shocked to see more plastic bags than fish in the sea. The boy made up his mind to clean up the ocean. However, everyone told him that there was nothing he could do once plastic bags went into the ocean. The teenager didn’t give up. He spent several months studying plastic pollution. Finally, he came up with a science project using floating barriers (飘浮的栅栏) to collect  the waste. That is to say, instead of using nets and ships to collect the plastic bags, the barriers can make the plastic bags come together with the help of natural ocean currents (洋流) and wind. What’s more, the collected plastic bags can be recycled and made into products or oil.

Boyan won prizes for the project, but that was not enough for him; he wanted to make it a reality (实现). In 2013, he set up The Ocean Clean Up. Together with scientists, engineers and volunteers, the young man is working hard to clean up the ocean to make our world a better place.

Would you like to join them?

【推荐1】With her snow-white hair and a pair of glasses, my grandma is a kind traveler and she loves adventures（冒险）.

During the summer of last year, my grandma and I went to Japan together. We ate delicious Japanese food, visited beautiful buildings, and took the speedy train. She was so open-minded about the new things we saw there. We also bought things from special machines that we would never find in America. We went to Tokyo, Hiroshima and Kyoto, which were all different and very fantastic.

This summer break, my family and I flew to visit my grandma in Maine, a state about 3,000 miles away from Los Angeles. The town she lives in is small and pretty with many local shops. Her house is right on a lake, and we went swimming with her in the water. Paulinka, my grandma’s dog, would join in the fun and jump in the water as well.

Maine is on the east coast and near the Atlantic Ocean, so we ate fish and chips and lobster（龙虾）very often. Sometimes, my grandma and her friends took us on a boat to catch lobsters. In a little hidden town, the whole family got to walk in nature, lay under the stars and most importantly, enjoyed each other’s company.

I’m looking forward to the winter break because my grandma is going to come over and stay with us for some time. I’m sure my house will light up while she is here.

【推荐3】Tony is a boy. He is 16 years old. He studies in a middle school. He often watches TV and likes the popular hairstyle(发型). His parents and teachers tell him not to do so, but he doesn't listen to them.

One Sunday afternoon his mother buys a beautiful T­shirt for him and he loves it very much. The next morning, it is cold, but he still puts it on. That evening he gets a bad cold(感冒), so his parents take him to hospital.

About thirty minutes later, a nurse takes him to a women's ward(病房). “Don't you know I am a boy?” says Tony. “Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know you are a boy, because your hair is too long.”