【推荐1】Is there life on Mars (火星)? We don’t know. We are sure that people can not live on Mars. People can’t live without oxygen(氧气). There is little oxygen on Mars. Living on Mars would be like living on a very high mountain. There would be little air. It may be 50℃ at noon and -100℃ at night.

Many people think there may be plants on Mars. We know that Mars has carbon (二氧化碳). This is kind of material (物质) and we found it in all plants and animals on the earth. Mars looks red. In some places, it seems gray. Sometimes the gray color turns gray-green then brown, and then gray again. The gray-green color may be a kind of plant life changing color with seasons.

Will man go to Mars one day? If they do, they will have to take their own oxygen, food, clothing and shelter (住所) with them.

【推荐1】Did you know that chocolate comes from a tree? The cacao（可可）tree gets large brown fruits called cocoa pods（荚）, and inside the pods are cocoa beans. To make chocolate, first we leave the beans in the dark for a few days, and then dry them in the sun.     1     That liquid（液体）is pressed until it separates and the result is cocoa butter（可可脂）, which can be turned into chocolate.     2    

The first people to grow cacao trees for chocolate were the Mayans, who lived in Mexico thousands of years ago.     3     When people from Spain came to Mexico, they discovered the drink, they took chocolate home with them, and soon the love for chocolate spread all over Europe!

Wouldn’t you like to have a cacao tree in your garden so you could have your own special supply（供应）of chocolate? Well, don’t even think about it!     4     What a pity!

Chocolate is good for you as long as you don’t eat it all day long! It has iron, which is good for your body!     5     So don’t eat too much, and remember to brush your teeth after you eat it!

【推荐1】Students from Taizhou Middle School, Jiangsu Province, experience farming during their labor (劳动) course. As we all know, the life skills like cooking and painting are important and should be taught as part of labor education.

On June 3, 2020, the Ministry of Education (MOE) (教育部) gave a document (文件) showing the revised curriculum (修改后的方案) for senior high schools across the country. Labor education includes housework, school labor and community voluntary (志愿的) services and so on.

“Labor education must be carried out (实施) with the purpose to make the right view (观点) of the world, life and values and develop an interest in doing chores,” said Vice-Minister of Education Zheng Fuzhi.

According to China Youth Daily, the labor course will take six credits (学分) — the same as foreign language and physics. Voluntary service, as part of labor education, would take two credits. The MOE also asks schools to make sure 40 hours of voluntary service during the full three school years.

According to Xinhua, adding labor education was out of care that the country’s young people do too little housework and that they think labor jobs aren’t important. Because of a lot of school pressure, schools pay more attention to the course of education, and parents may think that the chores waste their kids’ time.

According to a survey, middle school students in China only spend 12 minutes a day on chores, compared with 72 minutes in the US, 42 minutes in South Korea and 30 minutes in France. However, doing housework does not distract (使分心) young people. Instead, they are necessary for developing a strong working spirit, according to Julie Lythcott-Haims, the writer of How to Raise an Adult. “The earlier you started, the better ...” he said.

【推荐2】On June 17, 1744, the officials from Maryland and Virginia held a talk with the Indians of the Six Nations. The Indians were invited to send boys to William and Mary College. In letter the next day they refused the offer as follows:

We know that you have a high opinion of the kind of learning taught in your colleges, and that the costs of living of our young men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are certain that you mean to do us good by your suggestion; and we thank you heartily. But you must know that different nations have different ways of looking at things, and you will therefore not be displeased if our ideas of this kind of education happen not to be the same as yours. We have had some experience of it. Several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of the northern provinces:

They were taught all your sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad manners, and they knew little of every means of living in the woods -- they were totally good for nothing.

We are, however, not the less obliged for your kind offer, though we refuse to accept it; and, to show our grateful sense of it, if the gentlemen of Virginia will send us a dozen of their sons, we will take care of their education, teach them in all we know, and make men of them.

【推荐3】Can the “double reduction” policy (双减政策) really help you? Some students have different answers.

【推荐1】A material is what something is made of. There are 5 basic materials. Most things are made with these materials. Some things are made of metal. Some things are made of glass. Some things are made of wood. Some things are made of cloth. And some things are made of plastic.

There are some other materials. But they are not used as much as these 5 materials.

Let's talk about metal first. Metal is very heavy. And it is very hard and strong. It usually feels cool if you touch it. We use metal to make lots of things. We use it for forks and knives. We use it for keys. We use it for cars. We use it for these things because it is very strong.

Next, let's talk about glass. Glass is very smooth. It feels cool to touch. It is not as heavy as metal. It is hard. But it is not strong. It breaks very easily! Then why do we use it? We use it because it is clear! You can see through glass! That's why we use it for windows. That's also why we use it for glasses.

Now, let's talk about wood. Wood is lighter than metal and glass. It is not as strong as metal. But it is much stronger than glass. We use wood to make lots of things. Things made of wood are usually light and hard and strong. Chairs and tables are made of wood.   Pencils are made of wood.

Now let's talk about cloth. Cloth is very light. It is much lighter than wood. And it is very soft. We use cloth to make lots of things. For example, it is used to make clothing. And it is used to make blankets.

Last, let's talk   about plastic. Plastic is also very light. But it is different from cloth.

Sometimes it is soft. And sometimes it is hard. Plastic can be used to make thin plastic bags. These are light, soft, and strong. But plastic can also be used to make bicycle helmets. These are light, hard, and strong. A helmet and a bag seem different. But they are both made from plastic.

【推荐2】Everyone has a family name. In China, the family name is the first name. But in English-speaking countries, the family name is the last name. Do you know how English people get their family names? And what do their family names mean? English people usually get their family names in these ways(方式).

Some family names come from the places of their homes. If(如果) a man lives on or near a hill, his family name may be(可能是) Hill. In England, people’s names may be Wood, Lake because they live near the wood(树林) or the lake.

Some family names come from a person s job. If a person is a cook, who works in a restaurant(饭店) and cooks food for the guests, his family name may be Cook.

And many people get their family names from their father’s family names. If you hear the name “Jackson”, you can know that he is the son of Jack.