【推荐1】My neighbor, Mr. Black, is seventy years old. He always complains about how fast things have changed, and he often says that life used to be better than today.

Now cities are full of cars. Some families even have two or more cars, so parking is becoming a big problem. The traffic in some cities is very bad. Some car drivers drive so fast that there are more traffic accidents. Yesterday Mr. Black’s old friend died because a car hit him. He is very sad now.

Most families have computers now. Now more and more children use the Internet . The number of children using the Internet is becoming bigger and bigger. Mr. Black’s grandson is a high school student. He often plays computer games on the Internet till midnight. He falls asleep in the early hours of the morning and spends little time doing homework. His English teacher told Mr. Black that his grandson failed another test. Mr. Black got very angry with him.

And people talk less to each other than before. They are too busy to talk, too busy to eat, too busy to think.

Mr. Black thinks that life used to simple and happy, but now it has changed a lot.

【推荐3】Have you felt annoyed when a cellphone rings during the class? Something must be done to stop this. Now in New York City, USA, a rule is carried out in schools. Students can’t even bring cellphones to school. Is it a good thing or not?

Anxious parents say that cellphones are an important tool in holding New York City’s families together.

“I worry about it,” said Elizabeth Lorris Ritter, a mother of a middle school kid. “It’s necessary in our everyday life. We have a washing machine. We have running water, and we have cellphones. ”

Many American parents think cellphones connect them to their children on buses, getting out from subways, and walking through unknown places.

“I have her call me when she gets out of school,” said Lindsay Walt, a schoolgirl’s mother. “No one in New York is going to let their children go to school without a cellphone. ”

What about the cellphone owners, the students? Most of the students said cellphones were essential and the cellphone was like an extra hand or foot for them.

“I feel so empty,” said May Chom, 14. “There is also no way to listen to music on the way to school without my phone. It will be a really, really boring trip. ”

【推荐1】A myth (荒诞的说法) is something that is not right, but many people believe. There are a lot of myths about the human brain (大脑).

One of the biggest myths is that we only use 10 percent of our brains. The next part of the myth is that if we can learn to use the rest of our brains, then we’ll be much smarter. People say this all the time, but it’s absolutely not true! The truth is that although we don’t know everything about the human brain, we know that each part of it plays an important function. Modern scientists think the “10 percent myth” silly (愚蠢的).

The other most popular myth is about being “right brained” or “left brained”. According to this myth, people who use the right side of their brains are more artistic and creative. People who use the left side of their brains are better at math and science. This is as popular as the 10 percent myth, and it’s also wrong. In 2013, a study at an American university examined the right brain and left brain myth. According to the study, we use both sides of our brains equally (相等地).

It’s true that we use different parts of our brains for different things. We use our left side for language more, and our right side when we need to pay attention. But there is no fact that creative people use the right side more, or that scientific people use the left side more.

We’ve talked about myth, so let’s look at a few interesting facts about the brain. First of all, the brain feels no pain. Second, about 75 percent of the brain is made of water. It’s also the fattest organ in your body. Here’s another interesting fact about the brain. Around the time you turn 18 years old, it stops growing.

【推荐3】Do you love flowers? Today I would like to tell you something about a kind of beautiful flower—sunflowers.

A sunflower is a big round yellow flower. Sunflowers need a lot of sunshine to grow. In fact, sunflowers are made up of many small flowers. The center part is made of one kind of flower, and the petals (花瓣) around it are another kind of flower.

We use sunflowers in different ways. One thing we do with them is to look at them! Many people plant them in gardens because they are so big, bright and colorful. They can also be cut and brought home. They will last a long time in a vase (花瓶) .

Sunflower seeds (种子) are good to eat. People, birds, and other animals love to eat sunflower seeds. They can be difficult to be eaten because of the shell (壳) , but they are rich in protein (蛋白质) and are good for health. Sunflower seeds also have a lot of oil in them. Many people use sunflower oil for cooking. The food tastes very nice after using it.

Sunflowers are not only beautiful flowers, but also give us and other animals food. But be careful of the stems (植物的茎) , or they will hurt you.

【推荐1】For years I wanted a flower garden. I would spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together. But then we had Matthew, Marvin, Helen, and the twins, Alisa and Alan. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

Money was tight (拮据的), as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree in the yard? Money doesn’t grow on trees, you know.”

Finally, all got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.

Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow (垂柳), because I saw things blowing around on all is branches. Then I put my glasses on — and couldn’t believe what I saw.

There was a money tree in my yard!

I went to have a look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. There was also a note among them, “Thank you for your time, Mom. We love you.”

Later, my children bought me tools, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.

That was three years ago. My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they’ re right there with me.

I live in a city where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out of my window and think of the flowers, I’ll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes — every time.

I’m still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

【推荐2】One year ago, I worked at a traditional Chinese medicine store. Business was not bad. Every day we mixed medicinal herbs（中药）for patients, so the store was always full of a strong herbal smell. After I had worked there for a time, a boy of 13 or 14 started coming and sitting on the stairs outside the store for a while every day. It seemed strange to me. “Do you like the herbal smell? ” I asked him one day. “I grew up with this kind of smell, ” he said. He told me that his mother took herbal medicine for years, so he could mix herbs for his mother when he was very young. He mixed the herbs with deep love, hoping his mother would get better as soon as possible.

“Is your mother well now? ” I asked.

He shook his head, “My mother passed away three years ago. ” Looking up into the sky, he went on, “When I first passed by here and smelled the herbs, I thought of my mother. It is comforting to remember those days when she was alive. So I come here every day to sit for a moment. When I sit around this smell, I feel as if my mother is still alive and is waiting for her medicine in her room. ”

I wrote a letter to my parents when I was a young boy.     1     That night I hope to let Mom and Dad know how much I loved them, how much they meant to me, and how thankful I was to them for all they had given me.     2     So I wrote them a letter and put it in their bedroom before going to bed.

Early the next morning, I heard a soft knock at my door.     3       They hugged me and thanked me a lot for the letter. Mom said that she had been thinking I was a little child.       4     Dad said he was happy that I could share my true feelings with them.

Seeing the happiness I had given them made my own heart jump for joy.     5     I even saw my dad cry for the first time. The sweet and warm memory has stayed alive in my heart ever since.