【推荐2】My Favourite Sweater

by Bonnie Highsmith Taylor

My favourite sweater grew too small.

I love that sweater best of all.

My grandma made it when I was three.

She made that sweater just for me.

I picked the yarn (纱线), a special blue.

The colour of bluebells, wet with dew (露珠).

When I was three I was very small.

But now I’m five and much too tall.

I have a new jacket now that’s green.

So I gave my sweater to our cat Queen.

Queen just had kittens out in the shed (小屋).

My favourite sweater is now their bed.

【推荐1】Spring is coming! We can see another round of flowers blooming(盛开). The peach blossom(桃花) is one of those flowers. It usually blooms in March and April.

If you want to see peach blossoms, you can go to Pinggu in Beijing, Nanhui in Shanghai or Longquan in Chengdu. But the most special place to go is Nyingchi in Tibet. Under the blue sky, white snow covers green mountains, there are a lot of pink peach blossoms.

Chinese people love the peach blossom. Many people write poems (诗) about it. People often compare(把……作对比) the peach blossom with young women. As a famous sentence goes, “In this house on this day last year a pink face vied; In beauty with the pink peach blossom side by side” The peach blossom is like the flush(红晕) on a shy woman’s face.

Chinese people also say“To have peach blossom luck”. It means being lucky in love. Some people’s eyes are the shape of peach petals(花瓣). We call eyes like that“Taohuayan”. Those people may have peach blossom luck.

【推荐2】Why are plants important? Let’s read the following information.

Air

●Plants take in carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) and make oxygen(氧气) humans and animals need. Plants make 98% of the oxygen we breathe.

Food

●The world’s food supply (供应) depends on about 150 plant species. (Just 12 plant species provide three-quarters of the world’s food.

Water

●Plants help clean water and reduce floods.

●A mature(成熟的) evergreen(常绿的) tree can hold more than 15, 000 liters of water per year, reducing the risk of flooding.

Habitat

●Plants provide habitats for animals and humans.

●Rainforests(雨林) only cover a small part of Earth’s surface, yet they contain(容纳) more than half of the known species of animals and plants.

Medicine

●Some plants are useful as medicines.

●About 60% of the world’s population relies on herbal(草木的) medicines.

Health

●A 2015 study showed that indoor plants can reduce stress. Plants can also help you stay focused(精力集中的) and work efficiently.

Trees are one of the oldest “citizens” (居民) of our Earth. They keep our air clean, reduce noise pollution, improve water quality and provide food and building materials (材料).

Just like us, trees change a lot as they grow. At 1 to 3 years old, young trees learn how to protect themselves. For example, many trees grow thorns (刺) to warn animals not to go near. Most young trees have large deep green leaves so that they can catch enough sunlight and change it into their food and energy.

When trees are 4 years old, they begin to grow very rapidly and become strong enough to face challenges (挑战) later in life. At the age of 15, trees become young adults. They grow more slowly and begin to produce flowers and fruit.

It is not until the tree is 20 to 25 years old that it becomes a real adult. The tree reaches its largest size. The adult tree gives us shade (树荫), oxygen (氧气) and natural beauty; it is also a great place for a tree house, or a place for us to read a book, listen to music and so on. If we give the adult tree proper care, it will go on to live healthily for many years.

Gradually, trees begin to grow older and older and even die. At this time, they still have their important place in nature. When a tree becomes hollow (空心的) or part of it becomes dead, it provides a home to small animals and is a source of food for many other animals.

     In many ways, the life of a tree is similar to our own life experience. When we are looking at the life of a tree, we learn about that each period of life brings its own form of joy and challenge. Enjoy every minute of the life of the trees and take care of the trees!