【推荐1】How does your lunch taste? Students at the Philips Academy Charter School in the US say their lunch tastes fresh and special.

From grades 6 to 8, students in the school had to grow their own lunch. On the small farm inside their kitchen, they grew vegetables like carrots and many kinds of greens.

For most students, it was the first time for them to see how people make food.

The greens grow under lights. Each month, students from different grades come to water them. And the kitchen can get about 8 pounds (3.6kg) of leafy greens every three weeks. The fresh food then goes to the students.

“We grow it, we get it, and then it’s used in the kitchen. And we’re eating it for lunch, and it’s fun,” said Yves Millien, 14.

And this project (项目) is not only good for teaching science. It also helped change students’ eating habits. Catkin Flowers, 13, disliked greens before. She thought they tasted bad. However, after she grew her own vegetables, Catkin changed her mind. “I made this and I want to eat it because it’s good and special for me,” said Flowers.

May is National Physical Fitness and Sport Month. Here are some good ways to help kids to keep healthy.

    1     If you live near a park, get the whole family moving with a hike, or get out by bike to find parks and forests, or local playgrounds near you.

    2     Show kids an easy way to get exercise is to put on music and dance. Ask them to turn on the radio to a music station and get moving!

    3     Look for something that can help kids know about a sport. If kids don’t like team sports, see if swimming at a local pool is interesting for them.

    4     Talk with your kids about the healthy food and the sports. Make sure your kids have a good breakfast before they go to school.

    5     Kids need to exercise for 60 minutes a day. Try to make a daily plan with your kids, and then help them to follow it.

What can you do to keep healthy? Perhaps for children, healthy eating is one of the most important things.     1    

Having breakfast   

A good breakfast is very important to children. It’s necessary to have it in the morning. But some children don’t have breakfast, just because they want to sleep a little longer.     2    

Having milk

“My dream is that all the Chinese children can get half a kilogram of milk a day.” The former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said this during his visit to a milk farm.     3     It makes children grow stronger. It’s better for you to drink a glass of warm milk before you go to bed. That will help you have a good sleep.

    4    

Having healthy food is the most important. That means eating lots of different kinds of food, especially fruits and vegetables. Don’t eat too much chocolate or ice-cream. Some of you eat fast food, but in fact it is not good for your health. Try to eat healthy food as much as possible.

Have healthy eating habits(习惯),     5    .

【推荐2】In late May, 2020, a country in Florida, USA suffered strong storms. The roads in the city changed into brown rivers.

When it rains heavily, rainwater builds up the streets, the drains (下水道) get plugged (塞住). And it becomes the key cause of weather-related problem of deaths in the USA.

A team of teenagers from local middle school made a plan to solve this problem. With the help of their science teacher, they invented a device (装置) to warn city workers when and where there is a danger of flooding (洪水).

Bianca, one of the team members, said, “All of us experience problems with flooding, and we knew we had to do something about it. Students at our school hope our device will help because most of them once met with this problem.”

A laser system (激光系统) was used in their device. When a drain is plugged up, the device could warn the city workers then they could clean the drain at once.

_______ Their classmates helped them find information about how to use the laser system. Class parents who were engineers help them solve the technique (技术) problems. They each took on a task that they are good at. Each member put in a lot of effort and finally they made it.

【推荐3】In ancient China, the study room of intellectuals (文人) was called wen fang in Chinese. Because the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone are commonly used in the study room, they are called the “Four Treasures of the Study” or wen fang si bao in Chinese.

The writing brush is a special writing and painting tool in ancient China. Brushes are usually made of animal hair. Rabbit hair was the first to be used. According to record, the ancient Chinese also used human hair to make brushes.

Ink is a black material used in calligraphy (书法) and painting. It was born later than the writing brush. After the Han and Wei dynasties, ink-making technology became more and more developed, and Huizhou became the national ink-making center in the Ming Dynasty. The “Hui Ink” produced there is famous all over the world.

Papermaking was invented in the Western Han Dynasty and was improved by Cai Lun during the Eastern Han Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, with papermaking technology improving gradually, more and more types of paper appeared. The most famous one is Xuan paper, which is named after ancient Xuanzhou because it was made there. Xuan paper is thin but tough, and doesn’t change color easily. So, it’s known as the “thousand-year-old paper”.

The inkstone is a necessary tool for grinding (研磨) ink. The inkstone is generally made of stones. In the Qing Dynasty, people carved (雕刻) some patterns on it. Since then, the inkstone has not only been practical, but also had the value of collection and appreciation.

The development of science and technology has greatly changed our life, and the improvement of the tools for writing also has brought us much convenience (便利), but when we talk about calligraphy, it is clear that only traditional tools can better show the greatness of Chinese culture. So we must try our best to protect them.

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There are many ways for us to reduce waste. For example, we can reuse paper and plastic bags. We can also recycle newspapers, glass and cans to make new things.     1    

Write on both sides of paper.     2     Why not stop wasting the other side? Some students only use half the pages of their notebooks before they get new ones. Try to use up all the paper.     3     How about trying to send e-cards instead?

    4    

Maybe you do not know that old batteries make the earth dirty. This is because they have poisonous（毒）parts in them. So, don’t throw away batteries. Keep them together. Try to use rechargeable batteries for your games and CD players.

Give off all your unwanted clothes.

There are many poor families in China.You may ask your mother to collect your unwanted clothes.     5     You will feel happy when you are helping someone else. Also, you should know whether your friends or relatives want them before throwing them away.

【推荐2】When looking at a pair of old chopsticks, most people would see nothing but waste. But Felix Bock would see boxes, tables, shelves and so on.

In 2016, Felix Bock, a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia, Canada, found out people threw away about 100,000 pairs of chopsticks every day in Vancouver alone. He felt the need to do something. So he started the company ChopValue in the same year. The company collected used chopsticks from restaurants, schools and shopping centers in Canada and the US and turned them into furniture and other artworks. Now in its fifth year, with the rapid growth of the company, Bock employs 40 people, and using his special methods of steam and press machines, he has recycled 32 million pairs of chopsticks.

Bock takes pride in his work. And he hopes the idea behind ChopValue will help people rethink what they see as waste. “I believe every small action can help,” he said. “And I am happy that my business provides a new way for people.” Hundreds of restaurants across North America pay a small sum of money to Bock for the recycling of their used chopsticks. Bock doesn’t stop there. Now he is busy taking his business to more countries and has set up factories for recycling local wood like chopsticks in 10 countries.

【推荐3】Did you know that much of Earth is covered by water? Most of this is salt water in seas. People drink and use fresh water. But most fresh water freezes (冻结) into ice or snow. All life on the planet (行星) needs water.

But some water on our planet is not clean. This is a big problem. How can we keep water clean? We must not throw rubbish into the sea, streams, or ponds (池塘). We must keep mud (淤泥) from running into streams when it rains. We can also use machines to clean water.

All animals need clean water. When water is not clean, animals can get sick and die. Some animals even must leave their homes. How can people help animals? We can save them by making the water clean. We can try to keep wetlands filled with water.

Plants need clean water as well. How can we get lots of fresh water to plants? We need to keep from using too much. We need to save water and send it to farmers and plants.

When people waste water, it’s bad for the planet. So saving water helps save the Earth. Everyone should try his own effort (努力) to save water. Only in this way can we keep the planet safe.