Do you like tomatoes? I think they’re delicious! They are fun and easy to grow, too!

Step 1: Plant the Seeds（ 种子）

Fill a small pot with soil（土壤）. Use a pencil to make a hole halfway down the soil. Put two seeds in the hole. Fill the hole with soil.

Step 2: Water the Seeds

Water the seeds, but do not too much.

Step 3: See the Seedling（ 幼苗）

Each day, make sure that the soil is a little wet. In about a week, you’ll see a seedling come out of the soil! Move the pot to a warm, sunny place.

Step 4: Time to Transplant（移栽）

Soon the seedling will be a few inches high. It’s time to plant the seedling outside. Dig a deep hole, and put the seedling inside.

Step 5: Water the Seedling

Put water in the hole. Fill the hole with soil. Pat the soil.

Step 6: Stake the Plant

As your tomato plant grows, tie the plant to a stake so that it will not fall to the ground. Flowers will bloom on the plant before the tomatoes will grow.

Pick the Tomatoes!

When is it time to eat your tomatoes? When they turn red!

【推荐2】① Do you like to watch animals through your window? Just make your yard a place that animals want to visit. You don’t need a big space. You just need to know what makes a good habitat (栖息地).

② You can provide animals with food. You may plant trees that produce nuts or berries (坚果或浆果). Birds and squirrels like them. You can grow flowers. Bees and butterflies like them. You can also offer some food like fruit or bread to animals.

③ It’s important to prepare water for animals. They drink water and also take a bath in water. Many insects lay eggs in water. Some people build small ponds in their yards. You can fill a bowl with water and put the bowl in your yard. Change the water a few times a week so that the water won’t get dirty.

④ Animals need hiding places. They need a safe place to hide from the bad weather. They need to hide from people or other animals when they get frightened.Bushes (灌木), trees and tall grass are good places for them to hide in. You can also make other hiding places.

⑤ Helping animals build homes is necessary. Animals need safe places for their babies. Many birds make their homes in trees or bushes. Rabbits usually make their homes in tall grass. You can build or buy homes for animals.

⑥ These are all helpful to make your yard a home for animals. Soon, you will see animals running around. You will hear birds singing songs.   You will have fun watching wild animals through your window.

【推荐3】Nature’s Warnings

When the sky suddenly turns dark and the wind is strong, watch out! A dangerous storm might be coming. Storms are scary. Watch for flashes of lightning. Listen for thunder. If nature sends these warnings, don’t wait for rain. Act right away to keep safe.

Safety Steps

At the first flash of lightning, quickly get inside a building or a car. Do not go into a shed (棚) for protection. It is not closed like a building, so it is not safe.

Even after you are indoors, be careful. It is not smart to go near doors and windows. They can blow in or break. A room with no windows is the safest place to be.

Do not wash your hands during a storm. Do not use anything that runs on electricity, either. Water and electrical lines are like roads for lightning. Even if you really want to play computer games, don’t! It is better to be bored than to risk getting hurt. Try reading a book instead. Reading is more fun than playing computer games.

If you can’t get to somewhere safe, stay out in the open. You may feel safe under a tree, but that is not a good place to be. Lightning is pulling towards tall poles and trees. Stay down in an open space and cover your ears to protect them. Loud thunder can damage your hearing.

Lightning Strikes

Lightning does not strike people very often. It is not likely that you will ever see that happen. If you do, call 120. Only trained emergency workers should care for a person who has been hit by lighting.

If you follow these rules, you should stay safe during a storm.

【推荐1】This morning I got an email from Roy. It seems that my boy really enjoys his new life at college.

The email made me think of the first day when we moved into this house.

Little Roy ran around the new house with joy and tried to move his own things into the house such as his toys, books and clothes. Suddenly, his little hand knocked over some paint on the table. The paint made the tidy floor and white wall very dirty. “Oh, my God!” My wife ran into the room angrily, I looked at my son, and he was so afraid that he said nothing.

I smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Roy. Now let’s do something special.” I took out a brush. “You see, Dad is good at magic shows. I can change it into a big free tree.”

His mother soon joined us and helped paint some flowers on the wall. We spent all the afternoon painting and laughing. The wall became a beautiful forest with plants, birds and small animals. Roy also painted blue sky and white clouds. On that day, everyone in the house knew something special happened.

The night before Roy left for college, he asked me if I still remembered the day when he had knocked over the paint. “Dad, you helped me out that day. After it, I never worry about making mistakes.” he said, “I believe I can always find out ways to solve the problems.”

That’s for sure. Making mistakes is part of life. When we make a mistake, what we shouldn't do is to run away from it. Mistakes can be helpful if we make good use of them. In fact, our attitude(态度) towards them may be more important.

【推荐2】"In this life, what did you miss?" The wife asked the husband when she was 25. Despondently(沮丧地), the husband replied, "I missed a new job chance."

When she was 35, the husband angrily told her that he had just missed the bus.

At 45, the husband sadly said, "I missed the opportunity seeing my close relative before his last breath."

At 55, the husband said disappointingly. "I missed a good chance to retire,"

At 65, the husband hurriedly replied, "I missed visiting my dentist."

At 75, the wife did not ask the husband anymore, the husband was kneeling in front of the very sick wife. Remembering the question the wife used to ask him, this time he asked the wife the same question. The wife, with a smile and peaceful look, replied, "In this life, I did not miss having you!"

The husband was full of tears. He always thought that they could be together forever. He was always busy with work and other things. So much so he had never been thoughtful to his wife. The husband hugged the wife tightly and said, "Over 50 years, how I had allowed myself to miss your deep love for me."

【推荐3】The Natural Garden

There was once a king who had a great palace with a wonderful garden. In the garden, there lived all kinds of animals.     1    .

There was only one thing in the garden that the king hated: an old tree in the center of the garden.     2     This made the king so angry that he finally asked some people to cut it down and turned the place into a swimming pool. However, after the tree was cut down, the animals left the garden.     3     The king was sad, but he didn’t know what had happened.

A young man went to the king, and said he could explain what had happened, “This was because you cut the old tree down,” said the young man. “There were thousands of moths (飞蛾) which lived in the tree. Birds needed the moths to eat and then they produced wastes for plants to grow. The plants then attracted many other animals to your garden. So your garden became very beautiful.     4    ”

“Excellent!” said the king, “I will make you rich and you will try to make my garden beautiful again.”

I’m afraid it will take many years to finish. It will take many years for the natural balance(平衡) to get back again,” said the young man.

The king was sad, but all he could do was just to wait.

【推荐1】The World is in Danger

Our world is in danger. We must do something to protect the environment. But, what are the main problems we face?

The greenhouse effect

The atmosphere (大气层) around the Earth is necessary for all living things. It is like the glass of a greenhouse, letting sunlight in and keeping heat from getting out. Without it, the Earth would be the same as the Moon—cold and lifeless.

When we burn fuels (燃料) such as petrol and coal, we produce a gas called carbon dioxide (CO₂). Too much of this gas pollutes the atmosphere, and causes it to keep in too much heat. As a result of the greenhouse effect, the Earth’s temperature is increasing. This causes sea level to rise, and in the future may cause cities to disappear.

Cutting down forests

Every year, we destroy nature by cutting down many forests. This makes the greenhouse effect worse because trees take in CO₂ and produce oxygen (O₂). Cutting down trees also destroys the homes of animals that live in forests, and causes the surface of the soil to be easily destroyed by train. This can result in floods and even more damage to the environment.

Bad habits

Many of our habits cause pollution. People often use things once and then throw them away, or leave them on the ground as litter. To protect the environment, we need to take proper action. We should be different from many consumers and become “green consumers”. This means that we should only buy and use products friendly to the environment. We should also recycle as many things as we can. We can reuse things for the same purpose as before, or we can use them for new purposes. Then, we can make a difference.

【推荐3】You may be a doctor or a police officer one day in your life, but there are always teachers around you. They teach you and help you know who you are. Of course, you want to thank them.

Teachers’ Day is a great time for students around the world to thank their teachers. The festival is on different days in different countries.

In China, Teachers’ Day is on Sept 10th. But in the US, there is a special week for teachers. Teacher Appreciation (感谢) Week is in the first full week of May every year. In the past, kids brought apples to their teachers because they believed an apple a day could help keep the doctor away. Now, they bring gifts with pictures of apples, such as paintings, cups and postcards. Some students also make gifts by themselves. In that week, breakfast and coffee in the school dining hall are free for teachers.

Teachers’ day in South Korea is on May 15th. Many students give their teachers carnations (康乃馨). Cards are also popular. Many students give hand - made cards to favorite teachers.

Although different countries have different Teachers’ Days, there’s one day for the world to show thanks to teachers: on Oct. 5th each year. UNESCO (联合国教科文组织) started the day in 1994. It wants to tell people the importance of the teacher.