【推荐2】If you go shopping in any toy store, you can see clearly the different games and toys for boys and girls: there are a lot of pink toys on one side of the store for girls; and dark-colored cars, guns, and soldiers for boys. Some big stores with toys may even have a pink floor for girls and a blue floor for boys. In fact, it is difficult to buy a toy for a girl that is not pink.

Some people think that too much pink is bad for girls. Sue Palmer, writer of Toxic Childhood, is very worried that most girls over the age of three are crazy about the color. According to some scientists, this happens for two reasons. Firstly, most companies offer too many products in pink. Also, many parents think their little daughter looks cute in pink. Sue Palmer says that girls at this age cannot make proper decisions by themselves, but the pink can affect (影响) the choices and the decisions they will make in the future.

Some parents are worried too—for example, Vanessa Holburn, thirty-two, who has two girls under the age of four. Their bedrooms are a sea of pink and Vanessa is not happy. “Pink says that you are soft and gentle. Blue says that you are strong and powerful. I want my daughters to be strong and powerful. I’m worried that pink will not help them with that,” she says.

But not everyone thinks there’s something wrong with pink. Grayson Turner is a father of three girls and he isn’t worried at all. “People forget that things change all the time,” he says. “My girls used to love pink when they were little, but as they get older, they change.” Turner explains that his twelve-year-old daughter never wears pink clothes anymore. “This love of pink is just a fashion and all fashions change,” he adds. “It’s only since the 1940s that people have started dressing girls in pink—before that it was a color for boys.”

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【推荐3】You are walking down the street in the middle of the day and you see someone wearing a green hat. Some people may think it’s fashionable while others don’t care at all. Do you wonder what wearing a green hat means in Chinese culture? Here are four colors and their meanings in Chinese culture.

Green

In most cultures, green represents (代表) nature and is a calm color. However, in modern Chinese culture, green has a negative meaning. For example, when you say “His face looks green.”, it means he doesn’t look well. When you say someone is wearing a green hat, it means the person’s partner is cheating on him or her.

Yellow

In ancient China, yellow represented power. Only the emperor could wear this color. Yellow was also considered as a natural color. The Yellow River, the second longest river in China, got its name from the yellowish soil (土壤) in it. Now, when yellow is used in a sentence, it means someone fails and that something doesn’t go as planned. For example, when you ask people how their relationship is going, they might say “huáng le”, which means they’ve broken up.

Red

Red is considered as one of the luckiest colors in Chinese culture. In ancient China, the royal (皇室的) family wore bright red. In modern China, red is often seen at celebrations like weddings and festivals. Red also describes someone who is very popular, like a star. You will say “He is red.”

White

In ancient China, white was considered as common people’s color. Back then, only the rich could afford to make colorful clothes. Common people couldn’t afford that, so most of their clothes were white. Now people still enjoy white clothes, but they sometimes connect white with bad things. It is connected with scary things like death.

【推荐1】When I was young, I lived in Scotland with my parents. I had a good time there.

One morning, I ran to the garden, and said to the old Scotsman who worked there. “Today I am going up the mountain for berries.” No, no, Missey, not today.” he said, “It will rain.” “No, it will not rain.” I said, “The sun is up. The cook says it will be fine. The glass in the hall doesn’t say rain.”

“Tuts, tuts.” said the old man, I care for no suns, or cooks, or glasses. The pimpernel (海螺) says it will rain, and so it will rain. Flowers, Missey, always tell the truth. When they say rain, go and get your umbrella.

Sure enough, by noon the rain was pouring down. After that, I looked with great respect at the tiny flower sometimes brickred, sometimes blue, which could tell about the weather. But the pimpemel is not the only plant that is a weather prophet.

If you go into the garden, and find the African marigolds shut after seven o’clock in the morning, you may be pretty sure that there will be a rainy day. There is a little single marigold which shuts up in a hurry if the sky becomes clouded. It is called the “rainy-marigold”.

Most plants which we call “weather prophets” shut up for rain. But some plants open for rain. The cause of the opening and closing is probably the difference in light. Most likely these plants shut their flowers because there is too little light.

But you know there are some plants which become smaller in a strong light and love the shade. You will find that most shade-loving plants, as the verbenas, do not close for rain.

Lilies, tulips and other flowers that love the sun shut for rain, tulips are careful not to open their cups very wide in the morning if it is likely to rain. The roses make no change. They seem not to fear wet.

On the whole, you may be pretty sure, if you go into your garden, and find many flowers—as tulips, marigolds and morning glories-shut, it will be a stormy day, unfit for picnics or long walks.

【推荐2】When we are children, the holidays seem to last forever. But later, we may find that time just seems to fly by. Why does time seem to pass faster as we get older?

According to the Daily Mail, our brains degrade as we get older. That decreases the amount of information we can deal with in a single day. “The human mind senses time changing when the perceived (感知到的) images change,” Adrian Bejan from Duke University, the US, told the Daily Mail. “The present is different from the past because the mental viewing (思想观念) has changed, not because somebody’s clock rings.”

Infants (幼儿), for example, move their eyes much more often than adults (成年人) because they’re processing (处理) images at a faster rate. They deal with a large amount of information and do many things in a single day. This makes them feel like a single day lasts for a long time. However, as people get older, fewer images are processed in the same amount of time. Therefore, older people receive less information during a day than younger people. This causes things to seem as though they were happening more quickly.

Apart from the degradation of our brains, some psychological (心理的；心理学的) reasons also make us experience time differently.

People may measure (测量) time by the number of memorable (值得纪念的) events that can be recalled (回忆) within a certain period. When we think about our youth (青春), we may remember a life packed with first-time activities, for example, our first-time traveling without our parents, or our first date. We experienced these events so vividly that time then seemed to have passed very slowly. According to David Eagleman of the Baylor College of Medicine in the US, recalling these memories makes us feel like they took forever.

Many adults find life is routine and sometimes dull. For this reason, when they look back,   they might feel like there are not many exciting things to remember. Therefore, time seems to be moving faster to them.

Toucans (巨嘴鸟), a colorful bird. Take a look at these facts about toucans, and you may learn something you didn’t know before.

Toucans can be found in the tropical (热带的) forests of South America. Their home is still in danger. The government asks people not to buy rainforest wood. It’s important to protect the habitat (栖息地) of toucans.

Toucans have a black body and a white neck. The colorful beak is about 8 inches long. It makes up 1/3 of the bird’s total length. It may look pretty big, but thankfully, for the toucan, the beak is not too heavy. It is made of keratin (角蛋白), which makes it much lighter than you would think just by looking.

Toucans use their beaks to eat different kinds of fruits, which happens to be the kind of food they eat most often. Sometimes toucans will choose to snack on insects, frogs, and the eggs of their birds. Toucans get most of their water from the fruit they eat, so they don’t need to drink too much water.

Toucans can be rather lazy birds and they like to stay in one place generally. They don’t fly high up in the sky or very far away from home. They enjoy staying in trees with their delicious fruit to eat.

Wild cats are the predators of toucans in the rainforest. Other predators include larger birds. Some snacks may attack smaller toucans but typically are more interested in the toucans’ eggs instead.

【推荐1】A famous teacher was speaking to the students at our school. He began his lesson by holding up a ¥100 bill. Then he said to the three hundred students, “Who would like this ¥100 bill?” The students began to put up their hands at once.

Then he said, “I am going to give this ¥100 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He then made the bill into a ball. Then he said, “Who wants it now?” The hands went back into the air.

“Well,” he said, “What if I do this?” and he dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. He picked up the dirty, crumpled bill and said, “Who still wants it?” Hands went back into the air.

“My friends,” he said, “you have learned a valua­ble lesson today. No matter (无论) what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not go down in value (价值). It was still worth ¥ l00!”

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crum­pled, and stepped on by the chances we take and the things that happen to us. We feel as if we are worth nothing. But remember, no matter what has happened to you, you will never lose your value: you are always valuable to those people who love you. Your value doesn’t come from what you do or whom you know, but WHO YOU ARE.

You are special and valuable. Don’t ever forget it!

【推荐2】Pass the Salt

“Pass the salt，please!” Maybe you hear that at meals. That's because people like salt. Also，people need salt. Salt isn't a food. It's a mineral（矿物质）. It doesn't grow like a plant. It is found in rocks.

Here is why we need salt. Our bodies contain much water. Salt is in the water. We lose salt when we sweat. We also lose it if we bleed. That’s why we need more salt every day. True，it may make our food taste better，but it is more important than that. People who don't get enough salt may die!

Salt is found in many places. It is in the oceans and underground. Much of our salt comes from salt mines. People work in the mines. They dig out big chunks（大块）of salt. The salt chunks are brought to the surface. There they are crushed. Some of the salt becomes small chunks. These chunks are used to make many things，such as foods and chemicals. Some crushed salt becomes tiny grains. This is the salt that ends up on your table.

Salt has long been important to people. In ancient times，people were even paid with salt! In fact，our word “salary" comes from the Roman word for salt. People long ago used salt to keep meat fresh. The meat was packed in salt. This kept it from spoiling. People also used salt as a medicine. That's why the word “salt” sometimes means “good”. “You're the salt of the Earth，” people say. That's their way of saying. “You're OK with me!”

【推荐1】Suppose you're in a rush, feeling tired, not paying attention to your screen, and you send an email that could get you in trouble.

In seconds after you've clicked "send", you realize it in horrors and burn with shame.

Here are four common email accidents, and how to make it right.

Clicking "send" too soon

Don't waste your time trying to find out if the receivers has read it yet. Write another email as quickly as you can and send it with a brief title explaining that this is the correct version（版本）

Writing the wrong name

The sooner you notice, the better. Act quickly and briefly, saying sorry for your mistake. Don't take it too lightly, as you may offend（冒犯）people, especially if your mistake suggests a misunderstanding of their culture（i. e. incorrect ordering of Chinese names).

Clicking "reply all" by accident

You accidentally let the whole company know what menu choices you would prefer at the staff Christmas dinner, or what holiday you'd like to take. In this instance, the best way is to send a quick, light—hearted apology（道歉）. But it can quickly rise to something worse, when everyone starts hitting "reply all" to join in a long and unpleasant conversation. In this case, step away from your keyboard to allow everyone to calm down.

Sending an offensive message to its subject

The most awkward email mistake is usually committed in anger（愤怒）. You write an unkind message about someone, planning to send it to a friend, but accidentally send it to the person you're discussing. In that case, ask to speak in person as soon as possible and say sorry. Explain your frustrations（沮丧）calmly and smartly—see it as a chance to clear up any difficulties you may have with this person.

【推荐2】Some people wonder why countries spend millions of dollars on space projects. They want to know how space research helps people on Earth. Actually, space technology helps people on Earth every day. This is called “spinoff technology”. Spinoff technology is space technology that is now used on Earth.

In early space programs, such as the Apollo missions(任务) of the 1960s and 1970s, and in the space shuttle missions today, scientists developed objects for the astronauts to use on the moon and in space. We now use some of these objects every day. For example, we have Quartz clocks and watches with an accuracy of one minute a year. We purify the water we drink with a water filter(过滤器) designed for the astronauts' use in space. The cordless, hand-held tools we use in our homes, such as cleaners, flashlights, drills, and irons came from the technology of these early space programs.

On cold winter days, we can stay warm with battery - operated shoes and socks, and insulated(绝缘的) coats and jackets. All of these clothes are similar to the spacesuit designs that keep astronauts comfortable in the temperatures of the moon, and are spinoffs from space technology.

These products are only a few examples of the many ways space technology helps us in our everyday life. No one knows how new spinoff technology from the International Space Station will help us in the future.

【推荐3】One day when a woman was getting dinner ready for the animals at a zoo, her hand began to hurt. A few days earlier, a box of spiders (蜘蛛) arrived at the zoo from Asia. When she put the box into the spiders’ display (展示架), one of them climbed out and ran across the table. While she was trying to pick up the spider and put it back in the box, it bit her hand.

She forgot about her pain and continued (继续) with her work. She finished giving dinner to the animals, but the pain in her hand got worse. So she hurried to the hospital. As soon as the doctor got to know what kind of spider it was, he gave the woman the right medicine. She left the hospital that evening.