How do people pass on messages? When you speak, write a letter, or make a telephone, your words carry a message.

People communicate with words.     1     They can help us know what is going on in the world and what other people are thinking about.

    2     A smile on your face shows you are happy or friendly. Tears (眼泪) in your eyes tell others that you are sad. When you put up your hands in class, the teacher knows you want to say something or ask questions.     3     You nod and people know you are saying “Yes”.

    4     For example, an artist can use his/her drawings to tell about the beautiful mountains, the blue seas and so on.

    5     A sign at the bus stop helps you to know which bus to take. A sign on the wall of your school helps you to find the library. Signs on doors tell you how to go in or out. In fact, there are many signs around you and you receive messages and get information from them all the time.

【推荐3】The British love word-play and they’re enthusiastic about protecting the use of their language. In recent years, books about the grammar, pronunciation and punctuation (标点) of English have been written by the dozen, and sold extremely well, reflecting people’s love of the English language. People want to protect the “correct” use of their language, but also to keep its ability to develop along with society. Lynne Truss’s book Eats, Shoots & Leaves is an excellent example of these two opposite ideas. Its title shows the way that punctuation can change meaning in a sentence. “Eats shoots and leaves” is a perfectly normal description of a panda’s diet: he eats the shoots(嫩芽) and leaves of bamboo trees. But the position of the comma (逗号) turns those nouns into verbs, and makes up a ridiculous little story: the panda eats (his dinner), he shoots (a gun), and he leaves (the building). It’s a silly joke, but it shows how changing something as simple as a comma can change the entire meaning of a sentence.

Published in 2003, Eats, Shoots & Leaves was an unexpectedly huge success. It is easy to assume the typical reader of this kind of book as the humourless type. However, the book has sold thousands and thousands of copies—it must be attractive to a wide range of people. The book’s winning secret is this: it makes some serious points about language and punctuation, but also has an amusing aspect, and uses stories and jokes to show its points. It has invited some tough criticism, too, especially from the US. On a broader range, Eats, Shoots & Leaves has opened up a lot of public argument on Truss’s ideas. Whether they agree with her or not, punctuation and grammar has become a popular topic to discuss.

In every generation there will be people who think that the standard of language is dropping, and who are more than happy to write to the newspapers to express their concern and opinions. Truss’s book also interest those who think that texting and blogging (博客) is lowering the standard of literacy(读写能力). Whether the standard of the English language is decreasing, or simply evolving into new forms, the success of Eats, Shoots & Leaves proves that this is a subject that many English speakers find interesting and important.

【推荐1】What makes you cry? Being moved by a sad movie, seeing your best friend off, or getting emotional (情绪激动的) after breaking up with the partner can cause tears to rundown our faces. We all have the power to cry, but is that a good thing?

When you think of it, tears running down from your eyes is a strange thing to do. But it seems to be a natural reaction (反应) when we get sad, upset or even when we’re very happy. What causes this reaction is different from person to person. However, the feeling is the same—your face puffs up (膨胀), your eyes tighten (绷紧) and before you know it, tears are streaming down your face.

A UK study has shown that women usually cry more often than men, with women crying 72 times a year on average. Does it mean that men don’t get as upset or emotional as women, or they are just more embarrassed about showing their true feelings? The argument continues.

One place where we experience emotional and tearful outbursts is the workplace. This can be a place where emotions run high. Someone might be stressed because they have too much work. And, as the expert, Joanna Cross told the BBC, “Crying is often a build-up of being upset and situations not being dealt with and it’s a bit of a final straw (稻草) moment.”

But crying in the office or somewhere else can be cathartic (宣泄情绪的). It can actually make you feel better. Maybe it solves or clears the bad feelings you’ve had. Crying is a powerful tool that we should use to express ourselves, free ourselves, and in some way get out of difficult situations.

【推荐2】Is there someone or something you worry about? Could you come up with an idea to help solve that problem in your local community?

Get inspired by these apps and enter a competition organized by the Voda Foundation with your school or community group for the chance to win a prize. We are looking for smart creators to design(设计) an app to help communities meet with the challenges(挑战) they face. Now take a look at the apps for inspiration!

This is a great app for anyone wanting to learn a new language. You’ll pick up lots of words in no time.

Do you want to make new friends in your community? It can help you discover lots of local activities from sports clubs to art classes.

Do you want to learn more about the world? This app has you covered. You can fly all around a 3D world and find out about its different parts and environments, meeting people and wildlife along the way.

This helps you reduce(减少) waste by sharing unwanted food and other things with neighbors—exactly the kind of community app you could design. Download it and your family can do their bit for the environment.

To sign up, visit community today.com.

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【推荐3】Global warming is a big problem that we have to stop. One of the best things we can do is to plant more trees.Trees can take in carbon dioxide in the air and stop global warming. According to a new report, China is doing a great job of “greening”the world.

A team of scientists at Boston University has been working with NASA to study Earth’s green vegetation (植被). They used a special NASA camera and found that global leaf area has increased by 5 percent since the early 2000s. And according to the study,China was responsible for 25 percent of that gain. That’s about one-quarter of the size of the entire Amazon rainforest.

The growth mainly came from China’s forest protection programs, NASA said. For example, since 1962, China has been planting trees in Saihanba in Hebei Province. It was once a desert. But now, China has turned the area into the country’s largest man-made forest.

The Chinese public has also joined in these efforts. Ant Forest, a feature(功能)in the Alipay app, gives users points for doing some eco-friendly(对生态环境友好的)things. Users can then use these points to water and grow their own virtual trees. When the virtual trees are big enough, Ant Forest will plant real trees somewhere in the world. More than 55 million trees have been planted in this way.

【推荐1】People surely meet lots of difficulties in life. But life is all about choices. You choose how you deal with different situations. You choose how people influence (影响) you. The key is: it’s your choice how you live life.

My friend Michael is always happy and always has something good to say. If someone is having a bad day, Michael will tell the person how to find the good side of the situation.

One day I asked Michael, “How can you always be so happy?” Michael replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, ‘Mike, you have two choices today. You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be unhappy.’ I choose to be happy. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be sad or choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.”

Soon after that, I left the big factory that I had worked in and started my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life.

Several years later, I heard Michael had a serious accident. He fell from a 10-meter-high building. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. I asked him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. “As I lay on the ground, I remembered I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live.” Michael replied. “Weren’t you scared?” I asked. Michael continued, “When I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ‘He is a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action. I told them “I chose to live and operate on me as if (好像) I am alive, not dead.” Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing thought.

I learned from him that every day we have a choice to live fully. What is your choice?

【推荐2】The bell rings, the lockers slam, and the crowded hallways empty as kids and teachers fill the classrooms, ready to begin a new school day. Students study math, science, history, literature, music, and art. They write essays, take tests, do homework, and attend sports practices. But should they do more? Could school be a place where students are part of something bigger than just schoolwork and activities? The answer is yes. Our school should join other schools in carrying out a citizenship program that will require service projects within the school.

My primary school took part in a citizenship program. At the beginning of each term, every class had to come up with a project that would benefit the entire school. Throughout the term students in the class worked together to complete the project. At the end of the grading period, each student received a citizenship grade in addition to his or her subject grades.

In my primary school, the projects students chose were diverse (多种多样的). One class chose to start a recycling program in the cafeteria. Another class painted a beautiful picture on one of the walls in the school’s entryway. My class took over the garden that had been planted near the front doors.

A citizenship program at our school would offer many benefits. Research shows that students who volunteer their time and talents feel better about themselves and get better grades in school. Furthermore, the work performed by students saves the school money because students provide the labor (劳动力) and local businesses often donate the materials. Finally, students feel more connected to a campus (校园) that they have helped clean, beautify, and organize.

A citizenship program is a great way to get students involved in making their school a more enjoyable place to learn. At the end of the year, when they look back on all they have achieved, they feel proud of both themselves and their school. Let’s give students at our school an opportunity to experience that pride by beginning a citizenship program here.

【推荐3】Folding Paper on Weekends

Boys and girls, what did you do last weekend? There are many things you could do. Some boys went out to play soccer or tennis and some girls just stayed at home and did some reading. Now it’s time to do something new on weekends. A French young man Eric Joisel has his own idea about that.

Eric Joisel in Paris, France, is interested in paper folding (折纸). Not like others, he doesn’t think it is just for children. He spent many weekends in folding paper. Then he held his first origami show in Paris. The word “origami” is from Japanese. It is the art of folding paper into different shapes (形状) like flowers and animals.

Paper folding is now very popular around the world. Many people love doing it. Would you like to have a try next weekend?

【推荐1】There are some little problems in daily life. They may not cause any big trouble but may be difficult to deal with. Here are a few tips to help you solve them and improve your life.

Coke gets warm quickly after it’s taken out of fridge. You can wrap* the cans or bottles with thick bubble coat to keep the coke cold on hot summer days. You can also do the same with hot or cold picnic food. Even ice-cream will stay in good condition longer.

Yellow stains on the underarms spoil shirts, especially white ones. Luckily, it is pretty easy to clean them. You can rub the stain with a mixture of half lemon juice and half water, and then wash the shirt as usual. You can also add two aspirin into half a cup of warm water, and then soak* the stain for a few hours.

It is unpleasant if you can’t find a corkscrew when you have a nice bottle of wine to drink. Take your house keys and drive one of them into the cork*. Slowly twist* the key around and up until you are able to hold on the cork and pull it out. Cheers!

A boy wrote to me, saying that he had a problem with his father. His father was nice, but very busy. He had nothing to talk about with his father. When they were together, it was often just silence. He asked me for advice.

Here is what I wrote back.

My first piece of advice is to tell your father everything you told me in your letter. But if you’re not brave(勇敢的), here are some tricks to start conversations(对话).

First, remember that everyone loves to talk about themselves. So ask your father something about himself. For example, ask him: “What’ s something you loved to do in your childhood? ” You will learn something about him and have a new topic(话题) to talk about next time.

Another way is to tell him about something bad that happened to you. Ask him about a time when he was troubled. You could change “troubled” to any other word- sad or unhappy

Here’s one more trick: You can find thousands of questions online. If your father asks why you have so many strange questions, tell him your English teacher shared them and you think they’re fun. I hope this gets your conversation started.

【推荐3】Whether you like it or not, your parents are responsible (负责任的) for you, at least until you’ re out of high school. But does it feel like your parents are stressing you out with their love? Do you often fight with them?

Shen Ying is 17 years old. She feels she has grown up now. So she wants more respect (尊重) from her parents. “My father shouted at me when he’s in a bad mood. He doesn’t listen to me, but instead acts like, ‘I’m the boss’!” said the teenager “I’d like my parents to treat me like a friend and understand that respect is a two-way street.”

Lu Yiting is 15. She has a different problem with her parents. They think she spends too much time with her friends and is falling into bad company. “I want trust from my parents,” Lu said.

It’s the age when teenagers are becoming more independent, but their parents care very much about their kids’ futures, said Sun Yunxiao, a senior researcher at the China Youth and Children Research Center. Sun suggests that teenagers should learn to communicate with their parents. “Find the right time for a talk. On Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, say ‘Thank you’ to your parents or give them a small gift with a letter so they can get inside your head a little,” he advised. Sun also believes that teenagers have to work to get trust and respect from their parents. “You need to make sure they know that you’re not going to screw up (搞砸) your exams or let them down. Let them know that you want to do well, and that you will do well” he said.