In Shanghai, when people throw away (扔掉) wet waste, they must take the wet waste (mainly food waste) out of the rubbish bag first. Then, they throw the rubbish bag into another trashcan (垃圾桶). This is not easy to do.

Shi Yuan is a 14-year-old student from Shanghai Wenlai Middle School. One rainy day in May, 2019, when he was throwing away wet waste, he got food waste all over his trousers. Then, he decided to do something about this. He made a special rubbish bag for wet waste. The bag has a band of adhesive tape (黏胶带). When one end of the tape is open, the bag turns upside down by itself. Then, people can easily throw wet waste into the trashcan. Shi’s idea won him a prize in the Shanghai Adolescents Science & Technology Innovation Contest. So far, he has sold over 2 million bags online. And on May 4, 2020, he began to sell his bags in 11 supermarkets in Shanghai.

“Like many other kids, I’m also busy with homework and I like to play. The only difference is that I like to find ways to make life easier,” Shi said.

2 . It is necessary to share your feelings with others. Sharing your feelings helps you to get closer to people you care about and who care about you, like your parents or teachers.

Sometimes it can be really hard not to tell anyone that you’re feeling sad, worried, or upset. Don’t keep feelings locked inside. If that, it can even make you feel sick!

But if you talk with someone who cares for you, like your mom or dad, you will not be all alone with your problems or worries. It doesn’t mean your problems and worries go off, but at least someone else knows what your trouble is and can help you find ways to do with it.

If the person doesn’t understand what you mean right away, try explaining it in a different way or give an example that has something to do with you. Of course, there are many ways for you to speak up your feelings. If you think you’ll have trouble saying what’s on your mind, write it down on a piece of paper.

Some of us, just like some adults, are more private (有隐私的) than others. That means some people will feel shy about sharing their feelings. A kid doesn’t have to share every feeling he or she has, but it is important to share feelings when a kid needs help.

There are 24 solar terms (节气) in China, and the Grain Rain (谷雨) is one of them. It falls on April 19 this year.

This solar term is called the Grain Rain because it’s known for “rain”. From its name, we can guess it means a time of more rain. So if you go out in the next two weeks, you may need to bring an umbrella with you.

But this is a great time for planting crops. If you miss the time for planting during the Grain Rain, you’ll feel sorry later. So maybe you can try to plant some flowers or vegetables in your garden. When the spring rain falls, farmers begin to grow crops. Farmers often say, “Spring rain is as precious (珍贵的) as oil.” It brings farmers hope for a good year ahead.

There are also many interesting customs (习俗) during the Grain Rain. In the northern part of China, people like to eat Chinese toon. In the southern part of China, people pick the tea leaves during the time. People call them Grain Rain tea. It’s known for its freshness and sweet smell.

4 . Spacewalks can be dangerous. There is no air in space. And it’s filled with harmful things. But the spacesuits (太空服) can protect astronauts.

A spacesuit is like a small space station. It has everything astronauts need when they carry out a spacewalk. For example, China’s spacesuits have six layers (层) . There are four of them that help control the temperature and air pressure inside the suit. Spacesuits are filled with air.

Astronauts are connected to the space station with safety ropes (绳子) . There are headphones and speakers for astronauts to communicate in the spacesuit. There is also a mirror at the wrist (腕) . Astronauts can check their spacesuits by looking at it.

The first Feitian spacesuit was made in 2008. Zhai Ziyang wore it to carry out China’s first spacewalk. The spacesuits Chinese astronauts wear today are the second generation of Feitian. The first generation could only be used (被使用) five times within two years, while the second generation can be used 15 times within three years.

Giving gifts is a way of showing thanks or love. The rules of accepting (接受) gifts are different in China and in the West.

When Lucy, from the UK, gave a gift to her Chinese friend for the first time, she couldn’t understand it. “He refused (拒绝) to accept it twice, and when he finally accepted it, he didn’t open it. He just took it and put it away. After that, I never heard about it again. He never said he liked it or not.”

In the West, it is polite to open it in front of the giver and say thanks. When you get a gift, the giver hopes that you are thrilled and really like it. But it is different in China. Usually, people don’t open the gift until the giver leaves. If they open the gift in front of the giver, the giver will think they are not polite. For the same reason, the Chinese will refuse a gift twice or three times before accepting it. If you are the giver, give it again until it is accepted after the third time.

Today, some young people in China are turning to Western rules of accepting gifts. That’s OK, but it would be better to follow the Chinese people when it comes to getting gifts from elders.

A first aid kit (急救包) is one of the most necessary (必须的) things in every family. Making your own first aid kit will help keep you and your family safe. You need to do the following steps.

To find a box is the first thing. The box should be large and strong enough for all the medical supplies (医用物品) .You will put all the supplies inside.

After finding the box, it’s time to prepare all the medical supplies. Having a first aid kit will be useful during serious injuries and if you take quick actions in time, it will be useful as well. So it is best to fill your kit with necessary things.

Once you have all the medical supplies, print first aid rules on how to stop bleeding (出血), how to call for help and soon. You should write down some helpful phone numbers on your note (笔记).

Put everything into the box. Everything must be easy to find and reach at the same time.

In short, follow what you learn above, you can be safe and you can also help others.

8 . From grasses to trees, plants come in all colors, shapes and sizes. There are about 350,000 types of plants in the world. Let’s enter the world of plants and learn more about them.

Like all living things, plants need food to live. They make food for themselves by photosynthesis (光合作用). This happens in the leaves. To make food, plants need sunlight, CO₂ and H₂O. They use the energy from the sun to turn all of those things into O₂ and sugars.

Fighting

Plants fight against each other to live. Only two percent of the sunlight gets to the forest floor. That’s why some plants spread their leaves to fight for sunlight.

Helping each other

Plants also help each other and even communicate. In deserts, the roots of Euphrates popular (胡杨的根) are connected. If a tree finds water, it will share it with others through the roots.

◆Defending

Each kind of plant has its own ways to protect itself. Some flowers give off a bad smell. Some even have teeth.

9 . When we think of food farming, we usually think of green fields in the country outside the city. Sam Chee works on a very different type of farm, in the center of the Canadian city of Toronto. “We grow fruits, vegetables and herbs,” says Sam. “But not many people know the farm is here. You can’t see it from the street. We’re on top of an office building, 50 meters above the ground.”

Rooftop (屋顶外部) farming is becoming popular in cities like Toronto, New York and London. The roofs of buildings are often just wasted space, but people can use the place for growing good fresh food right in the middle of the city. Sam explains how it works. “We grow everything in big pots and boxes—there are hundreds of them. We catch rainwater to water the plants when the weather is dry.”

The rooftop farm where Sam works belongs to a restaurant called Green Garden, on the ground floor of the building. The farm produces (生产) about half the restaurant’s fruits and vegetables. Sam believes that the rooftop farm is what makes Green Garden special. Sam says, “We help to keep food production local. We don’t need to buy the food from anywhere, and that saves energy. It’s better for the environment.”

The food from the rooftop is fresher too. “When the fruits and vegetables are ripe, we can pick them and use them right away. They taste better when they’re really fresh,” says Sam. “I hope that there will be more rooftop farms in the city soon. It could be the farming of the future.”

10 . No one can change the weather. But if we understand the signs around us, we can tell the changes in weather. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following days is called weather forecasting.

For many centuries and in all countries, people studied the weather and tried to make weather forecast. For example, rings around the sun are a sign of coming rain. And wet weather often makes people feel their joints (关节) hurt. Some birds fly high if fine weather is coming, but they fly near the ground if rainy weather is on the way. If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, this is a sign that the weather will become clear and fine. Such rainbows come in the evening.

If the stars look bright and clear at night, then fine weather will continue. If a big fog appears in the morning just above a river, then the day will be warm. If the sunset is red in color, then the following day will be fine. If a rainbow appears in the morning, rainy weather will probably come.

If you know how to read these signs in the right way, you will become a good weather reporter!