In China, the 12th month of the lunar calendar is called Layue. The month is full of interesting festivals and customs.

Laba Festival, which is on the 8th day of Layue, is the first festival in this month. From this day on, people begin to get ready for the Chinese New Year.

On Laba Festival, people eat hot Laba porridge. There are usually eight things in the porridge: rice, red beans, peas, dried lotus seeds, dates, and three different kinds of fruits and nuts. The porridge is not just good for your health, but a blessing for the coming of the Chinese New Year.

Laba porridge is not the only tasty food in Layue. Laba garlic (腊八蒜) is popular in the north. People begin to soak garlic in vinegar from that day on, and eat it with dumplings during the Chinese New Year. While in the south, people like making sausages.

Another major celebration before the Spring Festival is Xiaonian. It is usually on the 23rd or 24th day of the last lunar month. Traditionally it is an important day when people offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God who looks after the family.

Don’t forget to clean your home. This is also an important thing to do to prepare for the Chinese New Year. It means sweeping away the dust of the old year and welcoming a fresh start. Now, the last thing for you to do is to wait for the coming Spring Festival.

2 . In the United States, 16, 18 and 21 are very important ages in a person’s life. A person can do new things at each age to show that he or she is no longer a child. That means you are an adult.

After turning 16 in the United States, a person can be employed, get a driver’s license, and leave home. Many high school students learn to drive and get part-time jobs soon after celebrating their 16th birthday. At 18, people in the United States can vote and join the military (参军), but they are not allowed to go into nightclubs, to buy beer or wine until they are 21.

In many Latin American countries, a young woman’s 15th birthday is important. At this age, people think she is no longer a girl, but a woman. To mark this special day, families with 15-year-old daughters have a celebration called a quinceanera (成人礼). The young woman and her family will have a big party to which many guests are invited.

In Japan, boys and girls are thought to be adults at the age of 20. At this age, they are allowed to vote and drink beer or wine. The second Monday in January is a national holiday called the Coming-of-Age Day. On this day, 20-year-olds are invited to listen to speeches with their family. After that, many celebrate late into the night. In many countries, celebrations are always there, such as their 50th birthdays or the birth of their first child.

5 . You may not have heard of “freshman fifteen” before, but they are very important for students who are entering university. A freshman is a first-year college students who are going into university (大学). A freshman is a first-year college student. “Fifteen” means fifteen pounds—the fifteen pounds added (增加) to a student’s weight in his or her first year. There are a number of reasons why first-year university students gain (增加) weight; but it’s hopeful to know that freshmen don’t have to add these harmful fifteen pounds.

University kitchens serve many kinds of food. Some students choose unhealthy food, because now their parents are not nearby to help them choose. Some students visit the kitchen many times while studying. Late at night, some students get harmful fast food such as French fries and fried chicken with soda to drink. Students also have less time for walking, running, and doing sports because of their schoolwork.

If you’re careful, you don’t have to add fifteen pounds. Here are some ideas:

Think more about what you eat.

Don’t eat desserts full of sugar; have fruit after dinner.

Try not to eat so much junk food while you study.

It’s all right to have a little fast food sometimes—but not often.

Walk, run, do sports—move and you will feel better!

Remember that the “freshman fifteen” can happen to anyone. Talk to your friends about it. Together, try to eat healthy food and not to eat junk food. Walking, running, and playing sports is always more fun with friends. Help each other and you can have a healthy and happy freshman year.

6 . A rooftop garden is just a garden that you keep on your roof（屋顶）. Rooftop gardens are very popular in cities. Putting a garden on your roof is a nice way to turn an empty space into something pretty and relaxing.

Rooftop gardens are not a new idea. About 2, 600 years ago, people in Ancient（古代的）Mesopotamia planted rooftop gardens. There were similar gardens in Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt. They had these gardens for a very important reason. Many ancient cities had walls. The enemy army usually tried to destroy（摧毁） the city’s food, so the people in the city kept their gardens on top of their walls. That way they could go on growing food.

Today’s rooftop gardens don’t keep us alive, but they still have nice benefits（好处）. If there are a lot of plants on a rooftop, they make the whole building cooler. As a result, people in the building use their air conditioning less, which means they use less electricity（电）. One study said that if every roof in Tokyo had a garden, the city would save more than a million dollars a day on electricity.

Rooftop gardening is harder than normal gardening. Here are a few tips. First of all, be safe. Build a fence（篱笆） around your garden if you don’t want the wind to blow plants off your roof! Also, remember that rooftop gardens get more sun. If you have a plant that shouldn’t get too much sun, remember to put it in the shade sometimes.

There are many other things that you need to know before you start a rooftop garden. Do some research and then give it a try. You’ll make your little part of the city much nicer.

We all know that health is very important to everyone. We have the World Health Day (世界卫生日) on April 7th. But do you know how to keep healthy? Here are some ways:

First, you should eat healthy food. Usually, there isn’t much nutrition (营养) in white food, such as, bread and sugar. But food in bright colors like red, yellow and purple is good for us, such as the tomatoes, carrots and strawberries. We need to eat food in different colors every day.

Second, playing sports is good for our health. Because it is relaxing. We can take walks after dinner. We can play ping-pong or soccer. We need to do sports every day.

Third, being happy can make us healthy, too. When we are not happy, we can try to talk to our friends. Remember to smile often and be happy.

10 . What color do you think will be popular (受欢迎的) in the future?

Some people think blue will be popular, because blue means kindness. Everybody in the world hates war. Many people lose their family in wars. Blue makes people remember to keep peaceful (和平).

Other people think green will be popular because they think it is the color of nature. People in the world are thinking more about how to look after the environment (自然环境). When people wear green clothes, they will keep the environment in their hearts and try to make the environment better.

Yellow will also be a popular color. Why will it be popular? Yellow is a soft color and it can make people feel warm.

Most people think black is the color that will become the most popular. It always looks cool, and men often show off their social position (地位) by using this color.