1 . Community (社区) Cleanup

A community cleanup brings volunteers together to clean, repair and improve public (公众的) places with rubbish or being broken. The cleanup project (项目) covers all kinds of public places-parks, playground s and even parking lots (停车场).

How to make the project welcome

A cleanup can be a one-time event. It doesn’t have to be held very often or last for a long time. If you like, you can keep on the activity by moving the cleanup from one place to another.

Sharing the work—letting people do different jobs that interest them and making each new cleanup a fresh chance for volunteers.

Make sure your project is realistic (可行的). It’s a good idea to start with a project that can be finished in one afternoon. Don’t start a large project at the beginning because it is difficult to finish.

No matter your cleanup project is a one-time event or a year-long one, don’t forget to celebrate the results. Take photos and videos, then put them on the Internet and write thank-you letters to those who helped. Making a meal in the end can make volunteers look forward to working together again.

3 . Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? It probably depends on what you’re doing for the rest of it. Before the industrial revolution, most people had leftovers or nothing for breakfast. Edward Bernays created a marketing project in the 1920s that made eggs and bacon a common breakfast choice. But in today’s world, fewer people work physically challenging jobs, so is it still necessary to begin the day with a protein-rich meal or a bowl of porridge? Does it matter if you don’t—and might there actually be health benefits to breaking your fast later in the day?

First, let’s hear from the breakfast supporters. Some studies suggest that breakfast-skippers have a risk of heart disease and high blood sugar, across a range of populations around the world. At the same time, other studies show breakfast-skippers are more likely to choose poorer foods throughout the day—which makes sense, as skipping breakfast seems to keep levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin (饥饿激素) high, while the satiety hormone leptin (饱腹感激素瘦素) stays suppressed.

Breakfast eaters often have healthier habits, but not always. What if some people really care about their health but choose to skip breakfast? Well, actually...

“Skipping breakfast can be described as a kind of time-restricted feeding’ (限时进食), as you reduce the ‘window’ when you can eat,” says the nutritionist (营养学家) Drew Price. “If I was working with someone who wanted a breakfast-skipping-type plan, then I would be paying more attention than ever to what they are eating to make sure they get enough protein, healthy fats and other beneficial nutrients. However, skipping breakfast isn’t suitable for everyone, especially those people with disordered eating, certain health conditions, and those who are young or elderly, for whom balanced energy intake is important.”

What should you do then? Just eat in the way that lets you make the healthiest choices, most long-lastingly. If that means a couple of fried eggs and some vegetables at 7 a.m., great, but if all you need to make it to 11 a.m. is a strong cup of coffee, don’t worry about it too much. Oh, and if a bowl of porridge can help guide you away from your basic needs, then go for it—we can all use a bit of help in the morning, after all.

4 . There are always many people who say “Lucky me.”, while others always complain (抱怨) “What bad luck!” What makes this difference? In fact, these lucky people are no more truly lucky or special than you and me. They simply have a few good habits and behaviors.

Lucky people always use their time wisely and make the most of every day because time is flying. One day, you are 16 years old and have your whole life in front of you. Then suddenly you wake up in 40 years old. Yes, this is how quickly time flies. So don’t waste it on meaningless things.

Besides, lucky people believe that they are lucky, so they face life hopefully. They are always in a good position and see only challenges, not problems in front of them. The ability to be active without turning a blind eye to problems is of great value.

Lucky people are not ruled by stress and try to keep calm in all conditions. This help them apply their emotional (情感的) strength properly and remain calm no matter what happened. Luckily, the ways for dealing with feelings and stressful situations are available for everyone, and with some practice, you can have them.

As you can see, luck is more about a person’s attitude (态度). Lucky people are believed to be more active and stronger, and you can learn from their habits and behaviors. Next time when you want to complain your bad luck, please change your attitude. Maybe that is a good thing.

6 . Spring is the season when plants start to grow freely from the ground. In China, wild spring greens are traditionally thought of as a healthy food. They are still common in many dishes today.

7 . The subway train is running fast. A boy is reading a book carefully in his seat in the subway while many other people are playing their phones.

To encourage reading, a Chinese company started the book-sharing activity. They put over 10,000 books around the underground, in taxis and on planes in Beijing. Since the activity started, it has earned the support of many people, even some popular stars. The book-sharing activity, however, drew much more criticism (批判) than praise. For some books were left untouched, some books were taken away by cleaners. People also complained that they couldn’t get to the books—the underground was too crowded.

Most people thought it could do little to encourage reading. “I think the best result is that people take selfies (自拍) when they pick up the books and write a post in WeChat. After that, they will just bring the books back home and put them on their bookshelves.” wrote one Weibo user.

Some pointed out that some stars who supported the activity didn’t seem to be reading much, they just wanted to draw other’s attention. Isn’t it embarrassing that the activity is supported by stars who don’t read a lot?

“The book-sharing activity is not at all a bad thing. In the past years, everybody has been busy with work. They don’t have time for reading,” said a famous Chinese writer, “however, just because Chinese people don’t often read, it doesn’t mean we should do nothing to encourage reading.”

9 . Make It a Good Day

Mom and Dad are going out today, and you’re in for a whole day of fun. However, Mom leaves you with a list of “duties”—finishing your homework, playing the violin and tidying up your messy wardrobe (衣柜). You also really want to play video games and read comics (漫画). There’s so much to do!It’s time to make a plan.

10 . Dumplings are traditional Chinese food. On the lunar New Year’s Day, most families make a lot of delicious dumplings. To make them, we can follow these easy steps.

The first step is to mix the flour (面粉) with water. When the dough (面团) is ready, we can begin to make dumpling wrappers (饺子皮). We roll (卷) the dough into small, thin and round pieces so that they can be easy to cook. Then it’s time to prepare the filling (馅). We often use meat such as beef or pork, and some vegetables for filling. Remember to cut these things into small pieces, put some salt and oil into it and mix it.

When all these are ready, we can start making dumplings. First put a spoonful of filling in the center of the wrappers. Then stick (粘) the two opposite sides together. The best shape of dumplings is like a ship. When they are boiling in the pot they look like ships sailing (航行) in the sea. The smell can make your mouth water.