How do you name typhoons?

Typhoon Mangkhut (台风山竹) was in China this September.

It brought strong winds and heavy rain.

But why do people call this typhoon Mangkhut? How do typhoons get their names?

The World Meteorological Organization ( WMO世界气象组织) made 140 typhoon names in 2000. The WMO has 14 members in the Asia Pacific area (亚太地区). They are China, Japan, Thailand and 11 other countries. Each member gives 10 names.

The names come from the animals, plants and food of each country. For example, the name Mangkhut is from Thailand. It is a very popular fruit in Thailand.

The WMO uses these 140 names in turn (轮流). But if a typhoon is very harmful (有危害的), the WMO will not use the name again.

Some of the typhoon names, for example, Wukong, Yutu and Haiyan, are from China. The WMO won’t use the name Haiyan again because it was very harmful.

3 . You can see kangaroos everywhere in Australia. They appear on TV, in books and in the shops. The government even put them on passports (护照). There are many kangaroos in Australia and not only in zoos. You can see them everywhere outside the cities and towns.

Kangaroos have very strong legs. So they’re very good at jumping. Kangaroos can jump 9 metres. They can jump very fast-30 kilometres per hour. Their tails are very strong, too. So when they want to have a rest, they rest on their tails. Kangaroos are also very good at looking after their babies. Mother kangaroos keep their babies safe in their pockets. Baby kangaroos are very small-only 3 centimetres long. They cannot jump and they cannot see. They can see when they are 9 weeks old. They can jump when they are 8 months old. Kangaroos cannot run and they cannot walk.

In Australia, there are more kangaroos than people in this country. Kangaroos eat lots of grass on grasslands. This year, the country plans to kill (杀死) about 1,000,000 kangaroos. Many people don’t think that it’s right to kill kangaroos but the government (政府) thinks that it helps the farmers.

4 . The most important holiday in spring, especially for Christians (墓督教徒), is Easter. This Christian holiday is not on the same date every year, but it’s always on a Sunday. It can be any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Many people celebrate Easter by buying new clothes. Children celebrate it by looking for colored eggs. Their parents usually hide the eggs around the house. People also give Easter baskets with candy and other goodies (好吃的东西) in them to one another to celebrate the day.

But the holiday is more than new clothes and good things to eat. It is said that Jesus Christ (耶稣基督) came back to life on Easter. So on that day, many people go to church to celebrate his new life. Most people color Easter eggs. Some people hide them. Others just eat them. But no matter what one does with Easter eggs, they are an important Easter tradition（传统）across the Western world. People from many different countries celebrate Easter. In both America and Belgium（比利时）, children look for Easter eggs on grass and in bushes（灌木丛）. In America, children believe Easter rabbit hides the eggs. But in Belgium, people believe the eggs fall from church bells. In Bulgaria（保加利亚）, red Easter eggs are lucky in churches. Bulgarian families also hit these Easter eggs together to see whose is the strongest. The winner looks forward to good luck that year. People still keep many other Easter traditions. In parts of Austria（奥地利）, for example, children sing from door to door and their neighbours will give them colorful eggs.

8 . Fat people are always looking for ways to be slim without giving up their favourite food or taking a lot of exercise. Here is some good news for them. This is not a diet. It’s a simple way to become slim. And you don’t even have to give up the food you love or do a lot of exercise. You just follow some habits that thin people have. Keep them, and you’ll become thin.

(1) Wake-up

When you wake up in the morning, sit up slowly without using your hands. With legs straight out, bend(弯曲) forward until you feel sore(酸) in your back. It will burn about 10 calories(卡路里).

(2) Start with soup

When you have a meal, order a clear soup, and have it before having the main food. In this way, you’ll feel fuller, so you’ll eat less when the main food comes.

(3) An apple (or more) a day

Apples are full of fiber(纤维) and water, so your stomach(胃) will want less. The study shows that people who eat at least three apples a day lose weight.

(4) Stand up and walk around

Every time you use the mobile phone, stand up and walk around. Most of the heavy people sit two and a half hours more each day than thin people. This skill is very important as standing up and walking around will burn 50 or more calories.

Use these skills, and you will become slimmer and slimmer.

9 . It is very easy to make an omelette(煎蛋卷). There are many kinds of omelettes, but all of them have eggs in them.

First, decide how many people you are cooking for. You need two eggs for each person.

Next, break the eggs into a bowl. Add a little pepper and salt. Beat the eggs with a fork.

After you beat the eggs, add one or more of the following: ham, cheese, green peppers and tomatoes. All of these things should be cut into small pieces.

Put a little butter into a pan. After it melts, pour the eggs into the pan.

Cook until the top of the eggs looks dry. Turn the omelette over so that both sides are cooked.

Finally, cut the omelette into pieces and serve it with some cheese on top.

10 . I began to send e-mails when I was 17. I found Google 5 years later. Now, I use the Internet all the time. Internet has become so popular that about 90% of 12-to-17-year-olds in America use the Internet, and about half of these children use it every day. They visit chat rooms and send e-mails. They go to websites to get information for their homework.

“Children are now living in a virtual(虚拟的)world,” says Greenfield, a teacher at the University(大学)of California, “As the Internet is becoming more and more important for our life, we should worry about one question: Is the Internet good or bad for children?”

“It’s difficult to answer the question because the Internet involves(涉及)so many things,” says Justine, who is from Northwestern University. “They include online computer games, news, information and even e-mails to your grandmother.’’ So, more and more people believe that the online world can be helpful in some ways but dangerous(危险)in others.

“Although it’s not easy to tell whether it’s good or bad,” says Justine, “the Internet, at least, is very useful and can be used widely by everyone in the world.”