I love doing housework. I always assist my parents in doing the dish after meals. I also water the flowers in the yard and tidying up my own bedroom whatever necessary. In my opinion, students can benefit a lot doing some housework. Firstly, doing housework was helpful for us to be a responsible person. Also, it gives our parents more time to do what they are like and it improves the family relationship. What’s most, doing housework can be a form of mentally relaxation from study. That’s our view on housework. And hopes this can inspire more thinking on the topic!

3 . POETRY CHALLENGE

Write a poem about how courage, determination, and strength have helped you face challenges in your life.

Prizes

3 Grand Prizes:Trip to Washington, D.C. for each of three winners, a parent and one other person of the winner’s choice. Trip includes round-trip air tickets, hotel stay for two nights, and tours of the National Air and Space Museum and the office of National Geographic World.

6 First Prizes:The book Sky Pioneer:A Photobiography of Amelia Earhart signed by author Corinne Szabo and pilot Linda Finch.

50 Honorable Mentions:Judges will choose up to 50 honorable mention winners, who will each receive a T-shirt in memory of Earhart’s final flight.

Rules

Follow all rules carefully to prevent disqualification.

■Write a poem using 100 words or fewer. Your poem can be any format, any number of lines.

■Write by hand or type on a single sheet of paper. You may use both the front and back of the paper.

■On the same sheet of paper, write or type your name, address, telephone number, and birth date.

■Mail your entry to us by October 31 this year.

4 . Pacific Science Center Guide

◆Visit Pacific Science Center’s Store

Don’t forget to stop by Pacific Science Center’s Store while you are here to pick up a wonderful science activity or souvenir to remember your visit. The store is located(位于) upstairs in Building 3 right next to the Laser Dome.

◆Hungry

Our exhibits will feed your mind, but what about your body? Our café offers a complete menu of lunch and snack options, in addition to seasonal specials. The café is located upstairs in Building 1 and is open daily until one hour before Pacific Science Center closes.

◆Rental Information

Lockers are available to store any belongings during your visit. The lockers are located in Building 1 near the Information Desk and in Building 3. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are available to rent at the Information Desk and Denny Way entrance. ID required.

◆Support Pacific Science Center

Since 1962, Pacific Science Center has been inspiring a passion(热情) for discovery and lifelong learning in science, math and technology. Today, Pacific Science Center serves more than 1.3 million people a year and brings inquiry-based science education to classrooms and community events all over Washington State. It’s an amazing accomplishment and one we cannot achieve without generous support from individuals, corporations, and other social organizations. Visit pacificsciencecenter.org to find various ways you can support Pacific Science Center.

5 . Baggy has become the first dog in the UK—and potentially the world—to join the fight against air pollution by recording pollutant levels near the ground.

Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground. Her monitor has shown that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level, which has helped highlight concerns that babies and young kids may be at higher risk of developing lung problems.

Conventional air pollution monitors are normally fixed on lampposts at about nine feet in the air. However, since Baggy stands at about the same height as a child in a pushchair（婴儿车）, she frequently records pollution levels which are much higher than the data gathered by the Environment A gency.

The doggy data research was the idea of Baggy's 13-year-old owner Tom Hunt and his dad Matt. The English youngster noticed that pollution levels are around two-thirds higher close to the ground than they are in the air at the height where they are recorded by the agency. Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an attempt to emphasise that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma（哮喘）.

Matt Hunt said he was "very proud" of his son because “when the boy gets an idea, he keeps his head down and gets on with it, and he really does want to do some good and stop young kids from getting asthma."

“Tom built up a passion for environmental protection at a very early age," Matt added. “He became very interested in gadgets（小装置）. About one year ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and he said, why don't we put it on Baggy's collar and let her monitor the pollution？'So we did it."

Tom said, "Most of the time, Baggy is just like any other dog. But for the rest of the time she is a super dog, and we are all really proud of her."

6 . When a leafy plant is under attack, it doesn’t sit quietly. Back in 1983, two scientists, Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin, reported that young maple trees getting bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm. What the plants pump through the air is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, VOCs for short.

Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when being attacked. It’s a plant’s way of crying out. But is anyone listening? Apparently. Because we can watch the neighbours react.

Some plants pump out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. But others do double duty. They pump out perfumes designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. Once they arrive, the tables are turned. The attacker who was lunching now becomes lunch.

In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors .The damage is usually more serious on the first plant, but the neighbors, relatively speaking, stay safer because they heard the alarm and knew what to do.

Does this mean that plants talk to each other? Scientists don’t know. Maybe the first plant just made a cry of pain or was sending a message to its own branches, and so, in effect, was talking to itself. Perhaps the neighbors just happened to “overhear” the cry. So information was exchanged, but it wasn’t a true, intentional back and forth. Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago, imagined a world far busier, noisier and more intimate (亲密的) than the world we can see and hear. Our senses are weak. There’s a whole lot going on.

7 . How to prepare for an exam is a big question that you always ask yourself. Here are some tips that may help you.

Never fear or hate exam and be confident.

Some students study well but still may be much afraid of exams and due to this reason they get upset and won’t be able to get marks.    1    You have to be confident and it is of great help for you to gain success.

Prepare a good timetable.

Prepare a timetable before starting the study.    2    Difficult subjects can be given more time and easier ones less, but most importantly you should spare some time for rest.

Select a proper atmosphere for studying.

Studying atmosphere plays a very important role.    3    So pick a place where you feel comfortable. That is where you feel relaxed and can pay attention to what you are doing. Make sure that while you are studying a subject you are focusing on it only. So keep the books of other subjects away from your eyesight so that you won’t be upset about all the things you have to learn.

Make notes while studying.

This is a very important point. While studying, make small notes. The note should be short and clear to make the review easier.    4    Yet don’t try to cover everything in it.

    5    

On the night before exam you have to sleep well, at least 6 hours and not more than 8 hours. Remember this will have a great effect on your exam. And have your food as in your daily diet.