Five hundred years ago, potatoes grew in South America. They were an important food for the people who lived in these high mountains. In other parts of the world, however, people didn't know about potatoes.

    The Spanish came to South America in the 1500s. They learned of potatoes and took some back to Spain. By 1570, people grew white potatoes in parts of Spain. By 1580, people in Italy were also growing potatoes.

    From Spain, potatoes travelled to France. In France, however, people were afraid to eat this new vegetable. They thought it was bad for health. Then the King of France tried to make his people eat potatoes. But for many years, the French still refused to eat potatoes.

    Potatoes reached England in a different way. In 1586, the English explorer(探险家) Drake stopped in Colombia. There he probably picked up some potatoes and took them back to England. At first, the English refused to eat potatoes, too. They used potatoes to feed their pigs and chickens.

    From England, the potato travelled to Ireland. The potato grew well in the poor soil of Ireland and soon it was an important food for the people in Ireland.

    In the early 1700s, Irish people brought potatoes to North America. By 1750, many people in New England were growing and eating potatoes.

C

    Different weather makes people feel different.It has an effect on health，intelligence(智力) and feelings.

    In August，it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States.People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month.In the Northeast and the Middle West，it is very hot at some times and very cold at other times.People in these states have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.

    The weather can also influence intelligence.For example，in a 1983 report by scientists, the IQ(智商) of a group of students was very high when a very strong wind came，but after the strong wind，their IQ was 10% lower.The wind can help people have higher intelligence.Very hot weather，on the other hand，can make it lower.Students in many schools of the United States often get worse in exams in the hot months of the year(July and August)．

    Weather also has a strong influence (影响)on people's feelings.Winter may be a bad time for thin people.They usually feel cold during these months.They might feel unhappy during cold weather.But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer.At about 18℃，people feel more comfortable.

    Are you feeling sad，tired，or unhappy today？It may be the weather's problem.

    A new App has been used in South Africa to benefit (有助于)the relationship between wildlife and humans.

    Roadwatch, created by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT),is designed to let drivers   record any roadkill they see on the country's highways.

    It may seem like a strange idea, but EWT says that it could become the perfect platform for receiving important information. Information on where endangered species (物种）are living and the danger that they are under from traffic can help to inform decisions on conservation of matters (物质守恒）in the future.

    People can use the App through Facebook, WhatsApp, SMS and Linkedin to report the   species, location, time and date of the creature that has been seen on the road.

    Wendy Collinson field officer at EWT suggested that it could lead to more people taking care on the roads and paying more attention to animals that may be trying to cross the roads. One of the biggest problems is with reptiles (爬行动物）and snakes, which she believes people hit on purpose, as they are generally seen as scary. However, they are important to the health of ecosystems, just as all creatures are and also need to be protected.

    Emily Taylor from EWT said, “Roadkill simply hasn't been studied here. The road ecology and how many endangered species are being killed, is something we need to know more about. We want people to report as much as possible.”

    There have been some other Apps to use in relation to wildlife spotting in South Africa, but most of them are about animals that have not been knocked down, including those helping to collect information of where certain species have been seen, such as in parks.

Bradford City Matters

    Welcome to the winter edition（版） of City Matters.

    "Don't Drop It; Stop It!"

    Put rubbish in your wheelie bin（有轮大垃圾筒）.

    You must put your rubbish in your wheelie bin to keep your environment clean. Don't pile your rubbish up（堆放） in your house or garden-use a wheelie bin or one of our larger bins.

    You can buy a wheelie bin from our Waste Management Section at 01943 874122.

    You can tell us about mice or rubbish in your area by phoning our Public Health Unit at 01943 874146.

         ▲     

    Did you know that you can get a 50 fine（罚款） for dropping rubbish on the streets? Our Council officers are on the streets of Bradford looking for people who drop rubbish. They will fine people who drop litter. This is part of our "Don't Drop It; Stop it!" campaign（运动）.

    Don't fill your bin-recycle.

    Just think how full your bin gets over the holidays.

    To reduce your waste:

    Say "no" to unwanted bags.

    Take your own bags to the supermarket or reuse old ones.

    Get your free shopping bag from our Advice Center.

    Recycle your waste.

    Take bottles to your local recycling center.

    Buy recycled things.

    Cards and paper are good examples.

    Our competition winners

    As part of our "Don't Drop It; Stop It!" campaign, community groups from the north, south, east and west of the city-500 volunteers-entered our competition to clean up their area. The goal was to make the city cleaner for those who live, work, shop or play there.

    The four winners were: High Trees Parent Group, South Bradford Community Project, The Bridge Community Association and Forest Youth Group.