E.Buying Friendship Bands

    Should I be allowed to make my own decisions?

( B )

    In early spring, the changing temperature usually makes a number of Chinese people uncomfortable. Cold air, bringing rain or even snow, easily tears up(破坏) the warmth of the spring within a night(一夜之间).

    However, with the coming of Guyu-the Grain(谷物) Rain, the blue sky and gentle winds would finally stay. Falling usually on or around April 20 every year, Guyu is the sixth of the 24 solar terms(节气). It means the beginning of a lively summer and people get busy from now on.

    Sow(播种) grains

    This is an important period of the growth of grains. The ancient Chinese already knew that as Guyu comes, the weather will become warm enough for sowing. The farmers usually catch the chance to plant rice, corn and beans.

    Hope for safety and harvest

    For those living near the sea, they will hold some ceremonies(仪式) on Guyu, hoping for safety as well as harvest during the coming fishing season.

    Watch the peony

    It's also a great time to see the peony(牡丹), which is known as “the Queen of All Flowers” in Chinese culture. As a result, watching peonies becomes one of the most enjoyable activities for many. The flower is said to be the favourite of Empress(女皇) Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, who was the only woman ruler in Chinese history.

    Pick tea leaves

    Tea leaves picked before Guyu are among the best tea leaves. People believe that the tea leaves picked on the day of Guyu can make eyes clear and drive away bad luck. So the habit of drinking tea at this time of year has become a tradition in some places of China.

    The map below helps you become familiar with the library's resources:

    Fiction and nonfiction titles for all subjects

    Current newspapers and magazines

    Computers accessible with your student ID number

    Helpful library staff

    Welcome, new students, to Maple Knoll High School Library! Here is an introduction of our school library. The{#blank#}1{#/blank#}on the left of the map helps you best understand it.

    The computer lab is just on the{#blank#}2{#/blank#}of the main entrance. You can enter computers by putting into the{#blank#}3{#/blank#}of your student ID card. There are{#blank#}4{#/blank#}copy machines in the library. The circulation desk on the left of the main entrance is a place to borrow and return books from general stacks. The reading area is in the middle of the library. A water fountain is between the{#blank#}5{#/blank#}and the cellphone area. They're all on the right.

    If you want to ask for more help, you can go to the librarian's office.

    What can we do to help protect the environment? It seems useless to just pick up a piece of trash(垃圾) ,but what will happen if you keep doing it every day? Tommy Kleyn, an ordinary man from the Netherlands, may give you the answer. Tommy Kieyn walked past a polluted river on his way to work every day. It used to be a beautiful view, but the trash on the bank made it dirty and smelly. So Tommy decided to pick up the trash along the river a little bit at a time after work. "It took me about 30 minutes to fill one garbage(垃圾) bag with trash, but one garbage bag didn't seem helpful in a place as polluted as this. I decided to fill one bag of trash each day as I passed by," Tommy said. Every day, Tommy took pictures of the river and shared them on his Facebook page. To his surprise, in just six days, he had made great progress with his cleanup effort(努力) . He felt happy and kept doing it. Gradually, more and more people knew about Tommy's story. Other people in the community began following in his footsteps and cleaning up trash on their way home, too. "The idea is to encourage people to fill one garbage bag with litter each day. It only takes 30 minutes, but it really makes a difference and you will be amazed at how good you feel afterwards, "he said. People from all over the world have been moved and inspired(激励)by Tommy's story. No effort is useless if we keep doing it every day. Ordinary people like you and me can also make a difference to the world we live in if we take actions right now.