The population of the Earth is growing faster. It is important that we look after the Earth. We need it! The Earth gives us a lot of things. We also give the Earth a lot, but some of the things are not good.

   In nature, when something dies, other animals and plants get food from it. Every animal or plant gives food for other animals or plants. However, animals can't get food from many of the things that we "give"the Earth. Animals and plants can't eat metal, plastic and glass. These things will stay in the ground for many, many years.
   Some rubbish is very dangerous for plants and animals. In some places, many animals live together. One animal makes food for many more animals. If we put rubbish and chemicals in the water, the plankton(浮游生物) can die. If there isn't any plankton, many animals have nothing to eat.
   So what can we do? Don't leave any rubbish in the countryside! Don't make so much rubbish!

    “Cool” is a word with many meanings. Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little bit cold. As the world has changed, the word has had many different meanings. “Cool” can be used to express feelings of interest in almost everything.

    When you see a famous car in the street, maybe you will say. “It's cool.” You May think, “He's so cool,” when you see your favorite football player.

    We all maximize(扩大)the meaning of “cool”. You can use it instead of many words, such as “new” or “surprising”. Here's an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used. A teacher asked her student to write about the waterfall(瀑布) they had visited. On the student's paper was just the one sentence, “It's so cool.” Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt.

    But the story also shows a scarcity(缺乏)of words. Without “cool”, some people have no words to show the same meaning. So it is quite important to keep some credibility(可信度).Can you think of many other words that make your life as colorful as the word “cool”? I can. And I think they are also very cool.

    The homestay (寄宿家庭) provides English language students with the good chance to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of an American home.

What to Expect

    The host will provide places to live and meals. Rooms will be cleaned every day. And the host is there to offer help and advice on your physical and mental (精神的) health.

Living Area

    Host families are mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4. Most hosts don't live in Zone 1 because much of central New York is trading centre. Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger houses in uncrowded areas. But it's very convenient to travel to the centre of New York by subway.

Meal Plans

    It's important to know that few American families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your breakfast mainly includes fruit juice, bread and coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not part of the breakfast. Dinners are usually made up of meat or fish with vegetables followed by dessert, fruit and coffee.

Friends

    If you want to invite a friend to visit you, you must ask your host for permission first, because some families feel uncomfortable when there are strangers at their home.

    The World Memory Championships is an organized competition of memory sports in which competitors memorize as much information as possible within a given period of time. Tony Buzan, the founder of the competition, believes that everyone can improve their memories. The first World Memory Championship was held in London in 1991 and London kept holding the following ten competitions. It takes place every year, with the exception of 1992. The winner of the first competition was Dominic O'Brien, so was the second competition.

    The 19th and 20th World Memory Championships were held in Guangzhou, China. 130 competitors from all over the world gathered there in the 20th World Memory Championships. Over the following three days, the competitors had mental boundaries (限度) tested by memorizing numbers, images, dates, names and faces, as well as packs of cards, all against the clock. The prize was to become the next Grand Memory Master. More than a quarter of the competitors were female and the oldest was 74 years old. Many of the competitors believed the memorizing techniques they practiced could help them achieve other goals in life. But for that moment, their focus was all in their heads.

    Wang Feng, the winner of the 20th World Memory Championships, made the record by memorizing 2660 numbers within an hour. He said, "I won the Championship last year. To keep the achievement, I had to practice 5 to 6 hours every day over the last three months."

    Mother's Day is a holiday for mothers. It is celebrated in the United States, England, India and some other countries. In a short time, it becomes widely celebrated Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May. On that day many people send gifts of love to their mothers. Those whose mothers are still living often wear a pink or red rose or carnation(康乃馨), while those whose mothers are dead wear a white one.

    The idea of a day for mothers was first given by Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia As a result of her hard work, the celebration of the first American Mother's Day was held in Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. Soon the holiday became popular all over the country and around the world.

    In China, people do the same on the day for mothers, And, in some cities, people sometimes ask a song to be broadcasted for his or her mother only. This might cost a little money for some of them, but, as it is said, "Love is invaluable."

    On May 8, 1999, just the day before the Mother's Day that year, a Chinese mother, a heroic(英雄的) mother was killed in criminal bombing(罪悉轰炸)in Yugoslavia(南斯拉夫). Her name is Shao Yunhuan, a reporter who wrote lots of articles(文章)for Chinese newspapers. All the Chinese will remember her forever.