At 5:05 pm on March 19, a loud alarm sounded around the playground of Tanghu Middle School, Sichuan. Students hurried to the playground with something covering their mouths. Don't worry. There wasn't a fire. Students were having a fire drill（演习）. School is a good place for students to study. Yet sometimes, it is easy to have accidents there.

A survey suggests that right safety training could prevent 80 percent of these accidents. In China, fire drills at school are common to teach students to deal with emergencies（紧急情况）. At the same time, many other countries have their own ways to keep children safe around school.

In Japan, public primary schools hold earthquake drills once a month. They teach students safety tips during an earthquake drill. The training teaches students to escape from earthquake-stricken areas without pushing and stampeding（踩踏）.

Most US school buildings have fire escapes on each floor. A fire escape has platforms with stairs and ladders. They are usually made of iron. Students can get to the fire escape through a fire exit door or a window.

In many middle schools in the UK, students can choose to take a bicycle course. There, they learn how to ride to school safely. Also, on roads without traffic lights near schools, there are crossing guards. They wear bright color clothes and stop cars to guide children across the road safely.

C

    The People's Bank of China will come out the fifth edition(版本)of the renminbi (RMB) from August 30, 2019. These banknotes(纸币)will have brighter colors and new security features(防伪特征).

    We've been using banknotes for around 1,000 years. Back in the Northern Song Dynasty, Chinese people made the worlds earliest paper money to replace(代替) metal coins. These banknotes were called jiaozi.

    Paper money is cheaper to make and easier to carry. These advantages made it more popular than other forms of money. But now, in the digital (数码的)age, paper money seems to be disappearing for the same reason.

    China seems to be heading towards becoming a cashless(不用现金的) society. From supermarkets to street stores, people pay by using the We Chat Wallet and Alipay apps on their mobile phones. Sweden is even closer to a future without paper money. Many Swedish banks no longer even have cash on hand.

    But there are worries about creating cashless societies. Some say it is unfair to the poor and people without much education. It's not easy for them to open bank accounts( 账户)or deal with mobile phones. And if all of your money is" digital, it may not be safe enough.

    Is paper money going away? Although paper money is used less than electronic payment (电子支付) in some countries, it won' t disappear at once in most parts of the world.

    As a mother of three young girls, Alison Cowan worried about her daughters growing up too fast. From asking for the latest toy to wanting to wear make-up, it seemed to Alison and her husband. Alan, that their children were never satisfied with what they had.

    The girls would ask for a toy, but would lose interest in it as soon as their friends had something new. Birthday parties were no longer just a few party games and blowing up balloons. All the parents seemed to invite professional performers and compete over who could give the most expensive party bag. At just seven years old, Amy and her friends were paying more and more attention to their appearance. It was a feeling that many parents would have.

    However, few would dream of leaving a comfortable family life and a comfortable house to move their family 3. 000 miles away to Africa in search of a simpler life. But last June, Alison and her husband, Alan, moved with their daughters to Kampala in Uganda, to show them a different lifestyle.

    For almost a year, the girls play in the red, dusty streets with local children and visit markets to buy fresh fish and vegetables for dinner. They have been able to play and use their imagination away from the distractions(分心) of the consumer-driven society. Now, instead of competing over who has won a computer game, the girls think about things like the frequent water shortages and electricity cuts in certain areas. "At times, we've been without water for five days. The girls always accept it, though. Their world before had been so small, but now they understand 93."