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Dear Kids Advice Magazine

June 10, 2017

Hi, my name is Evan and being the eldest child in the family surely has its disadvantages. First of all, I have to share all my toys and games with my younger Siblings, William and Julia. Of course, they don't need to return the favour because I'm totally uninterested in their things. Besides that, Julia and William are always hanging around me. It's especially annoying when I have a friend over. We look for a secluded place in the house where they can't disturb (打扰) us, but within minutes, they've found us and are asking to join in.I just can't seem to get a moment's peace. At meal times,I have to eat whatever is on my plate regardless of the portion size or taste. William and Julia only need to try one bite when it's not their favorite food. Not only this, but I'm expected to be cooperative (合作的,配台的) at all times because I'm the oldest and need to be a role model for them.

    It doesn't seem fair either that I have more chores to do around the house than Julia and William put together. Plus, when it comes to practising our musical instruments,I have to practise more than double the time. Oh, and the worst part of it all is the huge quantities of homework I get compared to them.

    I'm feeling rather annoyed wilh my sibling situation. Can you please write back with some advice?

Yours truly

Evan Smith

    When I was a little child, I dreamed to be a rich man who could fly around the world and take the first class (头等舱) on the plane. After I grew up, when I first took the first class, I felt like part of the rich group. I was filled with a sense of pride when sitting with those important people.

    Once I was on the plane, I noticed that the stewardess (空姐) was working all the time to make sure that first class passengers felt comfortable. I thought she must love her job very much, because she gave everyone a big smile. When the stewardess walked past my seat, I looked up at her and said, "Thank you and I hope you have a great night." She stopped with a look of surprise on her face, and said, "Excuse me?" I said my words again. It seemed that I asked a question that she did not know how to answer.

    A little later, when I was getting off the plane, the stewardess said to me, "Thank you very much, sir." Then she said, "You are the only passenger who has thanked me or said anything nice to me all night." The pride of being part of rich group disappeared as soon as I heard these words. Then I came to understand that taking the first class didn't mean you were a real "first class" person.

    Bananas are good snacks. They are not only sweet and delicious, but also easy to carry around, so you can take them anywhere. Best of all, bananas have different things that the human body needs!

    Bananas grow best in warm places with lots of rain. They grow on plants that look like trees. The plants can grow as high as 30 feet. When they reach their full height, flowers grow out. These flowers produce (生产) bananas.

    Two or three times each year, the plants produce fruit. Then after about three months, farmers will pick the bananas. At this time, they still aren't the sunny yellow color bananas. Then the green bananas are shipped to stores. They turn yellow along the way and are ready to be sold.

    If you love bananas, you've got a lot of company (同伴). The first shipment of bananas arrived in the United States in 1876. After that, Americans showed great love for bananas. Until today, Americans still eat more bananas than any other fruit. We can see that clearly in the following chart.

    Many people seem to know well about the rain forests. Some people even go to the rain forests to spend some of their time trying to make friends with the plants and animals there. The scientists are actually hard at work studying the plants that grow in the very top level of a rain forest. Rain forests are one of the richest environments on Earth. They are home to millions of species of plants and animals. The red research raft provides scientists with a platform from which to study life in the treetops. Scientists can even sleep on the raft, so they can stay up in the treetops for days at a time.

    Rain forests cover only about 6 percent of Earth's land surface. However, they contain more than half of the plant species on Earth. Many of these plants provide useful medicines to use against human diseases. In fact, about 25 percent of prescription medicines in the United States are based on chemicals from rain forest plants. Scientists think that many new medicines might be developed from plants that are yet to be discovered.

    Unluckily, rain forests are disappearing. Rain forest trees are being cut down for wood. Huge chunks of the forests are cleared to provide land for farm animals and crops. Scientists haven't identified all the plants in these forests yet. Some scientists think thousands of kinds of plants that we'll never even know about are being destroyed each year.