How do you usually get to school? By bus? On foot? Roby Burch, 16, a US student, gets to school a little differently—he goes by horse .
Burch has been riding his white horse 4 miles to and from school since(自从)the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} of the semester. “Every morning, wearing my blue jacket and jeans, I'm on my way at 6 am. ” Burch says, “The streets are mostly {#blank#}2{#/blank#} at this time of morning. It's a nice way to start the day. ”
The idea was his {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . His family were {#blank#}4{#/blank#} their vacation on their farm this summer, “My dad just said, ‘Roby, you {#blank#}5{#/blank#} ride your horse to school every day. '” says Burch. He thought it really was a good idea.
When they got back home, Burch asked for permission from the headmaster (校长), Joe Cox, and surprisingly, he got the green light. Cox {#blank#}6{#/blank#} allowed（允许）Burch to keep the horse next to the headmaster's house. Then his dad helped Burch find the best route to school. It is along back streets and has {#blank#}7{#/blank#} cars than the others.
For the return trip every afternoon, Burch leaves school at 5:45 pm. Even now, as the days grow shorter and colder, he continues to ride his horse. “ I will ride my horse even in the coldest weather. ” he says.
Burch says the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} time he sat on a horse as a four-year-old boy he was afraid. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} now, “it's what I do best. ” It's no surprise that he wants to be a cowboy (牛仔) when he grows up. “I love riding horses more than {#blank#}10{#/blank#} else. ” He says, “It's really a guy thing. ”

    Why do you think people who live in some hot countries eat very spicy(辛辣的)food？Is it because the spices(调味品)make the food taste better？Is it just because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents liked hot food, or is there some{#blank#}1{#/blank#}between spices and healthy food？

    Researchers from Cornell University think that it is because spice plants have some important chemicals. These chemicals can kill bacteria which spoil food.

    "Most common spices can kill 75 to 100{#blank#}2{#/blank#}of the bacteria in food, "explains one of the scientists. The bacteria grow more{#blank#}3{#/blank#}and spoil food more quickly at higher temperatures. For this reason, it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates.

    Do you like your food spicy？You answer probably tells something about the country you come from. If you like spicy food, it is possible that hundreds of years ago, when there were no fridge, people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling. The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live{#blank#}4{#/blank#}, healthier lives. Today, in a time of fridges, the spices just make the food taste good.