On September 19, Alibaba went public (上市) on the New York Shock Exchange. It shows that Ma Yun has done his business successfully. A short Chinese man seems to be the tallest man in the world right now. Ma used to be an English teacher. So far, he has become the richest man on the Chinese mainland.

 Ma was born in Hangzhou and grew up as a happy kid. At the age of twelve, he found that English was very interesting. Every morning he got up at 5 a.m., and then ran to a hotel near the West Lake where he could communicate with foreign tourists in English. He did it for nine years.The experience made him become a fantastic English speaker and also opened his eyes to the wide world. In a 1995 trip to the US,  Ma was shown to the Internet for the first time. Seeing the chance, Ma returned to China and set up a website without knowing much about computers. Four years later, Ma set up Alibaba in Hangzhou. People called him “Crazy Jack Ma”. But fifteen years later, Alibaba has developed into the world's largest e-commerce (电子商务) company.

    Tony, a 14-­year-­old Chinese school boy, lives in Guangzhou with his parents. Tony is his English name. Tony began to love computer games three years ago.

    Every day, he spends most of his time playing computer games. Usually he plays until midnight in his room. But his parents don't know. And he never takes sports. What's more, he loves junk food very much. He eats it more than four times a day. Bad lifestyle makes him unhappy. He is tired in class. So he can't study well. And he is often ill. Yesterday he had a fever and cough, and he didn't go to school.

Information Card

    You know that eating a sensible diet and getting plenty of exercise help make your body healthy and strong.But do you know that there are ways to make your brain healthier and smarter? Here are some steps toward a smarter brain.

Limit your TV viewing

    ① Never spend too much time on TV viewing, for it needs very little brain activities.Your brain will become weak just as your muscles do.If you do watch TV, choose something educational and meaningful.

Travel

    Travelling to another country forces you to see and do things in a fresh way, bringing stimulation to the brain.

    Learn a new language

    Learning a new language involves different learning methods.Learning a language sharpens your brain and helps prevent memory problems that you may meet in later years.

Read often

    As you read, take the time to look up people or places that aren't familiar.Reading makes your vocabulary much larger if you always search for words and definitions that you don't know.Each week, choose an animal, a bird or fish, and read everything you can about it.Stretch your brain as you become an expert on the subject.

Calculate （计算）when you shop

    As you put things in your grocery cart, total everything in your head.See how close you get to the actual total.

    Use your non-dominant（不占优势的）hand

    If you are right-handed, use your left hand for everyday activities, or use your right hand if you are left-handed.Doing familiar things in a different way will make your brain create new neural （神经）networks.

Wechat（微信）

    ② Read messages from various people.They have different interests.And some say that learning to express yourself in just 100 words is a great brain challenge.

    Have a try and do these every day.Little by little you can get into the habit of challenging your brain, and make your brain smarter!

    Four ways to have a good school life

    Your schooldays should be some of the best and happiest days of your life. How can you get the most from them, and be sure you do not waste (浪费) this great chance to learn?

Be active(积极的) at school

    Don't say things are difficult or boring. Take interest in school life and your school subjects. Join lots of activities. Put up your hands quickly in class. Go around the school with a big smile. If you are not working, you are wasting your time at school. Teachers cannot make everything enjoyable（令人愉快的）.

Keep fit

    If you don't eat a good breakfast, you will be thinking about food in class. If you go to bed late and don't have enough sleep, you will be sleepy in class. Play enough sports every day in order to keep your body strong.

Face the problem

    Do not say you will do things tomorrow. If you get behind the class, it is very difficult to get back in front. You cannot finish the race if you rest all the time. Everyone fails some exams, loses some matches and has bad days. Don't make small problems very big and important. Don't forget to ask for help. You are young, and no one thinks you must do everything quite well!

Spend the weekends

    Don't waste time lying in bed on Saturday or Sunday morning. Go and play sports, get together with friends in the park to relax, learn to play the piano, or help someone with problem. If you don't want to go out, there are also a lot of things to do. You may read a book, practice English or help Mum with housework.

    Follow our advice, and have a happy school life!

    Mike and Peter are good friends. They are students. Mike's birthday is in the eleventh month of the year. Peter's birthday is on October 1st. Mike likes playing basketball, but Peter likes playing soccer. Mike often wears spots shoes to play basketball. He likes white spots shoes. Mike's birthday is coming. Peter goes to a sports store with his friend, Bill. At last, they buy a pair of white sports shoes for Mike. When Mike sees the shoes, he is very happy.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Have you ever hiccupped(打嗝)in a quiet room full of people? Have you ever hiccupped so hard that you had to stop what you were doing? The hiccup is a problem that almost everyone has experienced.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}People get hiccups for some reasons. Hiccups might result from eating or drinking too much or too quickly. A sudden change in the stomach's temperature, such as drinking hot water immediately after drinking cold water, may also cause hiccups. They may even happen because of being excited or being under a lot of stress.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Ideas on how to stop hiccups have been created, shared, and tried for years. However, what works for one person may not work for everyone. Perhaps the most common method people use is to hold their breath for a few seconds. If this doesn't work, you can try swallowing(吞下)hard while holding your breath. There are also some strange-sounding ways, like drinking a lot of water.

   {#blank#}4{#/blank#}A young girl named Mallory Kievman couldn't make her hiccups go away. She knew that sweet and sour things were commonly used to cure hiccups, and she knew that swallowing hard could also help. She decided to use the two ideas to make a special lollipop(棒棒糖). After she failed many times, Mallory invented a lollipop that worked by putting water, sugar and vinegar (醋)together.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Mallory wanted to find out whether her lollipops would help others. She gave her lollipops to friends. Most of them were cured of their hiccups after eating the lollipops. Mallory entered a competition with her lollipop and won three awards for her creative idea. She was successful.