My mother was a cleaner in our school canteen(食堂) when I was in the middle school. At that time she was such an embarrassment(难堪) to me not only because of her job but also her look. She had only one eye. Every time I saw her in my school, I pretended(假装) not to see her and ran away.

 After graduating, I got a good job in another city. Then I got married and had two kids. I told my family that my parents had been dead, so they never saw my mother, even her photo. But one year later, I got a letter, it read:

 My dear son Jeff,

    I'm sorry to disturb(打扰) you, but I really miss you all the time. I'm afraid that I will have no chance to see you again.

    I'm sorry that I was always an embarrassment to you when you were growing up. However, I had no choice. When you were very young, you got into an accident and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn't stand that you would have to grow up with one eye. So I ……

    I was proud of my son who was enjoying his beautiful world for me with that eye.

    With all my love to you!

                                                              Mom

 After reading the letter, I couldn't help crying.

    The "green" car has become popular in recent years. A green car is an environment friendly car. Today, most cars are powered (驱动) by petrol (汽油). They make our life easier. But cars have also made problems for the environment.

    There are a few new types of cars that use no petrol or a little petrol.

    Electric cars：This kind of car uses a battery (电池) for power. When you're not driving it, just plug it in like a mobile phone to power up the battery. They don't make exhaust (排放物). But car makers still can't make a battery that lasts for more than a few hours. That's why electric cars aren't very popular.

    Fuel cell cars (燃料电池车) : Fuel cell cars use hydrogen (氢) and oxygen (氧) to make power. The only exhaust they produce is clean water. But fuel cell cars are still much too expensive to make.

    Solar cars : This kind of car has large panels (板) on the top that take power from the sunshine. The car holds that power in a battery. Solar cars might be the cleanest of all. But no one uses them, because solar panels can't get enough power from the sun to make a car go for a long time. Also, they are very slow.

    Hybrid cars（油电混合车）： This kind of car is the most exciting kind, because it is very clean and not too expensive. The hybrid car is very smart: Half the time, it uses petrol, and half the time it uses a battery. So, when the petrol engine is working, it puts some of its power back into the battery. It uses much less petrol than other cars. It also makes less pollution for the environment.

    My challenge for you is this: to read a book for 15 minutes a day. Let me explain where the challenge came from.

    I have many things in common with my dad, like music taste and sense of humor, but sadly reading isn't one of them. I can happily spend a whole day reading a book. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} He reads e-mails, websites and papers for work, but not books. He is a busy person, with a short attention span, so I think that sitting down to read for just 15 minutes a day is a good way to introduce him to reading. Giving yourself a goal or challenge is a good way to change a habit or achieve something, so why not try to develop a new habit of reading?

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Everyone is different and has their own interests, but I think there are lots of benefits of reading, which screen-based activities (games, films,

TV) don't have.

     {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Looking at screens can cause tire eyes, and you should avoid looking at screens for a long time.

    Another thing I love about reading is being transported to another world. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} So you go to bed. Because you think more about the world of the book, rather than the real world and the problems you have during the day, so you can truly relax.

    I also love people. I enjoy hearing what people are doing and finding out what people think.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} It also teaches me to see things from other people's point of view, and understand other people's decisions or opinions.

    So give it a try! Include 15 minutes of reading in your daily schedule and see the difference you can make.

A. Firstly, it's better for your eyes.

B. But my dad can't read a book for longer than 5 minutes.

C. I often forget the time or things that are going on around me.

D. Reading ten thousand books is like travelling ten thousand miles.

E.  Reading gives me the chance to get to know hundreds of new people.

F. You can download free e-books online and read them on your computer.

G. I know lots of people would rather relax at the computer or in front of the TV.

    Hello, I'm a reporter from the Green City Daily. Lastweek, I did a survey for the Green City Daily. Here's the report:

    The best clothes store in town is Jason's. It has the best quality clothes. It's cheaper than Jeans Corner and Trendy Teens. But they are good stores, too. Trendy Teens is in a fun part of the town; teenagers like it best, but it's the most expensive. Don't go to Funky Fashions. It has the worst clothes in town.

    The best radio station is Jazz 107.9 FM. It plays the most interesting music. It's much better than the other stations in town. But Oldies 102.1 FM is pretty bad. It has the worst music. Easy Listening 97.9 FM is the most popular.

    Rice, meat, vegetables and fruit… there are many different food choices for us to eat every day. You may think that throwing away your leftover food is not a big deal. But you should keep in mind that many people around the world still don't have enough to eat.

    In 2015, there were over 1 billion hungry people in the world, according to the United Nations. Many children went to sleep hungry and 15 million of them even died from hunger.

    However, food waste is still a big problem. The average person throws away 50 kg of food every year. This means that 1.3 billion tons of food goes to waste each year. That is more than one third of all the food we make.

    We could give this leftover food to many people. For example, the amount of food wasted in Europe would be enough for 200 million people!

    So next time you feel picky (挑剔) about what you want to eat or can't finish your meal, you might want to think twice. There are many others who aren't so lucky.