There are 24 solar terms (节气) in China, and the Grain Rain(谷雨) is one of them. It falls on April 19 this year.

    This solar term is called the Grain Rain because it is known for “rain” that helps the grain grow. From its name, we can guess it means a time of more rain. So if you go out in the next two weeks, you may need to bring an umbrella with you.

    But this is a great time for planting crops. If you miss the time for planting during the Grain Rain, you will feel sorry later. So maybe you can try to plant some flowers or vegetables in your garden. When the spring rain falls, farmers begin to grow crops (庄稼). Farmers often say, “Spring rain is as precious (珍贵的) as oil.” It brings farmers hope for a good year ahead.

    There are also many interesting customs during the Grain Rain. In the northern part of China, people like to eat Chinese toon (椿芽) mixed with eggs. The food made during the Grain Rain tastes wonderful and is good for your stomach. In the southern part of China, the tea leaves are picked during the time. They are called Grain Rain tea, which is famous for its freshness and sweet smell.

    What color are their sweaters(毛衣)?

    Kate, Jim, Rose and Bill put their sweaters on the table. The sweaters are white, blue, red and black. We know, the boy's sweaters aren't red and the girls' sweaters aren't black. What color is Kate's sweater? I don't know. But I know it is not blue. Bill says, “My sweater is white.” Then what color are their sweaters?

    How long does it take to build a new house? It usually takes about six months or more. But each year, thousands of people work together to build new homes in just four months! Who does this wonderful work? Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity is a group that builds homes for families in need. It has branches in different states around the USA. This group works all over the world, too. Volunteers help build the homes. They are unpaid workers. Volunteers can be builders and painters. They can be teachers or bankers. Some are students.

    Habitat for Humanity has built more than 300,000 houses. More than 1.5 million people live in these houses. Building a home is hard work. Volunteers learn how to put up walls. They use tools and machines. These selfless volunteers work with the family that will live in the house. Everyone works together to make the family's dream come true.

    Suruchi Srikanth has worked with Habitat for Humanity for four years. She began volunteering in high school. She has built many homes with other volunteers. She takes her responsibilities(责任) seriously. Volunteers know that if they don't help, homes might not get built. They are good citizens(公民) who care about other people.

    Reading is fun. When you read, would you like a paper book or an e-book(电子书)? Some people choose e-books, some love paper books, and others prefer reading both.

    Li Ming, a university professor (教授), is busy doing some research. So he is often on business. When he is at the airport or on the train, he especially loves reading e-books. He also likes reading paper books in the library for the research work. Besides, he enjoys the smell of the paper books.

    What's more, Li Ming would like to read with his family. There is a reading time from 8:00 to 9:00 each Friday evening at home. Everyone reads and shares what they learn from the books. One Friday evening, Grandma took out an old paper book and said to her grandson, “Li Lei, this is the first book your grandpa gave me. There is his name on the front page. Whenever I read it, I can get something new from his notes. And I can still remember the happy life we lived together.” Li Lei said, “But I enjoy reading e-books. E-books need no paper. Many forests will be saved.” Grandma advised, “Don't read for a long time, or your eyes will get sore.”

    Different people have different ideas about e-books and paper books. No one knows whether e-books can replace (代替) paper books or not. Somehow, books are our friends. No matter which kind of books you choose to read, you can learn more about the world through them.

    Have you ever tried to hide your emotions (情感)from someone during a conversation? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Scientists from the Ohio State University have found that people are able to tell other people's emotions according to changes in the color of their faces.

    Scientists studied pictures of people's facial expressions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, happiness makes our faces red around the cheeks and a little blue around the chin. Disgust(厌恶)creates not only a blue-yellow color around the lips, but also a red- green color around the nose and forehead.

    “We believe these color patterns are the result of small changes in blood flow triggered(触发) by the central nervous(神经) system." Lead researcher Alex Martinez said.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Does the color alone or also facial expressions help people tell other's emotions?

    To figure this out, scientists added color patterns to pictures of faces that showed no facial expressions. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}They were able to tell the emotions 75 percent of the timewithout any difficulty.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} For example, when two people are heatedly arguing over something, we say they are red in the face. When a person is very angry, we'd say he or she is blue in the face.

    Do you enjoy reading? Here readers of your age from all over the United States recommend(推荐) great books for you to read:

    My favourite book is Don't Die, My Love, written by Lurlene McDaniel. I love all her books, but this was the first one I read and I have to say, it is by far my favourite. It doesn't end like other books, and I cried while reading.

    I think Nancy Drew is great! Nancy is a detective(侦探) who has many fantastic ideas! I love it because it's a book from when my grandma was my age, and I can share fun with her!

    I recommend Skinny Bones. Its writer is Barbara Park. It is funny, so please add it on your book list. You don't want to miss funny stories!

    I suggest Growing Trouble by Judy Blume. It is based(以......为基础) on real things that happened to Judy Blume. It is about a girl, Alice, who meets some girls at a new state.

    They become friends, make a club and meet once a week. They stop after two weeks because they all like a boy in their class and put him as number one. I think every girl should read this because it is about our growing up.