Do you often help the people who are in need?

    One day, two boys were walking along the road to school when they saw an old woman carrying a large basket of pears. The old woman looked very tired. They went up and said, "Are you going to town? If you are, we'll help you carry your basket. ''

    "Thank you," said the woman. "That's very kind of you. ''Then she told them that she was going to the market to sell the pears. So the boys decided to lift the basket together. They walked slowly with the heavy basket, but they were happy.

  The other day, I saw a little girl pick up a piece of banana peel(香蕉皮). She threw it into the dustbin(垃圾箱). "I hope nobody would throw that in the street," she said. "Someone may slip(滑倒) and fall."

    Perhaps some people may say that these are not great things. That's right. But almost all great things are made up of such small things. We shouldn't wait for the time to do great things. We should begin with these things that are full of love.

    Some people seem to have extraordinary (非凡的）memories. Zheng Aiqiang, a “memory athlete” on TV show Super Brain, can remember 2,660 numbers in just one hour!

    You would think people like this have special brains. But according to a recent study by researchers from the US and the Netherlands, the brain structures（结构）of ordinary people and 23 of the world's leading memory athletes show no difference.

    That's because good memories can be trained. New research in the journal Neuron (神经元期刊) suggests that you can become a super memorizer with just six weeks of hard training.

    Researchers found that technique (技巧）called loci, invented by ancient Greeks, can greatly help improve memory. By using loci, you are using your imagination to improve the brain's memory networks. You can link（关联）something you need to remember with a place that you know very well. For example, to remember a list of numbers, imagine yourself walking through your house. Each thing is linked to a number. For example, zero could be handle（把手）on the door and five could be the painting on the wall.

    In one study, some ordinary people were given 20 minutes to remember 72 words. First they could only remember 26 of them. But when they were taught loci, they could remember 62 words.

    “Not everyone can become a memory champion. But everyone using the technique can improve a lot from the level they're at,” said Boris Konrad, one of the researchers in the study.

Lei Feng Spirit Carrying on

    On December 18, 1940, Lei Feng was born in a poor peasant family in a little mountain village of Hunan Province. He didn't go to school till 1950. At the age of 18, he worked as a steel worker. He was often praised for his good job. On January 8, 1960, he joined the army. In the same year, he joined the Communist Party. He loved the Party and the people, and constantly did good for others. “It's my duty，” Lei Feng always said when he was thanked by those. He became a model soldier one year later. Lei died in an accident in 1962.

    After his death, Chairman Mao called on the people to “Learn from Comrade Lei Feng”. And 5 March has become the official “Learn from Lei Feng Day” since 1963. People got to know more about him after LeiFeng'sDiary was first presented to the public. Now the term “Living Lei Feng”has become a noun for anyone who is selfless, anyone who has deep love for his country, anyone who works hard, or anyone who is always ready to help others...

    The whole nation are moved by Lei Feng's deeds. And Lei Feng's spirit will live in our heart forever and we surely will practice his spirit in life as he did.

From：Shanghai Middle School English Online

Information Card

    Today is Emily's 15th birthday. The following are some presents she receives.

Notes: draw 抽奖；entry form报名表；receipt收据；claim认领

    Have you ever thought about what our food will be in the future?

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    More land will be used for building new towns and houses for all the people. Then there will be less room for cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Instead, people will eat more fruit and vegetables. In this way, people may be healthier.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Only about 29%of the Earth's area is land and the rest is sea, so some think maybe we can get more food from the sea.

    Besides, though rice supports more than half the world's population, it needs a lot of water to grow. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Therefore, it might be impossible to grow rice in the future. Some farmers are experimenting with new crops. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The soybean (黄豆) makes a good substitute (替代品) for rice and meat.