Clothes are traditionally made of natural materials, such as cotton, leather and wool. They are all from plants or animals, but that doesn't mean they're friendly to the earth. For example, farmers have to use a lot of chemicals to grow cotton plants.

    Scientists are now looking for new ways to make clothing materials. They hope the new materials are both comfortable and good for the earth. Scientists have worked out how to make materials out of corn husks(棉籽), chicken feathers and rice straws.

    "They used to be useless things. We always have a problem of how to deal with them," Yang, a scientist says, "Now, we can turn them into beautiful materials. Chicken feathers are better than other things. They have small air pockets like honeycombs. That means it will be very warm if you use them to make a jacket or sweater, and I think more and more people will like to buy these kinds of clothes."

    When the Audet family turns on the lights at Blue Farm, they are using electricity that comes from cows- cow manure(粪肥).

    Cows produce a lot of waste. One cow can create 30 gallons of waste each day. Now imagine the output of over 1,000 cows at Blue Farm. That's really a big amount.

    When farmers clean their barns, they put the waste together，and spread some of it on their fields for fertilizer(肥料). But now places like Blue Farm have a new way of using cow waste. They use it to produce electricity.

    Here's how it works: A big machine moves back and forth cleaning the barn floor. "The cows are animals of habit; they get used to it,and just lift one foot and then another to let it go by. "says Marie Audet.

    The machine pushes the manure into a big 600-gallon tank like a small swimming pool. The tank is called a digester(化粪池) because what happens there is just like what happens inside a cow: Bacteria(细菌) get to work and continue to digest the manure.

    Methane gas(甲烷;沼气) in the atmosphere is known as a "greenhouse" gas because it keeps heat just like a greenhouse does, causing our planet to warm up. That's an environmental concern. But the digester has a good result. Its gas is kept and used to power electric generators(发电机).

    At Blue Farm, the generators make enough electricity to power 400 homes. The Audet family sells the extra electricity they can't use themselves.

    There is one thing. We can't see it. Sometimes we can hear it and even feel it. Without(没有) it, all the living things will die. Do you know what it is? Oh, it is air.

    However, what's the air like today?

    In cities, there are too many people and too many cars on the roads. The cars send out (排放) a lot of bad gases(气体) In cities, there are many chemical factories(化工厂). They send out terrible smoke every day. This kind of smoke is very bad for our health. Now the air is becoming worse and worse. Every day, we breathe (呼吸) the bad air in and out. This is very unhealthy for us and it makes us feel sick.

    To keep us healthy, we have to go to the countryside to breathe more fresh air. Or we can go up hills to get more fresh air.

When children read to Danny, he never stops them or corrects them. He just sits quietly and listens patiently. Danny is a "listening1 ". He is part óf a reading program for children. The name of the program is R.E.A.D.

This program helps2 children's reading and communication skills in a special way -' reading to dogs, but not any dog. R.E.A.D. dogs are therapy animals (治疗动物). " We all know that learning to read well is very3 . Teachers always ask children to read aloud.4 reading aloud in class is very difficult for some children. They are afraid that other children will5 them," says Danny' S trainer, Tony Nevett. But a listening dog like Danny won't make fun of them. The children will feel safe.It's also fun for them. They even start to6 reading aloud. As a result, their reading gets better.

This program7 helps the dogs. Many of them live in dog shelters and need a home. After some8 , the dogs learn to be comfortable with people they don' t know. This helps them to be9 for adoption (收养）.

The R. E.A.D. program started in the USA."We have many success stories," says Tony. He hopes the program will spread to more places. Children who10 the program learn to love reading. This helps them succeed in school.

Lake Tahoe is the best place to go during winter vacations. You will have a lot of fun if you follow these tips(提示).

The first thing you should do is to wear at least(层) three layers(层) clothes. If you don't, you will have a cold!

You should also go skiing(滑雪) for at least one day. If you don't, your trip to Lake Tahoe will be boring.

Stay there for at least three days and two nights. If you don't, you won't enjoy yourself there. You may spend a lot of time on the way. It will be a waste of time and money.

Also, here are some things you shouldn't do at Lake Tahoe.

First, don't drive on the highway when it's snowing, or a traffic jam(交通堵塞) will make you angry. Second, don't try the sk i resort(度假村) food. Believe me , it's terrible. Bring your own food. At last, be careful when you sk i by yourself. Skiing is a dangerous sport. When you are skiing, you may fall down, get hurt or even die.

Do you have a daily routine? A daily routine is a set of behaviors (行为) or practices we do every day. For example, if you go to school every day, you may like to study or do homework at 1 time every day. Having a daily routine helps us do better or even helps us feel 2 during hard times. For me, I go to work every day. I like to follow a certain routine before, during, and3 work. 

In the morning, I wake up with my alarm clock (闹钟) and go to take a 4 . I leave some time open between showering and leaving for work to relax and watch a video or two. Then, when I'm at work, I like to 5 things online in the morning before writing stories in the afternoon. During my lunch break, I like to go home to feed my cat and 6 a nap (午睡). 

Later, after 7 , I study Chinese before eating dinner. Finally, I might play some games or 8 a book before going to bed. This is my routine during the work week, but on 9 I like to sleep before washing clothes and cleaning up. 

By 10 a routine, I feel ready to take on what comes my way during the day.