Coloring is an activity that children worldwide have long enjoyed. With a picture already made for them, kids simply chose a crayon, pencil or marker of their favorite color and fill it in. Today, it also becomes more and more popular among teenagers and even adults, who are enjoying relaxing hours of coloring. In December, five of the top ten best-selling books in the United States were coloring books.

    They are fun, but are coloring books good for you?

    The good feedback(反馈)from customers is encouraging. Trina Lucida, a popular artist creating coloring books, says that many of her customers are buying the coloring books for others who are sick or going through a hard time. She adds that the "big idea" behind her latest book is to encourage people to do something creative.

    Lucida is right, according to Allan Rohan, a psychology(心理学)professor. "Many customers think of coloring books as a new creative stage," he said in an interview, "but what's more important is that people spend time coloring in order to reduce stress after a long day." Research shows that coloring can reduce stress by guiding people to focus on(专注)one simple task. When a person is filling in a flower with a light purple color, he focuses on the flower and forgets about all his troubles in life.

    Experts add that coloring may relieve a certain kind of pain. Doing the coloring helps people relax their mind and calm down. Also, coloring helps people's brain in a healthy way. The shape of the drawing makes one side of the brain active, while the color of the drawing improves the other. Coloring can bring out your imagination and take you back to your childhood. Interesting, isn't it?

    "It's very relaxing," said Susan Jackson, a big fan of Lucida's coloring books. "Coloring frees my mind. And it's not just to try to fill blank(空白的)pages. The pictures make me happy and there is just something about them. So I'm saving the pictures I like best to the very end."

    The air pollution was so bad in Harbin, in China, on October 21, 2013 that the city had to close roads and schools, and cancel hundreds of flights from its airport.

    News reports said the smog (a mixture of smoke and fog) was so thick that people couldn't see more than 10 or 20 metres in front of them.

    It is also said that people could not even see the person standing next to them. The city's website said: "You can't see your own fingers in front of you."

    The local people said there was a "burning" smell in the air. Many people covered their noses and mouths with scarves or masks.

    The pollution was caused on several factors including: farmers burning off old corn stalks and crop stubble; coal-fired heating systems; and low winds that allowed the smoke to remain over the city.

    The smog had been building up for several days. It became worse when the city turned on the public heating system, which uses coal to heat millions of homes and offices in the city.

    Harbin has a population of more than 10 million people. It lies in northeastern China, where cold winter weather can last up to six months. The main fuel there is coal, because it is cheaper than other types of fuel.

    Air pollution from burning coal can cause health problems like heart disease. During the smog crisis* in Harbin, the number of people taken to the hospital with breathing problems was 30% higher than usual.

    The city government is trying to reduce its use of coal by adding more insulation and better roofs and windows to buildings to reduce heating needs. It has also used cleaner fuel for cars and factories.

    When George was thirty-five, he bought a small plane and learned to fly it. He soon became very good at it and made his plane do ①all kinds of tricks.

    George had a friend. His name was Mark. One day George wanted to take Mark up in his plane. Mark thought, "I've traveled in a big plane several times, but I've never been in a small one. So I'll do."

    They went up, and George flew around for half an hour and did all kind sof tricks in the air.

    When they came down again, Mark was very glad to be back ②safely, and he said to his friend in a shaking (颤抖的)voice ,"Well ,George, thank you very much for those two trips in your plane."

    George was very surprised and said, "Two trips?"

    "Yes, my first and my last," answered Mark.

    Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks' time. Ten inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive (存活) if the rain is spread throughout the year, If it falls within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.

    Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes (沙丘) are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.

    There is, however, much more to a desert than sand. In the deserts of the southwestern United States, cliffs (悬崖) and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay beneath (在……之下) a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand, rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing--very, very slowly--as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.

    Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that have adapted (适应) to life in the desert. During the heat of the day a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.

Keeping animals and planting vegetables at school? This is what the students are doing at Zhuxi Middle School in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. The school has a small farm. There are seven chickens, three 1 and a pig on the farm. There is also a place for students to 2 vegetables. "We have got potatoes and tomatoes here," says a seventh-grader. "In autumn, we can give 3 to the cooks at our school.

Zhuxi Middle School is not the 4 one to let students do farm work. In Chongqing No.1 Secondary School, we can also see vegetables on the top of the teaching building. Students grow them with the 5 of their parents and teachers. You can easily see their 6 faces when they are farming.

 "We feel so satisfied that we jump up and down happily when we see our hard work can really make the plants grow," a student says. "And it's really a good 7 for us to get close to the nature and relax at school."

Teachers 8 the students can know about subjects like biology more easily by seeing 9 they work in real life. They can know that good results (结果) 10 hard work. And they can also learn to be responsible (责任) by looking after the animals and plants. 

Hi, everybody! We' re the Phryges, the mascots of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics(残奥会). We' re red - hats that come from a famous French painting made in 1830. In the painting, a young lady wears a red hat, called the" Phrygian cap(弗里吉亚帽) ," which stands for freedom. French people love this hat, and it shows up on their coins and stamps. Why are we mascots this time? The designers say we stand for France and the power of sports!

The Paris Olympics are full of exciting things to see! You can click the button to get more information. Here are some of the fun stuff.

Purple Running Track

The Stade de France is one of the most famous stadiums in France. It hosted the 1998FIFA World Cup. During the game, the French national soccer team won 3-0 against Brazil, lifting the World Cup trophy(奖杯) for the first time.

For the Paris Olympics, the athletics track will be purple for the first time in Olympic history. This special track can help athletes perform better and even break records. When the Games start, a lavender(薰衣草) color will fill the stadium, bringing a special French style.

Medals

The medals are round in shape with a hexagon(六角形) at the center. The hexagon of every me dal is a piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower. The leftover metal of the tower was stored secretly for years. The emblem(会徽) and the Olympic five rings are on it. Fine lines project(投射) outward around it, making each medal look like a shining sun.

New Sport

A new event called breaking will show up at the Games for the first time! This street dance stared in New York in the 1970s and is part of hip- hop culture, with cool moves like spins and flips.

The competition in Paris will have 16 males and 16 females, all born by Dec 31°,2008. They will compete in one- on- one battles to music chosen by a DJ. They will try to win each round and get the gold medal in the final.