If you visit the animal shelter in Salinas, California, you'll see huge wood cutouts(剪下的图形) of a dog and a cat. These signs were placed in front of the building to catch people's attention. The supersized cut outs make people curious and encourage them to visit the shelter— and maybe even adopt(收养) a pet. Each year, the Salinas shelter takes in around 2,000 dogs and 2,000 cats. The animals are either strays or are dropped off by people who couldn't take care of them. Of the 4,000 animals, some of them are finally adopted into new homes. Some animals are moved to other shelters. And, unluckily, some cannot be saved because they are too sick or are considered dangerous.   

   Animal shelters provide food, medicine, and a safe place for animals to sleep. But they are not ideal homes. The shelters are loud, and the animals stay in small cages. The people who work at shelters do their best to care for the animals, but the animals do not always get the attention or exercise they need.  

   To prevent so many animals from becoming homeless, pet owners should take care of their pets. One of the best ways to care for pets is to spray or neuter them. This surgery prevents cats and dogs from having more babies. And that reduces the number of homeless animals that end up in shelters.

    It is a question that has confused parents for many years: why do children refuse to eat greens?

    Now, two American experts believe they have the answer.

    After studying dozens of babies as they played with various objects, the researchers noted that they were far more unwilling to touch plants than other things. They believe this is because evolution (生物进化) has biologically made children be wary of plants.

    Due to susceptibility (敏感性) to illness or injury in the early years of life, the body has designed an inner defence mechanism (内部保护机制) that limits a child' s contact with plants, they think. The researchers believe this is why children turn their noses up when faced with a plate of broad beans.

    The findings are published in a paper by Dr Annie E Wertz and Dr Karen Wynn, both psychologists at Yale University.

    They wrote, "Throughout human evolution... plants have been important in human's life. Yet, for all of these benefits, plants have always caused very real dangers."

    "Plants produce toxins (毒素) as defences that can be harmful, or even deadly. Some plants also produce physical defences, such as thorns（荆棘）can damage tissues (组织) and cause effects over the whole body."

    They added, "We predicted that babies may have behavioural strategies that reduce dangers caused by plants."

    To test their theory, the researchers studied how children aged eight to 18 months old reacted when presented with a variety of objects. It took much longer for children to grab plants; objects that were pretended to look like plants also caused a slow response time.

    For parents attempting to spoon some peas into the mouth of their child, this finding should come as welcome relief.

"Do you know Macao was never my real name? I have been away from you for too long, mother..."

Song of the Seven Sons-Macao, written by Wen Yiduo in 1925, is still in the hearts of Macao's teenagers today. The Basic Law of Macao Special Administrative Region (《中华人民共和国澳门特别行政区基本法》) came out in 1993 and started to work on Dec. 20, 1999, as Macao returned to China. From then on, it has become much easier for young people to build a closer relationship with their motherland.

Chan U, an 18-year-old, is studying at the University of Macao. She said "Traveling to the Chinese mainland (大陆) has become easier. Visits to Zhuhai have become a part of the daily life of some people." Kun Lot U, 25, studies at the South China University of Technology. She said "Many local people go to Zhuhai to buy vegetables as they are fresher and cheaper than those in local markets. Young people often go to Zhuhai to play jubensha, a role-playing game."

The number of trips out of Macao in January was 2.23 million, and most of them went to the Chinese mainland. Cities like Chongqing, Changsha and Hangzhou are popular places for young people, according to Chan. Guangdong is also a good choice since the language and food are similar.

"Young people in Macao care a lot about what's happening on the mainland," said Kun. Like the young people on the mainland. they also use apps from the mainland to know the hot issues(话题). They have learned many mainland Internet catcbphrases (流行语). "1know about the most popular ones such as ‘yyds'," said Kun. "They make us understand more about people and life on the mainland."

More than half of the people in Macao use online shopping apps from the mainland.Kun said that it's because they can find almost everything they need at good prices on the apps. The products are first shipped to a collection station in Macao. It usually takes about three to seven days for local people to get the products. "The connection between Macao and the motherland is getting stronger and stronger," said Chan.

Why Learning a New Language Is Good for the Whole Family？

Ever thought of making language learning part of your family's activities？Learning a new language together can have unexpected emotional benefits for the whole family.

Combining （兼顾） family time and language learning time is a great way to have more quality time with your family.Learning a new language as a family can be a fun group activity.Everyone loves a game night or movie night.You can play games like Bingo，using vocabulary from the target language.Or maybe you have a particular vacation destination （目的地）（常规） and reconnect with those you love.

Language is all about communication and connection.Learning a new language brings family members closer because they talk to each other all the time when learning.All you have to do is change to your new language and practice with your family members whenever you want — no classroom needed.Telling family stories with what you have recently learned is a good place to start，which could inspire questions and additional conversations，and even create a familect—secret words and phrases shared only among the members of your family.

If your family is big on gardening，make labels （标签） together for your plants and tools.Making fun labels in your target language together can also help you connect with loved family members.It opens up more opportunities like family contests.You could surprise each other with notes on pillows，inside dresser drawers — any place your family will find them.Using these words later recalls these family memories.

Each family is really its own little unique social world，and that world is being built through language.The power of language learning lies in its ability to draw people together.

Jay lives in a village. He grows (种植, 生长) vegetables, fruit and flowers in his garden. They grow very well all through the year from spring to winter. And he sells them in his1 .

Every day, Jay gets some 2 for his living room tables and eats some fruit and vegetables. His vegetables and fruit are very fresh. His flowers are nice. People like to 3 them. So there are always many people in his store. 

4 does Jay grow these nice things? Here is the answer. He plays 5 music for his plants. The plants in the garden 6 music all day long. Everything grows well. It is7 , right? Jay does some of the work, and 8 does the other (其余的) work! Music helps 9 grow nice fruit, vegetables and flowers. Plants 10 music! So you see, music can make a big difference in our life! 

①How do you feel when you make a mistake? No one likes making mistakes. It often makes you feel unhappy. However, the feeling you get after making a mistake helps your brain adjust (调整) itself and learn. For example, you can't learn how to ride a bike without falling off it, or make friends without sometimes saying things you regret. Getting things wrong helps us adjust ourselves, so we can do things differently.

②____. Accepting and learning from our mistakes gives us the courage to try harder next time. Psychologists (心理学家) at Michigan State University call this a "growth mindset". A growth mindset means you see failure as something you can learn from, instead of something you regret. Elsie, 13, said it was hard to accept mistakes but they made her a better learner. "I once made a cake that came out like two big biscuits. I was upset but I realized I hadn't read the cookbook properly. Now I always read the cookbook twice."

③Alexandra Eidens from a magazine for kids said we should be open to mistakes because learning from them can help us believe in ourselves and face difficulties bravely. Try talking about one of our mistakes with family or friends. Whether the experience is funny or painful, sharing the story with others will help make it clear how the mistake happened. Eidens also suggests writing down our mistakes. She believes it gives us a chance of self-expression, creativity and learning. It's also a good way for us to learn from our mistakes.