Raising chickens seems a difficult task for teenagers. Gracie Goodpasture, from Virginia, US, not only raises them, but also tries to breed (喂养) the “perfect chicken”. And she even won an award for her love of science.

      Gracie started breeding chickens in her third grade at Steward School. At first, she worked on some farms for her school project. But later, the 14-year-old started to have some ideas of her own.

    “Some have thicker eggshells (蛋壳), and they're hearty (健壮的) throughout the winter,” said Grade.

      Since then, the young science lover started to try to find the healthiest free-range (散养) chickens. And she ended up breeding a type that now bears her name.

      The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) gave the 2015 Angela Award to Gracie Goodpasture. Her interests don't end with chickens and eggs. She is also into building robots and testing preservatives (防腐剂) in fast foods. In her words, she wants to go to Virginia Tech for poultry (家禽) sciences in the future.

    We often see top students around us and everyone knows about them. Let us take Jenny as an example. She is the monitor of our class. She spends a lot of time working for our class. But she always gets good grades in all subjects. How do students like Jenny do that? When I asked her, she said, "Hard work is not the whole story. It's not how long you sit at the desk with your books open. It's what you do as you are sitting." In fact, we can see many top students spend fewer hours on their studies than their classmates. Jenny gave me some valuable suggestions.

    If your math teacher gives you five exercises, you should do six. If your Chinese teacher gives eight pages of reading, you should read nine. The more you practice, the more you learn.

    Studying is a matter of your personal interest, so choose the way you are most comfortable with. Some people like working at night when the house is quiet, while others like doing their work early in the morning. However, others like studying as soon asthey arrive home from school while the work is fresh in their minds. No matter(无论) which way suits you, try to do your best.

    Studying is your business and the business comes before entertainment(娱乐). When you are studying, phone calls should go unanswered, TV shows unwatched, snacks given up. Studying is the only thing in your mind. Nothing can pull your attention away from what you are studying.

    Studying is like eating. You should eat a little at a time. You can plan what to do today, but don't do too much. When you can't finish the work you planned to do, you will feel stressed and may lose confidence. On the other hand, you will not study well without a good plan. It all depends on how you manage your time.

    The students who hand in a clearly written paper are already half way to get an A. Tidy papers are likely to get higher marks than messy(乱糟糟的) ones. When you write clearly and do your work carefully, the thoughts in your mind are clear. You are able to make fewer mistakes.

Dear Mary,

    Can you take these things to my brother, Bill? These things are: his red hat, alarm clock, keys, English book, notebook, watch and ID card. (A) His keys are on the table, too. His English book is in the bookcase, too. (B) His watch is in the dresser. And his ID card is in the dresser.

    Thank you.

Jenny

    As Grade Nine students, we are as busy as bees. Every day we have to spend a lot of time finishing our homework, so we don't have much time to do sports. However, almost all the students realize the importance of exercise. We still try to spare time(课余时间) to do sports after school.

    Tom (a 15-year-old boy from Class 9)

    Doing sports is part of my life. As soon as the bell of the last class rings every day, I will be excited and rush out of the classroom to play football with my classmates in the football field. Playing football can help me keep healthy and always make me energetic(精力充沛的). In this way I can learn better later on.

    Lucy (a 14-year-old girl from Class 6)

    Rope skipping(跳绳) is my favorite sport. I often do it with my sister Lily. We want to take part in the school rope skipping competition(竞赛). So we practice it again and again so as to win the competition.

    Jim (a 16-year-old boy from Class 2)

My dream is to be a professional runner. I usually train hard every day so that I can make my dream come true. Sometimes my parents are not happy. They say I spend too much time in running. But I never go running during the class. I do it after school. I don't think it has any bad effects on my study.

    Information Card

    China is a country with many colorful days and festivals. The Dragon Head Raising Day (Longtaitou) is one of them. This special day is on the second day of the second month in the Chinese lunar calendar. It stands for the start of spring and farming.

    The dragon is important for Chinese people. We Chinese people call ourselves the" descendants(传人)of the dragon" . Therefore, people celebrate the Dragon Head Raising Day with many customs.

    On the day in ancient times, people put ashes in the kitchen. This was to" lead the dragon into the house". People believed that with the help of the dragon, they could have a good harvest(收成)in autumn.

    Also, people cat special foods that day. The foods are usually named after dragons. For example, people eat" dragon whisker(细须)"noodles and dumplings called "dragon teeth " .

    Today, many customs have faded away(消退). But one that has remained is the cutting of hair. It is said that a haircut during the first lunar month may bring bad luck to the uncles of the family-mainly mother's brothers. So many people have their hair cut on the Dragon Head Raising Day.