There was a boy and his family was very rich. One day his father took him on a trip to a place. He wanted to show his son how poor people were there. They spent several days on a farm. There were many poor families living on the farm.

    On their way home, the father asked the son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad,” the son answered. “Did you notice how poor people were there?" asked his father. “Oh, yes,” said the son. “So, tell me,” said his father. The son said, “Well, we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool in our garden, while they have a river that has no end. We have expensive lanterns(灯), but they have stars above their heads at night. We have only a small piece of land to live on, while they have the endless fields. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have high walls around our houses to protect us, but they don't need walls, because their friends will protect them."

    The father had nothing to say. Then the boy added, “Thank you, Dad, for letting me see how poor we are.”

    Jack gets to the bus station very early. The bus for Beijing is leaving at twelve. He sees many people at the station. Some are waiting in line, and others are walking around. Jack looks around but there is no room for him to sit in. He walks into a restaurant. He looks up at the clock there.

    It's only 11:30. Then he finds a seat and sits down. At that time, Tom, one of his friends, comes in and sits in front of him. They talk and drink. After a while, Jack looks up at the clock again. “Oh, my God. It's still 11:30. The clock doesn't work at all.” Jack becomes very sad because he misses the bus.

    Science fiction is a popular kind of writing, and many people think of Jules Verne(儒勒·凡尔纳) as the father of science fiction. He was born in France in 1828. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but from his early 20s Verne decided to become a writer. At first he wrote plays for the theater. Then, in 1863, he wrote a story called Five Weeks in a Balloon. The success of this book encouraged him to write more stories such as A Journey to the Center of the Earth(1864) and From the Earth to the Moon(1865).

    In the 19th century, many people were interested in science and inventions. Jules Verne wrote about scientific subjects in his stories and, as a result, they were very popular. Verne's writing included many predictions(预言) for the 20th century and many of them came true. He described space flight, movies, and air conditioning, a long time before they appeared. These books were very successful and they made Verne rich.

    Jules Verne's books have been the subjects for many movies. 20, 000 Leagues under the Sea was a successful movie for Walt Disney. It was the first time that Disney movie had used real actors instead of cartoon drawings. Around the World in Eighty Days is another famous movie based on one of Verne's books. The main character is an Englishman called Phileas Fogg. For him, the most important thing is to be always on time!

    When I was five, I had cancer ( 癌 症). My family learned about an organization that provided photography (摄影) classes to kids 1   cancer. I took the classes and learned how to 2a camera and how to take photos in different lighting situations. Taking photos made me 3about being sick for a while.

    At first, most of my photos were of4little dog, Charlie. I took pictures of him sleeping or playing. I also took pictures of 5 like flowers, trees and rivers. I 6 took photos of a little mouse once.

    Last year, I got invited to be a photographer on the red carpet (地毯) of  a big show in Los Angeles. I was so excited 7I could take photos of famous people. It was my first time to get close to them! It felt 8.

    Being a photographer and taking photos makes me feel happy. Now I want to 9what I have learned with other kids. I can't wait to pass on everything I've learned about photography and make other 10feel great, too.

People are trying to build "green buildings" that are friendly to the environment. They might not seem any different from common buildings. But let's take a closer look.

Stay cool and warm. It takes a lot of energy to light rooms. It also takes energy to heat and cool buildings. So green buildings are designed to do all these things with much less energy. An energy-smart building starts with thick walls. Special insulation(隔热材料)inside keeps heat inside in winter and keeps heat outside in summer. This saves energy for heating and cooling. Some green buildings don't need any radiators(散热器)or air conditioning at all!

Save the trees. What a building is made from can also help the planet. To save forests, some green buildings have bamboo floors instead of wood. Bamboo looks like wood, but it's actually a grass. It grows back 20 times faster than a tree. Another way to build green is to use recycled materials. That saves the cost and reduces pollution of producing something new.

Make better home. City planners like green buildings because they save money and they are healthier for the people who work and live inside. But you don't need to build a whole new building. Simple changes like shading windows and planting trees can make any home greener—and a better Earth home for us all.

As more people become concerned(担忧的)about climate change, more buildings are going green. Experts are finding new ways to build green buildings. We also need to change our mind. Let's take action now!