Florida teen band The Garbage-Men is performing on the stage. The band has five members. They are Jack Berry, Ollie Gray, Harrison Paparatto, Austin Siegel and Evan Tucker. The five teens are making music from waste. The Garbage-Men band's instruments are made from recycled things. The guitars are boxes. A horn(号) is made from pipes. The keyboard is formed from old bottles.

    The band started about two years ago. Jack Berry who was in eighth grade at the time decided to make a playable, home-made guitar. After some trial-and-error(反复试验),                he ended up building it from a cereal box,  a yardstick and toothpicks. After Jack showed his creation to his friend Ollie Gray, Ollie had the idea to form a band using other home-made instruments as a way to improve recycling. “We want to show people there is more to recycling than throwing things away in the bin.” Jack, 16, told TFK. “You can actually reuse materials.”

Last year, the Garbage-Men played at local events, including festivals, farmer's markets. Typically， the teens set up on the street and performed popular songs from the 1960s， including classic Beatles and crowd favorite “Wipe Out”. They talked about recycling and offered tips for how to improve the environment. While they were performing, Jack's little brother Trent, 11, gave out leaflets about recycling and helped sell the band's CDs and other musical products.

The band donated the money from sales to charity. They have raised more than $2,500 for Heifer International. The organization gives farm animals, seeds and agricultural training to people in poor countries to help end poverty and hunger. “It's a good, sustainable-development (持续发展的)charity,” Jack says, “By donating one animal, you help the whole community.”

The band, all tenth graders, tries to play a show every week. They've also played on a Florida radio station. The teens hope to take their shows on the road by touring in other states. “Music is a really good way to get a good message across to people because it's really close.” Jack says. Their instruments may be rubbish, but their message isn't.

    These days, few 11-year-olds are allowed to walk to school by themselves. However, 11-year-old Rosalie Atkins is traveling the world alone.

    Rosalie Atkins lives in England. Her parents decided to let her travel alone. This summer Rosalie's mother put her on a plane to Paris with a host family.

Rosalie spent a week visiting Paris. She visited the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame, as well as several museums, markets, and parks. "If I had visited with my parents, we would have seen only the touristy parts of Paris," said Rosalie. "But because I was staying with a French family I saw more." Traveling to different countries, Rosalie also expressed the confidence. "I am quite confident when I have to talk to new people, which is a useful social skill, " Rosalie said.

Rosalie is glad that her parents allow her to go on adventure() that other kids could only dream of. Rosalie said, "Your parents aren't going to travel with you forever. You have to learn to be independent some day, and in my opinion the sooner the better."

Gemma Burford

    Gemma was born in' 1978 in a quiet (安静的) village in England. Her mother worked in a library and her father worked in a hospital. When she was a student at Oxford University, she travelled to Tanzania and met her husband, Lesikar for the first time. They got married in 2003 and had their daughter, Lucia, two years later. Now Lucia studies in a small primary school, and Gemma and Lesikar also teach her at home.

"Judy Boehmer

    Adam is Judy's first child. She now has four sons, seven daughters and a pet (宠物) dog, Bosco. Judy and her husband, Larry, live in Atlanta, Georgia, but they also have a motorhome (野营车). The Boehmers are a circus (马戏团) family and all the children are performers (演员) at the circus. The- children don't go to school, but study at home. The family travels more than 40.000 kilometres a year for their work The first show of the Boehmers was at a park in Lowa in 1989, and they now perform all over America.

    Nina Martinez leaves the classroom and walks down the hall. She feels bad this morning, because she's going to sing in the school Talent Show(达人秀). She loves to sing but she doesn't like singing in front of other people.

    Nina stands at the door for a moment, and then goes inside. In the room many children are talking happily. Nina sees Luz, James and others from her class. Some teachers are sitting on the chairs. They're waiting for the children to get quiet.

    "Nina Martinez!" someone calls out. It is Mrs. Brent, the music teacher.

    Nina stands up from her chair. She feels small as she walks to the front. Her face is hot, but her hands are as cold as ice. She wants to sing, but the song doesn't come out.

    "Close your eyes just as you are alone," says Mrs. Brent. "Forget(忘记) about everyone else. Just sing."

    Nina is worried, but she gives it a try(尝试). She closes her eyes and sings out. The song is out like milk.

    After the show, Mrs. Brent says to her, "Nina, you are great in the show!"

    At that moment, Nina says "Thank you" to Mrs. Brent happily.