People usually check whether their keys, purses and phones are with them before going out, but many people in China now have one more important thing to take--a mask(口罩). They hope it can protect them 1 terrible air.

    Many cities in China saw a lot of foggy days in April. In Beijing, there were eight days in April full of smog. It is dirty air 2 looks like a mixture of fog and smoke. The smoke is mainly from cars and factories in cities. Poor air is bad for people's health, 3 for children and old people. They fell ill easily and the 4 were full of people. They had problems with their noses and lungs.

    So it's necessary 5 people from doing so many bad things to the environment. For example, people should use cars less and   6 burn lots of coal and gas. Government needs to take measures to make factories stop pouring 7 waste air into the sky.

    Three students from No. 4 High School in Beijing 8 a report to advise how to protect the environment. They suggested  9people should plant more trees and act off fewer fireworks for celebration. We hope more people will join us in 10 a difference. In this way, the blue sky will certainly return for good.

    Compared with other European countries, lifestyle in Italy is slower and more relaxing in its own way. Italians love to chat over a cup of coffee, go out for a walk in the middle of the day, and enjoy long lunches and dinners.

    The family is important to Italians. They can't think of spending a day without talking about their parents and children, or a weekend without a family lunch or dinner. Italians living outside their country miss their family a lot.

    Italians like simple life. Their days start and end with a cup of coffee. A cup of coffee after every meal is a must. Italians love to spend time over a hot cup of coffee and even hotter conversation with friends. Topics are usually about family, football and politics(政治).

    Sport is a very important part in lives of many Italians. Football is their favorite sport. There are hundreds of football clubs with top football teams in Italy. Also, many top players from all over the world play in Italy. Volleyball is also popular and so is rugby, with the top rugby team playing for the European Challenge Cup.

Every Italian province, city, town and street has a historical event that took place there and the Italian calendar is filled with national holidays that they love to celebrate.

Pollution

    Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today. People didn't have modern machines. There was no modern medicine, either.

    Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution （污染）. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and polluted our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. It's bad to all living things in the world.

    Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog（烟雾）.

    Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away, they mustn't blow dirty smoke into the air.

    We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and not throw it on the ground. We can go to work by bus or with our friends in the same car. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution.

    Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.

B

    Many years ago, there was a very popular sport in America. Who invented the sport more than 3,000 years ago? We don't know. But everyone thinks it was the Olmecs(奥梅克人）made it popular.

    People don't have the same rules about the game all over the world. People in different parts of the world play the game in different places at different times. If we want to bring back the sport, we need to have two teams of players standing on each end of a court. When the game begins, the two teams need to pass a ball from one side of the court to the other. The players can't touch(触) the ball with their hands and feet. But they can use their elbows(肘) and other parts of their bodies hit it. If a player does not pick up the ball in time and lets it fall to the ground, that team loses a point. But if a player makes the ball through a hoop(环),that team scores a point. The team with the most points wins the game.

    Many people are trying to save the earth with special days like "Meatout Day", "Earth Day" and "Buy Nothing Day".

    "Meatout Day" is on March 20. Many people around the world don't eat any meat for one day. In this way, they'll get healthier and reduce greenhouse gases (减少温室气体).

    "Earth Day" is on April 22nd. Many people all over the world try to do something green on this day. In Italy, people don't use plastic bags. In Canada and Norway, people ride bicycles and don't use their cars. In the USA, people dress up like plants and animals to dance in Times Square, New York.

    "Buy Nothing Day" is usually on the fourth Friday in November. On this day many people don't buy anything. "Buy nothing" means "make no rubbish". When you make less rubbish, you can make a cleaner earth.

    Do you want to join them? Then you can remember these special days and do something green.