When Justin Tong was a child, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him doing lots of housework such as carrying out the rubbish and sending newspapers. But when he grew up, he was better off than his childhood friends and lived a happier and healthier life.

This is the finding of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 children in London. It showed that the children who had worked hard in childhood had a richer and a happier future. "Children who worked in the home or community gained competence(能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said Daniel Brown, the psychologist(心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."

Brown's study followed these children in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Brown, the researchers compared the children's mental-health scores with their childhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

    Working at any age is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence — the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this.

    Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."

    It's 21:00 in Beijing now. Let's look at what the four students are doing.

I'm Bob. I work at night from Monday to Thursday. So in the daytime (白天), I often sleep for at least 7 hours. Then I get up, have some food and watch TV. I usually watch TV for more than two hours every day. At 7:00 p.m., I go to work by bike.

But on weekends, my life is different. I usually sleep at night and do different activities in the daytime. For example, last weekend was quite full for me. On Saturday morning, I went to learn dance. I have dance lessons once a week. In the afternoon, I went to play basketball with my friends. We played for three hours and felt excited. I thought it was good for my health. On Sunday morning, I drove to the dentist for teeth cleaning. In the afternoon, I went to the movies with my friend, Tom. I thought the movie was interesting, but Tom thought it was difficult to understand (理解).

    Jack is 10 years old, and I am his pencil. I'm Jack's helper（助手）.

    Jack's pencil box is my home. I have some friends here. They are seven crayons, a ruler, a pencil sharpener and an eraser. Because Jack loves me, I'm the king（国王）in the pencil box. My friends and I are happy every day.

    Today, I am not happy because a pen comes in. It's new and beautiful. It's a music pen. It can not only write（写） but also sing（唱歌）. But I'm old and I can only help Jack to write. Jack likes it so much! The new pen is his helper now. It's the new king. What can I do now? Shall I go to a new home?

Eating out is more popular in Britain today than it has ever been. It is reported that British people spend more eating out than cooking for themselves and eating at home. It seems that many British people are becoming more and more interested in how good their food tastes, and also how healthy it is.

However, eating out can also be expensive, so British people do not eat out every night. When having a date with friends, or having a birthday, many people like to go to a restaurant, and people often also eat in a restaurant before going to the cinema or the theater.

As in all cultures, there are many rules of manners about eating. The knife and fork should be used in the correct way. It is also impolite to speak with your mouth full then you are eating.
    Most British cities have a large collection of food as well as British food, from the very cheap to the very expensive—French, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese and many, many more.

When people are too tired to cook after work, they often get a "takeaway". This means that they order from a take－out restaurant by telephone, and then go to get it. Many take-out restaurants also send it to your house. All you have to do is to open the door, pay and eat!

Better hygiene (卫生) habits can help you stay healthy

According to the World Health Organization, 60 percent of people's health problems are related(与…相关) to everyday hygiene habits. As the COVID-19 spreads across the world, governments and organizations in many countries have suggested that people should pay more attention to their daily hygiene practices.

In China, for example, people usually share dishes together at the dining table. But this habit has a high risk of spreading diseases through saliva(唾液). To fight against COVID-19, many cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have called on people to order separate(分开的)meals or use serving chopsticks(公筷) to take their food. Many people also suggest that Chinese should continue these habits after the outbreak.

In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked people to develop healthy hygiene habits. For example, people should cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough or sneeze.

    According to a survey by YouGov, a British market research company, many Americans have taken action to change their daily habits in the face of COVID-19.