When he was nine years old, American boy Milo Cress had a question: How many plastic straws(吸管) do Americans use every day?

    He quickly learned there wasn't a simple answer. The boy tried to work it out himself. Through lots of research, Cress found out that Americans use about 500 million straws every day. In hopes of reducing plastic waste, he founded the Be Straw Free project in 2011.

    Cress started the project in his hometown – Burlington, Vermont. He asked a local restaurant to stop offering straws with every drink order. It was a simple change. However, it would save money. And by doing that, the restaurant would cut down on its straw use by 50 percent.

    For the years that followed, Cress tried to spread his project across the United States. More and more restaurants agreed to join. They stop providing the customer with a straw unless he or she asks for one. Last April, Seattle became the first American city to completely ban (禁止) plastic straws.

    Plastic pollution has been one of the most serious problems today. According to scientists, more than eight million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year. Plastic straws are especially terrible. They make it easy for people to get comfortable with single-use plastics.

    After his project became popular, Cress took his findings on the road. He has since spoken to tens of thousands of students around the world. He wants to encourage more people to say no to plastic straws.

    "Focusing(聚焦) on straws is one simple step we all could take," Cress says. "And it makes me feel that I, as a kid, could make a difference, too."

    At the beginning of the world, a man named Ekon lived in Luzon. He liked to build things. He thought it would be a very good idea to build a bridge to the sky.

    As he wanted the bridge to be strong and last a long time, he built it of stone. He worked for years and years to build the bridge. His wife and children, nephews and nieces, uncles and aunts, all helped him. Though they worked very hard, the sky always seemed to be a long distance(距离) away.

    When Ekon became an old man, his wife and children told him that he would never finish it.

    "If I can't finish it." he said. "my children's children will do so. "

    But just before he died, his wife and children told him that they could not find any more stones.

    So Ekon became very angry and disappointed. Though he was very old and weak, he pulled down the bridge. It came tumbling(倒下) with a great roar(吼叫).

    The stones made great heaps(堆) all over the country. These great heaps of stones are what we now call mountains. Ekon was buried under one of them himself.

My name is Mike and I'm new in the city. I'm twelve years old. My father is a bus driver and my mother is a nurse. They love me very much. This is my new friend Lucy. She is eleven years old. She is a good girl. She often tells me about the city. 

Here is a map of this city. Look! In the middle of the city is a park. It's between the hotel and the library. Next to the library is our school. Behind the school is a hospital. My mother works there. There is a bus station in front of our school. On the right of the bus station is the theatre. This city is not very big, but I love it. 

How much do you know about whales(鲸), a kind of fantastic sea animals? Now we are 1  an ocean park and learning much about them. 

We know whales 2  in the sea. Are they fish? A worker in the ocean park gives us the 3 , " Whales live in the sea and look like fish, but they aren't fish. "

We all get a 4  when we see such big whales. However, how big are they really? Another worker 5  us, " Blue whales are the biggest of all kinds of whales. They are 6  one of the biggest animals on earth. Most of them are more than 30 metres long and each of them is 7  enough to be about 130 tons(吨). "

We also learn about some interesting facts about whales. Whales 8  on sea life. Some eat seals and fish and some eat sea plants. Some whales like the blue whales don't have 9  and just swallow(吞下) food, but some can eat food with their teeth. And whales can't take in air under the sea 10 , so they need to jump out of water often. 

Are whales in danger? For some whales, landing(上岸) on beaches accidentally(意外地) is 11 . Beaches are not safe 12  for them. They need to stay in the 13 . Maybe they will lose their lives if they don't get back to the sea in time. Some kinds of whales are in danger14  people catch them for meat, fat and oil. To protect whales, people 15  stop killing them and polluting(污染) the ocean. 

Our visiting has taught us a lot about our fantastic friends—whales. 

 Our parents love us in their own ways. My father was fifty years old when I was five years old. I didn't know why he was home to 1 me. Dad did so many things for me 2 my school years. He would always make lunch for me to take it to the 3 . There would be a card with"I love you" on it. He always had some things to make me4 and let me know that he loved me. My friends all hoped that they could get that kind of 5 . I was so proud to have him as my6 . 

 When I left home to study to another city, I thought the7 would stop. 8 , my friends and I were excited that his cards continued (继续). I called him a lot. After I said9 , he always said, "Angie?" "Yes, Dad?" "I love you. " "I love you, too, Dad. "

 My friends called him" the 10 Dad in the world". And when they knew that my father was ill, they sent him their best 11 . He taught all of us about a father' s love. I wouldn't be 12 if my friends started sending messages to their children. 

 As he got 13 , I decided to come home. Those were the hardest days to go through. I was with him in a hospital for a few days14 he died. We sat together and watched TV. As I was preparing to 15 , he said, "Angie?" "Yes, Dad?" "I love you. " "I love you, too, Dad. "