"The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence. "That's an old saying in English. It means other places often look better, more interesting than the place where you live. Some people worry that young Chinese are beginning to feel that way. They see young Chinese ignoring Chinese culture and, instead, buying Japanese cartoon books, watching Korean soap operas and even celebrating Western holidays.

 Foreign books and soap operas are good, but Chinese writers and actors are just as good. As for holidays, Christmas is nice, but it can never have the meaning for Chinese that Spring Festival has, and the West has nothing to compare with Mid-Autumn Festival. And let's not forget the part of Chinese culture I like best: its friendliness. Not all countries are as warm as China.

 It's good to enjoy other cultures and to learn from them, but they cannot replace your own culture. It's good to look on the other side of the fence, but make sure you take a good long look. You will find that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence.

 Judge the following sentences true (T) or false (F) according to the passage.

    It's important to develop the healthy habits in your daily life. The following will help you become healthier and keep perfect shape.

    Eat properly. A healthy diet is very important for everybody. Breakfast is the most important meal in a day. Doctors suggest that students' breakfast should include fruit, eggs, milk, rice or noodles, because these can offer them necessary energy, help them listen carefully in class and keep them healthy. Eat enough for lunch and little for supper. But remember that too much sugar is bad for your teeth and blood. You shouldn't have too many sweet snacks and desserts in your diet, even though such food tastes delicious.

    Keep off germs(病菌). Daily tooth cleaning reduces the amount of germs which will spread diseases. Germs in the mouth arc likely to enter the blood and cause illness, even heart disease. Even if you're not sick, always remember to cough or into your arms instead of your hands because hands can spread germs to others when you touch something else. Besides, washing hands is necessary after going to the toilet or before having a meal. And you'd better rub both hands while washing them.

    Exercise regularly. Regular exercise can improve your moods and balance. What's more, it's good for bones. There are many forms of exercise: walking or running for about 30 minutes a day playing ball games twice or three times a week, swimming or dancing often. You can choose your favorite to practise regularly. You will not only feel energetic but also think better after doing exercise.

    Stay connected. Having regular communication with friends is the key to reducing stress. And sharing happiness and sadness, exchanging information with others can also help improve memory. Having a friend or a circle of friends can help you feel good.

    What can we do to help protect the environment? It seems useless to just pick up a piece of trash(垃圾) ,but what will happen if you keep doing it every day? Tommy Kleyn, an ordinary man from the Netherlands, may give you the answer. Tommy Kieyn walked past a polluted river on his way to work every day. It used to be a beautiful view, but the trash on the bank made it dirty and smelly. So Tommy decided to pick up the trash along the river a little bit at a time after work. "It took me about 30 minutes to fill one garbage(垃圾) bag with trash, but one garbage bag didn't seem helpful in a place as polluted as this. I decided to fill one bag of trash each day as I passed by," Tommy said. Every day, Tommy took pictures of the river and shared them on his Facebook page. To his surprise, in just six days, he had made great progress with his cleanup effort(努力) . He felt happy and kept doing it. Gradually, more and more people knew about Tommy's story. Other people in the community began following in his footsteps and cleaning up trash on their way home, too. "The idea is to encourage people to fill one garbage bag with litter each day. It only takes 30 minutes, but it really makes a difference and you will be amazed at how good you feel afterwards, "he said. People from all over the world have been moved and inspired(激励)by Tommy's story. No effort is useless if we keep doing it every day. Ordinary people like you and me can also make a difference to the world we live in if we take actions right now.

    Back in the old days, young men were expected to go out and find jobs to support their families. Most boys dropped out of school(辍学) early, and went to get jobs as teenagers. Some just aged 13 became factory workers or farmers.  

    When Mark Twain finished the fifth grade, he left school and went to work at a printing shop. Thomas Edison got his first job when he was 12. He was a newspaper boy. This way, Mark Twain and Edison were able to help their families financially (经济上), since they did not come from wealthy homes. 

    Although they went to work at a young age, they didn't give up their dreams. Mark Twain tried many different jobs in his life, and he got a lot of experiences which he used as foundations (根据) of his stories. Thomas Edison came up with the ideas of his inventions while calling out the news headlines (标题). 

    No matter what job you are doing, you may find you are preparing for the future. Take every chance you can, and maybe one day you will become the next Mark Twain or Thomas Edison!

    School is not the safe place as it used to be. How to help students stay away from danger? There are many activities that teachers can do to teach safety in an easy way. Here are some stories from the students who have had the safety class in NO.1 Middle School.

    Milk Smith: About Sports Safety

    Once, our head teacher made up a story about sports safety. All we needed to do was to point out safe and unsafe sports behaviour in the story. From this lesson, we knew we should always do warm-up exercises before playing sports and drink some water after that.

    Amy Young: About Classroom Safety

    Yes, making up stories is a good way to learn and enjoy ourselves. We were once asked to make up a story about a boy called Naughty. He always did something naughty in the classroom and got himself into trouble. In this way, we learned to behave well and get on well with each other.

    Frank Green: About Fire Safety

    In our school, we have a fire emergency response practice(火灾应急演习) in September every year. So we know where to go if there is a fire in school. We learn to use the fire extinguisher(灭火器), too. But I don't think we should be allowed to put out the fire alone. It's too dangerous for young students like us.

    Do you want to be in good health? Try to do the following things! You can become stronger.

    Drink eight cups of water every day. Water helps your body in many ways.

    Don't forget to eat your breakfast. Breakfast gives you energy your body needs for the morning.

    Go for a walk every day after meals. Walking is a good exercise, and people need exercise for good health.

    Stretch for five minutes after sitting for one or two hours. Stretching (伸展) your arms and legs is good for your body.

    Have a rest about twenty minutes when you are tired. You may do something different to take a rest.

    For example, get up and walk, sit down to listen to music and so on.