You know that eating a sensible diet and getting plenty of exercise help make your body healthy and strong.But do you know that there are ways to make your brain healthier and smarter? Here are some steps toward a smarter brain.

Limit your TV viewing

    ① Never spend too much time on TV viewing, for it needs very little brain activities.Your brain will become weak just as your muscles do.If you do watch TV, choose something educational and meaningful.

Travel

    Travelling to another country forces you to see and do things in a fresh way, bringing stimulation to the brain.

    Learn a new language

    Learning a new language involves different learning methods.Learning a language sharpens your brain and helps prevent memory problems that you may meet in later years.

Read often

    As you read, take the time to look up people or places that aren't familiar.Reading makes your vocabulary much larger if you always search for words and definitions that you don't know.Each week, choose an animal, a bird or fish, and read everything you can about it.Stretch your brain as you become an expert on the subject.

Calculate （计算）when you shop

    As you put things in your grocery cart, total everything in your head.See how close you get to the actual total.

    Use your non-dominant（不占优势的）hand

    If you are right-handed, use your left hand for everyday activities, or use your right hand if you are left-handed.Doing familiar things in a different way will make your brain create new neural （神经）networks.

Wechat（微信）

    ② Read messages from various people.They have different interests.And some say that learning to express yourself in just 100 words is a great brain challenge.

    Have a try and do these every day.Little by little you can get into the habit of challenging your brain, and make your brain smarter!

    Look! This is my dog. His name is Cody. He is two years old. He is brown. This is his hair. It is gray. Isn't it beautiful?

    Hi, this is my telephone. It is called Mini. It is yellow. I like it a lot. You can call me at 85567789.

    My name is Jerry Zhang, and I am a father of two young daughters one is about four years old and the other is only about one. I come from China and now live in the USA.

One day, my older daughter, Madison, told me she didn't want to be Chinese. Those days she was crazy about the book characters Madeline and Eloise. She kept asking me why she was Chinese and they weren't, and how she could have blonde or red hair like them.

    This made me look for books with Asian (亚洲的) characters for Madison to read. However, I only found a few, and they were heavily cultural, and Madison didn't connect (把……联系在一起) herself with any if the characters in them. And she wasn't interested in them at all. Then she told me again that she didn't want to be Chinese, and it broke my heart.

    In most of the books for children in the USA, the characters look like Americans. Few of them have Asian faces, although there are over 17 million Asians and Asian Americans in this country. I think it's important for Asian children to see themselves in books as interesting and smart kids.

    So I created (创作) a book for Madison. Pepper Zhang in the book is an Asian girl. Her imagination (想象) takes her on a trip to creativity and art! I want my children to know-that being Chinese or being Asian is a great thing, too.

Everyone spends most of his or her time with family members in their life. Some may take {#blank#}1{#/blank#} walk and some may talk together. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} do your family members like to do together?

A few days ago, I watched a movie with my son because of the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (film) review (评论). After {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (read) it, my son wanted to watch it with me. The film is about the love between father {#blank#}5{#/blank#} son. I used two words {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (describe) the love between them when I finished watching— silent love. 

This film is very excellent. It shows us a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (touch) story. My son said some images (画面) in the film reminded him {#blank#}8{#/blank#} me. I looked {#blank#}9{#/blank#} him quietly (安静地). I was really moved after hearing my {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (son) words. 

I believe it will be one of the most moving films I've seen in my life. 

Spain is famous for its tomato festival, called La Tomatina. It happens in the town of Bunol in the Valencia region in Spain on the last Wednesday of August every year. During the festival there are all kinds of activities, but the most exciting part is the tomato fight. It takes place(发生) at the end of long celebration. You're encouraged to throw tomatoes in the fight. There're many stories about how the festival began. One of the stories goes that during the 1940s, some friends started a tomato fight, while another story is about a local band. Anyway, everyone in Bunol seems to have a different story. 

Before the tomato fight, there are parades(游行), musical bands, street parties and so on. On the day of the fight, shopkeepers cover their windows and doors in order to keep away from the tomato fight. At the same time, thousands of tourists and local people come to the town square together. Then large trucks(卡车) full of tomatoes arrive. From the back of the large trucks, a great town band start to throw tomatoes at others. Then the crowds fight back. throwing the tomatoes at anything and anyone. Soon the streets are in the sea of red tomato juice. 

Everyone is supposed to obey a small number of rules. You must squash(压烂) the tomato before throwing it and you are allowed to throw nothing but tomatoes. 

It is usually over in less than half an hour. Everyone then sets off to the river to clean up. Sounds like fun!