A lovely rabbit, a cute hamster, some colourful fish, a strange-looking turtle or a snake...What kind of pet would you like? Lots of kids love animals and dream of having a pet.

    But not every family can have a pet. So, in many Western countries such as America, Britain and Australia, primary and middle school classes have their own pets. Looking after a pet is not as easy as you may think! Fish and turtles need clean water and the right food. Hamsters and rabbits need fresh vegetables and a warm place to sleep. Even little mice need good care! What would you feed a pet mouse? How about snakes?

    Class pets teach kids about nature and being responsible. Sometimes the pets have babies. It's very exciting but it also means having more animals to take care of!

    Students take turns to take care of their class pets. Every week the pets have a new “mum and dad” to look after them.

    You may want to know what happens to the class pets during school holidays. At the end of term, the teacher chooses a responsible student. This lucky student keeps the pets at his or her home for the holidays.

    Notes:

1) hamster n. 仓鼠   2) turtle n. 乌龟   3) responsible adj. 负责任的   4) choose v. 选择

    Benjamin Banneker was born a few months before another great American—George Washington. Benjamin was black, but he was not a slave (奴隶). He and his mother and his grandmother were free. Benjamin's grandmother came from England. In America she got a job and worked for many years to pay for her boat trip across the ocean. After working many years, she saved enough money to buy a farm. Benjamin lived with her for a while. She taught him to read, write and do arithmetic (算术).

    Benjamin's neighbours knew that he was clever. They were not surprised when he built a large wooden clock. He made each piece after studying a small pocket watch. The clock made him famous, for it was one of the first clocks built in America. People from other places began to send hard problems of all kinds to Benjamin to settle.

    Thomas Jefferson heard of Benjamin Banneker's ability to settle hard problems. He asked Banneker to help build the city that was to be the capital of the United States—Washington, D.C. Banneker worked hard on the plans for the city. He marked where the streets and buildings—the Capitol (美国国会大厦), the White House, and many other places should be built.

    Later, L' Enfant, the Frenchman who had designed the new city, had a quarrel, and went back to France in anger. He took all of the plans away. The workmen couldn't build without any plans to follow.

    For a while it seemed that the plans for the capital might have to be changed, but Benjamin Banneker remembered the plans he had helped draw. He drew each again as he had built each piece of his clock.

    If it weren't for Benjamin Banneker, Washington,

    D.C might look very different from the way it does today.

    Many years ago, most of our earth was covered with blocks (块) of ice. These ice blocks were as tall as high buildings in modern cities. Most of the ice was in the northern part of the world. Then the ice blocks started to move south. Cold and rain came with the ice. Animals had to move. At last, the ice began to melt (融化). After half a million years, most of it melted. More than half of the earth became covered with water. The climate became much warmer. Things began to grow. The earth began to look the way in which it looks today.

A famous designer（设计师）and a university student produce a new cup called Vessyl. They have spent several years1it. The smart cup can not only tell Coca Cola from Pepsi Cola,2also tell people whether they should drink water or not.

When people3liquid（液体）into this smart cup, a few seconds（秒）later, it can check this kind of liquid and tell them what it is. Then it gives4information about the drink, such as sugar, fat and calories. When people put the cup in their5, it can also show them condition of their bodies. If they are6, Vessyl will tell them to drink water.

"My partner and I want people to7healthy. In modern society, people are usually8busy to do exercise, or even drink enough water every day. They have much9. We produce this smart cup so that people can make a choice10," the designer said.

Lin Wenqian is a girl student. When she was on a busy bus last month, she felt someone touching her. She was so afraid.

Zhou Bin, 12, is a boy. He likes to chat on the Internet. But once a stranger said lots of dirty things to him.Zhou was so surprised!

What can students do when this kind of thing happens? Here is some advice from some teachers and students:

Don't be afraid. Ask him or her to stop at once. If he or she doesn't listen, try to turn to others around you and call for help.

Keep calm. Be serious and keep a cool face. Say you don't like it and show you are angry.

If there is no one around, use clever ways. If you only shout or fight to make them angry, it could make things worse! They may take your life. Find excuses (借口) to run away. Say things like you are waiting for your parents or you want to go to the washroom.

There are 24 solar terms(节气)in China. They can guide farming activities and are believed to be an outstanding achievement by ancient Chinese. 

Grain Rain" is the sixth solar term in the 24 solar terms and it is the last solar term in spring. It falls on April 20 this year. The term"Grain Rain" came from a folk story. When Cang Jie created writing characters, grain came down from sky like rainfall. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor named this day as the "Grain Rain". When this day comes, the number of rainfall increases. It is very important for the growth of the grain. 

Nowadays, different areas have different customs during "Grain Rain", Picking and cooking tea leaves: "Grain Rain Tea" is the name for the tea made around the time of "Grain Rain" in the south of China. it is considered as one of the best kinds of tea. it not only has a strong and good taste but also can last for a long time in water. 

Blessing(祈福)to the sea: "Grain Rain" is a perfect time for fishing. Since it gets warmer and warmer, the sea also gets warmer and more fishes swim in the sea. Fishermen in the north often bless for safety and success on the sea. 

Killing insects: As the weather gets warmer. insects become more active. Farmers in Shandong, Shanxi and Shaanxi often use different methods to kill insects. 

Taking a bath: In some of the north-west areas, people take the shower in the river during "Grain Rain" period. They think it can help them be far away from the bad luck.