Be a Green Child

    What does it mean to be green? “Green” is more than just a color.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Why green? Plants are green, and without them the Earth wouldn't be such a lovely home for us human beings. What can we do? Here's a four-step guide to being green.

    Reduce It!

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For instance, a shorter shower means you used less water and less fuel since your house uses to run the heater that warmed up the water.

    Reuse It!

    Sometimes people call ours a “throwaway society”. It means that we're a little to willing to throw away old stuff (东西) and buy new stuff.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    For instance, if your baby brother becomes older and loses interest in his plastic basketball hoop (篮圈), why not give it to another family who has a little kid?

    Recycle It!

    Recycling has never been easier. Many communities will pick it up right in front of your house and some towns even require it. Recycled goods go to a recycling center, where they can be turned into new cans, bottles, and paper.

    Enjoy It!

    It's true that rubbish and pollution are problems, but the Earth remains a huge and beautiful place that's ready for you to explore.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Go for a hike, visit local nature centers and gardens, and climb up mountains.

    But before you travel the globe, take a look at your own backyard. Is there a spot where you could plant a tree or put in a little fruit or vegetable garden? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It also means taking special steps to protect the environment.

B. Many times, even if you no longer need something, someone else just might.

C. You can start locally by visiting the naturally beautiful spots in your city.

D. Turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth.

E. Get out there and get your hands dirty.

F. You can watch with pride as your tree takes root and your garden plants grow.

G. When you use less of something, you do a good thing for the Earth.

    When your friends suddenly stop talking to you, it can leave you confused on what to do next.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, basically, your friends are either really upset with you, or it has nothing to do with you at all. But how can you tell? What's more, what should you do?

    Find out if they have shut all their friends out or just you. It's important to figure out if your friends have moved on from everyone, or just you. If it's just you, then you probably did something at some point{#blank#}2{#/blank#} They try to get their forgiveness.

    Reflect on yourself. Have your friends been upset with you for a while? Would you get it if they were? Not all people yell or scream when they're upset.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you fail to hear exactly what they're saying, or you keep doing the same thing over and over again, they may move on and completely shut you out.

    Communicate in a different way. There's always the possibility that your friends haven't shut you out completely, but they are bored with a certain form of communication, like texting or chatting online.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If so, trying a different method to reach your friends could make things better.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you can't get responses from your friends, consider reconciling (和解) with them at some point in the future. Send them a note—Let them know you care about them and leave the door open for them.

A. Give them a helping hand.

B. So sometimes they take a break from it.

C. If you feel it was something bad, apologize for it.

D. Let your friends know you're open to friendships.

E. There are many reasons why your friends might shut you out.

F. Your friends may not answer your calls or emails suddenly.

G. Some people will talk to you calmly about something you did.

Real-life Room Escape Games

    Real-life room escape games are a type of physical adventure game in which people are locked in a room with other participants and have to use the things in the room to settle a series of puzzles, find clues, and escape the room within a set time limit.

    The game are based on Escape the Room video games, such as Crimson Room and QP-Shot, created by TAKAGISM Inc. By Toshimitsu Takagi in 2005, in which the player is locked inside a room and must explore his or her surroundings in order to escape. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Other inspirations include adventure board games and movies. Real-life room escape games are becoming popular in the United States, Japan, and China. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, some games require you escape prison cells while others require you escape space stations.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Soon, they were exported to North America, Asia and Australia. Examples include the two pioneer companies Hint Hunt and Adventure Rooms.

    The games were so successful that new locations began opening up across China, in cities big and small, according to Want China Times. In the southern city of Shenzhen, for example, the first escape game location opened last August. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} "These real-life escape games can help those who stay at home on their computers and iPads all day to experience real social circles," Tian Xiaochuan, who owns two room escape game stores in Jinan, told Want China Times. Earlier this year, The South China Morning Post said the real-life escape games are a hit among "highly stressed students and overworked young professionals". {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Some players get so involved that they tear down equipment or decorations inside their "prisons", as Zhu Yumeng, chief operating officer of Beijing room escape game store Taoquan told China Daily.

A. Each game adds local themes to settings.

B. And seven new game locations quickly followed.

C. They should also be brave enough to face their fears.

D. Sometimes the excitement becomes a bit much, though.

E. Weekend or day event escape games have been held in some stores.

F. Permanent real life escape games in a fixed location were first opened in Europe.

G. Players must be observant and use their critical thinking skills to escape the room.

    Finding spare change or an extra dollar in your pocket always feels like a victory, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Without thinking, you might hear the familiar rhyme in your head when you spot one on the sidewalk:" Find a penny, pick it up. All day long you'll have good luck."

    According to one theory, people originally thought pennies would bring good luck because of religious beliefs{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. This theory also fueled other superstitions(迷信行为) like charm bracelets and metal horseshoes, which are also "lucky. "Plus, metal currency like pennies were linked to more wealth and thus more luck. That might be a straightforward explanation, but other eleven strange origins of other everyday superstition sure aren't.

    Another reason people might have claimed pennies would bring good luck comes down to the battle between good and evil, which is like two sides of the coin. Finding a penny heads up. meant you'd have luck on your side, but tails up would mean the opposite,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Some people say that if you find a penny tails up, you should turn it over to make it heads up so that it can bring luck to whoever finds it next. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The Irish half-penny, which stopped circulating in 1987, is especially lucky to anyone who finds one. Then there's also the old saying" Something old, something new something borrowed, something blue, and a penny in the shoe. " {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Pennies from heaven is a way of thinking

B. although the exact reasoning for this is unknown

C. but even finding something worth as little as a penny is satisfying

D. No matter what the reason is, pennies are part of many lucky traditions

E. Placing g silver sixpence in the bride's left shoe is said to be a symbol of wealth

F. These are all things brides should wear on their wedding day for good luck in their marriage

G Folktales from ancient civilizations said metals were gifts from gods intended to protect people from evil

    Why Ultra-pure(超高纯的)Water Is Actually Bad for Your Health Many people are surprised to hear that drinking purified water on a regular, daily basis is actually dangerous. So why is 100% ultra-pure water not good for us? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    There is no such thing as truly pure water in the natural world. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}When these minerals dissolve(溶解)in water, they form what we commonly refer to as electrolytes(电解质).They allow us to perform all the "bioelectrical" functions such as moving, heart-beating, thinking, and seeing.

    But pure water fails to provide these fundamental electrolytes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You can think of it this way: imagine a room with no gravity, split in half down the middle. You throw a couple hundred balls into the left side of the room. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} But if you cut a bunch of holes in the barrier, they will slowly start to spread over to the right side. Eventually, they will be evenly distributed across the entire room.

    The water in your organs stays at very specific levels of minerals. When you drink ultra-purified water, it pulls the minerals out of your blood just like the right side of the space room pulled some of the bouncy balls over from the left. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Purified water can only be recommended as a way of drawing poisons out of the body. Once this is accomplished, the continued drinking of purified water is a bad idea.

A.Purified water is an active absorber.

B.Since there's no gravity, they bounce around everywhere.

C.It actually tries to rob your body of them when you drink it.

D.Even water in the purest lakes contains small amounts of minerals.

E.If you drank enough of it, the lack of minerals would eventually kill you.

F.The simple answer is that ultra-pure water doesn't provide the natural minerals we need.

G.This is why materials tend to move from more concentrated areas to less concentrated ones.

    What do you order when you go to a Chinese restaurant? Do you start with an appetizer of fried dumplings and then move onto General Tso's chicken? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Tofu is made from soybeans(黄豆).There are different types of tofu, from soft creamy silken tofu to pressed extra firm tofu. The difference is the amount of water in them. The longer the tofu is pressed, the more water is squeezed out and the tofu becomes denser(更密实)and chewier.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In the letter to his friend John Bartram, Franklin cites(引用)a description of a type of Chinese cheese made from soybeans called "teu-fu" by Fernandez Navarette who published accounts of his travels to China in the late 1600's.

    However, there isn't much documentation of tofu production in the United States. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    In 1917, as part of an effort to develop new sources of protein for American soldiers during World War I, the United States Department of Agriculture sent Chinese-born doctor Yamei Kin a dietitian well-known for promoting tofu as an nutritious meat alternative, to China to study soybeans {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    It wasn't until the 1970's that tofu started to become better known, during a wave of interest in vegetarianism(素食主义), natural food, and less wasteful food sources. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And the restaurant, chain Chipotle successfully added tofu to its menu a few years ago.

A. Americans are not big consumers of tofu.

B. Let's take a look at tofu and its history in the United States.

C. Or do you start with deep-fried tofu and then choose Ma Po tofu instead?

D. Today, you can buy different types of tofu in many American supermarkets.

E. Despite the government's efforts, interest among the American public never picked up.

F. One of the earliest references to tofu by an American is in a letter by Benjamin Franklin.

G. It is likely that by the early 1900's, cities with large Asian populations had small tofu shops.