It may be difficult to start high school. Thinking about making new friends might make you feel nervous.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}You are going to school with a group of students of your age. Here are several suggestions for you to follow.

    Forget your fear and just talk to someone. It's easier said than done. But try to take a deep breath and find your voice. Don't be afraid to approach (接近) people.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Sit in the middle of the classroom with as many new friends around you as possible.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Take part in after-class activities that interest you. Try to make friends in the clubs. If you don't join anything, you will be just going to class and then going home. Being in a club makes you more social.

    Stay clean. No one likes a bad smell that could knock someone over. Shower every day, brush your teeth and wash your hair.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Be respectful (尊重的) of people's differences.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}And everyone believes in different things. It is a good thing to have different friends with different opinions because you can each share your own.

    Clothes are traditionally made of natural materials, such as cotton, leather and wool. They are all from plants or animals, but that doesn't mean they're friendly to the earth. For example, farmers have to use a lot of chemicals to grow cotton plants.

    Scientists are now looking for new ways to make clothing materials. They hope the new materials are both comfortable and good for the earth. Scientists have worked out how to make materials out of cornhusks (谷壳), chicken feathers and rice straws.

    "They used to be useless things. We always have a problem of how to deal with them," Yang, a scientist says. "Now, we can turn them into beautiful materials. Chicken feathers are better than other things. They have small air pockets like honeycombs. That means it will be very warm if you use them to make a jacket or sweater, and I think more and more people will like to buy these kinds of clothes."

    We always think that it's OK for us to leave our plants home during our vacation as plants won't scream like pets, right?

    A recent study done by a group of scientists at the Tel Aviv University has discovered that some plants will scream when they are under stress.

    The research was carried out on tomato plants and tobacco plants by cutting their stems (茎) and depriving (剥夺) them of water. A microphone was placed 10cm away from them. When their stems were cut, the plants started "screaming" between 20 and 100 kilohertz, and the scientists guess that this scream is probably meant to warn other plants nearby.

    When the tomato plants' stems were cut, 25 ultrasonic (超声的) pain sounds were recorded in an hour, and at the same time, 15 ultrasonic pain sounds were recorded from the tobacco plants. When they were deprived of water, the tomato plants recorded even more pain sounds with 35 pain sounds in an hour while the tobacco plants recorded about 11 pain sounds.

    The plants also acted differently to different kinds of stresses. For example, the tobacco plants gave out a stronger "scream" when they were deprived of water than when their stems were cut. But plants that were in no immediate (立刻的) danger gave out less than one ultrasonic sound per hour.

    The group of scientists said that plants are not as quiet as we had always thought, but in fact their voices are so high-pitched that we just can't hear them.

    Last year, another study has found out that plants feel pain when they are touched or hurt and they will give off a terrible smell.

    Wonderful Events

    Horse Racing All Year Round

    The races start at 3 p.m. every Sunday. And the racetrack is only 20 miles away. There is a lot of parking place here. So you don't need to worry about where to park. We also provide presents for free. However, no children are allowed to go in.

100 Years of Pictures

    There are plenty of photos on show (now and then). You can see the Tajin history from 1900 to 2000. The show starts on February 1st and goes on to April 30th. Our address is City Art Museum 730 High Street. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Monday.

    Weekend Sales

    Everything is at the great sale (20% — 60% off) from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. this Saturday. Don't you want to save time and money? Come and visit us at Book Grandview Mall to realize your dreams! As soon as you come here, you'll fall in love with prices we offer.

    Dance Party

    You must be tired after working for a long time. You need to take breaks away from heavy work to celebrate a special date. Please come to Live Band, Country Club with your sweet heart on Sunday night. We prepare a dance party, which is from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. The price is $ 25 a couple or $ 15 a person. Enjoy your sleepless night!

Shandong Province held the 36th Weifang International Kite Festival on the third Saturday of April in2019. A lot of kite fans from all over the world went there to join in the interesting festival on that day. Different kinds of beautiful kites flew in the sky.

Over 2, 000 years ago, a man named Gongshu Ban from Shandong Province invented a kite. It was made of bamboo. In the following centuries, kite-making developed well in China.

The first Weifang International Kite Festival was celebrated in 1984. In 1983, the Chairman of the Seattle Kite Association David Checkley took part in a kite show and later he visited several kite manufacturers(制造商). He found that kites made in Weifang were the best. He suggested holding the first Weifang International Kite Festival there. After that, Weifang began to hold it in April every year.

At the fifth festival, Weifang became known as the" Kite Capital of the World". Today, Weifang is home to over 300 kite factories. People in Weifang sell their products to about 40 countries and regions(地区) , making up 85 %of the domestic(国内的)markets and 65 %of the foreign markets.

However, there are also some problems. "Few people would like to learn about traditional kite-making," said Yang Hongwei. Yang's grandfather was once one of the best kite makers in Weifang. Nowadays, Yang still uses traditional ways and skills to make kites. In her opinion, only traditional things can last for a long time. Since the1990s, she has travelled to many countries to teach and take part in kite shows. "I won't stop teaching the ways of making kites as long as someone wants to learn. Meanwhile, the government should hold more kite festivals in China or even overseas, "she said.

After a relaxing weekend, children have to go back to school on Mondays. For parents, they should do something helpful (有帮助的) to let their children get to school on time.

Let children take a good shower. It's good for children to take a shower before they go to bed. It can not only help them sleep well but also save time next morning.

Ask children to go to bed early. School starts at 8：00 a.m. So please let your children go to bed before 9：30 p.m. Your children should (应该) sleep for about nine hours every day. This is quite important because they have to get up early next day.

Make a good breakfast for children. Breakfast can help children study better (更好的) in the day. It can help students listen to teachers carefully (细致地) and think well in class. Also, it's good for their health.

Getting to school on time is very important for your children. So please help them. If you can do the things above (以上), they will study and live happily.