My husband and I are saving thousands of dollars every year by growing our own vegetables in our backyard. We learn something new every year and this website has been made to share tips with other people that would like to grow some of their own food.

    It's true that if you are starting from fresh, it will cost a little bit of money to get started. However, once everything is set up, the cost is very small and the rewards are huge. The size of your family and how many vegetables you eat determine exactly how much money you can save every year. We do a lot of juicing, so we are saving thousands of dollars by growing some carefully selected greens.

    There is an amazing sense of accomplishment when you grow your own vegetables. Vegetables out of your vegetable garden don't get any fresher, tastier or more satisfying. The whole family can get involved in this hobby and kids will learn where food comes from and appreciate nature even more.

    Our approach to vegetable gardening is completely different from the normal one. We are doing it in the lazy way with zero digging and fertilizing(施肥). The way we grow our vegetables is to emulate natural ecosystems. No rows of carrots can be found in our garden beds. Rain forests seem to do just fine without human interference(干预) or having plants sown in rows, so we have applied the same principle to our vegetable garden and we care producing more vegetables than ever.

    By copying nature we spend little time working in the vegetable garden but get a much better crop than previous years when we followed the rules. What can I say? We're such rebels.(叛逆者）

    It's a good idea for families to talk about what they would do to escape（逃跑，逃离）a fire. You'll want to talk about escape plans and escape routes，so let's start here.

    An escape plan can help every member of a family get out of a burning house. The idea is to get outside quickly and safely. Smoke from a fire can make it hard to see where things are，so it's important to learn and remember the different ways out of your home.

    If you live in an apartment building，you'll want to know the best way to the stair or other emergency exits. If you're in a room with the door closed when the fire breaks out，you need to take a few extra steps：

    Check to see if there's heat or smoke coming in the cracks(裂缝) around the door.

    If you see smoke coming under the door—don't open the door!

    If you don't see smoke—touch the door. If the door is hot or very warm—don't open the door!

    If you don't see smoke—and the door is not hot—then use your fingers to lightly touch the doorknob(门把手)．If the doorknob is hot or very warm—don't open the door!

    If the doorknob feels cool，and you can't see any smoke around the door，you can open the door very carefully and slowly. When you open the door，if you feel a burst of heat，or smoke pours into the room，quickly shut the door and make sure it is really closed. If there's no smoke or heat when you open the door，go toward your escape route exit.

    I grew up with a fat dad 450 pounds at his heaviest. Every week he would try a new diet, and my family ended up eating whatever strange food he was trying at that moment.

    After my third-grade year, my dad landed a life-changing job in Manhattan. My mom, my little sister and I had to move away from our hometown, Chicago, and leave my grandmother and her beautiful food behind.

    Leaving my grandmother was far more frightening than the move to New York City.  There would be no more special weekends at my grandmother's house, the only place I can remember feeling happy, safe and nourished (有营养的). It was what I desired. In this new city, I felt extremely alone and lost, and I missed my grandmother terribly.

    My grandmother knew just how I felt. And she knew the cure. Every week, she would send me a card with a$ 20 bill, a recipe and a list of what to buy at the market. It kept us bonded, and her recipes filled my body and soul.

    Over the years, I have grown to better understand my father's struggles with weight and the toll (代价) it took on him and those who love him. I have come to realize he was driven not by vanity (自负) or selfishness as much as by a deep pain, I  And in spite of growing up in such an unhealthy eating environment ( or perhaps be-cause of it), as an adult I found a passion and a career as a nutrition consultant.

    Today, my father weighs 220 pounds and is a vegan(素食者). How he got there is a story I hope to share in the coming weeks. More importantly, food is no longer a barrier that keeps us apart, but a bridge that keeps us connected. There is nothing my dad enjoys more than talking with me about dietary theories and his weightloss victories. And now I am the one regularly sending recipe cards to my father s house, just as my grandmother did for me.

    J.K. Rowling is the writer of Harry Potter, which is now one of the bestsellers in the world.

    J.K. Rowling was born in Bristol on July 31st, 1965. She has one sister who is two years younger than her. Both girls loved listening to their father reading bedtime stories to them. They especially loved stories about magical worlds. Rowling wrote her first story, called Rabbit, at the age of six.

    After she graduated from the university, Rowling worked as a translator in London. During this time, on a long train trip in the summer of 1990, the idea came to her of a boy who has magic but doesn't know it. In 1992 Rowling began to teach English. She lived with her baby daughter, Jessica, and spent much time finishing the first Harry Potter book for young readers. It appeared in June 1997. To her surprise, the book was greatly successful. The film came out in November 2001. Now Harry Potter series(系列) is popular with people of all ages and about 60 million books were sold in 200 countries.

    Why has the series been so successful? There are a few things. Many other magical stories take place in faraway lands or in past or future times. But Harry lives in modern England. He's also a very normal boy: polite, friendly, brave and clever. So when other children read about Harry, they can imagine being like him.

    J.K. Rowling is very happy with the success, and she is now busy finishing the whole series of seven books. She's writing full time and she's really enjoying life. She says she will go on living a normal life with her daughter and writing children's books.

    What is the number one favorite pet in the UK? If you think the answer is dogs, you are wrong. There are 8.6 million cats and 8.3 million dogs in Britain according to recent figures. But experts predict that there will be more dogs than cats next year as dogs become more and more popular.

    Dogs as decorations

    We like to spend time with our pets. The Queen is famous for her affection for dogs and is often photographed with them. Nowadays some dog owners are more extreme — a few TV celebrities even take their dogs shopping or to restaurants. Chihuahuas are especially popular as "handbag dogs" because they are so tiny.

    Dog holidays

    People are also giving their pets holidays. Many UK hotels and holiday parks now welcome dogs as guests. What about owners who go abroad? They can leave their pets at a dog hotel or dog spa while they are away. Some even provide their dog guests with a TV.

    Dogs are for life

    The British charity, Dogs Trust, finds homes for thousands of lost and abandoned dogs every year. Their famous slogan "A dog is for life and not just for Christmas" was created in the 1970s to teach people about the responsibility of owning a dog. Dogs Trust told British people not to give dogs as gifts or treat them like toys.

    Dogs on TV

    Victoria Sitwell is the host of the popular TV programme called "It's me or the dog". In the show Victoria helps dog owners with their pets' bad behaviour. She tries to find solutions to problems such as a Dalmatian who thinks he owns the house and won't let the family sit on the sofa, dogs that will only eat ice cream and biscuits and even a bulldog who uses the owner's bed as a toilet.

    Fashion for dogs

    You can shop online or on the high street for the latest in dog clothes and accessories. Specialist shops sell items such as dog boots, dog fancy dress costumes, dog coats, dog dresses and dog pants.

Much of Earth is unexplored. An ocean census (普查) hopes to change that.

"Earth" has always been an odd choice of name for the third planet from the Sun. After all, two-thirds of its surface is covered not by earth at all, but by oceans of water.

Because humans are land animals, most of the Earth remains under-explored. Marine (海洋的) biologists think the oceans might host more than 2 million species of marine animals, of which they have so far identified perhaps a tenth.

A new initiative hopes to change this. Launched in London on April 27th, Ocean Census aims to discover 100, 000 new species of marine animal over the coming decade. It is backed by Nekton, a British marine-research institute, and the Nippon foundation, Japan's biggest charitable foundation. Its first ship, the Norwegian icebreaker Kronprins Haakon, set sail on April 29th, bound for the Barents Sea.

The initiative is happening for two reasons. One is that the longer scientists wait, the less there will be to identify. Climate change is heating the oceans, as well as making them more acidic (酸的) as carbon dioxide dissolves goes into the water. Already around half the world's coral reefs (珊瑚)—thought to be home to around 25% of all ocean species—have been lost. Oliver Steeds, Nekton's founder, says that one of Ocean Census's priorities will be identifying species thought to be in the greatest danger from climate change. The second reason is technological. Marine biologist s find about 2, 000 new species a year, a rate hardly changed since Darwin's day. Ocean Census is betting it can go faster.

Exactly what the new effort might turn up is impossible to predict. But history suggests it will be fruitful. Half a century ago scientists discovered hot vents (喷口) on the sea bed. These days, such vents are one possible candidate for the origin of all life on Earth. There are more practical benefits, too. Many drugs, for example, come originally from biological substance. An ocean full of unidentified life will almost certainly prove a rich mine from which to mine more.