Charlie and his family don't always live in their house. Sometimes they live in a houseboat. There are 4 rooms in the bottom of the boat. One of them is his parents' bedroom. Another one is his bedroom. Then there is a kitchen and a bathroom. Charlie's bedroom is small, but he likes it very much. It has a small window. He doesn't open it because it's under the water. When the boat is in the water, Charlie can look out of his window and see many fish under the water. Once he saw an old car under the water. He thought it was funny to see the fish swim through the car windows.

    In the school year, Charlie's family keep their boat on the bank (岸) of the lake. In summer Charlie and his family often take their boat out to the middle of the lake. They stay on the lake for a few weeks. Then they go fishing for their food. Charlie's mother grows vegetables in pots on the boat, so they also have vegetables to eat. When it is very hot, they jump into the water and go swimming. Charlie thinks a houseboat is the best place to live in.

    Do you know something about the holiday camps in Hong Kong? In the past, the students in Hong Kong usually join an English holiday camp in their holidays. And their parents didn't go with them, though they were very young.

    Now they still enjoy joining many kinds of holiday camps without their parents. Many parents let their children join some kinds of holiday camps in order to learn some useful knowledge in the life and also learn some knowledge about living skills, science, reading, writing and so on. The most important thing for the children to join the holiday camps is to learn to look after themselves.

    Holiday camps in Hong Kong are not so expensive. Most families can afford to sent their children there for study or for making their bodies strong.

    It is said that students in Hong Kong have much knowledge about many things. Perhaps it has something to do with all kinds of holiday camps.

Several years ago, when I was teaching at a middleschool, a girl sent me a message. She found someone write a very1messageon her locker. She made a picture of it and then sent it to me asking for2.

A few hours later, I noticed that on herInstagram she had posted that picture and asked if anyone3whodid that.

Well, the following day, the girl came to mewith a boy. She showed me a4she had received. It was a heartfeltapology. I asked her if she knew who had done it, and the boy repliedembarrassedly(尴尬地), "It was me. I don't know why I did it,but I know it was5. So I wrote her this note. I6wantedto do something to try to make up for my meanness."

My heart felt so full of7forthis boy. I told him how8he was to come forward and how amazing itwas that he did something9to correct his mistake. I10thegirl and asked her if she could forgive him. Without hesitation, she said, "Yes."

I think middle school students are not littlechildren any more, and not grown-ups yet. It is normal that they make mistakes.Every day I remind myself that although I am an educator, my students trulylove me.

Becky was in the bathroom. She was brushing her1 and the tap（水龙头）was on. "Turn that tap off. " a voice came out. Becky was scared. She looked around，but saw no one. "Turn off that tap. You are2 water!"

"Who. . . who are you?" Becky's voice was3 . 

"I'm a drop of water. Do you know4 I'm from?"

"From the tap，I think，" said Becky. 

"Yes. But a few days ago，I was in a cloud. Then I dropped into a river. The river carried me to a lake. Then I travelled to your city and it was time5 cleaned up. "

"Get cleaned up?" Becky asked. 

"Yes. I was6 during my journey，so they must clean me up. Then I travelled7 the pipes（水管） under the ground. I waited there8 you called me，and here I am. After you've finished with me，I'll go to a sewage plant（污水处理厂）. Then they'll push me into the river and I'll go 9 to the sea again. "

 "Again?"

 "Yes，So10 not to pollute me or waste me!"

Schools change PE classes to help students recover* from COVID-19*.

On March 17, Beijing made changes to the PE test in the 2023 zhongkao: All students will get good scores if they take the exam. 

Some cities such as Taiyuan canceled* the 1, 000-meter and 800-meter runs. Other cities like Wenzhou let students choose if they would like to run in the exam. This is to make it safe for students after recovering from COVID-19.

Knowing about your health

At the start of the term, every student in Xi'an Jingkai No. 3 Middle School did a survey*. 

The questions were:

●Did you get COVID-19?

●How many days did it take you to recover?

●   ▲    

"The school wants to make a plan for the PE classes according to students' health. "said their PE teacher Liu Na. "Students feel differently after COVID-19. Some get tired easily, so we keepan eye on each student's feelings. "Liu said. 

"Students in Grade Nine are happy because they don't need to take the 1, 000-meter run test for zhongkao. Most students welcome this new change. But some students are really good atrunning, they are not happy because they won't have advantages anymore, "Liu added. 

Students now are having easier exercise such as dancing, fun games, sit-ups and walking. So they can improve* their health slowly. What is your PE class like now?

Frodo is a 20-year-old cat who loves to sleep in the sun. However，getting to thisfavorite sleeping place by the pool means hobbling（跛行） down a lot of stairs every day. 

But life has become a lot easier for the old cat now. 

Liam Thompson is an inventor who loves cats. He noticed his old friend's difficulties and decided to do something. He spent four days building an elevator that would allow Frodo to go up and down the stairs easily. 

A video on the Internet showed how Thompson made the track and cart of the elevator for Frodo. video attracted over 900，000 people's interest. 

To make sure the elevator was safe for his old friend，Thompson used a toy to test the elevator. Thompson asked his favorite cat， "Are you ready to go downstairs without moving a muscle? I hope so because it took me four days. "

Frodo seemed very relaxed in the elevator as it went to the bottom of the stairs. Thompson laughed excitedly as Frodo walked out of the elevator and made his way over the pool. 

He said，"This is the greatest day of my life. "His love to his cat has won 1. 87 million fans on the Internet. Many viewers felt amazed at his work and one said，"His invention for his pet is much safer than the ones he invents for himself. Respect. "