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.

Today，young people spend about six hours a day in front of a TV or a computer and less than four minutes playing outdoors.It is not healthy for the mind and the body when time spent using technology replaces outdoor time.

Some health experts call green time "vitamin G".Kids who don't get outdoors much are likely to have trouble in school.Doctors believe that is because being outdoors excites the mind more than sitting around indoors.Even those who usually spend a lot of time outdoors notice a difference when they don't get green time.Madelyne P，14，says ， "I feel more tired when I don't get outdoors."

Researchers believe the positive effects of green time come from the physical activity in pastimes such as hiking or boating.Exercise produces brain chemicals that improve learning，mood，and sleep.It also improves learning by increasing connections between nerve cells that are important in learning and memory.Some schools hold classes outside for those reasons.Student Hannah Smith，says she believes the outdoors helps her focus and gets her to learn.Learning in a forest sparked her interest in art and photography，too.

Even doctors are helping give their patients a dose of（一剂）vitamin G.Miller writes "park prescriptions （处方）"for her patients because，being outdoors is good for health.She finds that when she gives patients park prescriptions，they are likely to continue with them.

Getting outdoors can be simple，just like calling together your family for a picnic lunch.All it takes is five minutes or more of green time.

Get outside，and get your vitamin G!

Mother's Day is coming. It's a time to let mom know she's special to you. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Finding the right gift for mom on that day is not always easy.We often want something personal and meaningful.But how can we make it？These following ideas may help you.

Gift of Time

Mom just want to spend time with their children to make it a Mother—Daughter/Son Day.花一整天时间和她在一起。{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Do the things she likes doing with her.

Home Video

Take your family videos and make them a short home video.She can enjoy it whenever she misses you.即使它可能会花费你大量时间，可是这个过程会很有趣。{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Write a Letter

Write a letter instead of a simple card.Write about all the good memories you have with her and all the things she has done for you.

Flowers

People send carnations （康乃馨）on Mother's Day.You can easily spend a lot of money on them. If you have flowers in your garden，or can pick them by hand，it can be a great gift. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Dinner

Make a dinner and invite her over.You can also take it over to her house and surprise her. Just don't forget to wash the dishes after the dinner. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Health problems which are related to climate change are getting worse, say two research reports.

The report s followed 44 health problems that are related to climate change around the world. They include heat deaths, infectious diseases（传染病）and hunger. "All of them are getting worse," said Marina Remanello. She is research director of the Lancet Countdown project. "With global worming getting worse, doing nothing on climate and health will cost more than acting now, one of the reports says.

The reports are called "code red for a healthy future". One report is centred（集中）on the US and the other is centred on the whole world. The reports found some dangerous facts. At-risk populations like older people and the very young are more easily influenced by high temperatures. For people over 65, the researchers found they stayed living in warm places where it is easier for some diseases to spread. For example, coast areas are warm enough for dangerous bacteria （细菌）to grow. In some poor nations me season for disease-spreading mosquitoes（蚊子）has got longer since the 1950s.

The research also found that 72 percent of countries saw an increase in wildfires. And in 2020, up to 10 percent of the world's land surface was influenced by extreme（极端的）drought. In the US, the heat. fire and drought caused the biggest problems. The Pacific Northwest and Canada saw extreme neatwaves. An earlier study found that the heatwaves would not have happened if there were no human-caused climate change.

How to be Outgoing

If（如果）you think you are too shy and want to be a little outgoing, try the following. You can make it.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} There's no need to hide it. When they get to know you are a shy kid, they'll understand you better. This also helps you feel more comfortable when talking with others.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Smile to others so they will think you are friendly and easy to talk to. Remember that other people have feelings too and most people will stay away from an angry-looking face.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Try to start a conversation. If you find it hard to do so, say something nice about people around you. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking to those people?

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Don't waste time worrying about your looks or if people like you. Think more about ways to enjoy the party or the game.

Keep trying and one day you won't be "shy" anymore when you talk to others.

What will you do if you want to be outgoing?（不超过20个单词）{#blank#}5{#/blank#}