Canada Day

Since 1982, July 1st has been officially known as Canada Day. Canadians of all ages take part in this festival across the country.

Canada Day is the year's biggest national party. In many towns and cities, the government organizes a lot of events, often outdoors. These include parades (游行) , concerts, festivals, firework displays and ceremonies for new Canadian citizens (公民) .The celebrations often have a patriotic mood. Canada's national flag, a symbol for Canada Day, can be seen everywhere and a lot of people paint their faces red and white, which are Canada's national colors. The celebrations in Ottawa, Canada's capital city, are especially grand and exciting.

In the province of Quebec, many home rentals (租赁) start on July 1st and last for exactly one year, and many people in Quebec spend Canada Day moving from one house to another. So in Quebec, Canada Day is also known as Moving Day.

Many organizations, businesses and stores are closed this day. Only some bookstores, hospitals and gas stations may be open. Post offices are closed, too. As Canada Day falls in the Canadian summer holiday period, all schools are closed as well. In some areas, special services are provided for large events. The concerts, parades and festivals may cause some traffic jams.

    We are lucky to live in a rich country where we have many things. However, most of us usually {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (waste) some things.

    Electricity is one thing that we waste most. Lights, TVs, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (radio) and other things are often kept on even when no one is using them. We should turn them off {#blank#}3{#/blank#} we do not need them. It takes  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (little) than a second to do it. Anyhow, not wasting electricity saves money, because we do not have to pay for the electricity we do not use. The {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (two) thing that we often waste is water. Fresh water is precious, so it shouldn't be wasted. It is only a simple matter of turning {#blank#}6{#/blank#}a tap. I am sure everybody can do this {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (easy) if he wants to. Another big waste is food. My mother used to cook so much food that much of it was thrown away. I told her we had wasted so much {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (food). She thought I was right and now cooks mainly what we can eat.

    It is not right to be wasteful. I find there is a simple way of not wasting things. That is {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (use) only what we need. Do not touch what we do not need. {#blank#}10{#/blank#}this way, we can stop being wasteful.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy (富有) and wise (聪明). This is an old English saying. It means that we should go to bed early at night and get up early in the morning. If we do, we shall be healthy. We shall also be rich and clever.

Is this true? Perhaps it is. The body must have enough sleep. Children of your age need ten hours' sleep every night. If you go to bed late, you can't have enough sleep. Then you can't think carefully and your homework will be wrong. You will not be wise and you may not become wealthy!

Some people go to bed late at night and get up late in the morning. This is not good for them. We should sleep at night when it is dark. The dark helps us sleep well. When the daylight comes, we should get up. This is the time for exercise. If the body is not used, it will become weak.

Exercise keeps it strong. Exercise helps the blood (血液) to move around inside the body. Blood takes nutrition (营养) to all parts of our bodies. The brains (大脑) in our heads also need blood. We think with our brains. If we keep our bodies healthy, and take exercise, we can think better!

Our bodies also need air to breathe (呼吸). Without air we will die. Get up early in the morning and we can have plenty of clean, fresh air. That will keep us healthy and happy.

Nowadays, more and more children spend too much time playing mobile phones. It makes parents feel worried. In order to get the children out of the room, the community is going to organize a camp this summer.

Food is interesting. It's also interesting that different food has different meanings in different countries. 

Onions ﹣﹣ In Egypt，many farmers use the onion as a symbol of truth （真理）. When they have different ideas with each other，they often have an onion in their hands and put it up high to show the truth is in their hands. A town in Switzerland has the Onion Festival. It is on the fourth Monday of November. Food shops and restaurants make all kinds of onion food on that day. 

Tomatoes ﹣﹣ They are the "Number 1" food. They are a kind of vegetable and a kind of fruit. They are very helpful. They're important to hamburgers and salad. They may taste bad if there are no tomatoes. In some countries of Europe，young men and women often pick tomatoes for each other when they are in love. 

Carrots ﹣﹣ We can usually see them in vegetable salad. In Netherlands （荷兰），the carrot，onion and potato are country food. People in some countries call the carrot "Queen". 

Potatoes ﹣﹣ They have two other names ﹣﹣ "apples in the forest" and "the second bread".