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."

Has your mother or grandmother ever made embroidered (刺绣的)clothes for you? In the past, Chinese people often embroidered on hats, shoes and dresses. Some girls would even embroider on a sachet (香囊)as a gift for their lovers.

Shu embroidery comes from Sichuan. It is said that Shu embroidery is the old lest kind of embroidery in China. People began to make it during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD).They sold it to other countries such as ancient Rome.

Shu embroidery takes time. It might take as long as a whole day to finish just 10 cm. Embroidery workers need to divide each silk thread (丝线) into more than 10 or over 30 smaller threads. Each smaller thread is thinner than a human hair.

Meng Dezhi, who used to work at the Chengdu Shu Embroidery Factory，has been making Shu embroidery for over 40 years. She loves this form of art and wants more people to try it, so she gives lessons in universities. She said. "Although the work is hard, Shu embroidery stands for thousands of years of Sichuan culture. It is a symbol of Chinese culture as well."

The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is 1 easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it 2 new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We 3 see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it. 

Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious 4 there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in a place, men moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is slowly polluting 5 whole world. 

Air pollution is still the most serious. It's bad to all living6 in the world, but there is not only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us7 angry more easily.

Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from 8 coal in houses and factories in the city, and from blowing dirty smoke into the air. 

The pollution of SO₂ is now the most dangerous problem of air pollution. It 9 by heavy traffic. It is certain that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution. 

The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must be careful of the rise in population 10 the same time.

Birdwatching is becoming more and more popular in many parts of the world.

Birdwatchers enjoy looking for and listening to different kinds of birds. To watch birds, all you need is a pair of binoculars, a field guide and your love for birds.

If you are just starting birdwatching, buy a pair of cheaper binoculars. A field guide helps you learn about the birds' appearances, calls and habits before birdwatching.

When you are ready, it's best to go to the wild with someone who is more experienced. You can join a birdwatching group to learn about some beginning skills.

Start birdwatching in the morning, when birds are searching for food. Most of the time, you will hear birds' calls from all around you, but you will not see any birds easily. Look for the movement in trees, and bring your binoculars to your eyes. The most important work for a birdwatcher is to identify（识别） the birds he/she sees. A bird's shape, size, colour and habits can help a birdwatcher identify it. When you identify a bird, don't forget to take notes about it on your notebook.

To find more and different birds, you may wish to plan trips to birds' different living areas: forests, lakes, rivers, wetlands, etc.

When watching the birds, you should always keep in mind: resp ect wildlife and protect their living areas.

On March 9, Kiska died（去世） at 47. She lived in a park in Canada for more than ten years. When she was three（冰岛水域） in 1979. Then they went to Canada. They lived there together for a few years. In 1985, Keiko went to Mexico. He even played a role in the movie Free Willy in 1993. After that, he went back to the ocean.

Kiska was not that lucky. She did not go anywhere. In her lifetime, she had five babies, but all of them died very young. This made her very sad. If whales live in the wild（野外）（水箱） went back to the United States in 2011. From then on, she was there on her own. 

About 4 years ago, a bill（议案） passed in Canada. The bill banned（禁止） the whole country from raising whales. But it was too late for Kiska. The bill could not protect her because she was already in  th tank.

What do we do when we go camping? First, we work out a plan. We take food, clothing, a knife and things for cooking and eating. We take things to keep us away from insects and the sunlight. 

Then we put everything into the car and drive to the woods (树林). We look for a place for campers and look for a good place for our tent. The place should have a lot of moving air. This will keep some insects away. High land with water on both sides of it is good. Then we put up our tent. We put everything into the tent, and we are ready for fun. We can do many things. We can swim in the lake, walk in the woods, climb a mountain, row a boat or go fishing. 

In the evening, we come back to the tent. We build a big fire because it can keep the insects away. We sit around the fire and talk. We may tell interesting stories or we may sing songs. At night we lie down on the grass. We can look up at the stars. It is a busy day, so we try to go to sleep early. Everything is dark. Everything is quiet. We hope we won't hear music from the radio in the next tent. We hope it won't rain.