Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger, but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways. You may wonder how paving (铺砌) a road can lead to less useable fresh water. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers. It comes from underground. The more roads and parking lots we pave, the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Drier climates are of course more likely to have droughts（干旱）than areas with more rainfall, but, in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In the United States, a family of four can use 1.5 tons of water a day! This shows how much we depend on water to live, but there's a lot we can do to lower the number.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} To start with, use the same glass for your drinking water all day. Wash it only once a day. Run your dishwasher (洗碗机) only when it is full. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling (回收) batteries instead of throwing them away.

A. Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages.

B. Help your parents fix any leaks (漏水的地方) in your home.

C. Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference, too.

D. Some measures to save water should be taken by the government.

E. A major part of the water we use every day is the water from lakes or rivers.

F. A major part of the water we use every day is ground water.

G. You can take steps to save water in your home.

    Adults are happy to tell their children that crusts (面包皮) will give them curly hair, carrots will help them see in the dark, and spinach will make them strong. Even though adults know it's not totally true, they think it's good for their children's health, a study had found.

    In a study about 31 per cent of adults said they once told their children the curly hair tale, and 36 per cent said they'd been told the same thing by their mother or father. Among the over-50s, almost half said they'd been promised curly hair if they ate their crusts. A quarter of the 2,000 adults questioned in the study told their children carrots would help them see in the dark. This could be true to some extent because of the high levels of vitamin A and beta-carotene in root vegetables.

    Another favorite among parents is that milk will make one strong. A third surveyed said their parents told them this, and about 29 per cent said they told their children the same thing. But while there is plenty of evidence to suggest milk is good for people's health, there are also a lot of scientific papers saying it isn't.

    Thanks to Popeye, spinach is also fed to children, along with the idea that it will make them strong. While there is also some truth in this one, scientists now believe it is not the iron, but the inorganic nitrates (无机硝酸盐) that improve physical power.

    One in seven of the surveyed admitted telling their little ones that runner beans will make them run faster, which is nothing more than wordplay and has no basis in science. Almost one in five adults were subjected to the same tale in childhood.

    Just over one in 10 parents told their children green food would turn them into a superhero, and a quarter admitted hiding vegetables in meals.

    Lyndsay Jones, spokesman for Persil Washing Up Liquid, said, "It's clear that the most persuasive stories about food are passed on from generation to generation. Our research shows that the ideas continue, and we tell our kids the same things our parents told us, even if they're not always entirely true."

    Crusts may not make your hair curly, but there's plenty of research that says crusts contain more of the goodness than the rest of a loaf. Hopefully, as a result of our Cook with Kids promise, more parents will be encouraged to spend time with their children in the kitchen and teach them the truth about food.

    Heat has been used to control hair for hundreds of years. But how much is too much? If you have ever opened a very hot oven, you know that heat can burn your eyebrows off your face very quickly. A scientist from Purdue University in Indiana is trying to find a scientific answer on how hot is too hot when it comes to your hair.

    Many women and some men are very particular about their hair. Some people who have naturally curly hair prefer to have it straightened. Others with straight hair want to have curls. Tahira Reid is one of those people. As an African-American woman, she is familiar with the challenges of maintaining (保养)curly hair.

    Tahira Reid and other researchers at Purdue University are studying how heat treatment interacts with different types of hair and how to prevent damage. Amy Marconnet is an assistant professor. She says the team is seeing how heat and temperature relate to their research.

    In a Purdue University's lab, team members designed a hair straightener tool —a flat iron with temperature control. They attached it to a robotic arm that moved over pieces of hair. They controlled the temperature while the device straightened hair.

    What did they find? Their study found that the heat weakens or breaks a protein called keratin, responsible for the hair's shape, and temporarily changes it. But nobody knows exactly what level can make the heat actually cause forever change. Researchers say early results are a bit inconclusive.

    It turns out that everyone's hair is different and there's no exact temperature where hair straightening becomes hair damage. Ms Reid says they will continue their research in the hope of finding what works best without damaging hair.

    Building the thinking habit is important because it helps you live with a purpose. How can we build the thinking habit? Here are some tips.

    Be curious

    Curiosity is powerful. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It also helps you recognize the ideas when they come. Curiosity is an important attitude to have in building the thinking habit.

    Read widely

    If you want to come up with good ideas, you need to feed your mind with good ideas. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}This will give you fresh, new ideas. Don't just read from the fields you are familiar with. Read from other fields as well.

    Read actively

    Not only should you read widely, but also you should read actively. Find some ideas and think about how you can use them. My favorite way to do this is by highlighting the book I read. I will then put the actionable ideas in my idea journal (笔记). {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Keep an idea journal

    When you find a good idea, don't just keep it in your mind. Instead, write it down to catch the idea. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Keeping an idea journal makes you more sensitive to new ideas. You will quickly recognize them because you already have the habit of catching ideas.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Of course, it doesn't do you much good if you just write down ideas. Take time to read these ideas every now and then. In my case, I mark the ideas that I consider important and review them regularly. This often opens the way to new ideas.

A. Design your own ideas

B. Go over your ideas

C. In this way, others can also benefit from your ideas.

D. One way to do that is to read.

E. Otherwise, the idea might be gone forever.

F. It makes you like finding new ideas.

G. This helps me get the most out of the book.

Five steps to better handwriting

Some kids love handwriting, but others hate when it's time to put their pen to paper. Maybe they are worried about their handwriting. Are you one of them? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are five steps that really work!

Get a great grasp

Try this — hold your pencil at the top and try to write your name. Pretty hard? But when you hold your pencil the correct way, writing is much easier. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Hold it in place with your thumb, and your index (食指) and middle fingers.

Let the lines be your guide

Lined paper is your friend! Those lines can help you create letters that are the right size and proportion (均衡). {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Also be sure to fill up the lined space completely. Those capital letters should be from the bottom line to the top one.

Slow down

If your writing is hard to read, try slowing down a little. If you rush, it's hard to control where you stop and start your letters.

Lower the pressure

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} That makes it harder to make the smooth lines. Try easing up and don't hold the pencil too tightly.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Lots of games require you to write or draw pictures. So even though it's not schoolwork, you're still using the skills you need to control your pen better.

A. Play games

B. Ask for more advice

C. So "a" should be half the height of a capital "A".

D. You've been writing since you were a little kid.

E. Some kids press down really hard when they write.

F. The good news is that just about everyone can improve their handwriting.

G. The best way to hold a pen or pencil is to let it rest next to the base of your thumb.

The Philippines is trying to stir up trouble and undermine regional peace in the South China Sea. People may {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(对…感到困惑) why such a small country dares to provoke China, a superpower in the world. It is all because the Philippines wants to conquer Ren'ai Reef, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(以及) some other reefs in the South China Sea. The Philippines allies with the US, attempting to seize these reefs located off its coast. But {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(有明确的证据) these reefs {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(属于) China. The Chinese government will never ever let these reefs {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(脱离) our motherland as they are treasures passed down from our ancestors. 

On Saturday, the Philippines once again sent two coast guard ships and a supply ship in an attempt to transport construction materials to the disintegrating warship illegally grounded on the reef in 1999. In response, the Chinese Navy also sent a fleet of warships to {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(保卫仁爱礁水域免受 ) the intrusion. Now that the whole area {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(被包围) hundreds of civilian ships and warships, there is no slightest chance for the Philippines' ships to approach. Thanks to the great {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(中国已取得的成就), it will never have an inch of its territory {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(被带走). What the Chinese Navy has done recently {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(让我感到自豪) being a Chinese.