The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected Europe, Africa and Asia. People reached these different places along these roads. Scientists believe people began to travel the Silk Road about 3000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world. The Silk Road covered almost 6500 kilometers. It went from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.

    Merchants travelled along the Silk Road to carry silk, of course. They also carried and traded other things like spices (香料), cloth, jewels and gold.

    Along and around these ancient path(小路), have come many fascinating and mysterious stories.

    It is said that Roman soldiers who lost a war travelled through central Asia. They decided to live somewhere near the ancient Chinese villages. Some of these Romans married local Chinese women and the legend of the blond-haired, blue-eyed tribes of China was started.

    Some historians believe that the people of Kashmir were taken away from their country Israel. They were prisoners (俘虏) of war almost 2800 years ago. People say that these people travelled along the Silk Road. They kept their Jewish way of life for a long time.

    During its busiest period, the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix. The Silk Road allowed the sharing of valuable things and new ideas. It included people and trading goods from different areas. All these peoples travelled the Silk Road. And they shared goods, stories, languages, and cultures.

    In modern times, the old Silk Road routes (路线) are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels and horses. There is even silk route museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35, 000 objects from all along the Silk Road. In this way, China protects the history of many countries and peoples.

    Everybody knows that soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world.

    Soccer is not a new sport. People all over the world played the game in different ways long ago. For example, in China nearly 2,000 years ago, soldiers kicked a ball as part of their exercise. Five hundred years ago in Europe, games in the street were common.

    Soccer became popular in England in the 1800s. Different schools, clubs and groups played with different rules. In 1863, these English groups had meetings. They organized (组织) the different games into one game with similar rules. Soon, they formed the Football Association.

    Not everyone agreed with the new rules. In England, some groups wanted to hold the ball with their hands so these groups formed rugby clubs. Groups in the United States also wanted to use their hands in the sport so they formed "football" clubs. Americans who didn't want to use their hands called the game "soccer". Soccer is a short form of the word association.

    From England, soccer began to grow. The first official international game of soccer was played between Scotland and England in 1872. By the 1880s, there were professional soccer teams in several parts of Europe. English players also introduced soccer to Africa, South America and New Zealand.

    Soccer soon became very popular all around the world. FIFA, the international football federation(联盟), met for the first time in 1904. Seven countries came to the meeting. The first World Cup was in Uruguay in 1930. Only 13 countries played in the Uruguayan World Cup.

    The World Cup is now the most popular sporting event in the world. Over 720 million people around the world watch the final game of the World Cup.

    Next time you're playing soccer with your friends, remember that you're part of a long history of a fun and exciting sport.

I run a lot of writing workshops in secondary schools and what I often see is this: teenagers in class just look at the blank page and freeze. Even when I tell them they can't get it wrong in creative writing, they still stop and feel painful, looking to me for clear and definite instructions. This behavior results from their training to mimic(模仿). {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In time, they are afraid of getting things wrong and risking failure. Creativity is no longer supported and is even viewed as a soft skill, or even a weakness.

However, creativity is highly valued by employers. According to The Conversation, creativity has been the number-one skill needed by 20 million job ads on Linked for two years in a row. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Because of limited educational resources and assessment(评价) pressures, teenagers' thinking becomes increasingly narrow, leaving them afraid to explore other possibilities.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's just an ability to make new connections and follow where they go. Actually, creativity requires qualities available to us all: courage, observation, curiosity, flexibility and perseverance.

So how do we help teenagers be hopeful and brave? Firstly, we need to avoid the idea that their whole futures depend on this very task or that decision. Life is long enough to try many things, and to change directions. There is no right way to live a life. Secondly, let's encourage raising questions. Children are naturally curious, but this curiosity often fades as they grow older, although it still exists within them. Just because they lack answers doesn't mean they shouldn't ask questions; rather, they should ask even more. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Young people need reminding that their stories haven't been written. They need opportunities to try new things. They need permission to keep asking "what else is possible?" because anything is.

A. But in schools, it is different.

B. Being creative isn't a magical skill.

C. It allows us to understand their feelings better.

D. They know it is a safe way to get good grades.

E. The main problem is how to keep those creative juices flowing.

F. The world is held together with unanswered questions and endless possibilities.

A new rubbish sorting system(垃圾分类系统) has been put into use in Fangchengyuan Community in Beijing. Local people not only sort their rubbish，but also put QR codes(二维码) on it. 

"When the rubbish is collected and the codes are seen，I will get reward points to exchange for small gifts and even some money，"one of the local people told reporters. "It's really creative and encouraging. "

This smart system has been carried out in 350 communities in Beijing. The capital of China has joined a list of cities in the country that take action to support rubbish sorting. For example，Shenzhen and Shanghai have made laws to punish people and organizations for not sorting rubbish correctly. 

China produces quite a lot of rubbish every year. Much of the rubbish is buried(填埋) in soil or burned without being sorted. Landfills take up a lot of land and have a risk of polluting the soil and water nearby. And burning rubbish can produce harmful gases. Through rubbish sorting，we can reduce the use of landfills and air pollution. 

What's more, rubbish sorting saves resources, which could bring economic benefits(经济利益). For example，a ton of waste paper can be reused to make about 850 kg of paper，saving 17 trees and 50 percent of water. Because of their benefits，some countries have developed successful sorting systems. 

Japan has a strict and detailed system. When people throw away a water bottle，the cap，the wrapper(包装纸) and the bottle itself have to go into three different bins. Every year，families receive special rubbish sorting timetables and directions from their local governments. They are advised to follow the timetables and directions when they throw away rubbish. 

In Australia，every family is provided with three rubbish bins—the red lid(盖子) bin for "general waste" like food and plastic bags，the yellow lid bin for "recycling" like steel and glass，and the green lid bin for "green waste" such as grass and leaves. On the streets，the bins are printed with pictures of the things that are allowed inside. It takes recycling quite easy. 

Still remember(记得) the following poems? Memories return every time I read or hear them.