Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.

    Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished. For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns(角) had not yet developed. A century later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle. By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today—a person who is new in a job.

    Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from early nineteen hundreds. A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.

    The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs.

    Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling, jealousy(嫉妒). The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”. It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants. A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay rise and he does not.

    In a cold winter, a couple had to move out from the luxury villa because of bankruptcy. The husband worked day and night to support the family but with no care of his wife. So she thought, “he doesn't love me anymore, he just cares his business… not me”.

    One day, she began to take a bath, he stopped her at the door, “Let me take it first, OK?” “Why not let me shower first?” she asked. “I was tired, sweetie, you take it later, OK?” She was totally depressed.

    On a morose(闷闷不乐的）day, she found nothing to do and turned on his computer, a few words blurred her eyes...It was his diary:

    Today, I was quite sad, she asked me why I was always taking the bath first, and I said to her, I was exhausted. She was unhappy, in her mind, I treated her not as well as usual, but how can I do? I wasn't as rich as before! We moved to the small apartment, there was only a shower in such a freezing winter. But I found that if one person took the shower first, the room could get a little warm, so every time I rushed to the bathroom first. I was thinking that, when she took the shower, the room would get warmer, at least1℃, 2℃ or 3℃.

    Now I can't give her comfortable life, bring her the luxury restaurant, buy expensive dresses for her, but at least, I can give her 1℃ love.

    Wild mangoes come from the foothills of the Himalayas. They are by far the most important fruit in India, and have been cultivated there for four thousand years. The arrival of the mango tree in other parts of the world was probably due to the Portuguese who carried mangoes via Goa to Africa, from where they eventually reached the New World. Mango trees are now so well established in many tropical countries that it might appear that they have always been there.

    Like many tropical trees, the mango tree is multi-purpose product. Its wood is used in boat building, and its leaves can be fed to cattle. Most of the mango crop is consumed in the areas where it is grown, but in recent years mangoes have gained in popularity across the world as people in mild climate become increasingly eager to enjoy the delight of the fresh fruit.

    The global market for mangoes is very profitable, and mango producers are keen to make use of the fruit's growing popularity. Modern shoppers not only appreciate the fruit's high nutritional value(the mango is a good source of vitamin A and C, protein and fibre), but also expect it to look and taste perfect. Therefore producers now select only the best quality seedlings which have the most chance of developing into good quality fruit.

    Mangoes are high in fiber, thus making them very good for the heart. The high fiber content is also helps easing constipation. They have high pectin(果胶) and vitamin C content that reduces the blood cholesterol levels and serves as an immune booster. This fruit is rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and contain an enzyme(酶) that has stomach soothing properties. These enzymes act as a digestive aid and digestive proteins.

    Although the mango tree has spread from its native Himalayan foothills to the tropics, delivering the fresh fruit to the world's supermarkets presents a challenge, as it does not travel well. Producers transport the fruit by speedy but costly air freight (货运)for minimum delay rather than risk the cheaper but slower road or shipping routes which, can result in damage to the fruit.

    Mangoes are usually in storage for some time after their arrival at their destination. The fruit must be kept cold, or the sweet, juicy flesh will soon become over ripe and the mangoes will be unfit for sale. Fortunately, extremely effective refrigeration is now available and this is the best way of preventing the fruit from going bad before it reaches the supermarket shelves.

    Crossing your legs is an extremely common habit. While you may find it comfortable to sit with one knee crossed over the other, it might be causing health problems that you are not aware of.

    A study published in Blood Pressure Monitoring stated that sitting with your legs crossed can increase your blood pressure. The reason this happens is because the blood in your legs has to work against gravity to be pumped back to your heart, crossing one leg over the other increases resistance, making it even harder for the blood to circulate. You won't feel any immediate effects, but sitting for long periods of time will hurt you forever.

    Crossing your legs can also lead to neck and back pain. Ideally, it's best for our bodies to sit with our feet planted flat, hip width apart, on the floor, but it's not easy to maintain perfect posture all day at the office. When you sit with your legs crossed your hips are in a twisted position, which can cause one of your pelvic bones(骨盆) to rotate. Since your pelvic bone supports your neck and spine（脊椎）, this can cause pressure on your lower and middle back and neck.

    You also might notice that when you sit with your legs crossed for long periods of time your feet and legs get painful or have the feeling of being asleep. This is because when one leg sits on top of the other it causes pressure on the veins（静脉） and nerves in your legs and feet. It can cause numbness and/or temporary paralysis in the legs, ankles, or feet. While the feeling of discomfort may only last a minute or two, repeatedly crossing your legs until they feel numb can cause permanent nerve damage.

    So next time you sit down, try to get yourself in the habit of sitting with both of your feet on the floor. Not only will it help your posture and stability, but it will also save your health in the long run.

    Yesterday I cleared up my house and I mean really cleared up my house. The room that gave the most results was my husband's "office". There I found: one right-footed shoe, size 10 (he lost the other one somewhere), a set of Star Wars videos and two small china cats someone gave me last birthday. I collected these "finds" and took them downstairs and logged (登录）on to eBay: the answer to all our rubbish.

    What is eBay? It aims to provide a global trading platform where almost anyone can trade almost anything. The idea came from Pierre Omidyar. Born in Paris, Omidyar moved to Washington when he was still a child. At High School he became very interested in computer programming and after graduating from Tufts University in 1988, he worked for the next few years as a computer engineer. In his free time he started eBay as a kind of hobby, originally offering the service free by word of mouth. By 1996 there was so much traffic on the site that he had to upgrade and he began collecting fees. Joined by a friend, Peter Skoll and in 1998 by his dynamic CEO, Meg Whitman, he has never looked back. Even in the great dot-com crashes of the late 1990s eBay went from strength to strength. It is now one of the ten most visited online shopping sites on the Internet.

    If you think about it, it's a perfect Internet idea. All you have to do is take an e-photo, write a description, fill out a sales form and you're in business; the world is your market place.

    Some of the more bizarre goods up for offer have been a piece of French bread, partially eaten by Justin Timberlake, advertising space on a man's head, and a pair of used false teeth.

    One week later I am proud of having a clean and tidy home and € 110 in cash. Someone even bought the shoe.

    Tim Ma's parents came to the United States from Taiwan in the 1970s. They opened a restaurant. It was not a success. They found success in America, however, in computers and engineering. In part because of their own experiences, Ma's parents hoped he would study to become an engineer or doctor. They wanted financial security for their child.

    Growing up, Ma considered many professions—writer, fireman, even president. But he had a sense early on… I didn't want to be an engineer. However, Ma did well in math and science classes in high school and he ended up choosing to study electrical engineering in college.

    Several engineering jobs later, though, Ma had a change of heart. He wanted to leave the engineering world behind and enter the restaurant business. It was in his blood. After all, his parents had owned a Chinese restaurant in Arkansas. His uncle also owned one in New York.

    His parents, Ma says, could not understand why he would want to leave such a good job to open a restaurant. They had worked long hours but their own restaurant still failed. They kept asking. Why?

    But Ma remained certain. He was going to do things differently than his parents. He was able to learn from their one major mistake as restaurant owners—they knew very little about the art of cooking. So, at age 30, Ma left engineering and returned to school—cooking school.

    Ma soon learned that he enjoyed cooking. In 2009, Ma opened his first restaurant in Virginia. It is called Maple Avenue. At Maple Avenue, Ma cooked, cleaned the ovens, fixed equipment and paid bills. He worked long hours, seven days a week. His long hours paid off. Ma opened his fourth restaurant last year, Kyirisan in Washington, D.C.

    Kyirisan's success is due to the creative menu and food, Ma says. But mostly it just comes from completely hard work. I think in this country you can create your own success, just by working hard. Not because you're smarter than anybody, not because you're more creative than anybody, just by working hard. And I think that's why a lot of people end up coming to America.