John and Jack met at the old bench every afternoon. Then they played football. But they didn't have enough money to buy a real football. So Jack made a ball out of old socks covered with a piece of plastic. Every time, the two friends didn't stop kicking and running until very late.

    On Monday afternoon, John and Jack met again at the old bench. Soon the home-made ball was running across the grass. The boys laughed and shouted happily. The ball was stopped by a boy wearing a nice pair of sports shoes. John was upset when he saw it was Steven.

    The next morning, John's mother gave him a bill. “Your uncle sent you a birthday present.”She smiled. John's eyes grew big when he saw the ＄100 bill. Later that day, his mother bought a pair of new sports shoes and a real football.

    That afternoon Steven invited John to play football. Steven did not want Jack to join them only because Jack's sports shoes were dirty. When the game was over, John and Steven walked past the old bench where Jack was sitting. Steven picked up a stone and threw it at him. John, holding his new football in his hands, walked on and did not look back.

    Several days later, as John walked past the old bench, he saw something lying under it. He looked closer and saw it was the home-made ball. John was full of sadness when he saw the ball. As his sadness turned to anger, he picked up his new football and kicked it into the air. Then he walked to the beach, sat down and waited.

    Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.

    But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.

    No doubt you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).

    Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.

    Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt（高峰）during____The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later —between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.

    You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty.

    Birdwatching is a fun hobby. Many people enjoy it every day. You can also enjoy it. Birdwatching does not have to take a lot of time or money. With materials(材料) around your house, you can build a good birdhouse. You can start birdwatching in 30 minutes in your very own yard. It's very easy!

    Materials you will need:

    Milk box        ●Glue        ●Scissors      ●Brown paint        ●Tools for painting

    To build a better birdhouse

    ⒈Clean and dry the milk box.

    ⒉Glue the top of the milk box shut.

    ⒊Cut holes into the milk box for the birds to get into the birdhouse. The size you use will determine which birds use the house. You can cut one hole per side, or two. A good place to cut is about four inches(英寸) from the bottom(底部).

    ⒋Paint your milk box brown. The color helps the birdhouse mix with the tree.

    ⒌Cut holes into the milk box in the bottom of the box to let out any dirty things. Add at least two small holes on the top of the box. The top holes are to let in clean air. Do this after painting, or the paint could fill in your holes!

    ⒍Put the box in a tree. You can see the birdhouse from a window of your house. Now you can watch your birds in any weather!

    When I was a little girl, my family lived in the countryside. There was a beautiful river near my home. The water was clean and cool. I liked to go fishing there with my mother. We would catch fish, look for clams(蛤)and play in the water. There were also a lot of birds near the river. We would spend all day watching the birds.

    Now my family live in the city. Last Sunday, my daughter asked me to take her to see the river I was always talking about. "I want to go fishing there so much with you and Grandma," she said.

    When we went to the river, we only saw a factory and a mountain of waste. My mother was surprised, my daughter was disappointed, and I was sad. The river was my best friend. I grew up with it. Now there are no fish in it, and the birds have gone too. I hear them crying for help. But what can I do?

    Basketball, running and swimming are popular events (项目) at the Olympics. But there are also some events that are not as popular. Some are even very strange. Let's see if you have any knowledge about the following events.

	Tug-of-war     This event started in 1900 and left the Olympics in 1920. The team wins if they pull the rope past a certain point first. Interestingly, more than one team from a country can enter in this event. This makes it possible for one country to win several medals
	Rope climbing     It first appeared as an Olympic sport in 1896. The climber who spends the shortest time reaching the top is the winner. The rope used to be 15 meters long. Years later, it was shortened to 8 meters, for some reason. After 1932, there was no rope climbing in the Olympics.
	Race walking     In race walking, walkers have to win the race by walking. To make sure that they do not run, race walkers must have one foot on the ground at all times. Race walking has been an Olympic sport since 1904. Men enter in 20 kilometer and 50 kilometer races; women only race 20 kilometers.