We are lucky to live in a rich country where we have many things. However, most of us usually 1some things.

    Electricity(电) is one thing that we waste 2. Lights, TVs,3 and other things are often kept on even when no one is using them. We should turn them off when we do not need them. It 4less than a second to do it. Anyhow, not wasting electricity is saving money, because we do not have to 5the electricity we do not use.

    The second thing that we often waste is water. Fresh water is precious(宝贵的)，6 it shouldn't be wasted. It is only a simple matter of turning off a tap. I am sure7can do this easily if he wants to.

    8big waste is food. My mother 9cook so much food that much of it was thrown away. I told her we had wasted so much 10. She thought I was right and now 11cooks what we can eat.

    It is not12to be wasteful. I find there is a simple 13of not wasting things. That is to use only what we14. Do not touch what we do not need.15 this way we can stop being wasteful.

Car pool(拼车)

    "Beep, beep," goes the car horn(喇叭).You've got dressed，but you've not had time to eat breakfast. You run out of the front door with your schoolbag, and jump into the waiting car. Inside, your Friends say "hey" as one of their parents drives you to school. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 

    Car pools are a common way of transportation for many students in the US. You, along with many of your friends, can sit in one car.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} And your parents may take turns to drive you all to school {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  If you're late, you can eat that breakfast you don't have time for at home. If you're behind on your homework. this is your last chance to finish it before class. Some simply add to their sleep time before classes begin.

    Besides walking or cycling to class, car pools are green if you can't take the school bus. Instead of four cars taking four students to school each day, they can all squeeze (挤) into one. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

More importantly, car pooling teaches students valuable life lessons not taught in class. It can teach students about being on time. It can also teach them the bad influence of being late. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} 

A European Union program is letting blind people experience famous paintings for the first time. It uses three dimensional（3-D） printing to recreate famous paintings so they can be touched. 

One painting printed with the new technology is Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss". It is a popular attraction at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria. The painting shows a man and a woman standing in a field filled with flowers. They are wearing gold robes（长袍） and have their arms around each other. The man leans down to kiss the woman. 

Klimt finished the painting in 

1908. Until now, people who had trouble seeing could not appreciate the artwork. But thanks to the reproduction（复制品）, they can touch the piece and feel the ridges（隆起） and depressions. Andreas Reichinger said this reproduction was his most difficult project because the couple's robes are so detailed. 

Dominika Raditsch is a blind museum visitor. She touched the reproduction. As she moved her hands around it she said, "Exactly, can you see these? There are so many details. " Raditsch said she could imagine what the original painting looked like when she touched the reproduction. "It's somehow round. You can feel it. It comes with it. And in many places it's so smooth. And then I think to myself — it probably shines, too!" Raditsch said. 

The Belvedere is not the only museum to have 3-D versions of its artwork. Some of the pieces at the Prado, in Madrid, Spain, have reproductions that can be touched. But the piece in Vienna has one special part: it is made with widely available 3-D printing technology. That means one day, blind art fans anywhere in the world could download the source files and print the reproductions themselves. 

Happiness is important for everyone. Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness. Money and {#blank#}1{#/blank#} alone do not bring lasting happiness. Happiness {#blank#}2{#/blank#} on ourselves.

The {#blank#}3{#/blank#} secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. You should enjoy life's simple pleasure such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music or spending time with close friends. People who have several good friends tend to live {#blank#}4{#/blank#} and happier fives. I

The second secret to {#blank#}5{#/blank#} a happy life is to be active. Many people experience this by dancing, or playing a sport. You can forget about your problems, and only think about the activity.

Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. According to studies, people feel good when they volunteer their time to do many meaningful things for other people. So if you want to feel happier, just try to help others.

Blue is a very common color in our lives-the sky, the sea and even face masks are often blue. But this color is not frequently(经常) seen in plants. Why is that?

A. Because blue plants would blend in(融合) with the sky and sea. 

B. Because animals prefer to eat blue plants. 

C. Because the material that gives plants a blue color is rare(稀有的)

D. Because blue isn't a beneficial(有助的)color for plant growth. 

The correct answer is D

There is no true blue pigment(色素)in nature. When light hits an object(物体), the object absorbs(吸收)some colors and reflects(反射)others. For example, plants look green because they reflect green light and absorb other colors. Blue light offers more energy than other colors. However, if a plant has blue leaves, according to scientists from the University at Adelaide in Australia, it must absorb(吸收) very small amounts of energy while reflecting high-energy blue light. This is not a good strategy(策略) for growth. 

Less than 10 percent of plants are blue. Plants make blue flowers by mixing pigments. For example, anthocyanins(花青素)can turn into a blue-likes color with a certain amount of acidity(酸度). Plants may make use of this unique color to attract pollinators(传粉者), such as bees. 

 Recently, 76% of people between the ages of 65 and 74, who took part in a survey, said they used social media, compared to 40% five years earlier. An increase in social media use was also seen among people aged 75 and over. A growing number of elderly people are active on social networks and are using the Internet to make calls.

 But how will you feel when you find out your grandparents are using social media? Many young people may think" Oh no! They' re going to see everything I post and start writing comments(评论)" and many others say" I'm going to have to spend hours teaching them how to use social media. It's troublesome". Once they have learned how to use social media, they may get a lot of fun. Take Amy for example. She is an 80-year-old granny who has over three million followers on a social media platform because of her sincere sharing on fashionable dressing and positive life attitude.

 Honestly, you should be happy if your grandparents are eager to join the digital worlds. Social media use can have a number of health benefits for the elderly. Nowadays families are more geographically distant than ever before, and social media is a great way to connect with faraway relatives and friends. While nothing replaces face-to-face communication, social media is a great way to keep in touch with family members. Another benefit is that elderly people can make new friends who share similar interests, or find long-lost friends from childhood. Finally, social media use can be very educational. For example, looking through Wechat news is a great way to stay informed and keep up to date with local and global events.

 Have your grandparents had a social media account yet? Have they asked you to help them create one, but you didn't care? Perhaps you should make the effort because it may affect their quality of life.