For many in the United States, Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population. Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine, many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds.
Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800's when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as “Amreeka”.
Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves. The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924.The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian, and some Egyptian immigrants. These new immigrants, who were mostly Christian, came to America in search of better opportunities. Even the doomed Titanic, which set sail for America in 1912,had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard. The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants; they are the third or more generation Americans.
The second wave of immigrants followed after World War Ⅱ,caused by political unrest in the Middle East. This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims（穆斯林）and continues to this day.
Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States, according to demographers. And quite different from popular belief, 64 percent of them are American-born. Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US citizens.
Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income. Education is important among Arab-Americans; 82 percent have high school diplomas, 36 percent have bachelor's degrees or higher, and 15 percent have graduate degrees. The-median（中位数的）average income among Arab-Americans is $39,580, which is higher than the US average.

Nadia Clarke, Seventeen-year-old,talks about her African experience.

Last summer I got the chance to spend a month helping out in a hospital in Africa. I had one year left at school, and I was interested in studying medicine at university. I thought it was the perfect chance to get some experience and to see if I really wanted to be a doctor.

It was a month that changed my life. I saw a world and it is very different to mine in so many ways. I was surprised at how poor so many of the families were there and how difficult their lives could be. But I was also surprised at how actively people face their everyday lives. The way they came together and helped each other touched me a lot, and I think a lot of us here in the UK have forgotten it. I think many of us don't get to know how lucky we are.

My work in the hospital was hard. I spent a lot of time cleaning floors and taking temperatures, and I also got to spend some time giving medicine. And I got the chance to talk to some doctors and ask them about their work. I saw some truly awful things in the hospital, but none of them changed my mind about being a doctor. In fact, they only made me more certain to do medicine!

When I finish, I know clearly what I'm going to do: I want to work for an international group like the Red Cross and spend my life helping people all over the world. I can't wait to get started.

Restaurants around the world only used lots of plastic straws (塑料吸管) before, but many of them start using paper ones now. Are paper straws really better than plastic straws?

A plastic straw usually takes more than 200 years to break down (分解). It slowly turns into small pieces of plastic. If they fall into the sea, seabirds and fish will eat them for food. It is bad for their health and may kill them. Paper straws are different. They start to break down in just three days. They are much safer and better for animals and Earth.

However, some people still don't like paper straws. They think paper straws will affect (影响) the taste of the drink. In fact, we can use other things. For example, glass straws are easy to clean. And we can use them for a long time. We can also use real straws. Many people started to use them in the 1800s. 

The sun is going to rise(升起) on Farmer Tim's farm. Chicken Chester wakes up(叫醒) the cows."The chickens are going to take a holiday (度假) today," Chester says "Is that so?" asks Daisy the cow.

"Yes," Chester says." We lay(产) ten eggs this week, and there are only five of us."

"But what about us?" the other cows say" We give Farmer Tim 100 bottles of milk a day. There are only ten of us! We need a holiday more than (多于) them."

"But we can't take a holiday on the same day as the chickens, "Daisy says." What will Farmer Tim say?"

Then Rooster Rowdy starts to crow(打鸣).It's time for the farmer to wake up. But Farmer Tim doesn't come out. Rowdy calls two more times. "Call him again," the chickens say. Rowdy crows again and this time Farmer Tim wakes up. But he doesn't come out. He just opens the window and says to everyone, "I work hard this week. It's time for me to take a holiday today!"

Do you love fast food? Why? How often do you eat it? Last month, 200 people joined our survey. And here are the results. 

Chart 1: How often do you eat fast food?

Chart 2: Why do you love fast food?

Everyone knows that exercise is important. We all need to exercise. Doctors say it is good for us. It makes your heart and body strong. Children who often exercise are more alert（灵活）. That means they do better in tests and schoolwork than those who don't exercise. 

They are many ways to exercise. You can walk, run, swim, skate, or play ball games. Make sure you exercise in the following ways: You have to like what you are doing. Exercise enough— but not too much. It's best to exercise twice a week. Thirty minutes each time is enough. Try all kinds of sports until（直到）you find one, two or even three sports that feel right for you. 

You can exercise at fitness centers. They have a lot of equipment（设备）there. The equipment will help exercise your arms, legs and other parts of your body to make you healthy. Some people buy equipment for their homes. But it's very expensive.