Three kinds of bears live in the United States. They are the black bear, the brown bear, and the polar bear.

    Black Bears

    Black bears are the most common of the three. They live in forests in many different parts of the country. Even though they are known as black bears, they are not always black. Sometimes they are brown or tan (黄褐色的) , and a few are even white. Black bears are usually about five or six feet long, and they are the smallest of the three kinds of bears.

    Brown Bears

    Brown bears are found in a few western states and in Alaska. They live in forests as well as in open areas called the tundra (冻土地带). Brown bears are usually light or dark brown and can grow to be very large. In fact, some are eight feet long!

    Polar Bears

    Polar bears can be found in Alaska. It is in a cold area near the North Pole called the Arctic and there are no trees there. Polar bears are white, and they are the largest of the three kinds of ears. They are a little longer and usually heavier than the brown bear.

    Other Interesting Things

    Bears eat different things. Black and brown bears eat fish and other kinds of meat, roots, and berries. Polar bears eat fish, other meat, seaweed, and grass. All three types of bears eat as much food as they can find just before winter. Then during the cold months, they sleep in caves or hollowed-out trees called "dens". They keep them warm. Winter is when the female bears have their babies. All three types of bears have between one and four cubs (幼兽). The cubs are born while the mother bear sleeps!

    All people are afraid of bears. However, bears are actually shy. Most bears try to stay away from people, but still, bears can be dangerous at times.

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

Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet finished or plants that are not ripe.

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 had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in war (战争) .By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today——a person who is new in a job.

About one hundred years ago, greenhorn was a popular expression in the American west Old—timers used it to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities in the east. The greenhorn didn't have the skills that he would need to live in the hard, rough country.

Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundred.

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 (革命) is the name which was 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 (农业的) scientists who had green thumbs.

Do you know about Sally? She's good-looking and well-spoken, but also is obedient(听话的). That's to say, she'll do anything that you ask her to do. Sally is a personal assistant robot. Bill Moir. a university teacher and computer engineer, spent more than a year finishing this robot. And now Sally can do many things, such as turning on the radio, and even playing and working on computers.

In other parts of the world, there are similar robots,but Bill's is to help disabled (残疾的) people around the home.

About one month ago, Bill said, "I'll make a special house. When you come in, Sally will be there on the big screen for you. You can ask her to read your e-mails, tell you the news and how the weather is. You can also askher to help you buy something you need.She'll be able to do many other things if you like."

Although Sally is a robot, it seems that she could do a better job than a human helper.

Bill's working on a new project (项目) now. He wants to improve Sally so that she can do more and better work for people.

Why do children play with rabbit lanterns during the Lantern Festival?

Chinese people celebrate the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month(阴历月份), which is in the 1 of the month and marks the full moon. It's held to celebrate the first 2 moon of the year. It also 3 the end of the Spring Festival holiday. In 2025, the Lantern Festival is on 12th February. 

One of this day's important 4 is watching lanterns. The lanterns come in many sizes, colours and shapes. Making and watching lanterns are important things to do 5 the festival. There are usually riddles(谜语) on the lanterns. People need to guess the right answers of 6 . "7 lantern riddles"is another important activity of the festival. 

Children go out with paper lanterns when the night 8 during the Lantern Festival. Rabbit lanterns with wheels(轮子) are fun for 9 . Children can pull them along from place to place. Children will hold self-made lanterns to 10 through the streets excitedly. 

Why do people prefer rabbits? Some people say rabbits are 11 animals. The rabbit lanterns can bring children good luck. What's more, in old Chinese 12 , there is a jade rabbit(玉兔) living on the moon. So 13 are a big part of the festival as well. 

Till today, the Lantern Festival is still held each 14 around our country. People like eating sweet dumplings, also known as yuanxiao. Eating them has a special meaning:15 and happiness for the family. People always have a good time on that day!

We can do many interesting chemical tests in our class. Today, we will use CO2 to blow up a balloon! Mixing baking soda(小苏打) with vinegar(醋) together can give off the CO2

What you'll need

1)A balloon       2)About 40 ml of water         3)A soft drink bottle      4)Vinegar

5)A teaspoon of baking soda Instructions

Instructions

●Before you begin, make sure that you pull the balloon long to make it as easy as possible to blow up. 

●Put the 40 ml of water into the soft drink bottle. 

●Add the baking soda and mix it with water. 

●Put the vinegar in and quickly put the balloon over the mouth of the bottle. 

What's happening?

If all goes well then the balloon should become bigger and bigger! Adding the vinegar to the baking soda creates a chemical effect. The baking soda is a base(碱), while the vinegar is an acid(酸). When the two are mixed, they'll create CO2. The gas rises up and runs away through the soft drink bottle. However, it doesn't get away from the balloon, pushing it outwards and blowing it up.