Air pollution influences our health in many ways. No air means death. Though we can't see it, there is air around us. Air is everywhere and it gives a life to every living things. But bad air makes people ill. In the city, there are a great many people and there are too many cars running on the road. The cars send out bad gases (气体). There are many factories too. From the chimneys (烟卤) of these factories, we get the smoke usually in black colour. Every day we breathe it in and out. This makes us feel sick. When people talk about air pollution, they are usually thinking about outdoor air pollution. But a lot of air pollution comes from indoor activities such as smoking and cooking. Indoor air pollution can hurt people's eyes, noses and throats. So air pollution, both indoor and outdoor, can also lead to lung cancer (肺癌) and heart disease.

    Everyone should help fight against pollution. In order to keep us healthy, we have to go out to the countryside to breathe more fresh air. Or we can climb up hills to get more fresh air.

Environmental protection is one of the hottest topics nowadays. It was also something that ancient Chinese paid great attention to. In fact, the world's earliest environmental protection idea, ministry （部门） and law were all born in China. How did the ancient Chinese protect the environment?

The world's earliest idea of "managing state affairs（政事）through environmental protection"

Xunzi, a famous thinker in the Warring States Period, came up with the idea of "managing state affairs through environmental protection". He wrote in his book that vegetation（植被）should be protected well by humans.

Guan Zhong, a government officer 400 years ahead of Xunzi, was also an environmental protection expert. He said "a king who cannot protect his vegetation is not doing a good job".

The world's earliest environmental protection ministry"

Nine ministries set up by Shim, an ancient Chinese emperor, included "Yu"（虞） , an environmental protection ministry. Hie first " Yu'' leader was Boyi, an environmental protection expert. He invented wells so people could drink clean water. He knew a lot about animals and also called for animal protection.

The world's earliest "environmental protection law"

Over 4, 000 years ago, Dayu, an ancient Chinese water-control expert and also an emperor, made a rule, not allowing people to cut down trees in March or catch fish in June, because it was the time when they grew quickly.

Almost 3,000 years ago, Tianlv, the first environmental protection law, appeared in Qin. It recorded many ancient environmental protection rules. Two of them were interesting: firstly, rivers should not be blocked（堵塞）; secondly, grass and trees should not be burned to be fertilizer （肥料）except for summer. The second one is inspiring even for today. It can help to keep air clean and fresh.

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I had a summer camp with my classmates last year. 

Early in the morning, we gathered(集合) at the bus station. After saying goodbye to our parents, we got on the buses. It took us more than two hours to arrive at the campground. 

We got off the buses cheerfully. Laughing and shouting, we jumped and ran all over the place. It was the first time for us to be away from the parents. Some of us started to feel homesick(想家的). However, when the night party and dances began, the homesickness was gone. 

The next day, everyone rushed to the boating class, hoping to be at the head of the others. At first, my friends and I worked hard, but the boat wouldn't listen to us and kept going round and round. Then the teacher taught us how to work together. After many tries, we did much better, 

Swimming class was my favourite. It was about the hottest time of a day and the best time to stay in the cool water. The swimming teacher was a funny man, and during the class he often made us laugh happily. 

During the week I learnt a lot of new things and made many new friends. I also learnt how to take care of myself. 

49-year-old Zhang Jianna is from a village in Hebei Province. Recently, videos of her directing foreigners have gone viral (爆红) online. Her beautiful English has deeply impressed the viewers. Zhang had worked as a restaurant server and a store seller. More than 10 years ago, she took on the role of a cleaner in the embassy (大使馆) area of Sanlitun in Beiiing's Chaovang district.

One morning, a foreigner came near to her, gently tapped her shoulder, and spoke a lot of unfamiliar words to her. Standing there, her mind going blank, Zhang didn't know how to react. The foreigner seemed to recognize her embarrassment and gestured (比划) for her to look ahead, giving a thumbs-up while repeatedly saying, "Good, good!" Zhang suddenly realized that the foreigner was praising her work in keeping the streets clean. It deeply moved Zhang and she made up her mind to learn English. "My goal is quite simple. I just want to help whenever someone is in need," said Zhang.

Thus, at the age of 40, Zhang has started a personal challenge. Without a teacher, she began learning English from her children's textbooks, starting with basic words and phrases commonly used for giving directions.

While others rested, she memorized vocabulary and practiced speaking. Upon arriving home after work, she would note down new knowledge points and review them until fully understood. Over the years, she filled over a dozen notebooks with her notes. She reviewed words at night and then repeated them one more time the next day morning. She also downloaded over a dozen English learning apps on her computer and phone, spending any possible moment learning and practicing.

"Growing up in a village without a college education, I sometimes feared being looked down upon. But every time I help a stranger in English, I feel strongly confident," said Zhang. "To serve others makes me happy and it's where I prove my self-worth. After retirement, I also want to introduce my hometown in English and help develop local tourism ."

Su Shi, known as Su Dongpo, was a famous Chinese writer, poet and painter.

When he was young, he read a lot of books and wrote many good articles. People thought {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (high) of him. Because of this, he became very proud and wrote a couplet (对联) for {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (him).

Knowing all the words in the world;

Reading all the books on the earth.

A wise old man saw this couplet and thought, "It is necessary for Su Shi {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (learn) how to be modest." So, one day, he came to Su Shi's house with a book.

The old man showed Su Shi the book and explained, "So far, I {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (read) the book several times, but there are still some difficult words that I can't understand. I have asked many people, but none of them could understand their {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (meaning). I have heard that you are a person of rich knowledge, so I come to ask you."

Full of confidence, Su Shi took the book from the old {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (man) hand, but when he opened it, he became very {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (surprise) because there were many words he didn't know. At that moment, Su Shi realized that there were many more things that he had to learn.

Actually, the old man knew every word in this book. He just wanted to make Su Shi know the importance of {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (be) modest. Su Shi was embarrassed (尴尬的) and said, "Now I know why you came. I shouldn't have been so arrogant (自大的)."

The old man smiled and {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (leave). Then Su Shi quickly took his brush and ink, and added some words to the couplet:

Working hard to know all the words in the world;

Being determined to read all the books on the earth.

 From then on, he worked even {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (hard) than before. Finally, Su Shi made great achievements in many fields, especially in literature.

The Letter That Changed a Life

A letter changed Levi Strauss's life. In 1849 gold was discovered in California. Thousands of people rushed to California in 1 of finding gold and becoming wealthy. The people hoping to find gold were foolish and greedy. One of those who headed for California was Levi Strauss. Strauss was different. Strauss was a clever, hard-working man. He was 2 a new start in life. Up to this time, Strauss had worked for his two brothers in New York City. The brothers sold clothes and blankets and other goods. Strauss planned to set up a 3 business to his brothers' in California.

Over the years, Strauss's business grew. In 1872 he got a letter from one of his customers, a tailor (裁缝) in Nevada. The tailor, Jacob Davis, had an idea for making better work pants. The pockets on work pants often tore. Jacob Davis 4 metal rivets (铆钉) to the pockets. Rivets are pieces of metal used to join things together. The rivets worked well, and the miners liked them. Davis didn't have enough money to get a patent for his invention. He also needed help making the pants. In his 5 Davis said that if they worked together, the two of them ‘‘could make a very large amount of money.''

Strauss could see that riveted work pants were a good idea. He agreed to help Davis. The two decided to make the pants. They decided to use denim cloth because it is a strong cloth that doesn't tear easily and is long lasting. 6 , the riveted denims were called ‘‘dungarees.'' Dungarees is a word from the Hindi language of India that means "rough cloth". Because they were tough and durable, dungarees were worn by thousands of farmers, miners, builders, and other workers. Later, dungarees came to be called "jeans". "Jeans" is a better name for the pants than "dungarees".