China has decided to stop the use of free plastic bags. Supermarkets, shops and outlets(经销店) in China can't offer plastic bags any more.

    Every year, people use too many plastic bags. They throw them here and there after they have used them. The government has done its best to deal with them but failed. While we offer quick service（服务）to customers, the plastic bags pollute water, earth and air, and they waste the oil. The government asks people to go back to carry cloth bags and use baskets when they go to buy something. The cloth bags and the baskets can be used again and again.

    Many months have passed. The environment has been improved a lot.

    A new research on students' sleeping habits says that more than 70% of students do not get enough sleep.

    Researchers found that primary school students get 9 hours and 10 minutes of sleep a night, junior high school students get 8 hours and 6 minutes, and senior high school students get 7 hours and 9 minutes. None of those hours are enough for each group. Not enough sleep can cause many kinds of problems in children and teenagers.

    In 2007, Shanghai Municipal Education Commission asked primary and middle schools in the city to adjust their timetables so that students could get more sleep. Two years later, a research found that students at schools that adjusted their timetables got more sleep than in 2005.

    The researchers hope that the government will take measures to make students have enough sleep. Students in other places may even less sleep than those in Shanghai.

    Teachers teach us knowledge. They help us know about the world. We asked some kids to talk about their favorite teachers. Read the passage, and see what they think of their teachers.

    Ms. Kincaid is active. She often takes part in activities in and out of school. Her teaching is interesting. She is very kind. She always takes good care of me.

Nasrene Mroue. 11

    Ms. Palmer is a good teacher because she gives us many chances. She forgives (原谅)us when we do something wrong. She often helps me with my math. Now I' m good at math.

Malachi Draughn

    I think that I learn much important information(信息) from Ms. Green. The information is helpful for my later life. I want to thank Ms. Green for helping make me a better person.

Brody Hoke, a policeman

Mrs. Imel is the best person I know. She is always smiling and saying, I love it! I love it! " She believes(相信) in me and every child she teaches.

Makena Weiscopf, 12

    In today's world of mobile phones, MP5 players and minicomputers, most people have at least one time­telling tool with them. Since these small machines are so common, will people stop wearing the 500­year­old watches? According to some people, yes. A teenager says it's unnecessary to wear a watch. Many young people agree and they use their mobile phones to tell time. Louis Galie, a president, says that fewer young people wear watches today than five years ago.

    However, watchmakers say that watches get popular again when people reach their 20s and 30s. By then, they want to spend money on a nice time­telling tool which doesn't just keep good time. For this reason, the watch industry has become an accessory business (配件业)in recent years.

    Today's ________ offer a lot of uses that meet the need of almost any personality (个性). They can be used as compasses (指南针)，calendars, and even USB drives...

    People are always trying their best to create new kinds of watches. A certain watchmaker business makes watches that don't even look like watches. Their popular model uses different color lights to tell the time. Another watchmaker business, makes a "handless" watch, using a ring of circles to keep time. This watch makes people talk a lot about modern watches.

    Whether a watch expresses fashion sense, creative ability or a love of sports, people want their time­telling tools to be beautiful, fashionable and practical. All in all, a watch has become more important than the time it tells.

    One day, the father of a very rich family took his son on a trip to the countryside. He wanted to show his son that how poor people there were. They spent a few days and nights on the farm. After they came back from their trip, the father asked his son, "How did you like our trip?"

    "It was great, Dad."

    "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

    "Oh yeah," said the son.

    "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

    "I see that we have one dog and they have four. We have beautiful lights in our garden, and they have the stars at night. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that have no ends. We have servants(仆人) who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, and they grow theirs. We have fences to protect us, and they have friends to protect them."

    "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are," said the son. The boy's father didn't know what to say then.

    Today is Wednesday. Shirley is busy today.

    Shirley is a middle school teacher. She teaches P.E. in school. Shirley has four lessons on Wednesday，two in the morning and two in the afternoon. She needs to teach the students to play volleyball this week. That is her favorite sport. Tina is one of her students. She is really good at sports and she wants to be a volleyball player. School finishes at four in the afternoon. After school shirly doesn't go home. She stays in the school with students in school volleyball team. They will have a volleyball game with number 2 middle school next Friday. Every one wants to win the game so they practice hard. Shirley gets home at 7:00 pm. It's late but she is happy because she likes being a teacher and she is glad to help her students.