You may know about junk food like French fries. But do you know about junk sleep?
Recently, a British survey found that electronic products(电子产品)in teenagers' bedrooms are affecting(影响)their sleep. The survey was done among 1, 000 British kids from 12 to 16. It found that 30 percent of them got just 4 to 7 hours of sleep every day. But doctors say they need 8 to 9 hours.
Almost a quarter of the kids said they fell asleep more than once a week while watching TV, listening to music or using other electronic products.
" This is very worrying. "said Dr. Chris Idzikowski, "We call it junk sleep. It means you don't get enough sleep and the quality(质量) of the sleep is bad, too. If you don't get good rest, you won't perform well in school the next day. "
The survey found that 40 percent of the kids felt tired each day, with girls between 13 and 16 feeling the worst. Nearly all the teenagers have a phone, Mp5 or TV in their bedrooms. And many of them have all three.
What things do you do well? Julian Lage plays the guitar. He plays better than most people his age.
Some people say Julian is truly a guitar whiz. When he was 13 years old, he already played with some of the top guitar players in the country. He also made recordings with them and performed at a number of music festivals. He even appeared live on television for the 2000 Grammy Awards Show, which gives prizes to the country's excellent musicians.
Julian was five when his father brought home a guitar. Just one year later Julian astonished people with his amazing talent. He played the guitar very well. A movie about Julian's special skills was made in 1997. It was called Jules at Eight. Julian works hard to play even better. He practices five to eight hours each day. Julian also works on his music with a guitar teacher.
When does Julian have time for school? Instead of going to school, he is taught at home. He does his schoolwork first in the morning so that he can spend the rest of the day on his music.
Julian is not sure what he will do when he grows up. For now he is happy just to play his guitar.
“Wash your hands often and completely, with soap and running water!” We often hear this, but do you follow it? We know it's good for our health to wash hands. There's even a day to make us do it and know more about its importance. It is Global Hand-washing Day and it's on October 15. During the outbreak of COVID-19, washing hands plays an even more important role in preventing the virus (病毒) from going around.
People think of Doctor Semmelweis from Hungary(匈牙利) as the first person to find out the good results of hand washing. He pointed out the importance of hand washing to doctors, because they often worked with people who are seriously ill. And he saved a lot of people's lives by telling doctors to wash hands with chlorine (氯) before each examination (检查).After that, the number of dead patients became much smaller.
You might think everyone would be excited, because Dr. Semmelweis solved the big problem . But in fact things were quite different. Although Dr. Semmelweis kept asking doctors to wash their hands with chlorine, not every doctor accepted (接受) his idea. Some even sent him to a mental hospital. His idea became really popular years after he died.
Now that washing hands is of great importance, we should do it as carefully as we can. What's more, it's important to wash our hands in right ways.
Harry and Nick were very good friends. They lived next door to each other.
One morning Harry heard a strange noise, so he went into the garden. His dog, Jade(凿洞) under the fence(篱笆)。She wanted to play with Nick's dog
"Stop that, Jade!" said Harry. "You're making a mess. "
Later that day Harry's mum heard a strange noise. She went into the garden to investigate( 调查)。Harry was digging a hole under the fence. "Hi, Mum(通道)。"
"We got the idea from Jade, " said a voice from the other side of the fence. "So we can crawl(爬行) through when we want to play. " Harry's mum smiled. "Good idea, " she said, "but what if it rains and the tunnel fills with mud?" Harry looked disappointed. "I think you should stop digging
Jo was the first to wake up on Christmas morning, but soon they were all awake and they went downstairs.
Mrs March was out. Meg looked at the gifts for her mother. The gifts were in a basket under a chair, ready to bring out at the right time. "Where is Amy's bottle of perfume?"
"She went to put some pretty paper round it, I think," said Jo.
Suddenly, they heard the outside door close.
"Here's Mother! Hide the basket, quick!" said Jo.
But it was Amy. She ran to the shop and changed the little bottle of perfume for a big one.
Then there was another bang from the front door, and the basketball was pushed back under the chair. The girls ran to the table, ready for their breakfast.
"Happy Christmas, Mother!" they shouted.
"Happy Christmas, little daughters!" said Mrs. March.
Then the smile disappeared from her face. "Girls, listen. Not far away is a poor woman, Mrs Hummel, with a new baby. Her six children are in one bed, trying to keep warm, as they have no wood* for a fire. There is nothing to eat and they are hungry and cold. Will you give them your breakfast as a Christmas gift?"
For a minute no one spoke. But a lot of words came into the girls' mind.
"Are they hungry to die?"
"Are their clothes all worn out?"
"Will you offer to help them?"…
Then Jo said, "Mother, I'm so glad you came back before we began to eat!" and the girls quickly began to put their breakfast in a basket.
"I knew you would do it," said Mr, March, smiling.
She took the girls to a cold, uncomfortable little room in an old building. There they found a sick* mother, a crying baby, and a group of children with white, afraid faces. The children were on the bed under a blanket*, trying to keep warm.
The girls couldn't believe what they had seen. They looked at the kids on the bed, open-mouthed.
The woman almost cried with happiness when she saw the girls. With wood for a fire, Mrs. March gave the mother tea and hot food, then she dressed the little baby gently. The girls put the children round the fire and fed them like hungry birds.
Although the girls ate nothing, no one was happier than those hungry young girls who gave away their breakfast on Christmas morning.
Traffic lights are red, yellow and green. They are very important signals. Traffic lights are usually put at busy street corners to help control* traffic. Sometimes, they are on streets near schools and shops, too. Most young children are taught what each of the colored lights means, so everybody can stay safe.
The first traffic signals were used for trains. The signals were put alongside railway tracks. The color red was used to mean "stop" because it warned people of danger. A red light was also the easiest color to see far away. Train drivers could see the red "stop" light ahead and had enough time to slow down and stop their trains. A green light was used to mean "take care" and a white light meant "go".
However, there were many dangerous accidents on the train tracks. Some train drivers thought a star shining in the night sky was a white light that meant "go". So the signals were swapped. The "go" light was changed to green and the "take care" light was changed to white.
During these times, people travelled by train or in carts pulled by horses. Years later, when cars were built, people began to drive them because they could travel much faster than horses. However, the road rules for drivers were not very clear and many people were hurt crossing the roads. Yellow warning signs had to be put on the side of the roads to warn drivers to take care and allow people to cross safely.
Today, towns and cities all over the world have traffic lights. Red and green lights match the signals used on the railways. Yellow lights are easy to see, so they are used to warn drivers that they should slow down and prepare to stop.
a. A white light b. A green light c. A yellow light
One early morning, I woke up by a cell call. It was from a taxi driver. He told me he had my friend's cell phone(手机).
My friend, Michael, left it in the taxi the night before. The driver called others, but I was the first one to answer his call.
It was a rainy morning. For taxi drivers in this big city, it's a fantastic time to make money. He asked me where he could drop the cell phone off. I told him the street where I lived. Then I quickly jumped out of bed and got dressed, so I could meet him at the corner.
When he arrived, I thanked him. And I was so happy for my friend, he moved to this country a few weeks ago – and I could only imagine(设想) how important his cell phone was to him!
I asked the taxi driver for his name, so my friend could thank him. He said my thanks were all that he needed. Then he drove off.
I e-mailed my friend telling him I had his phone. In the evening, he came to my home and I told him how I received (收到) it.
My friend was very excited to get back his cell phone. He said he would help others as possible as he could.
a. Michael came to the writer's home. b. The driver returned the cell phone.
c. The writer e-mailed Michael. d. Michael moved to the writer's city.
A lot of people play sports, but very few people become sports professionals (专家). If sports aren't going to be your future, then why should you play them? Why should you train every day? Why should you work hard and feel sore (酸痛的) the next day? Wouldn't it be better to forget sports and only pay attention to your lessons? In fact, there are a lot of reasons to play sports.
First of all, sports are a great way to exercise. Exercising keeps you healthy and strong. It also helps you stay in a good condition. When you exercise, your body makes endorphins(安多芬) which give you more energy and make you feel happier.
Also, sports teach young people how to communicate and work as a team. They teach young people to respect(尊重) their coaches, teammates and players from the other team. Many reports say that sports help young people stay out of trouble. If a young person plays sports, he or she may have fewer problems. This is because sports teach people about rules. They also teach people that if they work hard, they might succeed.
Another good way of sports is that they make people leave their houses. These days, a lot of people spend too much time watching television and playing video games. When you play sports, you go outside and exercise in the sun. You take in fresh air. All of these things are important.
Maybe you're not going to become a sports professional, but that doesn't matter, sports will help you become a better and happier person.
Huang Cheng Store is the cheapest store in town. Though it's the cheapest, it isn't the most popular. People don't shop there very often because lots of people say the things there are the worst in town.
Hua Mei Store sells very good things. They sell the most fashionable(时尚的)clothes and the best record players(音响). And they have the best service. However, people don't often shop there because the things are also the most expensive. And it is far from the town center.
Heart to Heart Store is the most popular store in town. The things there aren't the cheapest, and they aren't the most expensive. It doesn't have the best things, and it doesn't have the worst. So it is popular. The clothes aren't the most fashionable, but they're more fashionable than the clothes at many other stores. And its location(位置) is convenient(方便的), too.
There are many interesting things around the world. Here is something fun to visit.
The Piano House This House in Huainan City of An Hui Province looks like a large piano, with a glass violin in the middle. Some university students in Hefei built it and hoped to bring the city plenty of tourists. It works! Now it has become one of the favorites of tourists in China. If you are a music lover, don't miss it. |
|
Singing Roads In Japan, some roads can play music as cars travel over them. Grooves are carefully cut into the road. The spaces between the grooves make different music as cars touch therm. The closer the grooves are, the louder the music will be. Drivers can hear the beautiful songs best when driving at 50 kilorneters an hour. And all say they can make them keep wide-awake when they feel tired. |
|
Mr. Toilet House This large building in South Korea was built by Mr. Toilet in 2007. His real name is Sim. Sim built it to tell people how important toilets are to the health of a society. There is a Children Museum inside. And now it is a popular place for school learning trips and students love it. Opening time: Tuesday-Sunday, March-October 10:00-18:00; November-February 10:00-17:00. Closed on Mondays. |