Today was the School Service Day, and Maya's class was going on a trip to a living centre called Hazel Grove.
It was also the first day for Maya to wear her leg brace* to school. Walking to school with her dad, Maya couldn't help looking down at1brace. In order to fit the brace inside, the left shoe she wore was much2than the right. She had already decorated the brace by drawing a pretty flower on it,3she didn't know how to mention the brace to others. She felt quite unsure about what others would think of the4.
As expected, all morning at school, kids kept5the brace until the teacher made them pair up to visit the people in Hazel Grove. Maya's friend Samir came to join her. "6did you wear that?" he pointed at the brace. Maya had no idea about what to say, so she pretended she had heard7.
That afternoon, Maya and Samir visited a 103-year-old woman who was in a wheelchair. It was hard to believe such an old lady could be so8. She cheerfully moved forward and greeted them, "I'm Joan. It's so nice of you to see me!"
9by her warm words, Maya bravely asked, "What's it like being in a wheelchair?"
"It offers the10to get around freely," Joan answered. She seemed excited to11her great helper, "Would you like to see how fast I can go in this thing?" Right then, she12went across the room. Then she turned around and moved back.
"You see?" There was13in her voice.
It was true. Joan went so fast in her wheelchair.
On her way back home with Samir that day, Maya decided to14,"This brace makes my foot up and keeps me steady* when I'm walking."
"Really?" Samir cried, "That's cool!"
Hearing the words, Maya's face lit up. Right at the moment, she felt so15walking in her new brace.
If you go to the US, you may have a chance to see an unusual "sport" that is becoming more and more popular. It's called rabbit show jumping.
Rabbit show jumping began in Sweden, a northern European country in the 1970s. Members of a small rabbit club started to hold jumping competitions for their pets at that time. By 1987, the sport had become very popular and a national competition was held. Then it spread to other European countries. Its rules were firstly based on horse show jumping, which is an Olympic event. Soon the rules were changed to work better for rabbits.
Here's how the competition works. Each rabbit is led around a course* by its owner. In a straight course, rabbits jump over several bars*, which will fall if the jump is too low. Another course is set up for rabbit agility*. Rabbits not only jump but also need to go across or through special obstacles*. Each rabbit has two minutes to complete the course. The goal is for the rabbit to make itself through without knocking down bars or failing on any obstacles. The "wabbit" winner is the one with the fewest mistakes.
The rabbits are usually trained with food rewards and a few gentle pushes in the right direction. But often they don't need a lot of training, because rabbits like to run and jump naturally.
Rabbits are cute and so fun to watch. Show jumping also gives pets and owners healthy activities to lo together, because people think rabbits are exercising their bodies and minds by running, jumping and thinking. And the competitions are a lot more interesting than simply judging the rabbits on their looks. Maybe some day soon, you're going to watch the "Rabbit World Cup."
Have you ever noticed plastic bags, bottles or cups all on rivers? Have you ever thought about a good method to solve the problem? A bubble* system was presented at the ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair) in May by a 15-year-old high school student called Dakota Perry. She came up with the idea of creating the system when spending time by the river behind her house.
The bubble system works in a smart way. It sends a curtain* of bubbles up from the river bottom and makes the curtain cross the river in a diagonal* line. Then the rubbish will be stopped in the curtain and pushed towards the side of the river by the natural moving water. There, the rubbish will be easily collected and sent to the rubbish bin. The bubble curtain mainly depends on a machine called air compressor*. It sends air through a plastic pipe* with rows of small holes. The air escapes through those holes and creates what looks like a curtain.
In order to make the bubble system actually work and collect rubbish, Dakota focused on working out how much pressure the air compressor should push out. She kept changing different amount of pressure until a full bubble curtain appeared. She also checked the speed of the moving water after rainstorms and then made sure the bubbles still rose in rushing water. To test the curtain's ability of collecting rubbish, Dakota placed plastic bottles into the water. Some bottles were empty, and others were full of small stones. All of the bottles successfully stopped at the curtain, slowly moved along it, and finally reached the edge of the river.
The bubble system works really well. It can be left on for 24 hours a day. That will certainly save human resources and help the community rubbish pickup to enjoy a shorter working hour. Besides, fish can still swim through the bubbles freely and even get more air from the bubbles.
Dakota never stops trying and testing. Now she is planning to run the air compressor with solar energy and also the power from moving water. That will make her bubble system completely green in the future.
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D . 
Mrs Robertson was our fifth-grade teacher. She would give us a high five if we did well on a test. She would hug us when we had a bad day. She would also say goodbye to each of us as we walked past her in line after school. No other teacher did that.
Friday was the last day of this term. Everyone would come to school with a present for her.
"What are you getting for Mrs Robertson?" Charlene asked.
I didn't answer, for I wanted to make it a surprise. Actually, I planned to buy a Chia Pet which would grow grassy hair if people put chia seeds inside a pot and watered it.
But when I told Mum about it, her eyes went wide. "A Chia Pet of twenty dollars! We can't go around buying people presents that cost twenty dollars. We'll be out our food money!"
"It's not just anybody. It's Mrs Robertson!" I said, "She's my favourite teacher. Everyone will give her a good present. I'll be the only one who is empty-handed!"
"I've already bought one," Mum stopped me and took out a plastic bag. "Your teacher is a working woman, like me. I know what she needs."
Mum was holding a pair of packaged pantyhose* with the price in the corner saying $1.49. Imagined Mrs Robertson opening this present in front of the class. I could already hear Charlene's laugh.
"No!" Tears started to cloud my eyes.
"This is what we'll give her." Mum made the final decision.
I finally took the pantyhose to school on Friday. Mrs Robertson's desk was quickly covered with presents, but mine was actually under her desk near the rubbish bin, where it belonged. I had put it there on purpose during lunch.
I tried my best to forget the present during vacation. But soon, it was time to go back to school.
Surprisingly, when I was going to sit down, I found a note inside my empty desk.
Dear Maria,
Thank you so much for your present. How do you know that I always tear* my stockings under the
Your friend,
Mrs Robertson
I checked what Mrs Robertson wore today. She was wearing the pantyhose, and maybe they were the ones I gave her. Best of all, no one else knew. I smiled and put the note inside my pocket.
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Old Art Form Reborn
Qinqiang Opera came from the ancient songs and dances of the Han people in Shanxi and Gansu provinces. The area was called Qin （千）ago, so the opera got its name Qinqiang. It was a good way （记录）ancient Chinese people's daily life and feelings.
As one of （早的）forms of operas in China，Qinqiang is considered as the forefather of all styles of Chinese operas. And it had a big （影响） on the development of Beijing Opera as well. During the Qing Dynasty, Qinqiang Opera （进入）Beijing and soon a new musical style-Beijing Opera appeared. They are similar in many ways, （包括）singing and acting styles.
However, in the 1990s, pop songs and music from the West became popular in （几乎）every corner of China and they hit Qinqiang Opera hard. Many Qinqiang performers had no choice but to leave （剧院）to find other jobs.
Luckily, China has made great efforts to develop its own （传统的）art forms in recent years. The fans of Qinqiang Opera were mostly old people ten years ago, but now （两者）the old and the young start to enjoy its beauty. As we Chinese become more confident of our own culture, Qinqiang Opera will surely regain its popularity.
The Big Debate
Should People Have a Weekly Screen-free Day?
Have you ever surfed online just for 10 minutes but when you check the time, hours havepassed? Or perhaps you've asked somebody a question, but they didn't reply because they (play) phone games at that time. Therefore, some people decide to turn off screens for one day every week and enjoy (they) in the real world. So what do you think?
We agree to have a screen-free day. Some people spend too much time on smartphones they go to sleep. It's bad for their health. And less time online means people have more time to develop some meaningful (hobby), such as sports or sightseeing. A screen-free day is easy rule for the whole family to follow. It can make their relationships much (close).
We think it's impossible to spend a whole day screens. because people need to keep in touch with others. (stay) awayfrom smartphones can make people feel as if they're missing out. Also, ourlife has become more colourful because of the big changes , the technology has brought us. Instead, people should spend their time online (wise) and take daily breaks.
