九年级英语课外阅读材料

马航飞机失联，“黑匣子”成解谜关键。

ON March 8, a Boeing 777 from Malaysia to Beijing disappeared. It has become perhaps the biggest mystery in modern aviation (航空) history.

The Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 lost contact shortly after taking off. It carried 239 people on board, including 1 Chinese.

Where did the plane go? More than 25 countries have

Crew of Xue Long, an ice breaker of China, are

joined the effort to look for it.

looking for the plane in Indian Ocean.XINHUA

On March 24, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak

said that the plane “ended in the southern Indian Ocean”. Everyone on the plane died.

But the mystery is still not solved.

Normally, a plane is believed to have crashed after debris (残骸) is found. But when Razak made the

announcement, no debris had been found. The conclusion was based on analysis of satellite data (卫星数据).

To find out what happened to the flight, we must find one small object: the black box.

It is a recording device kept in a plane. It records the flight data and conversations in the cockpit (驾驶舱).

The black box has an underwater beacon (信标) which sends signals for 30 days after falling into water. The signals can be detected up to around 3 km away.

While the search for the plane is going on, countries with black box detecting equipment, including the US, the UK and Australia, are joining forces.

It’s a race against time. The battery is running low.

But nobody is giving up. China has said it will work hard to find out the truth at all costs.

Just as Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said: “If this mystery is solvable, we will solve it.”

Black box facts

The term “black box” was first used by the British Royal Air Force.

A black box is not black, but orange. The word “black” here refers to the box’s inside, which is dark and filled with information.

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Earth faces huge danger 全球变暖带来危机。

GLOBAL warming often makes headlines these days. Why is it so important?

A group of scientists attended a UN meeting in Japan late March, and listed the “eight reasons to worry about global warming”.

Both coastal (临海的) and inland flooding are a major threat (威胁) to people’s lives. Meanwhile, in rural (农

Global warming is affecting everyone on the

村的) areas, water shortages will make the poor even

planet.XINHUA

poorer.

Farming is affected. Because of warming, drought (干旱) and heavy rain, more people will go hungry.

Some fish and other animals could be in trouble. That’s not good for people who depend on them.

There are also some relatively new risks. Extreme weather, like storms, can damage some of the things we need every day, like electricity, running water and emergency services. Heat waves, especially in cities, are a huge risk to the elderly and very young.

Scientists made the list to warn people that Earth is at a turning point (转折点). If governments act now, some of the risks could be cut, but only if “strong actions” are taken, said a report by the scientists.

Change font to save money

美国中学生为支招：换个字体能省钱。

LOOK at the books around you. Have you ever thought of how much ink they used? Can you think of a way to save ink?

Suvir Mirchandani, 14, had a clever idea: change the fonts (字体) that the English words use.

Since the new term, the student from Pittsburgh, US, found that there were many printed handouts (散发的文字材料) at his school. He wanted to cut waste and save money.

While many people focused on paper use, Suvir set his eyes on cutting down ink usage.

He picked five of the most commonly used letters: e, t, a, o and r. First, he made a chart to show how often each letter was used in four different fonts: Garamond, Times New Roman, Century Gothic and Comic Sans. Then he measured (测量) how much ink was used for each letter using a software program.

Next he enlarged the letters, printed them and cut them out on paper to weigh them to check his findings.

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Suvir found that by using Garamond with its thinner strokes (笔画), his school district could reduce its ink usage by 24 percent (百分之……).

After he applied his project to the US government, he found it could help the government use 25 percent less ink and save $400 million (2.48 billion yuan)!

So far the government has not said whether it will make the change. But Suvir wasn’t disappointed.

“It’s difficult to change someone’s behavior,” he told CNN. “I’d be happy to go as far as possible to make that change possible.”

Trust friends when falling

ONE day, our teacher said that he had an exercise for us to try. We were to stand, facing away from our

classmates, and fall backward, relying (依赖) on another student to catch us. Most of us were uncomfortable with this. We couldn’t fall back for more than a few inches before stopping ourselves.

Finally, Judy stood out. She is a thin, quiet, dark-haired girl who always wears big, white fisherman sweaters. Judy crossed her arms over her chest, closed her eyes, leaned back, and did not flinch (退缩). She looked like one of those Lipton tea commercials (广告) where the model jumps into the pool.

For a moment, I was sure she was going to thump (重重砸到) on the floor. At the last moment, her partner grabbed her head and shoulders and pulled her up immediately.

“Whoa!” several students yelled. Some clapped their hands. Our teacher finally smiled. “You see,” he said to the girl. “You closed your eyes. That was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see. You have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other person trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too – even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling.”

我们常常被眼睛看到的困难吓倒，却忘记了心灵的力量。内心的坚毅，别人的信任，都可能帮助我们增强信心，走出困境。

Can robots write news stories?

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机器人写新闻，靠谱吗？

EVERYONE knows that robots can do a lot of things humans can do. They can make machines, explore underwater and even go into outer space.

But did you know that robots can also write news reports?

On March 17, the Los Angeles Times newspaper published a report about an earthquake that was written by a robot called Quakebot.

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Quakebot is the creation of Los Angeles Times reporter and

programmer Ken Schwencke. Two years ago, he made an algorithm (计算程序) that could report on earthquakes without human help. An algorithm is a method of solving problems and sorting information by following a series of steps and rules.

In the case of Quakebot, Schwencke had put in a set of steps that were used to sort through information sent to the robot from a US Geological Survey report.

The report included information such as the size, strength and location of the earthquake. Quakebot read the report and took out the relevant (相关的) information by following its set of rules. It then displayed it in the form of a news report using a pre-written template (模板).

The template was designed so that the sentence structure and grammar were already correct. All the robot had to do was fill in the blanks with numbers, places and times.

Schwencke told Slate magazine that all this happened in less than three minutes, much faster than any human reporter.

However, robots like Quakebot can only deal with facts, numbers and data. For interviews, opinions or anything slightly more human, the writing still needs to come from someone with a brain – for now at least.

Caring for Mother Earth

建造绿色城市，呵护地球家园。

WE humans live in different parts of the world, but we have the same “mother”. She gives us everything we need in our daily life. She is our Mother Earth.

April 22 is Earth Day. The theme of this year is “Green Cities”.

A green city is a healthy and pleasant place for people to live, according to the United Nations.

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A green city can get its energy from renewable (可再生的) sources like solar (太阳能的) and wind power. Also, it is connected by clean public transportation. Moreover, a green city is made up of facilities (设施) that can save energy and reduce waste.

Around the world, many cities and countries have done well to build themselves in a green way.

Chicago is well known for its green roof (屋顶) program. These roofs are covered with plants. The plants get a great amount of rainwater. Later, the water evaporates (蒸发) to help make the air cool and clean. So far, there are about 360 green roofs in Chicago, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Curitiba, Brazil, has great transportation. It opened the world’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) system in 1974. BRT runs on special lanes. This makes sure that buses are on time even in traffic jams. With the help of BRT, the city has the lowest level of air pollution in Brazil. Today, many other countries have copied BRT, including China and Mexico.

Singapore is home to the first zero-energy building in Southeast Asia. Zero energy means a building is able to create more energy than it uses. Zero-energy buildings work with solar panels (板) mainly on roofs. These panels can make electricity which powers the buildings. By 2030, Singapore plans to build 80 percent of its buildings like this.

Color code your trash

保护环境，从垃圾分类做起。 词数 270 建议阅读时间 6分钟

WHEN your pen is broken, you think that’s the end of its life. You throw it away. It then joins tons of other garbage that is becoming a big problem in cities.

Each day, about 10,000 tons of waste is produced in Guangzhou, and 17,000 tons of household waste is produced in Beijing.

In other countries, the case is similar.

Some middle school students in Sichuan province

are picking up trash in April 2013.XINHUA

“If you’re like most of us, most Americans, you’re

making seven pounds (3.17kg) of trash a day,” US writer

Edward Humes told CNN. So, an American makes 102 tons of trash in a lifetime.

If you simply throw away that broken pen, it goes to a landfill and is buried together with many other trash. To prevent polluting the groundwater, workers cover the trash with soil and keep it dry. And your pen will stay there

for a long, long time, without having further use.

But it could have a better destination: the recycling bin.

Have you ever noticed the different colors of trash bins in the street? Many cities in China have been running a

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waste-sorting (垃圾分类) campaign. They divide trash into “recyclable waste” and “unrecyclable waste”.

Recycling waste can save energy, reduce greenhouse gas, and keep landfill space free for the unrecyclable trash.

Take your pen as an example. At the recycling factory, its metal parts could be taken out and reused to make other things.

But recycling is not enough, experts say. Making less waste in the first place is the way forward.

“The best thing to do is just keep using your stuff for as long as you can,” US writer Adam Minter told Time Out magazine.

Bonus points

厨余垃圾: kitchen waste

生活垃圾: household garbage/trash 可回收垃圾: recyclable garbage/trash

不可回收垃圾: unrecyclable garbage/trash

A YOUNG boy was hungry for success. For him, winning was everything.

One day, the boy was preparing himself for a running competition in his small village. He was to compete with two other young boys. A large crowd gathered there to watch, including a wise old man.

The race began. With strength (力量) and power, the boy easily took the lead. The crowd cheered and waved (挥手). The little boy felt proud and important. However, the wise man remained still and calm.

“Another race, another race!” yelled the little boy. The wise old man stepped forward and presented the little boy with two new challengers: an old lady and a blind man.

The race started and the boy was the only one to cross the line. The little boy raised his arms happily. The crowd, however, was silent.

“Race again,” said the wise man. “This time, all three of you finish together.”

The little boy thought a little, stood in between the blind man and the old lady, and then took them by the hand. The race began and the little boy walked slowly to the finishing line and crossed it. The crowd cheered and waved. The wise man smiled, too.

“Which one of us three are the crowd cheering for?” asked the little boy.

“For this race, you have won much more than in any other race you’ve ever run before,” said the wise man. “For this race, the crowd cheered not for any winner!”

Do angry people see red?

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喜欢红色的人更具有攻击性。

词数 300 建议阅读时间 7分钟

IN English, when someone is very angry we say this person “sees red”, like a bull goes wild after seeing a red cloth. Now it turns out that “seeing red” is not just an expression for angry people, but also a scientific fact.

Researchers at North Dakota State University in the US found that there is a connection between the color red

FILE PHOTO

and anger. Angry people really do “see red” where others don’t. And a preference for red over blue may even suggest a more hostile (怀有敌意的) personality.

The study includes a number of experiments. In the first, researchers asked a group of people which color they preferred, red or blue. Participants (参加者) then did personality tests. Results showed that those who chose red tended to be more hostile.

During a second test, participants looked at faded images that could be regarded either red or blue. Those who saw red scored 25 percent higher on hostility in the personality test.

“Hostile people have hostile thoughts; hostile thoughts are connected with the color red, and therefore hostile people see this color more frequently,” the researchers told The Independent.

Finally, the participants were told about imaginary situations in which they could take different actions. Results showed that in these situations, red-preferring people were more likely to show that they would harm another person than those who preferred blue.

“An important message from this research is that color can send psychological (心理的) meaning,” the researchers said.

Where does this connection between the color red and anger come from? Scientists said it might be a matter of evolution (进化). In ancient times, poisonous plants and insects could cause wounds and bleeding. So it may have become instinctive (本能的) for our ancestors (祖先) to link the color red with danger and threats.

Driving down CO2

揪出气候变化的“元凶”二氧化碳。

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WE all know that climate change is mainly caused by too much CO2 in the air. What should we do to release less CO2 and lessen (减轻) the damage?

In early April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 间气候变化专门委员会), a UN organization, worked out a report on this question.

The key is to produce electricity without creating CO2, said the report.

A power plant in Shanghai is letting out

Water and nuclear power can do this. They now provide 30 percent

waste gases into the air in July 2011.

of electricity across the world. That must rise to 80 percent by 2050,

XINHUA

with solar and wind power playing a bigger role.

We can also help by using energy more efficiently (高效地).

Drive and fly less, and take more high-speed trains, said the report.

We have 10 to 20 years to control global warming at moderate (适中的) costs, said Professor Ottmar Edenhofer from the IPCC.

“I’m not saying climate policy is a free lunch. But it’s a lunch worthwhile to buy,” he said.

But if we delay, the world will have to try risky methods, said Edenhofer, who is a scientist from Germany.

One method mentioned in the IPCC report is to grow crops that suck CO2 from the air. Then we burn the crops for electricity. Finally, we collect CO2 produced during the burning and bury it underground.

We can also plant trees, which soak up greenhouse gases.

But buried CO2 is seen as almost as bad as nuclear waste, said Jochen Flasbarth, state secretary (国务秘书) at Germany’s federal environment ministry.

If we plant trees, they need large areas of land, displacing crops and pushing up food prices.

Books light our minds

走进书店，体会文字散发的别样馨香。

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IT is 10:30 pm and getting late. But the Beijing Sanlian Taofen Bookstore is still shining brightly. Hundreds of people are staying inside for one thing: to read!

Earlier this month, the Sanlian Taofen Bookstore started a trial (试运行) to run 24 hours a day. If everything goes well, it will become the first 24-hour bookstore in Beijing.

“We welcome everyone who loves to read books at any time,” Zhang Zuozhen, the general manager of the store told China Youth Daily.

Eslite Bookstore is the most famous

bookstore that runs 24 hours in Taiwan.

Although many people can now buy their favorite books online,

FILE PHOTO

the experience of immersion (沉浸) in physical books still attracts readers.

“There is no other choice to replace the touch of different qualities of paper and the smell of print,” Qian Xiaohua, the founder of Librairie Avant-Garde (先锋书店) in Nanjing told Xinhua.

It’s true. A great bookstore can encourage people to read in many ways.

Some attract readers with their huge stock (库存) of literature. Foyles in the UK was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest bookshop in terms of shelf area (50 km). You can find books with 56 subjects from fiction (小说) to law and philosophy at its flagship store (旗舰店). Foyles also offers coffee and desserts to readers.

Other bookstores make themselves a cultural hub by holding lots of reading-related activities. Eslite Bookstore (诚品书店), a well-known 24-hour bookstore in Taiwan provides activities including talks with famous writers as well as holding exhibitions. Their topics range from literature (文学) and arts to opera and the environment. At Eslite, people not only read but also socialize (社交) and care about broader issues.

In many countries, secondhand bookstores have made reading more available to everyone. Strand Bookstore in the US sells used books for $2-3 (12-18 yuan) each. It helps to keep old books being read and make reading cheaper. Sometimes you can find very old, rare (罕见的) or simply out-of-print books at Strand, for example, a Shakespeare book that was published in 1632. The book is worth $125,000 (about 778,000 yuan)!

The end of the stripy puzzle? 斑马为什么有条纹？

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ZEBRAS’ stripes (条纹) have puzzled scientists around the world for centuries. What is the biological purpose of being covered in black and white stripes?

There are many theories that try to answer that question. Charles Darwin, the famous biologist, thought that Zebras’ stripes were used to attract partners.

Alfred Wallace, the British naturalist and biologist thought the stripes were for camouflage (伪装). They make the zebras hard to

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see at night and create an optical illusion (视错觉) in the day. This protects them from being hunted by lions and other fierce animals.

But the zebras’ real enemy might be a whole lot smaller. A new study by Tim Caro from the University of California has come up with an entirely new theory on why zebras have stripes. He thinks that their stripes will keep biting flies (螫蝇) away from them.

Caro and his colleagues took a different route to other scientists who have studied zebras’ stripes. Instead of looking just at zebras, he looked at all equids (马科动物) (horses, zebras and asses) and the different patterns of their stripes.

He found that species that live in areas with dangerous flies were more likely to have stripes all over their bodies. Zebras live in Africa, where biting flies can cause great harm by both passing on diseases and sucking out

dangerous amounts of blood.

Caro is happy that they have answered the question of why zebras have stripes, but now he is left with another question: why don’t flies like stripes?

“That’s what happens in science”, he told The New Yorker magazine. “You answer one question and it leads to six more.”

Taking action over ivory

让我们都行动起来，拒绝购买象牙！

CAN a 14-year-old make a difference in the world?

Celia Ho firmly believes so. The 14-year-old from started a campaign (运动) to stop buying ivory (象牙) products. It has got support from 77 organizations, 40 schools and more than 9,000 students from home and abroad.

She is a symbol of hope and action for the new generation in Asia, said National Geographic, a US magazine.

Celia likes elephants very much. In 2013, she read an article about ivory. She was shocked to find that elephants are suffering because of people’s desire for ivory. She then started to take action.

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Celia designed a poster and set up her website Celia’s Corner. The website talks about her campaign and lists articles about ivory problems.

To bring the problem to the attention of others, Celia continues to write related information on social networks and write letters to newspapers. She talks about the campaign to her classmates and invites students at other schools to join her.

“Everyone has his or her power. When we are united (团结的), the power is going to be very powerful,” she said.

She doesn’t always get many replies, but Celia doesn’t feel disappointed.

“This issue is not popular enough and my campaign is also not popular enough. But I will keep trying, and I am sure they are going to join us finally,” she said.

Making trade fairer

公平贸易：你愿意为“道德”掏腰包吗？

IF you worked hard but received a tiny amount of the money you deserved, how would you feel?

That’s the life of many poor farmers and workers in the world. Some tend to accept it: trade is unfair.

But some people believe that we can trade to help the poor and the environment. This is the spirit of fair trade, a concept that has been around for over 60 years.

The second Saturday in May is World Fair Trade Day. Fair trade is all about giving people a fair price for their work.

Lots of people have to sell their goods at prices so low that they can’t make a decent (体面的) living.

According to a UN report, for every dollar of Arabica coffee from Africa that is sold in the US, coffee farmers get less than 1 cent.

Cacao (可可豆) farmers in North America and workers in Thailand and Indonesia are in the same boat.

This is where fair trade comes in.

Fairtrade Labelling International is an association that sets international standards for fair trade products. Farmers can certify (认证) their products at the association and get a Fair Trade label (商标).

Fair trade organizations then ensure farmers are given higher prices and help improve their living standards.

If you see a product with a Fair Trade label on it, you know that part of the money is going towards helping the community where it came from – like schools for workers’ children or new wells to provide water.

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Coffee, sugar, tea and fruit are some of the fair trade products we often see.

But usually, fair trade products are more expensive than others.

So, some people argue: isn’t fair trade “unfair” to customers on low incomes?

爱德华的奇妙之旅。词数 325 建议阅读时间 6分钟

It’s a story to read, fall in love with and read again.

Edward Tulane is a rabbit made of glass. Owned and loved dearly by a girl called Abilene, Edward becomes very spoiled. He thinks he is special, better than any other rabbit.

But one day Abilene loses Edward.

They’re on a big cruise ship (游轮) when Abilene accidentally lets Edward fall over the side and into the sea.

Edward spends nearly a year on the seabed. He thinks he will remain there

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forever, but one day Edward’s luck changes. A great storm throws him to the top of the ocean, where two fishermen spot and rescue him.

From there, most of the novel, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by US author Kate DiCamillo, is taken up with recounting (讲述) Edward’s different owners. He lives with the fishermen’s wife and a very sick girl. All the time he moves further away, in time and space, from his first owner, Abilene.

Edward’s character later begins to change. Where he was once arrogant (傲慢的), he learns to be humble (谦逊的). Because of the hard knocks that life has given him, he sees the world differently.

One day, Edward suffers the worst blow of all. In a shop the neck of this glass rabbit is cracked (破碎). Now Edward is broken, in pieces. Is it the end of the line for Edward?

Luckily, Edward is glued back together and placed in a store. He stands there lonely for many years until one day, finally, someone buys him. Who can it be?

Although you may have learned about the novel from watching the South Korean TV drama Man From the Stars, Edward Tulane has long been hailed in the US. It won the 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. “Its message of love and redemption (救赎) is beautifully written by DiCamillo,” wrote Sally M. Tibbetts on Kidsreads.com. “It has the classic qualities found in books like The Little Prince.”

Fitting in abroad

克服胆怯，我努力和老师同学建立友情。词数315 建议阅读时间 6分钟

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WHEN I first started studying at an American high school, I was very shy because I had hardly ever talked to any foreigners. I knew that if I wanted to fit into American society, I had to get over my shyness. I had to take the first step: getting closer to my classmates and teachers.

I soon found out that lunchtime was usually the best time for people to socialize (交际) with each other. I ate alone on the first day, but soon I found some company. There was an Asian boy called Gary at my lunch table. I was excited when I first saw him because I thought he might be Chinese. It turned out that he was from South Korea. As

Alex Liu (R) has connected with other

we talked more, I was shocked to find out that he was an adopted (收

students based on his interests.

养的) child of an American family. He told me that there were lots of people like him in the US. Thus, Gary became the first friend I

made in this foreign country. Gradually I made more friends at other lunch tables, which brought me more confidence.

I tried to make friends with my teachers as well. My first teacher friend was Mr Artificer. He is a biology teacher and we both like raising reptiles (爬虫) as pets. He even put a tarantula (狼蛛) in his classroom. Some girls freaked out (吓得发疯) when they first saw it.

I had raised tarantulas before, so I had a lot to share with Mr Artificer after school. I even helped him to do some landscaping (景观设计) for his tarantula tank (箱). Although a lot of time we had to communicate with sign language because I didn’t know how to say all the terms in English, we did have a lot of fun.

As time went by, I made more and more friends. I’ve come to understand that the first step always seems so hard until you actually take it.

Protect Chinese culture

“韩流”来袭，我们要保持头脑清醒。词数 270 建议阅读时间 5分钟

RECENTLY, a Korean drama, Man From the Stars, has become a big hit. It seems that everyone is talking about it. Thus, another South Korean wave is sweeping across China.

First of all, I have to say that I don’t applaud (赞许) those who are crazy about Korean dramas. I become tired of things when they are repeated again and again.

Several weeks ago, when I opened Qzone on my phone, news and discussions about Man From the Stars exploded before my eyes and covered my screen. The handsome actor had seized (抓住) the hearts of many people, especially girls.

When I was in Grade 6, I was also crazy about Korean dramas on account of the charming actors. Sometimes, I met them in my dreams, and I never wanted those dreams to end. But when I look back on that feeling, I realize that it was so superficial (肤浅的), and just a waste of time. Of course, those dramas can help us relax, and they help us look at the other side of society. But we shouldn’t completely lose ourselves in them.

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Behind the craze (疯狂) about Korean dramas lie some risks (风险). The culture of South Korea has successfully seeped (渗透) into every corner of our country. To some Chinese people’s embarrassment, South Koreans have protected ancient traditions, like respecting older people, much better than we have – even though those traditions come from Chinese ancient philosophies (哲学) originally.

So, I sincerely hope that students take their own culture more seriously instead of getting lost in those South Korean dramas. Getting down to protecting our own culture should be our mission (任务). Let’s live up to our cultural identity.

EVERYBODY makes decisions in daily life. They can be as essential (重要的) as what you will do in the future or as simple as what you will eat for breakfast. Any decision could be the turning point of your life.

I made an important decision when I was in Junior 3.

Before I made that decision I was one of the boys who tried too hard to act as an adult. I didn’t know that only kids want to show themselves as adults.

I didn’t listen to my parents and teachers and my grades became poor. Then came the senior middle school entrance exam.

At the turning point of my life, my mom wanted to have a conversation with me. I wanted to turn it down but when I looked at her eyes, I felt I couldn’t refuse. Instead of asking me to study hard, to my surprise, Mom just asked what I wanted to do in the future. Without thinking too much, I just said I would like to study hard.

Mom smiled and asked again: “I asked: what do you WANT to do?”

I never seriously thought about the question. So, I kept silent.

“Whether you want to go on studying or enter the society,” she went on, “it is your own decision. Your life ought be decided by you, not by anyone else, including me.” After saying that, she had tears in her eyes.

For the first time in my life I was asked to make my own decision. I sat in my chair and thought about myself, my life and what kind of person I wanted to become.

It took me what seemed to be ages to make the biggest decision so far in my life – I wanted to be a man who makes a difference in the world. To achieve that, I needed to study hard.

The path to my future became clear to me. I didn’t act rebelliously (叛逆地) any more. With passion (激情) in my heart, I studied hard.

Now, I am in one of the best schools in my city, in one of the best classes at the school and I am one of the best students in the class.

Thanks to that decision, I have become what I am today.

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China’s many flavors

A 17-YEAR-OLD an boy climbs 40 meters up a tall tree only to get some raw honey as an ingredient for a traditional local drink. The money he makes from selling the honey will be used to pay for his younger brother’s tuition fee (学费).

A group of traveling reapers (麦客) work 10 hours a day to help Shaanxi farmers harvest their wheat. The old landowner makes traditional noodles out of the newly-produced flour (面粉) to feed the reaping men, whose job has gradually been replaced by machines elsewhere.

These are only a few scenes from the first episode (集) of CCTV’s new documentary, A Bite of China 2, which aired on April 18. But they are enough reasons for food enthusiasts (吃货) to spend an hour every Friday until June 6 drooling (流口水) in front of their television sets. Viewers have had to wait a long time since A Bite of China first came out in 2012.

Back then, the seven-episode documentary was an instant (瞬间的) hit. With its beautiful visual effects and rich food culture, many considered it the best documentary ever produced by CCTV. Oliver Thring of The Guardian praised it, saying “[It’s] the best TV show I’ve ever seen about food. I’d hazard (斗胆猜测) it’s the best one ever made.”

The new season includes eight episodes, covering 300 types of food. According to CCTV, every minute of the show was edited out of 150 minutes of footage (影像镜头). Finding their subjects was often the hardest part of the film crew’s (团队的) job. It took them six months to film a beekeeping couple, which involved a journey of more than 2,000 kilometers.

Food is a personal thing, in that no dish suits all tastes. However, the program has still managed to strike a chord with all sorts of viewers.

“Compared with A Bite of China, the new season has a more human touch, which makes viewers shed some tears while their mouths are watering,” commented Sina Entertainment.

As always, the people are the most interesting part. A Bite of China 2 shows a greater “ambition” – through

homemade food, it tells the joys and sorrows (悲伤) of ordinary Chinese in changing times, according to director Chen Xiaoqing of the documentary series.

“I was moved by the people in each simple story,” said Li Weifang, 17, of Beijing No 3 High School. “Their hardships (辛劳) on the road and their commitment (付出) help enrich China’s food culture.”

In fact, that is exactly what the new season hopes to deliver. Through the program, “the audience will see the traits (特征) of the Chinese people: frugality (节俭) and tenacity (坚韧),” Chen told Xinhua.

Meet some young people who are fighting for the planet.

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Super girl

THIS US kid is on a mission (使命)! When she was 7, Brooklyn Wright wrote “The Adventures of the Earth Saver Girl.” In the book, a girl learns she has the power to rid (使去掉) the Earth of litter. Brooklyn created a costume and skit (幽默短剧) to go along with her book.

Now 11, she has visited more than 100 schools to teach students about pollution. In 2012, she received a Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. “It makes me feel great,” she told TFK. “Like I’m doing my part to help.” For more about Brooklyn, visit earthsavergirl.com.

A voice for elephants

After learning that elephants were being killed for their tusks, China’s Celia Ho, 15, decided to take action. By making posters and writing letters to newspapers, she is spreading the word about the problem. “I am working on an ivory-ban campaign (禁止象牙制品买卖的活动),” she told TFK in an email. “The most important part is educating young people.”

Help for the nautilus (鹦鹉螺)

The past few years have been busy for 13-yearolds Josiah Utsch (left) and Ridgely Kelly. In 2012, TFK wrote about their efforts to save a sea creature called the chambered nautilus, which is hunted for its shell. Since then, the boys from Maine, US, have raised more than $20,000 through their website savethenautilus.org. They gave the money to scientist Peter Ward. They’ve also joined Ward on a research trip to American Samoa. “We got significant data (重要的数据),” said Ridgely. The information will be used to help determine if the nautilus is endangered.

Green for frogs

Avalon Theisen, 13, understands that frogs are important to the environment. They help keep the insect population down and alert (警告) us to pollutants. Plus, she says: “They are beautiful to both hear and see.” When she was 8, her love of frogs inspired (激励) her to start Conserve (保护) It Forward. She shares information about frogs and how to protect them with people at schools, parks and zoos near Tampa, Fla. Her efforts earned her a 2012 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. She hopes to motivate (激发) other kids to spread conservation messages. “Find a project you love, act on it, share it with others,” Avalon told TFK. “That’s how you can conserve it forward.”

Abby’s stand (抵抗)

Abby Goldberg, 14, is working to save the environment - one bag at a time. She decided to take action after finding dozens of littered plastic (塑料的) bags in her town of Grayslake, Ill. Abby learned that state lawmakers were considering a bill that would keep towns from banning (禁止) plastic bags. She collected more than 150,000 signatures (签名) for a petition () against the bill. When the governor of Illinois vetoed (否决) the bill, he called Abby to tell her the news.

“It feels awesome (很棒的), knowing that I’ve had a big impact (影响) on my community,” she told TFK. Abby

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says her mission now is to educate others about the harmful effects of plastic bags.

AFTER spending a good Christmas holiday at my grandma’s house, my wife Tere and I drove back home.

We were so tired when we arrived home, we left the car in the driveway and decided to unpack it in the morning.

At seven o’clock in the morning, we woke up refreshed. But when we opened the front door, there was no car in the driveway!

Tere and I looked at each other, looked back at the driveway, and looked at each other again. Then she asked this wonderful question: “Well, where did you park the car?”

Laughing, I answered: “Right in the driveway.”

We walked around the block and couldn’t find the car. It had been stolen.

We called the police and filed a report that activated (激活) our high-tech tracking (追踪的) system.

As time went by, Tere became increasingly upset as she remembered more and more of what had been in the car – our wedding album, family photos from past generations and my wallet, just to name a few things. These were items of little importance to our survival, yet they seemed of major importance at that moment.

Frustrated, Tere asked me: “How can you remain cool when all of these things and our brand new car are missing?”

I said: “Honey, we can have a stolen car and be upset, or we can have a stolen car and be happy. Either way, we have a stolen car. I truly believe our attitudes and moods are choices, and right now I choose to be happy.”

Five days later our car was returned without any of our belongings, and with over $3,000 worth of damage to the car. After I picked up the car from the dealer, I ran into another car, which cost another $3,000 worth of damage.

As I was standing in the driveway looking at the car, kicking myself for hitting the other car, Tere arrived home. She put her arm around me and said: “Honey, we can have a wrecked (坏了的) car and be upset, or we can have a wrecked car and be happy. Either way, we have a wrecked car, so let’s choose to be happy.”

I surrendered (放弃) with a hearty laugh and we went on to have a wonderful evening together.

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