Dear Teens,

①Do you wonder why some kids can stay calm while others get nervous so easily? Why do some kids do everything very quickly while others are very sluggish? Why are some kids always happy while some feel upset all times? 

②One of the answers to these questions is personality. People were born with different personalities. A baby gets its blood type, genes (pass on from its parents) and other physical things when it is still inside its mother. These factors make part of your personality. Besides, family life，school learning and life experiences can also decide what kind of person you are. You may not like your personality. Don't worry. You can always try to change it and make yourself better.

③If you are a selfish person who always thinks of yourself, you can start this way. Try to give others a hand and ask for nothing in return. The happiness you get from giving instead of receiving will help you change your personality.

④If you are very shy and don't know how to make friends, just tell yourself to smile at others and start talking to others with warm greetings. You are sure to have more friends than you used to do.

⑤If you are a sluggish person who always does things slowly, you'd better make a plan every day. When you finish something, draw a happy face. If not, draw a crying one. No one would like to see a crying face and you will have the desire to change it into a smiling one.

⑥All in all, don't get too worried about your shortcomings. No one is perfect. That's why many people are trying to change. Don't give yourself a hard time about it all. It's not easy to change the habits overnight. Remember "Rome is not built in a day". Keep working at it. One day you'll see that you can turn over a new leaf and be a new person.

Dr.Olson

"The best mianshilies in China and the best Chinese mianshilies in Shanxi." Can you imagine that in North China's Shanxi Province, there are over 280 kinds of mianshi, or cooked wheaten (小麦的) food?

Shanxi people's love for mianshiis closely connected to the local natural conditions. The dry weather on mountains and plateaus (高原) makes it a good place for growing wheat. Therefore, as time passing by, Shanxi people not only developed an eating habit for mianshi, but also invented different ways of cooking wheaten food.

Among the many Shanxi mianshi, the sliced (削的) noodle is the most famous one. It is a noodle made with a special knife. When making it, the cook needs to hold the dough (生面团) with one hand, while fast slicing the noodles into the soup pot with the other hand. The length and thickness of each sliced noodle are required to be the same. Experienced cooks can even turn the way of slicing noodle into an excellent show. They can slice 200 noodles in one minute, and make sure each noodle falls exactly into the soup pot 1.5 meters away.

In Chinese food culture, people like to give special meanings to the food. For example, they would have a bowl of Changshoumianon their birthdays, carrying good wishes for health and long life. In many places, the tradition is to serve jiaozito a person leaving home, and noodles to a person returning home, as both foods have their own important meanings.

Well, seeing all these Chinese mianshi, do you feel enjoyable? Would you like to have a try?

Every year, millions of birds are killed or hurt when they fly into buildings. Why does this happen?  Birds are flying into windows and tall buildings that are all covered by glass.

Many birds fly from one place to another. Most of the time, they live in the wild, such as forests and wetlands.  They might see small trees and flowers inside a window and want to rest on these plants. The birds do not know there is glass between them and the plants.  

Some birds fly at night. They use the moon and stars to help guide them in the right direction. Tall buildings with lights on at night can confuse（迷惑）the birds.  The birds see the light, but they cannot tell that the light is coming from inside a building. They fly toward the light and crash into a building. On many mornings, there might be several dead birds lying on the ground.

  Many office buildings now turn off their lights at night. This helps reduce the number of birds that fly into buildings and it also helps save energy.

Most kids love sweets. Why？When we eat or （喝）sweet foods, the sugar enters our blood and influences our brain. It （留下）god feelings with us, making us want more. In fact, all （美味的）foods do this, but sugar has an especially strong power. That's why doctors （总是）advise us to Early humans often had very little food, so our （身体）learned to store a lot of sugar as fat. In this way, we （节省）energy for when there was no food. But today, most people have more than enough. So it may now be harming our （健康）.

It's certain （更少的）sugar. The trouble is that, in today's world, our foods are filled with sugar. Although our （餐）look better, large amounts of sugar are often added. To solve the problem, we should take more exercise, （两次）a week at least. And remember, next time you want some cookies, eat an apple instead.

The tradition of tea drinking began in China thousands of years ago. It soon became (流行的；受欢迎的) because it was healthy and gave people energy. Later, tea was brought to some countries in (东方的) Asia, such as Japan and Korea. Nowadays, Chinese tea has become a world drink.

Some of the world's tastiest teas (生长) in China. Oolong tea is one of the best and it has many different kinds. One of them has a light brown (颜色) and tastes like honey. Another special kind has a heavier, burnt taste.

Perhaps the best way for beginners to enjoy tea is to (出席；参加) traditional tea art performances which are held at tea houses and tea farms around the country.

Several steps are planned (细致地；小心地) in each performance. First, heat the pots and tea cups with warm water. Then, put some tea (叶子) into the teapot. Next, pour hot water from a specific height. After that, make sure the tea is boiled for a proper time.

When the tea is ready, drinkers should (闻到；嗅) it before taking a sip. It's (有礼貌的) to finish each cup in three small sips. The performance provides a chance to appreciate this valuable (礼物；馈赠) from nature.