Sleep is very important．A person who does not sleep dies faster than a person who does not eat．We spend about a third(1/3)of our lives in sleep．That's about 121 days a year!

　　How much sleep do we need?We are all different．A baby needs 16 hours of sleep every day．Children 6 to 12 years old need an average(平均)of 10 to 12 hours of sleep．Teenagers need 9 to 10 hours of sleep．An adult needs an average of 7 to 8 hours a night．There are some people who need only 3 hours of sleep．Others need 10 hours of sleep．After the age of 50, the average sleep time goes down to 6.5 hours a night．We need less sleep as we get older．

　　About one in three Americans has a problem with sleep．Many of these people cannot fall asleep．The name of this problem is insomnia．Some people say,“I didn't sleep all night．”But that's not really true．They may sleep lightly and wake up several times．In the morning, they only remember the times they were awake(醒著), so they think they were awake all night．

　　This is not a new problem．Many famous people in history had insomnia．Some of these people had special ideas to make them sleep．Benjamin Franklin had four beds．He moved from one to the other to fall asleep．Mark Twain had a different way．He lay on his side across the end of the bed!

　　What is your favorite color?Ask famous persons like Cate Blanchett, Scarlett Johnson, and Bono(singer for the band U2), and maybe they will say“green．”That's not because these artists like the color green best．Instead, they are interested in green fashion．

　　Green fashion is about making(and wearing)clothes that are good for humans, animals, and the Earth．In the past, green fashion made people think of ugly clothes．But today, green fashion is different．It is about looking good and caring about the Earth and other people．You can have interesting clothes and be green．

　　Around the world, green fashion is becoming popular．For example, the U．K．company People Tree sells men's and women's clothing and accessories(配搭物)．They are made from natural fabrics(織物)like cotton and wool．Workers who make the clothes are from countries like Kenya(肯尼亞), and Bangladesh(孟加拉國)．People Tree pays the men and women good money for the clothes they make．

　　Singer Bono and his wife also started a clothing company called EDUN．When the clothes sell, EDUN uses most of the money to help people around the world．

　　In 1975, Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the top of Mount Everest in the Himalaya Mountains, the highest mountain in the world at 29,035 feet．

　　Junko was born in 1939 and grew up in a small town in Japan．During her childhood, she was thin and weak．At age 10, Junko went on a school trip．The students climbed two mountains, and Junko loved it．She could climb in her own time and ability．

　　After Junko graduated from university in 1962, she joined several climbing clubs．But they had mostly men members．Some refused to climb with a woman．In 1965, Junko married a well-known Japanese climber．Over the years, they climbed all the highest mountains of Japan．

　　Meanwhile Junko started a woman's climbing club．By 1972, she was chosen to lead a team of women to climb Mount Everest．It took three years for the 15 women to train and raise money for their climb．

　　Finally in 1975, the team went to climb the mountain．They found nine guides to help them climb up the mountain．Everything went well until the morning of May 4．Suddenly a huge amount of snow and ice fell on them．One guide saved Junko．She rushed to help others．Everyone was alive but they had injuries, including Junko．However, the team decided to continue their climb．About two weeks later, on May 16, Junko reached the top of Mount Everest．Later she said,“I can't understand why men make all this fuss(過于關(guān)注)about Everest－it's only a mountain．”

閱讀理解

　　A new TV series in England, Away from it all, has surprised everyone by becoming a huge success with young people across the country．Its success is surprising because the series is about the relaxing lifestyles of people who live in the country．There is none of the action that we usually see on TV today．There are also no stressful moments, busy offices or crowded cities．Away from it all is set in the peaceful English countryside and tells simple stories about people's kindness．

　　The director of the TV series says that its success is a sign of teenagers suffering from stress．They say that watching Away from it all helps teenagers forget about the pressures(壓力)of exams and homework, and the troubles that fill the world today．They also say that it's a good sign of today's young people switching to(轉(zhuǎn)到)happier TV series as it shows they would like a happier and healthier world．

　　Although the series'success might have a good side, many teachers and parents are worried, however．They say that some of their students and children are becoming couch potatoes(終日泡在電視機前的人)and are using Away from it all as an excuse for not completing homework．Some children have even refused to learn for exams because they say that they can only achieve personal happiness by avoiding(避免)stressful situations completely．

　　And what do the experts(專家)say?Paula Ray, a doctor of education, says that TV can influence children's lifestyles．But she says that if a child reacts strongly, it's likely that there are other reasons for his change in behaviour．She says that there is nothing wrong with watching Away from it all but suggests that parents should make sure their children know TV is not the same as real life．

閱讀理解

　　Why do you think people who live in some hot countries eat very spicy(辛辣的)food?Is it because the spices make the food taste better?Is it just because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents liked hot food, or is there some connection between spices and healthy food?

　　Researchers from Cornell University think that it is because spice plants have some important chemicals(化學物質(zhì))．These chemicals can kill bacteria(細菌)which spoil food．

　　“Most common spices can kill 75 to 100 percent of the bacteria in food,”explains one of the scientists．The bacteria grow more easily and spoil food more quickly at higher temperatures．For this reason, it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates．

　　Do you like your food spicy?Your answer probably tells something about the country you come from．If you like spicy food, it is possible that hundreds of years ago, when there were no fridges, people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling．The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live longer, healthier lives．Today, in a time of fridges, the spices just make the food taste good．

閱讀理解

　　Spiderman is one of the most famous comic book heroes of all time．He was created by Stan Lee in 1963 and was first introduced to the world in the pages of Marvel comic books．

　　Spiderman's story is the story of Peter Parker, a child who lost his parents and lives with his aunt and uncle．Peter is a shy, quiet boy wearing glasses and has few friends．One day, on a high school class trip to a science lab, he gets bitten by a special spider．Soon Peter realizes he has amazing powers：he is as strong and quick as a spider and also has a type of sixth sense．He no longer needs his glasses and he can use his super power to fly through the city streets!Remembering something his Uncle Ben has told him, that“with great power, there must also come great responsibility(責任),”Peter decides to use his powers to fight enemies who do cruel things to people．And so, Spiderman is born．

　　Life is not easy for Peter even though he is a superhero．He is in love with Mary Jane but cannot tell her about his amazing powers．Besides, his best friend Harry hates Spiderman!Peter is also short of money and time．He has to sell photos of Spiderman(himself!)to a newspaper and he keeps losing his other jobs because he's so busy saving people!Yet he has to fight different kinds of cruel enemies．

閱讀理解

　　What is your favourite colour?Ask famous persons like Cate Blanchett, Searlett Johansson and Bono, and maybe they will say“green．”That's not because these artists particularly like the colour green．Instead, they are interested in green fashion．

　　Green fashion is about making(and wearing)clothes that are good for humans, animals, and the Earth．In the past, green fashion made people think of hippies(嬉皮士)and ugly clothes．But today, green fashion is different．It is about looking good and caring about the Earth and other people．You can have interesting clothes and be green．

　　Around the world, green fashion is becoming popular．For example, the U．K．company People Tree sells men's and women's clothing and accessories(飾品)．They are made from natural fabrics(織物)like cotton and wool．Workers who make the clothes are from countries like Nepal, Kenya, and Bangladesh．People Tree pays the men and women good money for the clothes they create．

　　Singer Bono and his wife also started a clothing company called EDUN．When the clothes sell, EDUN uses most of the money to help people around the world．

　　There are many different ways to travel to Paris from London．One of the quickest and most popular ways is by train．From Waterloo Railway Station, you can travel all the way to Paris．The journey takes about three hours．The train, called the Eurostar, is very modern, and the seats are comfortable．

　　You can also travel to France by ship．First, you go to Dover, on the coast, by bus from London．The bus stops at the Ferry Terminal Seven in Dover．You can buy your tickets there．Passengers travelling by car can drive on to the ferry, too．

　　Another way to travel to Paris is by plane．There are several airports with international flights to Paris and other cities in France．You can travel to London Airport by bus or subway．

　　Some people even go by taxi but this is a very expensive way to travel!

　　Have you ever heard the saying“If you want a friend, be one”?

　　Here is a story about one new teacher making friends with the girls and boys in her class on the first day of school．As the bell rang, the teacher came in smiling at each girl and boy．Then she said in a quiet voice,“Good morning, girls and boys!How happy I am because I have all of you in my class this year．I'd like to know each of you．I am sure we will enjoy working together．I am sure that the more we get together the happier we'll be．”Her voice was so sweet and her looking was so friendly．Everyone believed what she said．

　　She told the girls and boys her name and wrote it on the blackboard．She told them some of the things she liked to do and she was hoping to do with them during the year．

　　Then she said to the whole class,“Now you know my name and the things I like．Next I want to know your names and the things you like．Then I will feel that I know you．”

　　Could you make friends by doing the same as this teacher did?

　　One way of getting to know girls and boys in our class is to know more about them．It is usual to be friends with those people who have the same interests with you．You can play the same games and go on journeys together．

　　You may find that some new comers in your class miss their old friends and feel strange and lonely．You can invite them to take a walk or to ride bikes with you．You will find many things in common to talk about．It is one good way to make friends just by talking together in a friendly manner．