DIY, which means Do It Yourself, is quite popular in UK．Lots of stores and supermarkets sell DIY things．TV programmes show people how to DIY．

　　English people like DIY．There is a saying in UK－“As Englishman’s home is his castle”．Huge number of people spend their holidays making their homes beautiful “castles”．If there is anything that needs fixing around their homes, such as painting the walls or putting in a new shower, they will do the jobs themselves．They share DIY experience with their friends．More and more people have discovered the joy of DIY．Sometimes people also DIY for saving money．With the economic downturn at present, many people can not afford a big house．They are looking at how they can make their house better without spending a lot of money．It is not surprising that DIY is so popular．

　　DIY can be difficult．There is a huge market for DIY furniture which people need to get together themselves with a few basic tools．However, people often find it not easy to build a piece of furniture because they can’t understand the instructions．Sometimes the instructions are simple and clear, but the furniture itself is difficult to build．One thing is for sure, though most DIY projects are started with the best intentions．Many of them may not get finished．DIY can also be dangerous．For example, anything electrical should be done by a professional worker．Unluckily, many people don’t care about this warning and put themselves in danger．It is reported that in just one year over 230,000 people were hurt while doing DIY in UK, including 41,000 who fell off ladders．

　　Therefore, DIY can bring us fun and help us save money, but it is not always as easy as it is thought to be if we bite off more than we can chew．Maybe factories should make products that are easier and safer for us to DIY．

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　　MSG(monosodium glutamate)is a food additive(食品添加劑),which has been widely used by many food factories all over the world since it appeared first in Japan in 1909．

　　MSG is a substance that is added to some food to improve its original(原先的)taste and colour．It is used in foods around the world such as cakes, bread, frozen meats, fish and vegetables．In the beginning, people thought MSG was safe just like salt and sugar．However, in 1968 some people reported they seemed to have bad reactions(反應)to MSG after having had a meal at a restaurant．They included headaches and quick heartbeat(心跳)．It was also reported that MSG excited a person’s brain and caused his death in Japan．Scientists think that MSG may lead to many neurological disorders(神經紊亂)．In mice studies done by a university, the evidence showed the mice didn’t want to eat the food including MSG．

　　Today many food companies “hide” MSG on food labels(標簽)by using different names．If you see “natural flavorings”,“hydrolyzed protein”and “spices” in a food label, you are probably seeing a hidden way to “report” MSG in a food label．Every time we have a meal in a restaurant, we always feel the food very delicious to taste, but sometimes it is dangerous for our health because some poisonous food additives have been added to the food．

　　To protect people’s health, our governments, from central to local, are taking actions to stop factories producing poisonous food additives．

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Do you like travelling? If you are interested, come to our travel service as soon as possible．We offer the following travel lines for you to choose．

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　　One day a lonely girl found two weak birds while she was walking in the woods(樹林)．She took them home and put them in a small cage．She fed them with love and the birds grew strong．Every morning they greeted her with a beautiful song．The girl loved them very much and wanted their singing to last forever．

　　One day the girl left the cage’s door open．The larger and stronger of the two birds flew out of the cage．The girl watched worriedly as it circled(盤旋)high above her．She was afraid that it would fly away and she would never see it again．So when it flew close, she grasped(抓)at it wildly．She was very happy that she held it tightly within her hand! Suddenly, she felt something had happened to the bird．She opened her hand and was surprised to find the bird was dead．Her love for the bird killed it．

　　She noticed the other bird jumping in the cage．She could feel that it wanted to be free．It hoped to fly into the clear, blue sky．She lifted(舉起)it from the cage and flew it into the air．The bird circled once, twice, three times…

　　When the bird was flying happily in the sky, she was so glad．Just then the bird flew closer and sat softly on her shoulder．It sang the sweetest song she had ever heard．

　　The fastest way to lose love is to hold it tight; the best way to keep love is to let it fly!

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　　After spending years searching for a planet with life, scientists may have found one．In September 2010, a team of US scientists discovered an Earth-sized planet called Gliese 581 g．It has a surface temperature neither too hot nor too cold for liquid(液態(tài))water．Scientists think there is a chance that the planet could have life．

　　The planet Gliese 581 g goes around a star called Gliese 581, which is about 20 light-years from Earth．That is about 194 trillion(萬億)kilometres－500 million times farther away from us than the moon．

　　A spacecraft traveling at a one-tenth of the speed of light would reach Gliese 581g within about 220 years．A human can’t live that long, but robotic explorers could make the job easier．However, our fastest spacecraft don’t come anywhere near that one-tenth light-speed mark．

　　At present, scientists don’t know what the surface might be like on Gliese 581 g．What they know is that the planet is at the sight distance from its star to have liquid water．It’s also at the right distance to have an atmosphere that could protect the water if it is on the surface．

　　Although spacecraft won’t be getting there anytime soon, one way to look for life on Gliese 581g is to turn our radio telescopes(望遠鏡)towards the planet and search for radiation(放射)．By studying the radiation, scientists would find out about the chemicals(化學物質)around the planet and discover it Gliese 581 g has an atmosphere．If it has one, studying the atmosphere would give us a good idea if the planet has life or not．But it’ll probably be many years before we can do this properly．

　　People have been arguing about whether there is alien life on Gliese 581 g．Any discussion about alien life is just guessing at this point, according to its discoverers．

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　　The high school years are a key period．The things we learn during this time really shape our lives．Liu Changming, principal of Beijing No．4 High School made 18 suggestions for students just starting high school on how to get the best out of high school．Here are ten of them．

　　1)Read 50 books．But choose them from ten different fields．

　　2)Help a person．Look for a classmate, an elderly person, in fact anyone who could benefit(獲益)from your help．You’ll find you benefit too!

　　3)Research．Research a particular area, such as science, history or art．

　　4)Make a foreign friend．Try to befriend someone from a foreign country．It’s an ideal way to learn about a foreign country．

　　5)Publish(出版)an article．Whether it appears in a newspaper, your school magazine or in your own blog, an article will be something to look back on in pride in later years．

　　6)Take up a new sport．Choose one you’ve never played before．If you find you like it, you’ll have a hobby for life．

　　7)Join a club．Working hard in a club or other activities will give you a life outside of your studies．

　　8)Find a part-time job．Try and do the job for at least a month．

　　9)Find a person to learn from．Choose someone with unusual experience or special talent．Try to learn all you can from him or her．

　　10)Learn to cook four Chinese dishes．Learning how to cook is not only a practical skill but a way of building a bridge to other people．

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