Would you like to see the festival from a different perspective?

    A volunteer position at Canada Blooms might be a good fit for you.

    Bringing with you energy and expertise to help make Canada Blooms a world-class event. Come and join us in celebrating our 24th festival, and put your love and knowledge of gardening to use.

    Volunteer schedules are flexible and you will receive a free entrance for any day of the festival. 3-4 hour shifts in either the morning  afternoon or evening, are available. Feel free to stay and enjoy the show after your shift.

    We are looking for:

    Garden/Landscape/Nursery Aides(before/after festival, change over night)

    Ice cream Ambassador

    Bus/Tour Greeting Ambassador

    General Greeting Ambassador

    General Help/Runner

    Please complete the Volunteer Sign-up Form and send an email to bloomsvolunteers @gmail.com with your preferred day(s),time(s)and position(s).

    If you are interested in helping with the pre-festival horticultural set-up, contact Tanya Smith at bloomshortvolunteers@gmail.com.

    Additional Information:

    Free parking is available on outside lots Mon-Fri after 4 pm.

    If you are offered a position, we need to be able to count on you to be responsible. If you are unsure of what day or time you will be available, we can still use your help, just sign up as General Help and we will offer you a position when you arrive.

    I remember that every Saturday night Mama would sit down by the kitchen table and count out the money Papa had brought home in the little envelope.

    “For the rent.” Mama would say, counting out the big silver pieces.

    “For the groceries.” Another pile of coins.

    “Teacher says this week I'll need a notebook.” That would be my sister Christine, my brother Nels or me. Mama would put one or two coins to the side.

    We would watch with anxious interest. At last, Papa would ask,” Is that all?” When Mama nodded, we could relax a little. Mama would look up and smile,” Good. We do not have to go to the Bank downtown.” We were all so proud of Mama's Bank Account. It gave us such a warm, secure feeling. No one else we knew had money in a big bank downtown.

    I remember when the Jensens down the street were put out because they couldn't pay their rent. We children watched the big strange men carry out the furniture, ignoring the tears of Mrs. Jensens. “Might this, could this, happen to us?”

    “We have a Bank Account.” Mama comforted me calmly, and suddenly I could breathe again.

    Whatever happened, we always knew we still had the Bank to depend upon.

    That was twenty years ago. Last year I sold my first story. When the check came, I hurried over to Mama's and put it in her lap.” For you, I said,” to put in your Bank Account.” I noticed for the first time how old Mama and Papa looked. Papa seemed shorter, and Mama's hair was silver now.

    Mama fingered the check and looked at Papa.” Good,” she said, and her eyes were proud.

    “Tomorrow,” I told Mama, “you must take it to the Bank.”

    “You will go with me, Katrin? But...” Mama stopped for a moment and looked at me.

    “There is no account,” she continued. “In all my life, I've never been inside a bank.”

    And when I didn't-couldn't-answer, Mama said seriously. “It is not good for little ones to be afraid-to not feel secure.”

    Growing up in America, I enjoyed the convenience of eating the most attractive, well-packaged foods of the 20th century, including all the candies we often see near the cash register.

    During those times I wasn't aware how bad sugar was, and in fact, neither was anyone around me. So I continued to spread jam on my toast and eat ice cream daily.

    Strangely enough, I felt that sweet was some sort of wonderful drug: it gave me the energy to function properly, to feel good and to perform at my best, all of which seemed necessary for growth. So why avoid it?

    Years later, huge food companies, like General Mills and Post, began pumping more sugar into their products, and then more and more people appeared with bigger bellies. It finally came to my awareness that our society was becoming more miserable and unfit. And from what?

    From sugar!

    I began to do some research into sugar and what it did exactly to our bodies. To my amazement, I found its damage was just as bad as, if not worse than, what alcohol and cigarettes brought about. You see, when you take in more sugar than you need or burn, your body and brain become over-active. This, in effect, causes your cognitive abilities to slow down, your mood to get to the extremes, your skin to age faster, your blood to become thicker and your liver and kidneys to be worn out.

    But what surprised me most, out of all of these horrible side effects, was that sugar adds extra pounds to your waistline, even if you do exercise regularly. And what I've always wanted, for the past few years, is to remove that extra fat around my “love handles” so that I could finally see my abs(腹肌).

    I just didn't know, this whole time, what damage I had been doing to myself and my dreams, but I knew I had to do something. Something I had never done before.

    New research suggests that dogs might be able to help save diseased citrus trees. 

    A group of scientists trained dogs to use their sense of smell to detect a crop disease called citrus-greening. The disease has affected orange  lemon and grapefruit trees in the American states of Florida, California and Texas.

    The dogs can detect the disease weeks to years before it appears on tree leaves and roots, the researchers report. A study on their findings was published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The report says using dogs is also faster, less costly and more exact than having people collect hundreds of leaves for lab analysis.

    Timothy Gottwald is a researcher with the U. S. Department of Agriculture and a co-writer of the study. He told The Associated Press,” This technology is thousands of years old-the dog's nose. We've just trained dogs to hunt new prey.”

    Citrus-greening is caused by a bacteria (细菌) that is spread by a tiny insect that feeds on the leaves and stems of citrus trees. Once a tree is infected(感染), there is no cure. The disease has also hurt citrus crops in Central and South America and Asia. In one experiment involving grapefruit trees in Texas, trained dogs were correct 95 percent of the time in telling the difference between newly infected trees and healthy ones.” The earlier you detect a disease, the better chance you have at stopping an epidemic(流行病）by removing infected trees,” Gottwald said.

    Matteo Garbelotto studies plants at the University of California, Berkeley. He says the new research shows that dogs can detect an infection well before current methods. Garbelotto has been involved in similar research but had no part in the new study.

    Laura Sims is a plant scientist with Louisiana Tech University. She praised the steps taken to find out if the dogs were detecting the bacteria itself or a plant's reaction to an infection. To do that, the researchers infected different kinds of unrelated plants with the bacteria in a laboratory. The dogs were still able to pick out the infected plants.

    Gottwald said, “You've seen dogs working in airports, detecting drugs and explosives. Maybe soon you will see them working on more farms.”

    English playwright Arthur Wing Pinero said, “Where there's tea, there's hope.” Similarly, a Chinese saying goes that “Firewood, rice, cooking oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are the seven necessities to begin a day.”

    According to statistics, global tea production reached approximately 5.8 million tons in 2018. It has become the most consumed beverage(饮料) in the world-after water, of course.

    In order to celebrate the popular drink, the United Nations General Assembly has named “May 21”as International Tea Day.  You probably know that people in China use top-grade tea to show respect when receiving important guests. . Making Malaysia's pulled tea has become a sort of art form, where drinkers take pride in its entertainment aspects.  As an expression of Moroccan hospitality(好客)and tradition, mint tea-a mix of green tea,  spearmint leaves and sugar-is served during gatherings.

    “Apart from its cultural significance, tea is also a medicine.” Tea is cold and lowers the fire, Chinese Ming Dynasty herbalist Li Shizhen once said. Preventing heart disease, obesity and cancer has all been linked to drinking green tea, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information in the US. The love for healthy tea products continues into a new decade as it's used in moisturizers, lip balms and other beauty products.

     It's a social custom and also a magic medicine, a link to the past and a way of life.

A. Avoid drinking too much though it is beneficial.

B. Tea is, without doubt, welcomed all over the world.

C. The health benefits of tea are still being discovered today.

D. Hot or cold, bagged or loose-leaf, tea is more than a drink.

E. It has become a big part of many cultures around the world.

F. China, the homeland of tea, is a leading producer and consumer.

G. Meanwhile, afternoon tea is an important part of the British culture.

    Charlie was a little boy of five years. The teachers often praised him because of his intelligence and good 1to all.

    But there was one boy in the class who 2 Charlie! His name was Bill and he was a very 3boy. Finding Charlie quiet, he started 4 Charlie in public, like eating Charlie' s lunch and making 5about Charlie in a cruel way.

    The days went by and the time came for the sports meeting. Charlie was also good at sports and he 6a number of events. Bill also took part in sack race(套袋赛跑), 7 he could not run very fast 8 his fat body. When Bill saw that Charlie won the 1st prizes in 100 meters and 200 meters, he9 him and decided that he would not let it happen in the sack race too.

    Bill tried to10 Charlie while running on the tracks of sack race, as 11But he lost his own12and fell down! He could not stand up himself, for his13 was badly injured. When Charlie turned back to see that Bill was14 to get up, he gave up the race and ran to help the 15 boy!

    Charlie also took him to the school 16, who treated Bill's knee injuries.” You 17 this sack race only because of me!” said Bill, after coming out of doctor's room.

    “My Mom has 18 me that helping a friend is more important than winning a race.” answered Charlie.

    Bill was very touched at this reply and 19 for his rudeness. He also decided that he would try to be good like Charlie. After that day, Charlie and Bill became best friends! This shows that act of 20 can change everyone to a good person.

    Amy guessed something was up when her 14-year-old son began staying up (late) than usual.

    One night she walked into his room and saw him hide something under his covers. It was her old phone,  was still working on Wi-Fi.” There were hundreds of kids (communicate) at 2 a. m. and saying really inappropriate things,” she said.

    She asked him he was sneaking(偷偷摸摸)around. He told her he was lonely. Children have always been a little sneaky when it (come)to technology, but they have become even more so during the lockdown(居家隔离).

    Teens 'use of mobile phones has been a big topic on a Facebook page (run) by an online service company. Experts say, “When you join in kids' games and social experiences, you can better understand what motivates (they), it's understandable that kids have gotten so sneaky with technology. In fact, we parents are (part) to blame. I think the bigger Problem is that we have taken the wrong approach kids 'time online. The only way that works is to give kids (educate), teaching them how to use the tech properly, and helping them establish their own boundaries.”

内容包括：

1）你校“中国文化节”展示内容：

①中国传统节日讲座； 

②中国传统艺术展览。

2）向对方发出邀请并告知相关信息：

①时间和地点；

②接机和住宿。

注意：

1）词数120左右；

2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯：

3）信的开头已为你写好。

Dear Chris,

    I'm Li Hua, chairman of the students 'union. ……

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua