Folk music is a kind of popular music. It comes from the people of any country. Folk singers sing songs from centuries ago, and they also write songs. They want to express their feelings about new things in the world today.

The word “folk” means “ people”. Folk songs tell stories about people. For example, the songs tell about their jobs and work, their friends, and their lives. They also express ideas such as love and war. The words in the songs are an important part of the music.

In the United States and Europe, folk music became very popular during the 1960s. Fans listened to folk singers perform at concerts. The singer told stories, sang, and played the guitar. Fans listened to the music and often sang along with the performer. Some of the folk singers during this time were the Kingston Trio; Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger and the Weavers.

Later, people began to play this kind of music themselves at schools, at parties, and at home alone. Today fans can still hear folk music at concerts. They can also buy CDs and DVDs by new folk performers. They can listen to folk music on the Internet.

I would like to talk to you about space vegetables, and to show you that space vegetables are healthy and good for you.

Space vegetables are grown from seeds (种子) that have been taken to and brought back from outer space. The seeds are affected by radiation (辐射) and low gravity in outer space. When they are brought back to the Earth, these seeds produce vegetables that are bigger, healthier and more nutritious (有营养的) than normal vegetables. However, some people worry about eating space vegetables. They think that space vegetables might not be good for us and could give us cancer as a result of their exposure (暴露) to radiation in space. People should not be scared, as space vegetables are actually perfectly healthy.

Here are some facts that you should know about space vegetables:

Space vegetables are grown from seeds that are carefully selected (选择). When seeds are brought back from space, people test the seeds to make sure that the vegetables they grow will be safe to eat. There are no traces of radiation after testing.

Space vegetables are better for you than normal vegetables. For example, space tomatoes stay fresh for twenty days, which is one week longer than normal tomatoes. Another popular space vegetable is the pepper (辣椒). Space peppers contain 20 percent more Vitamin C than normal peppers.

After genetically modified (基因改进的) foods come onto the market, people worry that they are eating unknown things. For example, if nut genes are put inside potatoes, people allergic (对…过敏) to nuts might get very sick from eating these potatoes because they do not know they are also eating nuts. Unlike genetically modified foods, space vegetables have not been genetically changed. This means that no new genes are put into the vegetables, so they won't be harmful to your health.

China is the hometown of kites. Making and flying kites is one of the Chinese ancient folk skills. Kites are also an important part of the Chinese culture.

Kites were invented by the Chinese during the Spring and Autumn Period, having a history of over 2, 000 years. It is said that Modi, an ancient Chinese thinker, made a wood bird after the work of three years. This might be the earliest kite in human history. Then Lu Ban made changes to the kite of Modi by using bamboos. Some folk custom experts told that ancestors invented kites mainly to memorize their family members and friends who have died. So on the Qingming Festival people would make and fly kites, hoping that their sadness could be passed to the dead through the kites. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, kites began to be used for the purpose of sending messages. Since the Sui—Tang Period, paper has been used to make kites because of the papermaking. In Song Dynasty, flying kites became a favorite outdoor sport of the people. According to researchers, kites were spread to Korea in the tenth century and then to Japan, and they were not spread to Europe until the thirteenth or fourteenth century.

Flying kites needs skills. The controlling string（绳）and the pulling force are decided by the size and the shape of the kites, the environment and the wind. Right wind often blows in spring, making it the perfect season for flying kites. If we want to play for fun, flying kites should avoid cloudy days and rainy days. Safety is also an important consideration. Flying kites should be done on an open ground and it is not wise to fly kites in dangerous places such as water side and tops of buildings.