As you probably know, the town council (议会) has got £1 million to spend in improving the town’s facilities for young people and we’re looking for great ideas on how to spend the money well. Post your ideas in the forum (论坛)   below and let us know how we can make life better for you.

Here are some ideas.

There’s nothing for teenagers to do in this town, especially at night. Can we use the money to build a youth club? Somewhere with a pool table and a table tennis table, perhaps. We need somewhere to play happily and hang out safely in the evenings. —Daisy, 15

I think the best use for the money is to build a playground in the town park. It should have lots of rides for the young kids. I’d like to have a skateboard park for a start and maybe if there is enough money, we can have a climbing wall, too. —Luke, 13

As I’m only 14, I can’t drive, so I go everywhere on my bike. But the roads are dangerous and many motorists drive too fast. How about spending the money in building more cycle lanes? We could also put in more speed cameras and zebra crossings, too. This will make life safer for all our citizens, not just the young people. —Liz, 14

How about a big billboard at the entrance to the town that reads, “TEEN WARNING—there’s nothing to do here!” —Sadie, 16

This probably sounds like a boring idea, but can’t we use some of the money to buy more litter bins? I feel ashamed of our town when I see much litter on the ground. We need to tidy up our town quickly! —Jack, 15

Our high street is full of empty shops because everyone just shops at the new shopping centre outside of town or online. Why don’t we use the money to turn some of these empty shops into an arts centre? It can have studios where we can draw and paint or learn how to make films. We can also have a music studio where local bands can record music cheaply. —Alex, 17

Sandy: Please help me. I am a girl from America. I cannot learn Chinese well. My Chinese teacher always speaks too fast. Many of my friends think Chinese is easy. But I don’t! I cannot get high marks(高分). Sometimes, I cannot understand what the teacher says in class. How I hope I can have a Chinese pen friend.

Jim: I am too short. I am only 1.4 meters tall. I like playing basketball, but they all say I cannot be a good basketball player. How can I be as tall as all my friends? Can short boys play basketball? I hope someone can teach me how to be a good guide(后卫).

Joan: I want to be a slim girl. Some of my friends say I am too fat(胖). Is it because my parents are fat, too? Am I a pretty girl? When I see those slim girls, my eyes are green. I hope to know some ways to be slimmer.

Danny: I need friends. I am sad because I don’t have many good friends to chat with. I am not good at talking. And my face turns red when I am with many people. But I really want to have many friends. Can you tell me how to make friends with other children?

Nowadays, stopping food waste is of great importance.

Over 30 percent of food goes to waste. Supermarkets throw away food that is not sold before its sell-by date, while families throw away food that they can't finish eating. In fact, it's hard for people to realize how much work goes into the food we eat every day. That makes food waste a big problem around the world.

As we throw food away, there are still 820 million people living in hunger around the world. And 3.1 million of them die from hunger each year. The COVID-19 pandemic (大流行) has made the situation even worse. With many countries no longer transporting (运输) food to other countries during this time, 10000 more children are dying of hunger each month.

To stop food waste, some people have come up with great ideas. Take a look for yourself.

Food bank

The world's first food bank was created in the US in 1967. People could donate extra food and also take the food home if they could not afford to buy any for themselves. In Shanghai, there is a "shared fridge" in some communities. It stores (储存) food that is donated by nearby markets and restaurants. It is free for anyone to take.

Pay as you like

A UK company called The Real Junk Food Project says that people still can eat food that has passed its sell-by date. They collect this food from supermarkets and sell it in cafes. You only have to pay as much as you feel is necessary.

If you don't want to spend money, you can volunteer at the cafes instead. There are now 125 Real Junk Food cafes worldwide. And the number is growing quickly.

Buy less

What else can we do to stop food waste? The answer is simply buying less food. There are millions of people around the world who still don't have enough to eat. We should be more careful about how we shop for food.

Share food that you cannot finish and waste less. Saving food can save us all.