I always felt sorry for the people in wheelchairs. Some people, old and weak, cannot get around by themselves. Others seem perfectly healthy, dressed in business suits. But whenever I saw someone in a wheelchair, I only saw a disability, not a person.

Then I fainted (晕倒) at Euro Disney due to low blood pressure. This was the first time I had ever fainted, and my parents said that I must rest for a while after First Aid. I agreed to take it easy but, as I stepped towards the door, I saw my dad pushing a wheelchair in my direction. Feeling color burn my cheeks, I asked him to wheel that thing right back to where he found it.

I could not believe this was happening to me. Wheelchairs were fine for other people but not for me, as my father wheeled me out into the main street, people immediately began to treat me differently.

Little kids ran in front of me, forcing my father to stop the wheelchair suddenly. Bitterness set in as I was thrown back and forth. “Stupid kids… they have perfectly good legs. Why can’t they watch where they are going?” I thought. People stared down at me, with pity in their eyes. Then they would look away, maybe because they thought the sooner they forgot me the better.

“I’m just like you!” I wanted to scream. “The only difference is you’ve got legs, and I have wheels.”

People in wheelchair are not stupid. They see every look and hear each word. Looking out at the faces, I finally understood: I was once just like them. I treated people in wheelchairs exactly the way they did not want to be treated. I realized it is some of us with two healthy legs who are truly disabled.

The China National Opera (CNO) will give a concert to celebrate its 50^th birthday.

Different generations of CNO vocalists, like Li Guangxi, Yao Hong and Ma Mei, will present the concert which will feature both songs from famous Chinese operas like The White-haired GM and The Hundred Bride, as well as, arias (咏叹调) of such western opera classics as Madame Butter fly, La Traviata and Rigoletto.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, September 7, 8

Location: Tianqiao Theatra

Tel: 65514787, 83156170

Tickets: 60~500 yuan (US $ 7.2~60.2)

A concert will be held to feature some recently-composed traditional Chinese music works. The concert, given by the Folk Orchestra of the China Opera and Ballet Theatre, will include such pieces as Memory of Childhood, Memorial Ceremony for God and Wine Song.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, September 13

Location: Concert hall at the National Library of China

Tel: 68485462, 68419220

Tickets: 30~200 yuan (US $ 3.6~24.1)

A concert of traditional Chinese music will be given on eve of the Moon Festival.

The concert will feature a number of famous pieces centred on the theme of the moon, such as Moonlight, Spring Night on a Moonlit River and Lofty Mountain and Flowing River.

A number of popular traditional Chinese music performers, like Zhou Yaokun and Fan Weiqing, will play solos as well as cooperate with the folk music orchestra.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, September 21st

Location: Grand theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities

Tel: 66068888, 66069999

Tickets: 40~220 yuan (US $ 4.8~27)

Why play games? Because they are fun, and a lot more besides. Following the rules… planning your next move…acting as a team member…These are all “game” ideas that you will come across throughout your life.

Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate life into exciting dramas that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such an taking turns and cooperating（合作）.

Many children’s games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones，which sharpens the hand-eye coordination（协调）needed in hunting.

Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much.

Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all continents play it—some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to spread hope through soccer. He created a foundation to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future.

Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life.

British engineers at a company called Reaction Engines, have successfully tested a whole new kind of jet engine, named Sabre, Financial Times is reporting, so that the time of long-distance flight could be halved, or even quartered. Britain’s Orange News says jets with the new engine could fly from London to Sydney in four hours, instead of the usual twelve to sixteen hours and Mail Online adds that new engine not only allows for faster travel but pollutes less and the fuel for it costs less as well.

The secret to the new engine is patented(获得专利) and this new technology very quickly changes air from normal temperature to super-cold temperature. This means the engine can run faster without breaking apart due to overheating, which keeps most modern jets from traveling faster. The engine is air-breathing and use hydrogen as its fuel source. In addition to flying faster, a jet with the new engine would also fly much higher, allowing for an even faster flight in the very thin air. Because of the very high speed produced by the engine and the high altitude, a jet with Sabre in it would not have any windows.

This is the biggest breakthrough in jet technology since the invention of the jet engine, and they expect new aircraft with the new engine to be traveling in the sky in just ten years. They also note that tests of the engine were overseen by the European Space Agency which has now wholly supported the new engine and has even begun talking about booking flight time with future jets that could be used to deliver satellites into orbit around the earth.

This technology is not something that happens overnight. Instead, it is the result of many years’ hard work by thousands of engineers from over seventeen countries. Research has suggested that, with advances in jet plane technology to match the engine, flights could eventually reach speeds of nearly 20,000 miles per hour, making travel to distant parts of the globe as quick and simple as driving across town.