【推荐3】Wilson Middle School

Welcome back to school. It is a new year for the Computer Club, and there are lots of things to tell you about, so here goes.

First of all, we have redesigned the school website home page. It is now more interesting, and contains information about updates to the school website. You can now click on the right places to see our new school motto, the information about our 25th School Anniversary and a Chinese version. Why not have a look at it, and tell your friends about it, as well? The school website address is http://school.web/wms/index.html.

Secondly, the 15th Joints Schools Computer Exhibition will be held from the 3rd to the 10th of July next year. The theme of the exhibition is ‘Computer Technology 20 Years from Now’. All participating schools must submit a project proposal (方案) by the 28th of April next year. We want our school to participate in the exhibition, and we will prepare a project proposal for the school to submit before the deadline. If you have an idea for a proposal, please e-mail Kevin Shum or Amy Yale.

Finally, the Computer Club will hold a Get-Acquainted lunch on Saturday, the 20th of September, at 12:30 pm in Room 12. We invite you all to the lunch, and we welcome you to come whether you are interested in joining the Computer Club, or you just want to learn something about computers.

We look forward to seeing you there!

【推荐1】A series of small earthquakes have shaken central Nebraska and become the talk of the area.According to the information on a website, there have been several quakes since the 9th this month in the heart of the state, centered on the town Arnold, which is about 225 miles west of the capital Lincoln.The first, a 3.3-magnitude(震级) quake, happened early that morning, followed by three on the following day, another on Sunday, and then the most recent earthquake on Monday.The strongest quake was the first one that struck on the 10th, which reached a magnitude of 3.7.The earthquakes were found about three miles below the surface.There haven’t been any reports of human injury or damage of buildings caused by the quakes, according to KWBE, a radio station.

“It is just kind of strange,” Becky Dailey, treasurer of the Arnold Chamber of Commerce, told that station, adding that people around town are running around and talking about the frequent quakes. Actually small quakes like these are not unusual.Just two minutes before Nebraska’s most recent earthquake, a separate one shook a city in the Dominican Republic, reaching a magnitude of 2.5.A couple of hours later, a 2.7-magnitude earthquake hit an area near Aguanga, in Southern California’s Riverside County.There were two more that day in different areas of Puerto Rico: a 2.9-magnitude quake and a 3.1-magnitude quake.Those were all small, but stronger quakes regularly rock the world—just not so often.

Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks.This sudden release of energy causes the waves that make the ground shake.Two blocks of rock or two plates are rubbing(摩擦) against each other.After a while, the rocks break because of all the pressure that is built up.When the rocks break, the earthquake happens.

【推荐3】“Going after the footprints of wild animals, you can see the most beautiful scenery in the world. You can see the other side of the world, full of strength, wildness and tenderness,” said Xi Zhinong about being a wildlife photographer.

In 1983, 19-year-old Xi had an opportunity to take part in shooting a film about wild birds. At the time, people didn’t know how to photograph these birds without disturbing them. Crews used to catch the birds, tie their legs with ropes and then put them back on tree branches for shooting. Xi thought the birds captured this way had no life. Instead, he set out to learn how to photograph and film birds while they were in flight. The more Xi filmed, the more he saw the cruelty of animals killing. Xi thought he should do more to help protect the wildlife, as focusing on birds was far from enough.

In 1992, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) launched a three-year research project focused on black snub-nosed monkeys, an endangered species in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Xi’s hometown. Xi followed the researchers to reach the forests at 4,000 meters above sea level. He became the first to film these striking monkeys in the wild. After years of effort, Xi’s documentary film “Mystery Yunnan Snub-Nosed Monkey” won several international awards, including the TVE award at England’s Wildscreen Festival in 2002.

Xi not only films endangered species, but has also taken on the mission of raising awareness for the protection of wild animals and their homes by giving lectures in cities throughout the country.

Now, he owns a studio “Wild China Film” and uses his images to preserve nature. “I hope to demonstrate the most vivid and realistic scenery to the public. I wish natural reserves can be found everywhere in China, but the most important thing is that these reserves are impressed upon in the minds of everybody,” Xi noted.