My name is Ryan and last summer my family and I went to an island for our summer vacation. There were so many fun and interesting things to do on the island, but my favorite was fishing. Every day, my mom, my dad, my younger brother Derek and I went to the beach. We took our little fishing boat with us. Mom didn’t like fishing, so she stayed on the beach and read a book.

One morning, while we were fishing, we heard a loud noise. “What was that?” I asked. “Oh, don’t worry, Ryan. It might be a turtle（海龟）swimming under the boat,” said Dad, Derek and I looked around the boat, but we couldn’t see anything. Then we heard a different noise, which sounded like an animal. “Look, Dad, there it is!” shouted Derek. It was a sea turtle and it couldn’t swim well. “Let’s go closer and see what’s wrong with it,” Dad said.

When we got closer, we saw that there was a piece of plastic（塑料）around the turtle’s legs. “Let’s help it,” I said. So Dad jumped into the water, swam to the turtle and brought it back to the boat. “There you go, little turtle; now you can swim to your family, “Dad said as he cut the plastic off. Then Derek and I put it back in the water. “I know! We should make a sign about not throwing rubbish into the sea, and put it in the sand on the beach,” I said. “I’ll help, too,” said Derek. “Great idea, boys. If we don’t all do something to stop sea pollution, these sea animals will die.”

Birthdays are especially important to the very young and the very old. On their birthdays, people receive birthday cards and birthday presents from their family and friends. Children’s cards often have a large number on them showing how old they are. Cards for adults have pictures of flowers, scenery or humorous cartoons. Inside there is usually a simple greeting, such as “Happy Birthday” or “Many Happy Returns of the Day”.

In the US, children who have their birthdays during the school year take a cake to school and have a small party with their classmates. In Britain, children sometimes get bumped(lifted off the ground horizontally and put down again sharply) by their friends the same number of times as their age.

In the US and in Britain, the 16th birthday is called sweet 16. It is the age at which a person can get a US driver’s license, and some wealthier parents give their children a car as a present. At 18, in Britain and in the US, young people become adults and many have a big party. In most parts of the US, 21 is the age at which people can drink alcohol legally. In Britain, people celebrate the 21st birthday less.

Many adults dislike getting older and a few lie about their age. But in general, older people are now much more willing to tell others their age. You may see a sign by the side of a road saying: “Dave Ellis 40 today”, put there by Dave’s friends. At about 65, people retire, and those who have reached this age are called “senior citizens”. Few people live to be 100, so the 100th birthday is very special. In Britain, people reaching this age may receive a card containing a printed message from the Queen.