A Happy Hero

One day, Linda and Jenny were sitting at Linda’s house. They were working very hard.

They were working on a ______ project about weather. Linda was a hard worker like Jenny, so the two girls were ______ to have each other as partners. They were reading about rain and were amazed to ______ Hawaii is the world’s wettest (最潮湿的) place!

The girls were enjoying the fun facts (事实) when all of a sudden, Linda ______ Jenny was choking (窒息). Jenny was chewing (咀嚼) on a pen cap and accidentally swallowed (吞下) it!

Jenny started pointing to her ______. Linda asked her if (是否) she was choking. When Jenny nodded (点头) to say yes, Linda ______ stood up and did the Heimlich maneuver (海姆利克氏急救法) to try to help Jenny stop choking.

Linda was afraid of ______ her friend, so the first time she tried the Heimlich maneuver, she did not do it very hard.

After trying it a second time, the pen cap flew oat of Jenny’s mouth! Jenny was very grateful(感谢的) to Linda. She was scared when she realised she swallowed the pen cap and could not breathe. Linda was very brave to try to ______ her friend. Both girls would never forget this science project!

In some countries, the best way to move around is not always the fastest or the most modern. But it’s the most authentic(真实的). If you really want to experience the culture, take after the locals!

The bamboo train in Cambodia(柬埔寨) is made of bamboo. It can travel up to a speed(速度) of 40 kilometers per hour and is one of the cheapest ways to travel around the country.

Discover European cities like London or Amsterdam while you drink and pedal (踩踏板) with your friends! These eco-friendly vehicles help you socialize while you are sightseeing.

The next time you visit Havana (哈瓦那), do travel around the city in a Coco Taxi. The taxi is called Coco because it is like a coconut! With two seats, three wheels and a 75cc moped engine, the Coco Taxi is a bit noisy, but cheaper than a taxi.

The Chiva Express, an enjoyable form of public transport in Ecuador(厄瓜多尔), is a bus that rides mostly on rails, like a train! It connects the beautiful mountains of the country to the pretty sea shores. This way of transportation is not used by locals now. It serves mostly as a tourist attraction (旅游景点).

For the Love of Animals

I have always loved animals. Even before I learned to write, when I watched TV programs that showed animals from around the world that needed help, I drew the shapes of the phone numbers from the screen. I would take what I had copied to my mother and tell her, “We need to call here. They need help. We need to help them.”

For my fifth birthday party, my mom said that we could ask my friends to bring donations (捐赠) of cat and dog food instead of birthday gifts. Then we could give them to the local animal shelter.

When I first saw the big pile of pet food, I was amazed. Together, my friends and I could help many animals, I thought.

Afterward, when we went to the shelter, we told the volunteer, “We’ve brought the animals here some cat and dog food. Could you open the back door so it will be easier to bring the food in?”

The shelter worker looked at us and you could tell she thought opening the back door was unnecessary (不必要的). Finally, she said, “Okay.” Then, she met us around back, and when we opened the van loaded with food, her mouth hung open. “Wow! You sure do have pet food! What’s all this?”

I told her about the whole story, and she almost cried. “You and your friends are so amazing! Thank you for being so generous (大方的) and kind.” We felt really proud. Even as little kids, we could do something big.

She let me go through the shelter. Holding kittens, I felt my heart filled with love and joy, “We do make a difference.”

Qian Xuesen was born in Shanghai on December 11th, 1911. He is known as "the father of China's space program" and "the king of the rocket".

When he was 24 years old, Qian went to America for further study. After graduation, he worked in America for a few years, where his working conditions were better. In the early 1950s, he heard New China had been founded and decided not to stay in America any longer. He succeeded in coming back to his motherland in 1955 though the American government tried to stop him.

In 1956, Qian Xuesen suggested setting up a special organization, which later became the leading organization for China's rocket and air travel programs. In June 1964, China successfully created its first medium rocket. Qian also played an important role in developing China's first man-made satellite. On April 24, 1970, "Dongfanghong-1" was successfully sent into the air.

In 1964, a young man wrote Qian Xuesen a letter and pointed out a mistake in his published article. Qian immediately answered the letter and encouraged the young man to write an article about the mistake.

Zhu Yilin, who was said to be the last student of Qian Xuesen, once said, "I learned a lot of professional knowledge as well as the spirit and attitude that a scientist should have from Mr. Qian, especially his deep love for the motherland. Without that, he couldn't have helped to develop science and technology when new China was badly in need of scientists for its development. Without that, he would not have made the great contribution (贡献) to rocket industry in the late 1950s and nearly 1960s when conditions in China were too hard."

Mr. Qian has been dead for eleven years, but he will live in the memory of Chinese people forever.

Do you like to learn a foreign(外国的) language? Do you think English is easy to learn? Foreigners say learning Chinese is not easy for them. We use a different character for each word. For foreigners, it is hard to memories them. They find reading Chinese poems(诗), writing Chinese characters and understanding the same word in different sentences are the most difficult.

However, Chinese is more popular around the world today. The long history and colorful culture of China attract(吸引) many foreigners to learn Chinese. China is developing(发展) fast. It is staying ahead in many fields and is playing its role in the world. Chinese is becoming a global(全球的) language.

Many countries have Chinese classes in their schools. For example, in the UK, students chose between Spanish(西班牙语), Latin, French and other foreign language courses(课程) in the past. But now schools encourage their students to study Chinese.1031 people took Chinese language exams in 2001, and the number was 2062 last year, while 2561 people chose Spanish.

Just as the foreigners do, we also learn foreign languages. Different languages carry different cultures(文化). So learning a foreign language is necessary(必要的), When we learn a foreign language, we not only have a useful tool of communicating but also experience a new culture. What’s more important, learning a foreign language well will help us tell our own stories to the world.

To Have A Not-to-do List

Like most people, you probably have a to-do list to help you finish a task. However, I would also suggest you make a not-to-do list. This list works well with the to-do list and it might be even more important. Let me explain.

This is Mike. He loves video games and plays them every day. But he also has an important exam coming up. So Mike puts studying on his to-do list. That day, Mike picked up the books and studied for half an hour. Then he took a short break and played some games. However, he got so into the game that he played for three hours.

The next day, Mike took on the challenge of studying in a different way. He decided to make a not-to-do list as well. And what he wrote down was: “No video games until 7:00 pm.” Mike went to study, did it for half an hour, and then took a break. However, he didn’t get on his computer like the day before because he didn’t allow himself to play at that time. Instead, he drank a glass of water. Then he returned to studying for three hours more on that day.

Mike realized that having no restrictions (限制) was the problem. He was always choosing between work and free time. Because enjoying himself was an easier choice, hardly any work got done as a result. So Mike made a not-to-do list.

Sometimes what you choose not to do matters more than what you decide to do. We shouldn’t just limit our “bad” behaviors but our “good” behaviors as well. For example, practicing the piano could be considered a good habit. But when you have other more important things in the moment, the piano becomes nothing more than a distraction (注意力分散). However, there’s one thing that should never end up on your not-to-do list. That is to learn something new every day.