【推荐2】It just hadn’t been a very good week. On Tuesday, Sam’s father lost his job. Then on Wednesday, Sam’s mother said that the rent on their apartment was going up. Now it was Friday, and Sam had just opened his e-mail to find an invitation from Rosa to her birthday party.

An invitation to a party at Rosa’s would have been good news. Sam knew Rosa from Adventure Club. Members of the club took trips to places such as the Museum of Natural History.

Sam knew that he would enjoy Rosa’s party, but he didn’t want to go without a gift. What could he possibly buy her with the little money he had left in his pocket? Sam knew he couldn’t ask Mom or Dad for any money—not this week! “Well,” Sam thought, “I don’t have time to worry about this right now. I’ve got a report to write for school, and I’d better get to the library before it closes.”

Later that afternoon, as Sam was leaving the library, he noticed a sign that said there was a book sale going on downstairs. Sam headed down for a quick look, and two books caught his eye. The first was a cookbook of Puerto Rican foods, and the second was a book about women explorers. “Rosa would like these,” Sam thought, “but would it be tacky（俗气）to give her used books for her birthday?”

Sam decided that a used gift was better than no gift at all. Besides, Rosa supported recycling in a big way, so probably she would not mind. With his last dollar, Sam bought the books and went home feeling a little better.

The party on Saturday was a lot of fun. Everyone told stories about the funny things they had done in Adventure Club—like the time they went hiking in a nearby park and fell into the lake. Rosa’s mother and grandmother served them delicious food and creamy coconut milkshakes（奶油椰奶奶昔）. Rosa opened all her gifts and thanked everyone for the nice things they had given her. She stopped for a moment when she opened Sam’s gift, which made him wonder if she liked the books, but nothing was said. The moment passed, and soon the party was over.

When Sam got home, he opened his e-mail to find this note from Rosa:

Dear Sam,

Of all the gifts I received today, yours was the nicest. How did you know I would love a book about women explorers and a cookbook of Puerto Rican foods? Now I have something to read that will inspire me to follow my dream of becoming an adventurer, and I have a book that I can share with my grandmother. She is getting older and wants to be sure her granddaughter knows how to make the wonderful foods of Puerto Rico. Thank you so much. You are a good friend.

Love, Rosa

The week turned out to be a good one after all.

【推荐2】GREEN SCHOOL BULLETIN BOARD(公告牌)

Green School is the home to all the students. Here they can join in many interesting things.

The students of Grade Seven can have a school trip to Panda Base next Friday. We want all the students in Grade Seven to have a good time.

Bruce Vento High School

Back-to-School Celebration

February 28th, Friday 9:30 a.m. — 11:30 a.m.

BVHS is having a back-to-school celebration with sports, games, art programs and more. You don't want to miss it!

You don't need to register (登记) for the event. Your school ID card is required to receive a free backpack.

Volunteers needed for the Back-to-School Celebration!

Click (点击) here to register to volunteer at our Back -to-School Celebration. We will need your help before, during and after the event. Please feel free to register for the area you feel best fits you. Both parents and students are welcome.

Volunteer Training

February 21st, 5:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

In the School Hall

If you have any questions about dates and times, feel free to contact (联系) us during our office hours.

E-mail: info@familyvaluesforlife.org

Phone: 651-774-6663

Office Hours: Monday — Friday, 9:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.

【推荐1】

The Maori arrived in New Zealand from Polynesian (波利尼西亚) islands about a thousand years ago. They were the first people to live in New Zealand.       

In the late 18th century, Europeans came to live in New Zealand. At that time, the population of the Maori was maybe 250,000 in New Zealand. Over the next one hundred years, wars and disease killed many Maori people. By the end of the 19th century, there were only about 40,000 Maori people left. During this time, the Maori also lost much of their land to the Europeans. Many of them were afraid that they might lose their traditions and language too, but this did not happen.

Today the Maori population is increasing. There are about 500,000 Maori people in New Zealand. Most live like other New Zealanders, but they are keeping the Maori language and traditions alive. There are now Maori radio and television stations. Many schools teach in the Maori language. Nearly one half of Maori language speakers are 25 years old or younger.

Maori culture is also alive and well. At the center of Maori culture is the “marae”. This is a special place for ceremonies and meetings. Today the number of marae in New Zealand is increasing. Many of the new marae are in the cities. Now people in the cities can meet and learn about their Maori traditions.

Today most New Zealand cities have Maori festivals each year. Among festival activities are competitions in speaking, dancing and singing. Children practice for months. Then all the Maori in the area arrive to watch the competitions and see who wins.

The Maori have gone through hard times. Today they live a comfortable, modern life. They keep their cultural traditions alive, because they have passed and are passing them on to their children.

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【推荐2】We know that many animals do not stay in one place. Birds, fish and other animals move from one place to another at a certain time. They move for different reasons. Most of them move to find food more easily, but others move to get away from places that are too crowded.

When cold weather comes, many birds move to warmer places to find food. Some fishes give birth in warm water and move to cold water to feed. The most famous migration (迁徙) is probably the migration of the fish which is called “salmon”. This fish is born in fresh water but it travels many miles to salt water. There it spends most of its life. When it is old, it returns to its birthplace in fresh water. Then it gives birth and dies there.

In the north of Europe, there is a kind of mice. They leave their mountain homes when their homes become too crowded. They move down to the low land. Sometimes they move all the way to the seaside and many of them are killed when they fall into the sea.

Recently scientists have studied the migration of a special kind of lobsters (龙虾). Every year when the season of bad weather arrives, the lobsters get into a long line and start to walk across the floor of the ocean. Nobody knows where they go.

So sometimes we know why animals move from one place to another but at other time we don’t. Maybe living things just like to travel.