Travelling is a very good activity. When you get tired of your work or study, and when you have free time, you can go to a beautiful place to enjoy the beauty of nature or other cities. You can breathe fresh air, meet different people and make friends with them. It’s good for your health to do so.

But sometimes, travelling is not an enjoyable thing. For example, the weather can be changeable. There may be rain when you travel. You may catch a cold or be ill while travelling. Then you will have trouble. The worst thing is that the thieves may steal (偷) your money. All these may happen to a tourist.

When you go on a trip, you must get everything ready. Firstly, you must have clear information about the weather. Secondly, ask a friend to go with you so that you can help each other. Thirdly, you must be careful everywhere and try not to cause accidents. If you do this, you will surely enjoy your travel.

Whenever the exam season comes, stress may come along. Here are some ways that have helped me and my friends through this season.

When the stress of exams is really hitting me, I stop and take a walk. I usually borrow my neighbors’ dogs and walk for about fifteen minutes. Many boys would simply choose to run for a while, or play ball games. Having some sports drives away your stress easily most of the time.

And if you find music helpful, give it a go. Listening to your favorite songs will surely make you happy. The best thing about this is that you don’t have to go anywhere.

But if you are a book lover just like me, read a book you like for half an hour. Reading can take you to places you’ve never been to. Putting yourself into a new world helps you forget your stress in this world for a little bit.

For sure, laughing is the best medicine. It can really keep worry off your mind! Very often I call my best friend and we talk about our good time or something funny, and I’m feeling better than before.

Remember many others also face the problems of stress just like you, and it is not something that cannot be dealt with.

What can help us when we fail?

Don’t make yourself stop trying

A baby learns to walk not by walking. but by falling. He doesn’t give up until he learns to walk. You can do something new successfully if you keep trying. Sometimes, you may feel sad because you don’t make much progress.. But if you give up, your progress will come to an end.

Understand the power of optimism(乐观)

Optimism can open you up to more possibilities than usual. To be optimistic(乐观的) means to believe something good will always happen. Kids don’t ask whether they can do something or not because they know they can.

Learn to depend on yourself first, then others

Those who are independent can deal with problems and stress more easily than those who aren’t. And you should be more confident to be independent.

Don’t look back

Adults spend too much of their lives looking back. There’s nothing back there to see. A baby wouldn’t learn to walk if he kept looking behind himself while trying to move forward. Spend just 10 percent more of your time looking forward and you’ll find yourself in a better situation.

Failure(失败) is a part of life since the earliest moment of life. It’s a normal and natural part of life that is neither bad nor good-- it’s just how we learn. So the question isn’t whether you want to fail or not, but how quickly you can accept your failure. Just learn something from it and try again.

Winter is coming. How about taking a trip to Harbin in northern China? A lot of people go to Harbin to enjoy the world of ice and snow there. There is even an Ice and Snow Festival. It is usually held from December to next February. You can’t miss thousands of great ice sculptures (雕塑) of buildings, animals and so on. Remember to wear warm clothes and shoes when you visit the Ice and Snow World. People like to have a taste of the food in Harbin. Visitors like to try dumplings, Madier ice cream, Hongchang (smoked red sausages) and Guobaorou (sweet and sour pork). And among them, visitors like Madier ice cream best because having a bite of Madier ice cream at the temperature of -25℃ is an interesting and unforgettable experience. People say it’s very cold in Harbin, but I think it’s great fun. Harbin has many ski resorts (度假胜地) and snowboarding parks. Among the outdoor activities, people love to enjoy snowboarding and skiing there. Ice skating is very fun on the icy lakes and rivers. These activities give us a chance to enjoy the winter wonderland.

A large number of emojis (表情符号) are sent online every day. Emojis are pictures used in texts and web pages. Since emojis were invented in the late 1990s, they have been used as a modern international language.

We like emojis for different reasons. A written message is always black and white, but emojis can show meanings beautifully. Sometimes emojis also change the way we write. The more emojis we use, the fewer words we use.

There are many emojis with different meanings. They are easy to understand. For example, a smiling face means “I’m happy”. A cake with candles means “Happy Birthday”. When we want to say “goodbye”, we use a smiling face with a waving hand. When we are in a terrible situation but we have to laugh to cheer ourselves up, we can use a “cry-laugh” emoji.

Now emojis have great influence on us. Sometimes, emojis can be helpful to people from different countries in understanding each other. And when we are communicating online, we can’t see the person’s face and there is no feeling exchange. Then the invention of emojis helps change the situation. For example, when we receive a smiling face from our friends online, we try to exchange our feelings by sending the same picture.

It seems that emojis change as time goes by. However, we should be careful when we use them online.

7 . On December 26th, 2020, China passed a new law to protect the Yangtze River, the “mother river” of China. It is Yangtze River Protection Law. It took effect (生效) on March 1st, 2021. It’s the first law to protect a waterway in China.

The 6,397-kilometer Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia. It provides one third of the freshwater resources (淡水资源) for Chinese people, but it has met lots of environmental problems in recent years, such as heavy pollution and overfishing. Especially, the river’s Chinese paddlefish (白鲟) has died out. So the “mother river” is in great need of protection. To solve these problems, China put a 10-year fishing ban (禁令) to protect fish resources.

According to a report of the government, the fishermen said they would give up fishing along the Yangtze River to protect the “mother river”. Chinese officer Han Zheng said that more support should be given to the fishermen to help them find new jobs and places to live.

Yangtze River Protection Law includes resource protection and green development. The government says the purpose of the new law is to strengthen (加强) environmental protection, use resources well and make the development sustainable (可持续的).

8 . Do you know how to play a game called “Musical Chairs”? It is easy to play the game. Most children enjoy it. You need some benches (板凳), some persons and some ways of making music. You may use a piano or any other musical instruments if you want to play it. You may use a music player, too, such as MP3 player or recorder.

Put the benches in a row. The benches may be put in twos, back to back. A better way is to have the benches in row with each bench facing in the opposite direction (相反的方向) to the bench next to it.

The game is easy. When the music starts, you can walk round the benches. Everyone goes in the same direction. If the music is fast, you should walk quickly. If the music is slow, you should walk slowly.

The person playing music can not see the people in the game. When the music stops, one of you tries to sit in the benches. If you can not find a bench to sit in, you have to drop out (退出). Then, before the music starts again, you must take one bench away. When the music stops again, one more actor will be out.

At last, there will be two players and one bench. When the music stops, if you sit in the bench, you are the winner (获胜者).

9 . You must hear about earthquakes, but do you know what to do before, during and after an earthquake? Here are some ideas for you:

Before an earthquake. It’s important to prepare yourself and your family. All family should know how to shut (关闭) gas, water and electricity and remember some useful telephone numbers.

During an earthquake. It’s important to stay calm. If you’re indoors, quickly move to a safe place, such as under a strong desk or strong table. It can protect yourself from falling things.

If you’re outdoors, move to an open area like a playground, not near buildings, bridges and trees. If you’re driving, stop the car as soon as possible and stay in your car.

After an earthquake. Once the shaking stops, don’t run out of the building at once. It’s better to leave when it’s safe. Check around you and help the people in trouble. If your building is badly broken, you should leave it.

10 . Panda is the name of an Asian animal. A panda is a large, black and white bear-like animal. It belongs to bear family. It lives in bamboo forests on upper mountain slopes（斜坡） of south-western China.

The giant panda has a white body with black legs and a broad band across the shoulders. It has a large round head, small black ears and a white face with a black patch（斑） around each eye. The panda grows from 1 meter to 1.5 meters tall and has a short tail. Most weigh from 90 to 136 kilos. Giant pandas are like bears in shape and size in the slow clumsy（笨拙） they walk. Like bears they can stand up on their hind legs. The female gives birth to one or two baby pandas once a year.

A giant panda eats mainly bamboo shoots. Though it eats other plants as well. A giant panda may eat as much as 9 kilos of food a day.