1 . I was traveling in Spain with my sister who was living there. I went into a bakery to order a couple of pastries(点心). There were different kinds of bread on a shelf, but only one kind had a little sign hanging from the shelf that said “something something borrachos”. I didn’t necessarily want that kind, but it was the only labeled one, so naturally I waved the guy behind the counter and ordered “dos borrachos por favor”.

I was pretty timid about my Spanish, so I whispered it. The men sitting near me all stopped talking and looked at me. The guy, very seriously, said, “que? quieras? (What do you want?)”

I shyly said again, with less confidence, “dos borrachos por favor.”

All the men around me started snickering(偷笑).

The guy again asked me what I wanted, and he was getting louder. He was raising his voice over the noise of the whole shop. He told me to speak up. Most of the tables now were also quiet.

I was getting a bit embarrassed. I thought he was making fun of my accent or I was pronouncing it wrong. I looked hard at the sign, made sure to pronounce correctly, and shouted “quiero dos borrachos! (I WANT 2 BORRACHOS!)”

He shouted, “aaaah, quieras dos BORRACHOS!” This time, he couldn’t keep a straight face and started guffawing(狂笑), and the rest in the shop followed.

I had no idea what was happening, so I just ran out, empty-handed and ashamed.

I came back and told my sister the story. She started laughing and explained “borrachos” means “drunk men” and the sign probably said that “drunk men were not welcome here” and that sign happened to hang under the shelf.

I had just shouted to a full shop that I WANTED a couple of drunk men.

2 . Imagine mountains enveloped in silver water, shining in the spring sun. Summer sees the mountains turn bright green with growing rice. During autumn, these mountains are gold, and in winter they are covered with white frost.     1    

These terraces (梯田) were built by the local Zhuang and Yao people. Starting in the Yuan Dynasty, work on the terraces took hundreds of years.     2     Reaching as far as the eye can see, these terraces cover tall mountains, often from the bottom to the very top.

    3     Firstly, there are few large flat areas of land in the region. Building the terraces could increase the areas to grow rice. Secondly, although the region has plenty of rain, the mountains are steep (陡峭) and the soil is shallow. The fat terraces help catch the rainwater and prevent the soil from being washed away.

But perhaps the most important is the way people have worked in peace with nature. The terraces are cleverly designed, with hundreds of waterways connecting with each other. During the rainy season, rainwater moves down the mountains and into the terraces along these waterways. The sun heats the water and turns it into vapour (水蒸气).     4     These terraces also provide a perfect environment for birds and fish, some of which feed on insects harmful to crops.

Although modern technology helps produce more crops, these terraces still mean a lot to the local people for whom traditions hold much value.     5     Thus, new generations continue to use ancient methods of agriculture to maintain the terraces. Today, the Longji Rice Terraces attract thousands of visitors to admire this great wonder created by people and nature working together.

3 . Human beings are extremely diverse in many ways. People differ in opinions, races, nationalities, lifestyles and so on. Yet we are all human species, we feel pain and joy despite the differences. Today, it is impossible for any group of people to live without interacting with others outside their group.     1    

Diversity creates richness in opinion. Some problems can’t be solved by a homogeneous (同种类的) group of people.     2     A diverse group will offer fresh ideas to solve the problems. Diverse groups have been found to be creative and thus producing better solutions to problems.

Diversity makes us compassionate about others. When we interact and try to understand others, we won’t judge them. This instead makes us compassionate about others.     3     Compassion allows us to realize that all human beings are the same.

Diversity is a growing trend. Today, there is no country in the world that has only natives living there.     4     In the process, people of different cultural backgrounds often find themselves going to the same schools, working in the same office and so much more. As citizens of this word, we are therefore left with no choice other than embrace our diversity.

    5     Through diversity, entrepreneurs (企业家) have been able to reach new markets. Today, we have multinationals setting up offices in different parts of the world of which it would not be possible without embracing diversity. This future creates employment opportunities for people in those parts of the world.

5 . In our home it was natural to fear our father. Even our mother was afraid of him. As children, my sister and I thought every family was like that.       1       We discovered we could draw pictures with chalk on our wooden front door. We could have lots of fun, so we started drawing and making lots of pretty pictures all over it. We had a great time. We decided to finish our pictures, knowing Mom would love it.

    2     We did not understand why, but we knew all about anger, and we were in big trouble. Off we ran to find a place to hide. In our yard it was not hard for two small children to find safety. Together, we hid behind a tree and did not move. Soon we heard the frightened voices of Mom and our neighbours calling out to us. We were afraid of being found.     3     Those around us became more anxious, and we became more frightened. As we stayed together in the dark, we heard another voice, one we recognized with great fear: our daddy.         4     In it we heard something we had never heard before: fear and despair (绝望). Then came his prayers (祈祷). We saw our daddy with tears running down his face, promising God that he would give his life to Him if He would safely return his girls.

Things were different after that. We had a new daddy. It was like the old one was buried that day in the forest.     5    

8 . The London Eye which is 450 feet in height above the Thames River is the world’s biggest spinning structure. It is one hundred feet taller than Big Ben and weighs 1,600 tons. It was built to celebrate the year 2000. Maybe building such a big spinning structure suggested that people longed for bigger and better things in the future.

In London Eye,there are 32 capsules (舱)．Each of the capsules can hold up to 25 people. And they’re air conditioned in summer,heated in winter. From these capsules the visitors can see the most beautiful views of London.

It was difficult to assemble (安装) and put a wheel of this size. And it required new technology and a lot of imagination. The parts of London Eye were sent up the Thames River，and the wheel was assembled on temporary (暂时的) platforms on the river. Lifting it into an upright position was a major challenge. It took a week to winch (吊) it up to its final position.

Now the London Eye is regarded as a monument to new millennium. And many visitors from all over the world come to visit it.