1 . Writing a poem is about observing the world within or around you.     1    , from love to loss to the gate at the old farm. Writing poetry seems difficult. However, with the right approach, you can write a poem that you can be proud to share with others.

Pick a specific theme or idea. This can make it easier for you to narrow down what images and descriptions you are going to use in your poem. For example, you may decide to write a poem around the theme of love and friendship.     2    .

Avoid cliché(陈词滥调). Your poetry will be much stronger if you avoid cliches, which are phrases that have become so familiar that they have lost their meaning.     3    . By doing so, your reader is surprised and attracted by your writing. If you feel a certain phrase or image is too familiar to your reader, replace it with a more unique one.

    4    . Poetry is made to be read out loud. So you should write your poem with a focus on how it sounds on the page. Pay attention to the structure of your poem and your word choice. Notice how each line of your poem flows into one another and how placing one word next to another creates a certain sound.

Get feedback(反馈) from others. You can also share your poem with other poets to get feedback from them and improve your poem.     5    , where you discuss your poems with other poets and work on your poetry together. Or you may take a poetry writing class, where you work with an instructor and other poets to improve your writing.

2 . Where to Find the Perfect Christmas Tree Around Baltimore This Year

A handful of the area’s best choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms are only a quick road trip away.

A SNOWBALL’S CHANCE TREE FARM

This choose-and-cut Christmas tree farm of 16 acres has been run by a couple since 2005. Open for one weekend only, Dec. 3-4, this year, the new location in Woodstock will offer eight and nine-inch pre-cut Fraser Firs or cut-your-own White Pines & Blue Spruces.

10231 Harvest Fields Drive, Woodstock

DAVIDSON CHRISTMAS TREE FARM

Although it’s been active for more than two centuries, this family-owned Upperco Farm didn’t start to plant Christmas tree seedlings until the late 1960s. The fields are open seven days per week from Nov. 18 to Dec. 17. Wander through its 60-plus acres for eight tree varieties, such as the silver-blue Concolor Fir.

1101 Emory Church Rd., Upperco

FROSTEE TREE FARM

The appropriately named Helen and George Winter began planting and selling trees at their Perry Hall farm in 1974. The two have since passed away, but the farm, now operated by Paul Stiffler, has 15 acres of ready-to-cut trees ranging from Scotch Pine to White Pine, Douglas Pine, and Norway Spruce. The farm re-opens on the last weekend of November, after Thanksgiving.

8926 Cowenton Ave., Perry Hall

GAVER FARM

Owner Michael Gaver was just 17 when he established this Mt. Airy farm in 1978. Today, it holds 70 acres of cut-your-own trees, with varieties such as the Colorado Blue Spruce and the whisper-soft White Pine. Christmas tree shopping starts on Nov. 24. What distinguishes this farm from others is that you can step into the family farm’s cafe for apple cider doughnuts, beef sandwiches, and hot cocoa before you leave.

5501 Detrick Rd., Mt. Airy

3 . Yesterday, I was shopping in a store, minding my own business, when I saw someone _______ a dog with a “service animal” vest. I gave it very little _______ at first. But then, in the soup aisle (过道), I saw the person and his dog again. When I walked by, the so-called “service animal” growled (咆哮) at me, showing his _______.

_______, service animals are trained not to do that kind of thing. Honestly, it _______ me, and I _______ the dog, fearful of being bitten. I thought about going to find a _______ but finally decided not to because I was afraid to be _______ with the person.

But the dog’s behavior got _______. In the milk aisle, the dog was not growling. Instead, he got his body close to the ________ and started pooping (排便) while the owner just watched. Then, his owner walked on, paying no attention to the waste left in the middle of the ________ aisle.

At this point, I couldn’t stand it anymore, and ________ it was time to actively get a worker. Soon a worker came to guide the dog and his owner out of the ________. Seeing that fearful dog and annoying person disappearing, I felt ________. There was nothing wrong with loving dogs, but dog owners should raise dogs in a ________ manner.

4 . Four Must-Read Environmental Books

Our recommended list of environmental books covers a broad range of topics. The four must-read environmental books are sure to attract the greenest bookworms.

Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmer looks at the relationship between humans and the land. Kimmer ties lessons she learned to Western society’s view of plants and aims to tell the importance of plants and animals. The book also explores the lessons we may learn from plants and animals and how they relate to certain stories. Braiding Sweetgrass won the 2014 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award.

The End of Nature

The End of Nature was published in 1989. Its author, Bill Mckibben, describes the relationship between nature and humans. It expresses the thought that nature was previously independent of humans but now has been affected by them in every way. The book tells the ideas of nature and the value it has lost.

Silent Spring

Written by Rachel Carson, Silent Spring has been described as a landmark work of environmental writing and is praised for bringing the environment al movement into the public’s focus. The book stresses the effects of pesticides (杀虫剂) on the environment. The book eventually led to a change in the pesticide law of the US.

The Sixth Extinction

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert describes previous mass extinction events and connects them to many extinctions presently taking place. Kolbert studies the relationships humans have with the environment and finds that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction caused by humans. The Sixth Extinction won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.

5 . The following are the comments on The Berry Pickers.

Donna David

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2024

I enjoyed the story. The characters were interesting and the story of the people working in the blueberry fields in Maine was of great interest to me. But there’s a problem. In the story, they speak about coming to Maine for 2 months. The blueberry season was and is 3 — 5 weeks. I think the author should have been a little more thoughtful in her research to make it more accurate (精确的).

Mom2AC

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2024

This is such a beautiful and heartbreaking story of two families—one filled with love, pain, and loss, the other with secrets. The story was beautifully written and had me in tears at the end. I love books that have me thinking about the characters once the book is finished.

Diana Jaycox

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2023

I read The Berry Pickers as part of a Kindle Reading Challenge. The Berry Pickers was not my normal pick of reading material. That is what I love about the Kindle Reading Challenges; I am forced to try new authors. This is not the kind of novel you can read in one setting. No, The Berry Pickers, requires you to read slowly, enjoying the richness of Amanda Peters’ words, and her great settings.

EH

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024

As I began reading, I thought I’d mistakenly bought a book for young adults. It’s not badly written, but it is too simple for its subject matter. It’s also overly long, and would have worked better as a novel.

6 . Cheng Cheung Hung, a Chinese sprinter(短跑运动员), says Asia’s fastest man Su Bingtian is his hero, who was the first Chinese to run 100 meters in 10 seconds in 2015.

“Su Bingtian created a new Asian record. His super performance definitely earned him the title of ‘Su-per’. I had the pleasure of shaking his hand, which was a great inspiration,” said Cheng after his competition in China’s first Youth Games on Monday.

Four weeks ago, Su delivered a speech, which attracted many young athletes like Cheng Cheung Hung. Cheng not only shook hands with his hero, but also was inspired by Su’s speech. “It was truly an enlightening experience for me,” recalled Cheng. “Su encouraged us to try and challenge ourselves to break the limit. Combining(结合)talent and hard work together, we can step on the world stage.”

Majored in physical therapy(理疗), Cheng has well balanced his school studies and training at university. “The main thing is to do a good job of time management for studying and training,” he said. “In the classroom and on the sports field, it’s all about learning.”

Through studying physical therapy at university, Cheng got a deeper understanding of human body structure and conducted scientific analysis of sprinting. He said he could be aware of the change in his physical state now and immediately correct his training time based on his knowledge and research.

“It would be a great honor to be involved in sports in the future, and to pass on the experience I have learned now to the next generation. I hope to help the development of sports,” Cheng said.

7 . Lou, a 20-year-old mathematician (数学家) with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) (脊肌萎缩症), is studying at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

He had SMA when he was born. He has had to deal with large physical challenges since he was a baby. This disease takes away his ability to walk, eat, or use the restroom without help. In the past two decades of his life, he has gone through several operations. However, these struggles can’t stop him from enjoying freedom in the field of math.

He loved math when he was a fourth-grader. He was always addicted to many questions like “Why could we prove anything meaningful in math? Why could we make predictions (预言) about the world through math?” These endless questions made him win a few successes. In the fifth grade, he scored in the top one percent on the AMC 10, a competition for students at senior high school. He also won a gold medal at the World Mathematic s Team Championship.

Now, he is a mathematician. He said, “It is clear to me that math isn’t only about numbers. Rather, it is the very language of the world itself. And it is the language that has allowed me to go beyond the physical limitations of my body.” As time goes by, his body weakens, but his enthusiasm for understanding the world through math has only deepened. He always believes that no matter how bad life may seem, there is always something one can do, and succeed at it.

8 . Four men who would become fathers were in a hospital waiting room while their wives were in labor (分娩). The nurse arrived and proudly said to the first man, “Congratulations, sir. You’re the father of twins!”

“What a coincidence (巧合)! I work for the Minnesota Twins Baseball teams!”

Later the nurse returned and congratulated the second father on the birth of his triplets (三胞胎).

“Wow! That’s unbelievable! I work for the 3M Company.”

An hour later, the nurse returned to congratulate the third man on the birth of his quadruplets (四胞胎). Surprised, he only could answer, “I don’t believe it! I work for the Four Seasons Hotel!”

After this, everyone turned to the fourth man who had just fainted (晕). The nurse ran fast to his side. As he slowly came to himself, they could hear him speak in a very low voice over and over, “I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven. I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven. I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven.”

10 . In 1998, World Cup Football Match held in France took up a new rule. Instead of the usual black and white ball, a colorful ball was used in the game. The new ball was made up of 32 pieces of three colors: red, blue and white. Interestingly enough, the French national flag happened to be in three colors, too. Besides, 32 teams took part in the coming World Cup. But early football was made up of eight pieces of leather. As time went by, more pieces of leather were used, from 12 pieces to 18 to 26 and then to 32 now.

About three million such new footballs were made. And then some players were playing the new ball in their training. The makers have warned the goalkeeper that the new ball flies in a direct line at a fast speed.

After trying the ball for some time, a footballer said that the ball was quite different from the traditional (传统的) black and white one, and that the goalkeeper would find it harder to catch them. Another footballer said that there would be more goals. “For the player on the ground, the new ball is easier to control as it flies. A good player can shoot in more goals,” he said.