Pumpkin(南瓜)carving at Halloween is a family tradition. We visit a local farm every October. In the pumpkin field, I compete with my three brothers and sister to seek out the biggest pumpkin. My dad has a rule that we have to carry our pumpkins back home, and as the eldest child I have an advantage — I carried an 85-pounder back last year.

This year, it was hard to tell whether my prize or the one chosen by my 14-year-old brother, Jason, was the winner. Unfortunately we forgot to weigh them before taking out their insides, but I was determined to prove my point. All of us were hard at work at the kitchen table, with my mom filming the annual event. I’m unsure now why I thought forcing my head inside the pumpkin would settle the matter, but it seemed to make perfect sense at the time.

With the pumpkin resting on the table, hole uppermost, I bent over and pressed my head against the opening. At first I got jammed just above my eyes and then, as I went on with my task, unwilling to quit, my nose briefly prevented entry. Finally I managed to put my whole head into it, like a cork(软木塞)forced into a bottle. I was able to straighten up with the huge pumpkin resting on my shoulders.

My excitement was short-lived. The pumpkin was heavy. “I’m going to set it down, now,” I said, and with Jason helping to support its weight, I bent back over the table to give it somewhere to rest. It was only when I tried to remove my head that I realized getting out was going to be less straightforward than getting in. When I pulled hard, my nose got in the way. I got into a panic as I pressed firmly against the table and moved my head around trying to find the right angle, but it was no use. “I can’t get it out!” I shouted, my voice sounding unnaturally loud in the enclosed space.

I was stuck for five to six minutes though it felt much longer.

That video was posted the day before Halloween.

On the eve of the National Day, I together with a lot of people sing loudly and danced excitedly in the Tiananmen Square, celebrated the happy moment. Among us there were a large number of foreigners as well too. In the past few year our great motherland has been developing very fast that it gains a great reputation in the world , which attracts more foreign people to travel and study in China. And gradual they fall in love with the country and are determining to settle here too. All of us are very amazed or happy at these great changes because it really make our life much better. As consequence , we decide to work harder than ever before for a beautiful future of our country.

7 . After eight months’ delicate preparations, an evening gala(聚会) Sail to the Future for leaders and representatives attending the 9th BRICS Summit was held at the Banlam Grand Theater in Xiamen, East China’s Fujian province.     1     It consists of five chapters including Wind from the Sea, Sky and the Sea, Rhythm of the Sea, Tide and the Sea as well as the Dream from the Sea, highlighting the unique Fujian culture while introducing the strongest features of Xiamen.

Taking advantage of “sea” element to promote cooperation. Sea was the central idea that ran through the whole gala.     2     It is a city with three sides facing the sea.

    3     In the second part, the popular Chinese song The Sea, My Sweet Home featured the life of the people living in this area, and their proud Fujian, or Minnan culture.

“The unique geographic advantages of the costal city and the local lifestyle gave us much inspiration of the evening gala,” said Xie Nan, general director of the evening gala.

“Many Minnan culture elements, including Fujian opera, fishing culture and Fujian Nanyin, are honored as a ‘living fossil’ of ancient Chinese music.     4    ”

“A good performance requires close relationship between composing and dance rhythm. At first, we asked the composer and dancer to create their works on their own.     5     It was not a simple progress. They needed not just perfect time but inspiration and team work,” Zhang Dongxin, executive director of the evening gala, said.