This happened (发生) about two years ago. I went to an art festival in France with my friends. The festival would last (持续) 5 days.
When we arrived, the weather was great. It was very hot and sunny, so we went to the mountains for camping. But in the mountains the weather changed (变化) quickly. That night there was a terrible storm. At first we didn't worry about it, but it started to rain heavily and there was a strong wind. Later, water started coming into the tent. In the end, we had to leave and take our things to a hotel. There weren't any rooms free, so they let us sleep in the dining room. The next morning, it was sunny again. But our tent wasn't there. The wind blew it away last night.
Earlier this year, China achieved a new milestone in space exploration. On Jan 3, Chang'e 4 became the first space probe in history to successfully land on the far side of the moon, People's Daily reported.
From Earth, we can only see one side of the moon. The other side has been a mystery. Scientists have long wondered what lies on this side of the moon.
Chang'e 4 has sent back photos of the far side of the moon. It is also being used to carry out experiments, such as growing seeds in a low-gravity environment. The data collected from these experiments could be used to help us build a base on the moon in the future.
The success of the Chang'e 4 mission is a major achievement for China's space program. It marks a new stage in China's deep space exploration, said Wu Yanhua, deputy head of China National Space Administration.
China launched its lunar exploration program in 2004, naming it Chang'e. Chinese scientists set three goals—"orbiting, landing and sample returning" – referring to launching probes that could circle around the moon, touch down on its surface and bring lunar materials back to Earth.
Chang'e 4 has realized the second goal. The third will be achieved during the Chang'e 5 mission , which is set to take place before the end of this year, China Daily reported.
Following the success of the Chang'e missions, Chinese scientists are looking even farther into our solar system. China's first Mars mission is expected to be carried out by 2020, Wu said.
In addition to the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon, the Chang'e 4 mission has achieved many other firsts. One of them is international cooperation and joint exploration. The experiments will provide valuable data for the scientists.
Jack is 20 years old. He is short with a round face and small eyes. He has a job now. He works in a small restaurant.
Jack has to get up at 5：00 a. m. and rides his bike to work. He usually works from 6：00 a. m. to 7：00 p. m. every day. People eating in the restaurant are very poor. They usually give him a little money for tips(小费). Sometimes they don't give him any tips. So he doesn't like the job and he wants to go to school. He wants to be a mechanic(机械工) because he likes to fix(修理) things. He wants to fix cars. He dreams of running(经营) a car shop, and then he is going to make much money. After he makes a lot of money, he can buy a big house and have a family. Now life is bad, but he is doing his best to make it good.
A few years ago national attention was fixed on a deep, dark cave in the mountains near where I live now. A team had entered the cave to do some research. Although every precaution had been taken to make it safe, one young man was separated from the team and lost in the depths of the cave.
For several days a rescue team worked around the clock, searching almost everywhere in the underground cave. With each passing hour chance of finding the young man inside the cave became smaller, and people had a lot of guesses. Perhaps he had simply run away. Or maybe he had stumbled out some other entrance and was now lost in the mountains. Or perhaps he was already... well, nobody wanted to say it. But everybody thought it. Everybody, that is, except the young man's parents.
"That wasn't a choice in our opinion," the young man's mother said." Finally we would find him—safe and alive. We were certain of that."
There was little reason to those who were familiar with the cave said it had been completely searched-several times. Common sense suggested that time was running out and that other choices needed to be considered—like when to say "enough".
But like Kris Kringle says in his famous book A Miracle on 34th Street, "Faith is believing in something even when common sense tells you not to do." And the young man's parents had faith. They wouldn't give up, and they wouldn't let anyone else give up, either. And sure enough, the young man was found—hungry, thirst and afraid, but healthy.
How did the young man manage to stay a live in the cave?
"I've never stopped believing that someone would find me," said the young man.
Every year, a lot of children in the USA go to summer camps. Some go to play outdoors in the woods, in the mountains or on lakes. But families now have many choices of special camps. These can be in the middle of nature or a big city. Special camps offer young people the chance to learn about different subjects.
In technology camps, one subject that children can learn about is video game design. They learn how to use computer programs to create games of their own. One program that teaches video game design is called Cyber camp. Children can learn how to design their own virtual(虚拟的)worlds to set their video games in. Then, they program their own rules and objects into the games.
Cyber camp also offers courses in robot building and Web design. A recent story in the Washington Post described how one child made a robot that could sing a song. Another made a robot that could follow a black line drawn on a piece of cardboard. Also, children can learn how to make websites. One child made a site for Pokémon, one of his favorite cartoon shows.
There are many possible problems we have when we learn languages.
First, sometimes people feel shy when they speak a foreign language and they start using strange voices. When someone does not understand us, we may start speaking more loudly, but it does not help when it is a language problem!
Second, when people learn languages from books, they may know the grammar and vocabulary quite well, but not be able to pronounce words correctly. Then there may be many misunderstandings(误解). Sometimes someone says something very nice and polite, but because their pronunciation is wrong, it causes trouble—people hear something very naughty and everyone's face goes red!
Third, what else can go wrong? Some learners may be good at speaking. Maybe you can ask in French, "How do I get to the station?" But if your listening is not good, it won't help you when the Frenchman gives you a long, fast answer, because you can't understand what he says.
Finally, you also need to be sure you speak the correct form(形式）of a language. For example, Japanese men and women speak a little differently.
In 1834, the clock tower in London was burned down（烧毁）.
People planned to build a new clock which would be the biggest and the best in the world. So the clock had to be big and keep very goodtime. Several years later the tower was finished. The people put the big clock in the tower, and made it ring out for the first time on July 11, 1859.
In order to give the big clock a good name, people held a meeting.
Someone wanted to call it the Queen of Bells, and someone thought Victoria was good. At last, a man named Benjamin Hall stood up. He was a big man. Before he started to speak, someone shouted, "Why not call it Big Ben?" Everyone laughed and agreed with him.
From then on, Big Ben became its name. They even send bottles of oil to help keep Big Ben running. Big Ben is not only a clock but also a dear friend of people.
Tonight, my piano recital(演奏会) was the most important thing in my family. My grandparents were coming by plane to hear me play. Even my busy Aunt Dianne, who is on TV every night reading the news, was coming.
But one thing was for sure. I would never win an award for my piano playing. And that's just because the more I practiced, the more nervous I got. So there I was, on the stage, in my beautiful dress, and I sat down at the piano. But when I started to play, I hit a wrong note. I told myself to start over. But then I hit the wrong note again. It was as if I hadn't practiced at all.
Finally the disaster was over. I ran off the stage. I couldn't understand why the audiences were clapping. But they were. My mum and dad had flowers for me and we were all supposed to go out for a nice dinner, but I couldn't. I just wanted to go home and cry and never go anywhere again. After we went back home, Aunt Dianne just came in and sat down on the side of my beck
"It was my first night on the air," she said. "I had never been on television before and I made a mistake. I mispronounced my name and the name of the news show. And you know what? No one even noticed but me. Just like tonight, no one noticed--just you." Aunt Dianne was right. I think we are harder on ourselves than anyone else is. Maybe I will leave my room. And maybe I'll play the piano again.
It all started at the beginning of the fifth grade. At first, Carmen wasn't really sure what was happening. In class, she had to squint (眯着) her eyes to see the blackboard clearly. She had to do the same thing when she read street signs, or when she watched a movie.
It wasn't long before Carmen found herself squinting all the time, but she didn't want anyone to know that. One day, she asked for a desk closer to the blackboard. Her teacher asked if she had trouble seeing the blackboard. Carmen shook her head, but she knew she couldn't pretend(假装) much longer.
At home, she had to sit closer and closer to the television while watching her favourite shows. Her mother noticed that and said, "Tomorrow I'm calling the eye doctor to get an appointment for you." Three days later, Carmen had" new glasses and the doctor told her to wear them all the time. Carmen frowned in the car the whole way home.
"All of the kids at school will think I'm a nerd." she said.
"You look just as beautiful with those glasses on as you do without them," her mother smiled and said. But Carmen didn't believe her.
The next day, Carmen kept the glasses in her pocket as she walked into the schoolyard. She avoided her friends and stood alone, feeling unhappy. Suddenly, she heard her friend Tracy shout. Carmen ran over. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"My silver ring is gone!" Tracy cried. "It's very special and I can't lose it!"
Carmen could tell that Tracy was very sad. They all looked for the ring in the grassy area of the playground.
▲ She took the glasses out and put them on. She caught, her breath. Everything looked so different! So clear! She looked down at the ground and a glimmer of silver caught her eye. It was the ring.
"Here it is. I've found it!" She handed it to Tracy.
"Thanks, Carmen. I never thought we'd find it," Tracy paused. "Hey, I didn't know you wore glasses. They look great!"
Carmen had forgotten that she was wearing the new glasses. "Thanks," she replied shyly. As they walked back towards the school building, two more girls from her class complimented (赞美) her on her glasses. Carmen smiled. "Maybe wearing glasses won't be so bad after all," she thought.
Each year, we celebrate many holidays in America.
On January 1st, we welcome the coming of a new year like many people in other countries. And we have another three holidays on the first day of a month: April Fool's Day, Friendship Day(Aug. 1st) and Grandparents Day(Sep. 1st).
The most important holiday for the young people comes in February. It is Valentine's Day. Lots of boys give red roses to girls as a present.
People celebrate some holidays for their family members. We say thanks to our mother in May and celebrate Father's Day in the following（接下来的）month. In November many people return home for Thanksgiving Day, so the whole family can get together.
There are also some interesting holidays for children. For example, Halloween comes at the end of October. Children often play with pumpkin lanterns（南瓜灯）and put on all kinds of masks（面具）.
Of course, the most important festival is Christmas.
After a year of work and study, people can enjoy a long holiday, eat big meals, and visit families and friends.
